Life has been busy! I haven’t been able to listen to as many albums as I usually would in a year. I only did a top five list last year because I hadn’t been able to listen to a lot of albums and because lists with rounded numbers are so darn nice to look at. This year, I’ve heard seven really good albums which are definitely list-worthy. The other albums? I wouldn’t put them in my Top 15. While I have listened to more than fifteen albums this year, I feel I haven’t heard as much as I usually do (averaging 60 albums) to come up with a solid fifteen.
So to save myself the grief of looking back and saying, “That album only was in my Top 15 because it defaulted to be there,” I’m listing my seven favourite albums from 2025, followed by the usual Honourable Mentions and Most Disappointed. I’m also stepping away from album descriptions this year as I’m a busy guy, y’know?
5. Ætheria Conscientia – The Blossoming (France – Frozen Records)
It’s really not that often one finds a black metal album with many graceful moments – but The Blossoming is riddled with them. Leaning heavily into various Middle Eastern styles, Ætheria Conscientia’s third album offers a tremendous mixing of genres to create one of the more unique albums in the heavy metal ether.
4. Antichrist Siege Machine – Vengeance of Eternal Fire (USA – Profound Lore Records)
Punishing. Absolutely punishing. While only twenty-five minutes long, each moment is crushing to your ears. Raw, distraught, and dirty, Vengeance of Eternal Fire showcases everything I love the genre. Unforgiving with its chaos, you definitely need to be in a mood to spin this one.
3. Drevorod – Anthems of Soil and Stars (Russia – Heidens Hart Records)
I really can’t have a top album of the year without some sort of atmospheric black metal album making the top five, can I? Hauntingly beautiful and yet eerie at times, Drevorod features gorgeous vocal harmonies amongst the anguish of the genre. I found myself drawn to many of the ethereal moments of the album which really showcase the delicate balance of beauty and pain.
2. Ulcerate – Cutting the Throat of God (New Zealand – Debemur Morti Productions)
With their 2020 album getting an Honorable Mention in my list that year, Cutting the Throat of God ticks all of the boxes to get the attention it deserves. Exceptionally well-written and produced, this album takes the listener on a journey of being one of the best and bleakest albums in their career. Technically proficient as always, Ulcerate delivers in monumental ways.
You could call my relationship with this album “love at first sight,” or in this case “first listen.” After the one minute and ten second mark, I was hooked.
Muuntautuja is an atmospheric, industrial, techno, sludge-y, black metal album on the backdrop of some wonderfully produced instrumentation. While sounding electronic at times, the instruments are indeed real. It’s the best the band has ever sounded and definitely the most punishing, I feel, they’ve ever been.
Oranassi Pazuzu have evolved their sound little by little over the years to create Muuntautuja – and evolution so gradual it loosely reminds me of bands like Ulver and Anathema – although those bands don’t sound remotely close to how they started – however, like them, Oranassi Pazuzu have “found” their sound, so-to-speak.
While terrifying at times, it’s also deceptively playful. It explores tones and sounds and never oversteps the scope of what it’s trying to accomplish. One can almost hear the fun the band had in creating such a musical landscape in a genre that’s often considered too-serious.
But don’t get me wrong: Muuntautuja is a serious album and it’s driven to push the black metal genre into further unexplored territory.
Haunting and tremendously mournful, Midnight Betrothed second albumis one of the more unique albums I’ve heard this year. While the uninitiated may hear the traditional low-production quality that is signature to early black metal, the album is intrinsically layered with textures that sets the perfect ambience that is Death… My Faithful Bride.
14. Dream Unending/Worm – Starpath(Canada/United States – 20 Buck Spin)
A split has never made my Top 15 before – so congratulations to Dream Unending and Worm with Starpath. Dream Unending’s melancholic atmosphere matches surprisingly well with Worm’s blackened death tones. While the two bands have two distinct sounds, they are coherent when side-by-side – something I never would’ve expected when I initially learned these two were releasing Starpath.
Ozric Tentacles sixteenth album shows the band has no signs of fatigue or that they’re running out of ideas. Always absorbing and utilizing musical technology around them, the psychedelic/fusion prog rock band reinvigorates listeners by providing them something different-yet-familiar to their listeners. In my opinion, this album is definitely best enjoyed with headphones.
