The Vortex 2025 Lists Maelstrom

by everyone

Sat, 31 Jan 2026

Read in 69 minutes

This wraps 2025 with everyone favorite albums saved here

Snyde’s list

Honorable Mentions

(10) Billy Woods - Golliwog

Yeah, of all the rap I could have picked I went with Woods' sinister solo selection. I do think it’s the most cohesive and best ride all the way through. Choice cut: Corinthians

(9) Sadist - Something to Pierce

Somewhat of a theme across this list, this is an album that is somewhat playful yet whose next move is always unknown. Like your friendly, neighborhood serial killer. Choice cut: The Best Part is the Brain

(8) Suffering Hour - Impelling Rebirth

I almost didn’t listen to this. Can you fucking imagine missing out on this level of unhinged riffosity? Good things come in small packages (or so meri keeps insisting). Choice cut: Anamnesis

(7) Saint Vengeur - Sex and Repression in Higher Society

winnie the pooh: Lonely People with Power sophisticated winnie the pooh: Sex and Repression in Higher Society Choice cut: Immaculata

(6) Bianca - self-titled

Took a chance on this one and it paid off. Intense, dark and taken to a higher plane thanks to an outstanding vocal performance. I will watch their career with great interest. Choice cut: Nachtexe

(5) Species - Changelings

Yet another juxtaposition of silly and dead serious (although I don’t think the silliness was intended in this case). Insane riffage, recalling past greats without succumbing to the comparison. Choice cut: Inspirit Creation

(4) Weeping Sores - The Convalescence Agonies

Easily the record that has most risen in my estimation (#scrote) throughout the year. I think they’ve hit something special with this sound but they haven’t quite refined it fully. Choice cut: Sprawl in the City of Sorrow

(3) Anna von Hausswolff - Iconoclasts

My favorite music of the year is on this record. Unfortunately there’s too much other stuff in it as well, which brings it down to third place. Choice cut: Stardust

(2) Sleep Paralysis - Sleep Paralysis

Another entirely unhinged record which lures you in with the familiar and thrusts you into the deep end of a looney tunes-themed melting nightmare mess. Choice cut: Helplessness

(1) Volahn - Popol Vuh

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the easy #1 for me. This shit has me feeling like I’ve just inadvertently defiled the tomb of some ancient aztec priest and his fucking army of lost souls is coming for my ass as I attempt to escape through the labyrinthine corridors of the inner sanctum, dodging traps while the ghosts of sacrificed children of ages past torment me at every step. It’s an album that goes for the throat and it gives you only barely enough room to breathe before taking you below the roiling vortex for your next pummeling. Choice cut: La Decapitación por Camazotz

Ferday’s list

(10) Aesop Rock - I Heard It’s a Mess There Too

A lot of albums that could (and perhaps should) have made this list instead, but this one is just plain fun. It feels like Ace is just having fun as well, and dammit there just isn’t enough fun right now.

(9) Ethel Cain - Willoughby Tucker, I’ll Always Love You

This one has really grown on me over the year, to my own surprise. though there are plenty of fair criticisms to be had, her commitment to the tone of the record and some surprisingly sharp (and relatable) writing keeps me coming back, and I love her voice. Excellent bedtime record.

(8) Phobocosm – Gateway

Dank.

(7) Evoken - Mendacium

There’s a slight lack of sparkle in here but damn the boys are almost 60 and they still crush it. It was honestly tough this year to choose between a few titans of the scene and a few newer fun doomers but we’ll let evoken have the (likely their last) list position.

(6) Imperial Crystalline Entombment - Abominable Astral Summoning

See 10. It’s fun to have some fun and this album is fun and rifftastic, with excellent commitment to the bit and icy tongues stuck firmly in frostbitten cheeks.

(5) Fister - Graceless

I’ve been a fister simp since the very beginning but they’re still among the only sludge band making sludge sound mean. Less experimental than no spirit within but also more consistently acerbic, and sounds so heavy played loud.

(4) Imperial Triumphant Goldstar-

It’s ‘just another IT album’ for me, which is a testament to power of IT that it’s a shoo-in for end of year. The brevity and immediacy is highly appreciated and adds all the variety needed to an otherwise tested formula, and makes it an easier listen (even while driving, which is crazy for IT).

