Another year, another list. This year was...interesting. It had its highs and lows for sure. It also had a LOT of good music. So much so that I've forgone the usual format in favor of a straight-foward top twenty. That way I don't have to change it by genre or anything. Without further ado...
Top
Twenty Albums of 2025
Misthanropy, The Ever Crushing Weight of Stagnance-
I think this came out late in 2024 so I didn’t get ahold of it until January. This
reminds me a bit of Imperial Triumphant but with more technical death metal and
a bit more…groovy jazz. Yeah. I think that’s the word I’m looking for. This
album pretty much dominated January and February for me.
Hierarchies, Hierarchies – This is one of those “I have no idea what this is supposed to be but I can’t get enough of it” dissonant, tech metal deals. I realized the other day that the cover art comes from a scene in the movie Annihilation.
Saor, Amidst The Ruins – An atmospheric black/folk metal album so good my girlfriend willingly listened to it and liked it. I see it making a lot of “best of” lists and it absolutely deserves to be there.
Dark Chapel, Spirit in the Glass- Haven’t seen a lot of people talk about this record but I really enjoyed it. Definite Trouble vibes here. Good hooks, chunky guitars. I just want to spread the word because I feel like this album needs more hype.
Lady Gaga, Mayhem – Long time Gaga fan here. I think this is probably one of her best albums. Now my favorite is Joanne which I don’t think is anyone else’s favorite, so keep that in mind. But I really enjoy the kind of… walk through pop music by decade thing this album has going on. You can clearly hear the Bowie, the Queen, the Michael Jackson influences, which you’d think would be a turn off but somehow, it’s not.
Coheed & Cambria, Vaxis III: The Father of Make Believe – I was really into Coheed for a good long time. Then I stopped…for…reasons. This is the first album of my reclaiming of them and dang, it’s a good one. I did listen to Vaxis II, but was not quite at the point of reclaiming them. Well…now I am and I love this record. I’m glad I can finally call myself a Child of the Fence again.
Eschaton, Techlitarian – I do loves me some Tech Death and this album was the soundtrack to the summer for sure. Absolutely pummeling.
Byonoisegenerator, Subnormal Dives – This is the only review I can give this album: it’s an absolute sensory nightmare and I LOVE it. Give me more. Put it right in my veins.
Floating, Hesitating Lights – This album is weird. Is it post-black? Blackgaze? I’m not sure the style but it’s the auditory equivalent of a creepy folk horror movie. One of those movies where you’re not sure what’s going on and you question your own sanity. Not only is the instrumentation stellar but the vibes are immaculate.
Blackbraid, III- This one is straight-up addictive. Put this together with Vials of Wrath and you’ll have the best atmospheric, nature double feature of all time.
Helloween, Giants and Monsters- For some reason this year I decided to check out Helloween. I started with their March of Time compilation. Then checked out the Keepers albums. I quickly fell in love. I’m pretty picky about my power metal but dang if this doesn’t hit the spot. I like that they have all three of the band’s vocalists on here. The hooks are massive too, which is always a plus.
Sabrina Carpenter, Man’s Best Friend- I wasn’t super into Sabrina Carpenter for a good while. Then I saw her Tiny Desk concert with the Short N’ Sweet album and I MAY have developed a bit of a crush. I don’t think this album has quite the highs of the previous one – no “Espresso” or “Taste” or “Good Graces” but it doesn’t have any of the lows of that album either. Also, the controversy about the cover art - I never understood. Maybe I’m just an old man that’s been listening to music for a long time and have seen a lot of cover art, but it just seemed like…cover art.
Castle Rat, The Bestiary – Speaking of cover art and music crushes! Ha ha! This is my first exposure to Castle Rat. This album hits a groove and does not let up until the last note. Perfect for board game nights or just chilling with your headphones on and escaping the world.
Doja Cat, Vie- I’ve always liked Doja Cat for being totally herself and weird but also making straight bangers. This album is extremely 80’s inspired and I am here for it.
Vials of Wrath, Remnants for Remembrance – Vials of Wrath is one of my all-time favorite bands. Period. In the Hall of Fame along with Deliverance, Daniel Amos, Resurrection Band, Phil Keaggy and The Choir. Remnants captures everything I love from D.W. Mills’ atmospheric black metal project. Solitude, nature, communion with the Divine – immediately became a comfort album like all the other ones.
An Abstract Illusion, The Sleeping City – So Vials of Wrath and Blackbraid gave us the “salt of the earth go for a walk and contemplate existence” albums. An Abstract Illusion gave us “synthwave adventure to the stars.” Honestly, I think you could mix black metal with almost any other genre and I’d be all over it. Just as atmospheric and evocative as the earthier albums on this list, just… IN SPACE.