12. Taake – Et Hav av Avstand (Norway – Dark Essence Records)
In their eighth release, the legendary black metal band – or Hoest from Taake – still wows. With four songs sprawling 42 minutes, Taake rips into some of very dark and progressive music. With dauntingly powerful ebbing movements along with some very epic peaks, Et Hav av Avstand is a true and brilliant accomplishment.
11. Ahab – The Coral Tombs (Germany – Napalm Records)
I’ve always felt Ahab’s been chasing The Call of the Wretched Sea since its release. While The Coral Tombs took some warming up to, I’ve felt this is the closest the band has ever come. Drenched with with mood and various shining moments through the darkness, The Coral Tombs stands out, not only as one of Ahab’s best albums, but one of my favourites this year.
Riverside always seems to be reinventing their selves while still feeling like Riverside. It’s truly remarkable how they accomplish it. With Id.Entity, Riverside explores new and seemingly familiar musical territory – touching in a bit of Depeche Mode and 80s-aesthetic. This prog rock/metal band seems to always be on the move – and it’s working out!
Featuring singer Aðalbjörn Addi Tryggvason from Sólstafir and ex-Pain of Salvation member, Ragnar Zolberg, Hjartastjaki presents one of the most moody, if not spiritual albums I’ve listened to this year. With songs feeling like they came straight from the heart, the duo create a painfully beautiful soundscape. While melancholic, the album is still surprisingly uplifting.
8. Afksy – Om hundrede år (Denmark – Vendetta Records)
Afsky’s Om hundrede år shows how black metal can be more than just “noise” to the casual listener. Epic and glorious, the album showcases moods and both wailing guitars and vocals. Its utter rawness is majestic and expressive – letting the listener really understand the feeling of loss through music.
Aara astounds in the conclusion of their musical trilogy with Triade III: Nyx. With its grand and monumental scope, the story’s music is as intense as it is beautiful. With incredible blast beats and screeching vocals and guitar, there’s a simplistic notion behind it all that captures the listener’s attention amongst the frenzy.
6. Voyager – Fearless in Love (Australia – Season of Mist)
In the world of progressive rock/metal, it’s hard to stand out amongst all of the musical wankery and pretentiousness that comes with the genre. Voyager however wipes it all away with incredibly catchy songs, hooks, and guitar solos. Reminding me of Threshold’s Dead Reckoning (in the sense that it was such a refreshing “new” sound for the band), Fearless in Love will be on my playlist for years to come.
5. Gridlink – Coronet Juniper (United States – Willowtip Records)
I thought Gridlink was done for – especially given guitarist Takefumi Matsubara suffered a brain infection leaving his left hand paralyzed. Yet here we are! Matsubara recovered and holy hell, we have Coronet Juniper! Grindcore at its finest, the blazingly fast and catchy album suffers only for being too short! I’m so glad Gridlink is back and I can’t wait for their next adventure.
4. Ulthar – Anthronomicon (United States – 20 Buck Spin)
Releasing two albums at the same time, Anthronomicon and Helionomicon shows Ulthar can continue to pump out quality albums. While Helionomicon I felt suffered from being too experimental, Anthronomicon astounds with everything that makes Ulthar great. Awesome guitar hooks pair with instrumental technical prowess makes it one of the best death metal albums I’ve heard this year.
3. Minenwerfer – Feuerwalze (United States – Osmose Productions)
Upon first listen, I felt like I was listening to Panzer Division Marduk again – which I feel is an incredibly high praise to give a black metal album. Feuerwalze is so in-your-face and absolutely relentless with its attack. For their fourth album, Minenwerfer doesn’t hold back. Powerful and persistent – this is my favourite black metal album of the year.
“Portal but better,” is how I would recommend this album. Featuring terrifying atmosphere and a pounding snare, Leprous Daylight encapsulates brutality and fury in an incredible 36 minutes that doesn’t come close to overstaying its welcome. With filthy riffs and tones from the guitars and bass, the listener can easily become entranced with the album’s ferocity.
1. Horrendous – Ontological Mysterium (United States – Season of Mist)
Astounding progressive death metal riddled with thrash is how I’d categorize Horrendous’ Ontological Mysterium.