(3) Castle Rat - Bestiary

My most listened to album this year. the world building is not only commendably complete but deliciously believable, and there is superb craftsmanship in how everything is put together as a package. It’s pop music sure, but if we’re going to get people back into metal again, better this than sleep token.

(2) Agriculture - The Spiritual Sound

It hits less hard than the s/t, but that’s mostly familiarity. the maturity in songwriting and flow is super evident and it doesn’t feel forced at any point. Cliches aside, there really is something spiritual (ecstatic lol) about their sound and I don’t feel anyone else is making this style of post-black as good as they are right now.

(1) Deafheaven - Lonely People With Power

More than any album this year, the rewards on re-listens just never cease. They have absolutely and utterly mastered their craft, and every hook, riff, phrase, and cadence is placed with intent and care. And what a nice surprise after the rather gross infinite granite. Maybe not OCHL level but I’ll debate if there anyone making heavy music this :tight: and well crafted combined with listenable and accessible in 2025.

Abso’s list

Honorable Mentions

(10) Tropical Fuck Storm - Fairyland Codex

The cunts are back and they sound like they want to be back this time. The furries are back on the album art and the songs are distorted, sarcastic and poignantly sharp like they should be. The repetition of the word “charity” did push this down slightly though. All in all great to see TFS come back strong after some mid years.

(9) Armand Hammer - Mercy

The atmosphere of this album is what really sells it for me. It sounds distant, like it’s at the end of the hall and you can just about hear what’s going. If you try to get closer the sound will go just around the next corner. The delivery from ELUCID and Woods is just as disconnected while being cold and calculated at all times. There’s passion and bite behind the words, it’s simply hidden behind a smoke screen of nonchalantness.

(8) Ethel Cain - Perverts

I don’t believe I’ve ever had a drone/ dark ambient record on one of my EOY lists before. Ethel Cain wasn’t on my radar, not even with her massive commercial hit “Preacher’s Daughter”. After listening to it I was unamused, and didn’t really get the appeal. But Perverts is a complete left turn for the artist, gone are the Lana del Rey-esque melodies and in comes the vast darkness that vast empty spaces bring. With songs like Vacillator bringing some well deserved light back into the project after wandering cluelessly in the dim lit islands of the songs that came before (feels like the walk down to Manus in Dark Souls).

But even on Vacillator it’s not welcoming, it’s not comfortable. It’s raw and true, it’s bringing forth sentiments that I know I’ve had many times in the past. Perverts will probably remain my favourite Ethel Cain release ever as she will probably not release anything like it due to her fame with her “main” LP’s but I’m glad she did make this, the pervert that I am.

(7) Sleep Token - Even in Arcadia

Well let the fun begin, Sleep Token are on my AOTY list. My first impression of this album is that it had to have been put through AI because it was delivering exactly the sections I wanted in every moment. The vocals and instrumentation seem very processed and polished; there’s no sharp edges. But having this in mind I still very much enjoy the blend of indie, pop, prog and hip hop influences. I believe people get very mad at Sleep Token because they’re considered metal. But they’re clearly not a metal band, it’s clear fusion with most of the album being pop - alt rock with the occasional dabble into metal adjacent sections. With them being closer to The 1975 than to real prog bands like Rishloo or Karnivool.

(6) Aesop Rock - I Heard It’s a Mess There Too

On my first spin of Aes’s second LP of the year I admit I was a little tired of him going for overtly conceptual pieces that had too much going on and less in the ways of simply being good. I judged this album on my first spin as another addition to this trend, but it’s exactly the contrary. This is Aes simply spitting over some of the best beats of the year. It’s boom bap like you haven’t had it in some time.

(5) Agriculture - The Spiritual Sound

It’s hard to get me interested in BM lately, I’m growing more and more bored of the usual tricks and sounds. So, the fact that The Spiritual Sound clicked on the first listen for me was a breath of fresh air that I welcomed in. With clear influences from modern BM like Deafheaven, Agriculture have managed to use this influence but also completely veer off into their own style. There’s more intensity, there’s more variety and it’s much more visceral when compared to the more poetic and melancholic approach of the aforementioned.