Howling Giant, Crucible and Ruin- I think what I liked about this album was that it reminded me of Coheed and Cambria a little. And who doesn’t love more Coheed sound? But as I listened more and more it became its own thing. Another good record for board game night.
One of Nine, Dawn of the Iron Shadow- There was another black metal album by Anfauglir this year that was also Lord of the Rings based. And while that album was amazing, I think I prefer this one. Sometimes I just don’t have the desire to listen to twenty-minute songs, y’know? And I like that this is symphonic but not TOO symphonic. Anfauglir leaned more heavily into the theatricality while I think One of Nine sticks to their black metal guns with the symphonic elements providing some extra oomph but not stealing the show.
Adorn, Adorn – This album literally left my jaw on the floor with its beauty. Somehow melding classical chamber music with black metal. This is another one my girlfriend and I both enjoyed (she’s not into metal really). I think what’s interesting is that this album mixed raw, lo-fi black metal in with all the violins and pianos and chorus-laden guitar. On paper it shouldn’t work but not only does it work it’s probably one of the most beautiful records I’ve ever heard.
1914, Viribus Unitis- Black metal about World War I? Sign me up. What? One of the songs features Christopher Scott from Precious Death? Sign me up a second time. I’m going to have to look up this band’s back catalog now.
Best Reissue of 2025
I cheated this year and picked two because I couldn’t choose.
Adam Again, Ten Songs By Adam Again – I’d heard this album before and for some reason never really got into it. I started with Dig so the difference in style probably didn’t help. This is way different than the band’s later output, focusing more on dance beats and synths. However, this time I got it. Gene’s world-weary vocals and social commentary subject matter drew me in. Also helped that the songs were catchy as well. I’d probably say this is my third favorite behind Dig and Homeboys.
Arsenal, Armored Choir and More – I never heard this the first time around back in my youth group days. It didn’t quite have the distribution of your Bloodgoods and Barren Crosses. If I had gotten ahold of it then, it would have been a favorite. Heck, it’s a favorite now. I think this band deserved a lot better.
Best Random Album from Whenever I Found in 2025
I’m cheating here too because I couldn’t pick just one.
Mark Heard, Second Hand – I’ve seen Mark Heard’s name often in conjunction with other artists I like. I found a “best of” at Goodwill this year and while that disc, filled with his earlier material, was good it didn’t quite do it for me. So, I checked out Second Hand and Dry Bones Dance. Aaaand…yep…that’s what I was looking for. Sometimes you didn’t realize you needed to hear an album until you did. If that makes sense.
Blackball, Hope – I absolutely loved Blackball’s first record. It’s still on yearly rotation. I can sing every word…well…the ones within my range anyway. I wasn’t really in the music scene when this album came out so I never had any experience with it. Turns out it’s awesome. I like it just as much, if not more than Super Heavy Dreamscape.
Best EP of 2025
Burial Extraction, Rotting
Flesh EP- I don’t usually keep up with a lot of EPs. Last year had
several that were of interest to me. This year? Not so much. Karv and Aglo had
EPs and they were good. But Burial Extraction put out the best one of those I
heard. And I absolutely ADORE Karv so this had to be really good to knock them
out of the top spot.
Disappointments of 2025
Digital KLL, Digital KLL – Dale Thompson from Bride and a former member of Killed By Cain get together to do something different. In that they succeed. This is different. But I don’t think they quite accomplished what they intended to do. I think given the name and the cover art I was expecting something brutal and creepy. Boundary pushing even. But while nothing here is bad, it doesn’t seem to come together. At least for me. Worth checking out to see if it’s up your alley, but it wasn’t up mine.
Bride, Vipers and Shadows – Bride’s latter-era output has been…uneven. To say the least. 2023’s Are You Awake was probably their finest album since This is It. I was kind of leery when they announced a double album. That apprehension was correct because this album, instead of being a career defining triumph is…fine. That’s it. Just fine. Nothing bad but nothing amazing either. In fact, I can’t remember a single song off either disc of this album. Which is worse than being bad.
Label Shout-Out
This is a new feature, but I wanted to send a shout out to Transcending Obscurity Records. Five of my twenty picks for this year came from them. That's not even including other stuff like Imperialist, Unaligned, Vorga and Skaphos that were excellent but didn't make the list. Their packaging (and ya'll know I'm a sucker for good packaging) is legit second to none. They're also a cat rescue operation. Back in the day I had labels that I'd buy almost anything from: Intense Records, REX, etc. Transcending Obscurity is one of the few that I will check out whatever comes out because more often than not I'm going to like it. So I just wanted to say thanks to them for all the stellar music this year!
That's all for this year. I certainly hope that next year is... I don't know. Better? High hopes I know. God bless us everyone!