With each song standing out as an achievement on their own, it’s obvious why this album is on the top of my list. Songs such as “Neon Leviathan” showcase traditional thrash with it’s drum/bass opening only to turn into a technical foray of death and prog. “Cult of Shaad’oah” shows off how much variety Horrendous offers with clean riffs which emphasize off-beats and finger-tapping goodness. Every song is off of the album is one banger after the other.
Then there’s stranger moments like in “Exeg(en)esis” where repetitive instrumentals perform behind layered vocals – feeling something reminiscent from Cynic’s Focus.Yet the song progresses and explores different avenues than what the listener would have expected it to go. Every song feels like it has something creative to show – and it all flows naturally without jarring interruptions.
The album is dark. The album is blackened. It’s riddled with death metal, progressive metal, and thrash metal – and it all comes together coherently . For those reasons and more is why Horrendous’ Ontological Mysterium is my favourite album of the year.
The second album from Gevurah features their great song writing technique with their ever-so-punishing black metal. With incredible blast beats and thrashing riffs, the Gehinnom feels in your face for a full 46 minutes with tasteful acoustic interludes in-between the destruction.
14. ARÐ – Take Up My Bones (England – Prophecy Recordings)
In a complete 180 from the album listed above, ARÐ’s Take Up My Bones is epic doom metal at its best. With a slow, dramatic pace and hauntingly beautiful vocal layers, the album at times feels more like an extended mournful prayer. It’s incredible how it works – and an incredible performance by artist Mark Deeks.
13. Night Hag – Phantasmal Scourge (United States – Rotted Life Records)
The death and doom of Night Hag’s Phantasmal Scourge is filthy AF. Heavy on the reverb and heavy in the riffs, Night Hag’s debut album does not disappoint. The album terrifies: with incredible vocal variations and frightening atmosphere, the nine tracks keep the listener engaged for the horrifying journey.
12. Escuela Grind – Memory Theater (united States – MNRK Heavy)
The grind/hardcore and metallic stylings of Escuela Grind are just fantastic. With exploding riffs, blast beats, and growls and screams from lead vocalist Katerina Economou, Memory Theater is just powerful. And what’s even better? The power has groove. The creative songwriting on this album simply is top-notch.
Back again on my list for another year, Olhava’s Reborn is breathtaking. Still at the top of their game with the bitter atmosphere they evoke, the near-hour-and-twenty-minute album is enchanting and riddled with mood. While at a glance one may feel the album should be shorter – if you’re in the mood for it – you’ll only end up wanting more by the end.
10. Cosmic Putrefaction – Crepuscular Dirge for the Blessed Ones (Italy – Profound Lore)
Cosmic is definitely one way to describe the album; Crepuscular Dirge for the Blessed Ones it’s a wild death metal journey that features some out-of-the-box thinking which makes moments of the album border along avant-garde. Solo artist Gabriele Gramaglia absolutely crushes it. With great power comes great intensity: and this album has both.
I don’t think Artificial Brian can come out with an album I’ll dislike. They’re three for three now in making my Top 15 list – and I listen to a lot in any given year. The science-fiction melded tech-death stylings seems to be a sweet-spot for me. Of course it helps when Luc Lemay (Gorguts) makes a guest appearance and Colin Marston (Krallice, Gorguts, and a ton of others) mixes the album. Just a brilliant piece of art.
8. Blind Guardian – The God Machine (Germany – Nuclear Blast)
What a return to form! After years of rather ho-hum albums, Blind Guardian comes back with The God Machine. Bringing back some thrash to their power metal, The God Machine feels like a meld between A Night at the Opera and Somewhere Far Beyond. After thirty years, Blind Guardian still has some major staying power and I’m very happy with this album.
Always on the hunt for something different, Mosaic’s Heimatspuk nails it. Into the third album, solo artist Valkenstijn showcases incredible songwriting ability with encapsulating acting and drama. Each song feels independent yet cohesive – all sharing an audible theme of despair which runs throughout the album.
6. Voivod – Synchro Anarchy (Canada – Century Media)
The progressive thrashers are back with what may be their most “accessible” album to date. Syncho Anarchy’s nine songs are full of punch and energy. You can also feel the band having fun while performing the songs in the studio. There’s a certain excitement that comes with each song that makes Synchro Anarchy one of the best Voivod albums in quite some time.