The album suffers at the same time as it gains from this lack of focus. There’s a lot going on and, at times, it can seem like they lose the way slightly. But it’s simply not true, they know exactly where they’re going with each piece. They’re simply not going in a straight line to do so. The guitar is what pushes this album into greener pastures, the frenetic riffing that builds into that beautiful solo on Flea elevates the first impression of the album effectively.

And then we go into Micah (5:15am), one of my songs of the year. The absolutely beautiful tremolo going on, simply makes you feel like you’re marching into war against something you’ve been fearing your whole life. The fact it takes a lot from post-hardcore and emo melodies helps this hit home that little bit more.

After this is where the album kind of loses track of itself sometimes, with Dan’s Love Song breaking up the album maybe a little too much. Luckily it’s followed with Bodhidharma which puts us right on the money again. Agriculture’s third album will be higher on my AOTY list if they simply get the rhythm and flow of the album slightly better next time. But still, it’s already in my top 5 this time.

(4) Deafheaven - Lonely People with Power

I’d like to start this review by explaining the artwork. It was a bit of a conversation point when the project dropped. The artwork shows a prostitute coming up to a car she’s been summoned to. This is based on a real life event from George’s childhood.

His father was an ex addict that spent his life being the guardian to many addicts once he got clean and most of his friends were lost souls. The artwork shows the day in which one of his fathers closest friends went missing and they spent the whole day going to the normal places to find him. They drove into the ghetto and asked said prostitute if she’d seen the man. The photograph also shows the kid leaning back with his head up to show how uncomfortably and bizarre the interaction is for him. The father figures arm on the steering wheel suggests he’s the one looking at the woman and asking the questions.

I think it’s a pretty cool photo for the album cover, I prefer these much more personal takes on real life events. Especially for such a personal album like this one. As for the music, Deafheaven simply continue to perfect their sound while not missing in the process of doing so. This album connects New Bermuda with Infinite Granite and places a Ordinary Corrupt Human Love blanket over it all. Doing this sounds easier than it truly is, creating solid work after solid work while also progressing in sounds is an aspect of artistry that many simply do not achieve, let alone time after time.

(3) Fleshvessel - Obstinacy: Sisyphean Dreams Unfolded

The very far from correct cropping of the album art is probably the best first detail about Fleshvessel’s sophomore project. Why would you crop the tree in a way that it’s not correctly in view? The spacing of the red designs slapped on top is uneven, the bottom is more distanced from the edge. Yet I like it. The music is much like this, it’s uneven and has too many ideas and wants to showcase them all in the best way. A recipe for disaster surely. Well no, they’ve managed to keep all of these ideas tightly connected to a common thread that seems to work together. The sesame street vocals play off of the intricate synth use very well and immense variety in the harsh vocals feeds off the intricacy of the strings. The great production and wide range of tools in their belt push this album much further than it should’ve gone on paper.

(2) Hesse Kassel - La Brea

The soft beginning of La Brea builds into a gradual yet certain spiral down into madness right from massive opener “Postparto” with the whole intention and message of the song being displayed clearly and chaotically in the first 4 minutes. The remaining 6 minutes are simply for Hesse Kassel to show off their pristine production and beautifully constructed passages. The inflections provided by the saxophone and keys are never overused and remain as an added layer of texture for the already brilliantly constructed pacing of La Brea.

The almost defeated yet passionate delivery from Renatto in vocals on songs such as “Americana” elevates the project further, portraying a varied and enveloping frontman that’s not meeting eye to eye with the rest of Chilean culture or his love interests.

“En Tiempo Muerto” is a showcase to how well the musical passages are constructed and merged with the thematic message coming from the vocals. Overall and deeply acute and sharp experience that, even in it’s calmest moments, has you expectant to what could come in the next turn.

The beautiful thing of enjoying great musicians is knowing that they’re very much capable of showing that the apparent smoke screen is a facade to another twist that they knew you wouldn’t expect as you were coughing and straining your eyes trying to see the twist inside the original smoke screen, but you’re not complaining, you want to be tricked. It gives you a reason to come back better informed next time. Hesse Kassel are a band to keep an eye on, even if La Brea hasn’t captured you like it has me, they just might on their next one

(1) Shearling - Motherfucker, I Am Both: “Amen” and “Hallelujah”…

At long last my tender review

Grant me finally the audience of your attention

I have woven ideas from an artist’s sounds

And valued a poet’s sentence

Overrated each!

My idea is to praise.

As wheat is bound to grain

Overrated each, no more eloquently antisuncced.

Than smoke and steam are bound to shape

My thoughts are no less solid

Than the ideas that supposedly contains them

And horse has more say over reigns

Than the hope I have

Ever to explain them

And I’ve woven ideas from an artist’s sounds

And praised a poet’s sentence

But never have I revealed myself

Behind my master review.

This album caught me in a few ways. Firstly that title just fucking jumped out, grabbed me and shook me around with excitement as I knew, at the very least, this was going to be something different. Then the artwork further cemented this posture as I stared deeply into the ass of the fallen horse. This position suffered a crescendo when the first guitar riffs came in, exactly what the artwork and name would’ve had me expect. Or was it? No, not exactly. I was then attacked by Alex’s horrendous and psychotic vocal delivery of the first lines.

“Ok, whatever the fuck this is, I’m in for the ride” I told myself.

After the initial coming to terms with this experience it was time to simply sit back and enjoy the ride, cause this album is just that. The narration is excellently pushed forth by the vocal delivery which is as ecstatic at times as it is beautifully restrained at others.

The instrumentation merges and transforms from free jazz to progressive metal to doom and back to improv going straight through Godspeed You! Black Emperoresque horizons. At the 15 minute mark the chaos builds slowly into a powerful and sentimental doom influenced intonation, it’s both a great payoff for the first part of the story and a great way to bring things down intensity wise while also showing a whole different angle achieved from Shearling as a whole.

After a change of chapter in the story, at the 27 minute mark we receive a haunting baroque melody that slowly but surely builds into another loss of logic and reason. All of this builds up to the lyrics “He knows the relevance of whether or not I find his horseshoe prints. Embedded there upon the soil” which are absolutely terrifying.

The second half of this work consists of a gradual yet nerve inducing build up which holds the main narrative progression within it. It comes across simply as the rambles of a man that lost his mind a long time ago and he’s been screaming into the void hoping for it to have a light on the other side with someone there listening. We’re listening, but that doesn’t mean that we understand or can help.

Shearling have perfectly crafted everything I love about music into 62 minutes with absolutely no fat when you’re truly enveloped in the process. This album is not to be listened to at any time, it is best reserved for lonely nights with a glass of wine, the bible, incense burning in the background while doing taxidermy of dead thoughts that have been hidden for far too long. I am both “impressed” and “blown away”, motherfucker.

Meri’s list

Honourable Mentions

(10) Fleshvessel - Obstinacy: Sisyphean Dreams Unfolded

Completely whacky and unhinged but chock full of high quality licks and melodies. The falsettos are the make or break, and they didn’t break me. Because I’m not a pussy.

(9) Noise Trail Immersion - Tutta la Morte in un solo point

It’s more dissoshit, sure, but these Italians start with a foot on your throat and never let up. Absolutely vicious in the best way possible.

(8) Contemplation - Au bord du précipice

Slow, thoughtful, meaningful atmospheric death doom. I’m not sure why it gets really weird for one song, but apart from that bit, it’s pretty killer. The addition of dub brings an element of novelty to the table.

(7) Gonemage - Coldest Keep in Bitter Heavens

Garry Brents is a busy boy. Gonemage is his fun chiptune/black metal experiment and he nailed it this time around. Porcelain Glare features jumping sound effects amongst others, which just elevates the melodic black metal, which is of decent quality already.

(6) Agriculture - The Spiritual Sound

The guitar sound on this is just mint. Agriculture have crafted an interesting piece of art that ebbs and flows superbly throughout. Takes one too many forays into soft-cock cleans that miss a bit, but as a whole package it’s hard to ignore these guys as leaders in the scene.

(5) Floating - Hesitating Lights

I really appreciate the dedication to the post-punk riffage in concert with the superb vocal performance. Floating are real up and comers and nailed a few highly catchy songs this time around.