Like Olhava, Grima makes it back on my list for two years in a row. (What is it with these Russian black metal bands?) Like previous albums, the scope of Grima is based in nature and an epic feel. With mid-paced black metal, the songs get time to breathe and let the listen really become engrossed in the catchy melodies. If anything, Frostbitten comes across as one of the most positive-feeling albums in Grima’s catalogue.
When a new Sigh comes out, everyone should listen. Constantly breaking the rules of production and how songs can and should be written, the newest Sigh does not disappoint. Always with incredible musicianship, the dynamics on the album are what really stand out. Guitar solos, rototoms, synthesizers, and more, all take center stage in various moments within the album. There’s something very different with Shiki and it’s an honest joy to listen to again and again.
Ripping, epic medieval black/folk metal from France. Ordalies comes in with fresh production and ideas, offering traditional instruments like bagpipes, flutes, and lutes, to make already memorable songs stand out further. The guitar riffs are just incredible though. Crisp and fast, Ordalies is the stand-out black metal album for me this year.
Absolutely breathtaking crust punk. Within the first few moments of the album, I knew I was in for a ride. With acoustic guitars and percussion being the main driving force of the music, the many vocal styles of Morrow are what really pack a punch. The songs build and fall, creating dramatic escapes and dynamic, engrossing moments that really make The Quiet Earth stand out as an awesome force.
I couldn’t begin to count the number of times I’ve listened to Hiss. While the band is grindcore at heart, Hiss is just so much more than that.
With every song having a story, each song brings something different and inspired. From the anthem-like chants in “When Talking Fails, It’s Time For Violence” or the wailing screams to guttural vocal shifts in “The Darkest Burden,” singer Arif comes across like ten vocalists as one. Guitarist Rasyid offers a flurry of range, with bright, aggressive guitars in “Your Dystopian Hell” to the down-right thrash-grind riffs in “Spiral Eyes.” Then there’s songs like “Behind Closed Doors” where drummer Vijesh features both punk rock drum beats and blast beats. But then in “Sea of Disease,” the toms shine with a mid-paced gallop – progressive variations which are not usually found in the genre.
There’s so much variety from the trio of musicians, Hiss is constantly reeling the listener in.
In fact, many of the songs simply transcend one another while holding together a cohesive feel. By the twelfth track “Grieve,” violins enter the album in a dissonant, sinister way. They reappear in a handful of songs afterward. By the final song, “Glass Shards,” the trio come together and make an emotional plea to the listener. And then comes that emotional violin solo, concluding the album and giving me goosebumps and concluding the aggressive drama.
While Arif unfortunately left Wormrot after Hiss’ release, I cannot think of a better high-note to leave on for any artist.
Upon first listen, I knew Hiss would be my Album of the Year: nothing comes close to the ferocity, excitement, progressiveness, brilliance, and emotions that this album evokes from me. Hands-down one of, if not, the best grindcore album I’ve ever listened to.
15. Pan-Amerikan Native Front – Little Turtle’s War (United States – Independent)
Black metal with a dash of awe. Pan-Amerikan Native Front’s second full-length is intense with power and rage. It’s lo-fi production adds to the chaos. My favourite track, The Great White Beaver Lurks, is an awesome mid-paced song among the disruption.
Unlike Pan-Amerikan, Friisk bestows intense moods and atmosphere with their debut album. Similar at times to one of my favourite Icelandic black metal bands, Auðn, Friisk brilliantly showcases some blistering speed alongside their dramatic performances.
13. Fluisteraars – Gegrepen Door de Geest der Zielsontluiking (Netherlands – Eisenwald)
It’s rare to see 20+ minute black metal songs, yet Fluisteraars pieces one together and it goes by in an instant. Almost avant-garde at times, Fluisteraars’s fourth album is ambitious and rich with nuance – all-the-while still showcasing moments of insanity.
12. Drawn and Quartered – Congregation Pestilence (United States – Krucyator Productions)
A group of death metal veterans, Drawn and Quartered’s newest release features the band’s technical ability to write strong, creative music. With a solid old-school death metal sound, Congregation Pestilence is rich with pacing and riffs to make your ears bleed. Without going into the typical verse/chorus structure, D&Q’s music is filled with brilliance.
11. WODE – Burn In Many Mirrors (United Kingdom – 20 Buck Spin)
A mix of blackened/death thrash metal makes WODE’s third album an extreme journey to experience. Unrelenting and surprisingly melodic, the album comes with a great energy to it. With unexpectedly catchy riffs and crisp production, WODE’s ever-changing style serves them well.
10. Cannibal Corpse – Violence Unimagined (United States – Metal Blade)
Another group of veterans in the death metal world, Cannibal Corpse’s newest may be one of their best since Kill (although I prefer Torture). While still keeping up the same sound listeners have become accustomed to, newcomer Erik Rutan added some awesome power I’m sure no one felt the band was lacking.
9. Ŭkcheănsălâwit – Alaskan Escape EP (Canada – Les Productions Hérétiques)
My favourite EP of the year! This speedily album feels bleak and cold – which is exactly what it was going for. To showcase a song: To an Alaskan Glacier, while minimal in instruments, is huge in drama making for an incredible feat to achieve. I would surely buy a full LP of this music whenever one is made.
While Fluisteraars had a single 20-minute song, Olhava has one, plus a few more over the 10-minute mark. The Russian duo pieces beautifully intense music with a raging atmosphere and subtle soundscapes. While two of the four songs are really black metal, Olhava brings in drone and ambient elements which perfectly encapsulates the ebb and flow of the natural concept they were aiming for in Frozen Bloom.
This band just keeps impressing. Outre-Tombe’s now three for three on making my annual lists and for good reason – their music is really flipping awesome. Moments of Abysse Mortifère remind me of early-Voivod, while others standout as early-Morbid Angel. A ripping good time, Abysse Mortifère knocks it out of the park.
6. Cynic – Ascension Codes (United States –Season of Mist)
After two thirds of the band passed away in 2020, how could Cynic continue? Paul Masvidal carries on Sean Reinert’s and Sean Malone’s legacy with Ascension Codes – a strange, yet familiar feeling. While the album feels bogged down by short interludes between songs, the music is an emotional progressive journey: absolutely brilliant and constantly transcending.
Their first release since LTE2 in 1999, LTE3 brings back the brilliance of Dream Theater members John Petrucci, Jordan Rudess, and Mike Portnoy, along with legendary bassist Tony Levin, to produce one of the most surprising albums for me this year. All-instrumental, LTE3 is not so much a jam session like previous albums, but a well-executed romp into prog rock and metal.
My favourite atmospheric black metal album of the year, Grima’s Rotten Garden was also the first album I picked up when it was released in January. It has been regularly spun since. It’s haunting beauty comes together with nature and grandiose scope. With the odd keyboard frill and additional accordion in certain songs, Rotten Garden is absolutely a fresh listen to every spin.
3. Koldovstvo – Ни царя, ни бога (??? – Extraconscious Records)
Not much is known about the band and their debut album: A Russian band name. Roman Numeral song titles. Signed to an American label. Is it one person or a group? What Ни царя, ни бога is though, is an experience. Was the album recorded in another room? The production is both astonishing and very entrancing. It’s albums like this one which I live for. Tracks I and IV are absolute standouts.
Also released in January, I unfortunately wasn’t able to grab a physical copy as it sold out. And it sold out fast for good reason too: it’s incredible. Immediately fast and dramatic, Calvaire is doused in both strength and agony. A rich and fast-paced album, it’s still a melodic black metal journey filled with so much emotion and heartbreak, you find yourself picking up pieces when all is said and done.
1. Mannveira – Vitahríngur (Iceland – Dark Descent Records)
There’s a handful of albums that happen to be there when you need them the most. Mannveira’s debut album Vitahríngur just happened to be that album for me this year.
Doused in sludge and dreariness, Vitahríngur time-and-time again happened to be my go-to when I needed it the most. It’s raw, rather simplistic approach to music writing can keep the listener engrossed to the music and feel what they need to feel.
Rarely going into blast beats or fast speeds, the album keeps a mostly mid-paced tempo to it – its dark nature sucking you in with each kick of the bass drum. The muddied vocals give grief, anger, and sorrow, keeping with the overall tone of the album. The song, Í köldum faðmi is a perfect example of all of that.
While the title track offers a bit of optimism, the album constantly keeps you down, throwing the listener back into the cacophonous well.
While straying a slight bit from the overall sound of Icelandic black metal, Vitahríngur still defines its own sound with a nihilistic approach and gloomy dissonance.