(4) Weeping Sores - The Convalescence Agonies

It’s Pyrrhon, but this time it is doomier. It’s hard to complain when the cello builds and breaks across the album while Doug unleashes a killer performance. The pacing is on point throughout - slow and plodding for the most part, but absolutely blasting when it needs to.

(3) Lychgate - Precipice

Late year entry, this gem demands repeat listens to truly unfold. Full of earworm licks and vocal hooks, it’s hard not to appreciate Greg and the boy’s efforts.

(2) Imperial Triumphant - Goldstar

It’s Imperial Triumphant, but shorter and sharper (which, as I always insist, is better - just ask Snyde’s mum). Not much to say, they have their sound and they deliver in spades. It was also killer seeing the trio blast some of these songs live in my little shithole of a “city” (with support from Convulsing, which was just fucking A).

(1) Deafheaven - Lonely People with Power

A phenomenal achievement by a band at the top of their game. The quintessential Deafheaven sound, blending their previous albums to showcase all their highlights. I will write more about the album when I add it into my topster next month, but suffice it to say, this has been on repeat all year. My last 3 YT Recap playlists are this album then a mixture of other stuff.

ScoopMeister’s list

Honourable Mentions

(10) Dormant Ordeal - Tooth and Nail

Dormant Ordeal delivering yet again on their trademark of dense, riffy, lightly blackened death metal. I don’t have much else to say, it’s just really good. Best track: “Halo of Bones”

(9) Agriculture - The Spiritual Sound

Big surprise, this. Right off the bat, “My Garden” hits you with a huge wall of dissonant riffage, and I’m immediately sold. From there the album opens up into some unexpected but always welcome places. The odd pacing born from the contrast between The Spiritual Sound’s vicious, blackened core and its frequent diversions into the spacious and ethereal might be difficult to digest at first. But it’s really worth persevering, because this can be a genuinely affecting experience at times. I might go on to regret not ranking it higher. Best track: “Bodhidharma”

(8) Battle Beast - Steelbound

It’s always nice to include at least one power metal-adjacent album that everyone else hates in my lists. This time it was the turn of Battle Beast, a band I have paid very little attention to up until now. So I didn’t know what to expect, but what I got was danceable fun in spades. And it’s always underpinned by Noora Louhimo’s excellent vocal performance, providing just enough grit to keep the cheese from becoming overpowering. Best track: “Twilight Cabaret”

(7) Retromorphosis - Psalmus Mortis

Being that Retromorphosis are essentially a reunion of one of the great tech death bands in Spawn of Possession, this album had a lot to live up to. And, thankfully, it mostly does. Featuring some of the year’s most impressive guitar work without ever sacrificing melody or memorability, Psalmus Mortis is just a hell of a fun time. It’s no Incurso, but then what is? I’m just glad they’re back. Best track: “The Tree”

(6) Proscription - Desolate Divine

Another one I was hotly anticipating thanks to the ripper that was 2020’s Conduit, Proscription have delivered a second excellent slab of blackened death metal that’s rabid yet still dripping with atmosphere. This genre is pretty much my go-to comfort music anyway, but with that said Proscription are still one of its best and brightest darkest proponents. Best track: “Gleam of the Morning Star”

(5) Omegavortex - Diabolic Messiah of the New World Order

Fucking feral. Hail Satan. Best tracks: “Dystopian Worldrape”/“World Extermination Agenda”

(4) Changeling - Changeling

There’s a lot going on in this album, thanks to main creative force Tom “Fountainhead” Geldschläger’s fretless guitar wizardry and the plethora of guest appearances across its hour-long runtime. It never feels like anything less than a single, cohesive whole, though, which is a testament to the effort that went into the composition on this thing. People who aren’t into guitar wankery or Morean’s distinctive vocals might struggle with this one, but those people are missing out. Best track: “Abyss”

(3) The Infinity Ring - Ataraxia

I was very much looking forward to this release after their last album left a surprisingly big impression on me back in 2023, and luckily I wasn’t disappointed. Anchored by Cameron Moretti’s brooding, Waits-y, Cave-ish, Cohen-ified vocal performance (I seriously can’t stress enough how much of a sucker I am for these kinds of vocals, so I’m not even going to try), The Infinity Ring’s sombre, slow-burning but eclectic mix of dark folk, goth, Americana, industrial, doom, and others captures my imagination in a way that little else can. Best tracks: “Obsidian”/“Elysium”

(2) Lychgate - Precipice

I’m still mad at Lychgate for waiting so late in the year to release this thing, as I haven’t had as much time as I would have liked to peel back its layers in the two weeks since it came out. Even so, it’s clear this is some of the best music I’ve heard in 2025. Dense but shockingly listenable thanks to the variety and expert pacing of its compositions, Precipice is clearly an album that rewards patience and repeat listens. And I’m looking forward to giving it just that in the coming months. Best track: “Hive of Parasites”

(1) Qrixkuor - The Womb of the World

Qrixkuor’s work has never really stuck with me before, but they hit on something special with this one, nailing the over-the-top cosmic horror vibe I didn’t know I was waiting for from a black metal album this year. The organic orchestral elements (no synths here) sound great, and the deliciously demented guest turn on the third track from Adorior’s Jaded Lungs is also particularly memorable. Equal parts nightmarish and beautiful, this is the perfect soundtrack for peering nervously over your shoulder while creeping through a dark, haunted theatre. Best track: “The Womb of the World”

Aker’s list

Honourable Mentions

(10) Hannah Frances - Nestled in Tangles

Amongst the noise (the weaving acoustics, orchestral interjections and classic prog rock deviations), there’s a counteracting clarity in Frances’ bittersweet and potently simple lyrics, (“Fear of everyone leaving keeps me leaving first” in the delicate, syrupy ‘Falling From and Further’) and clean and pure vocals (evoking Judee Sill and Joni Mitchell and a similar family of late 60s and early 70s mavericks). A rich and friendly listen.

(9) Goon - Dream 3

GOON blends experimental folk textures with slowcore’s heavy-soft tremors to conjure a world viewed from beyond the rabbit hole. Dream 3 is a dreamy, nightmarish, comforting oddball of an album that carries a surprising amount of depth in its genre bindle stick.

(8) Junior Brother - The End

The End is a mangled avant-folk minefield. Compared to 2022’s The Great Irish Famine, Junior Brother’s palate is denser. The End twists and turns and JB casts spells from some frothy, mangled swamp in a fairy-ring in Ireland’s heartland, embellishing his folky sound with avant touches more commonly heard in kraut and polka realms.

(7) Vangas - You Left Us in the Spring

New York based Vangas are the smelly, anxiety ridden agoraphobes of current noise-art-rock scene, the dark, transatlantic shadow of Black Country New Road, Squid, Legsss, and others that currently cling onto the maximalist absurdism of the Windmill scene. An unfair comparison, perhaps, as Vangas are closer to some US oddballs like Oxbow, Xiu Xiu and Swans. The general tone and mood of You Left Us In the Spring is unnerving. It’s an insight into an unstable mind. I’ve enjoyed its private chaos.

(6) Bambara - Birthmarks

A silver screen, film-noir dream-sequence, each song a sordid, sensual story transplanted into Bambara’s electro goth-rock method acting. The stories are presented as glossy and romanticised, upheld by the dreamy (but occasionally nightmarish) music, yet - digging into the language and pulling back the silver-screen - the lyrics are nasty, obsessive and fantasising. It’s this contrast and relationship that I find intriguing; Bambara pull it off very well. Birthmarks is an album that flows well and embeds an interesting unreliable narrative voice through each track.

(5) Deafheaven - Lonely People With Power

Masterfully balanced: Deafheaven at their deft best. Carefully chiselled emotive peaks and troughs encourage the dismality to breathe amidst its gazey pall of guitars and vocals. Tracks build, fizz, rock and explode at the perfect time. No needless edging or quick-fire spurts of naivety here. Not too dissimilar from New Bermuda and that’s a good thing. George Clarke’s cadence and delivery timing is exceptional; it’s an integral lubricant that prevents the Deafheaven machine from stalling. Overall just an impressive release and a band working in total depressive harmony.

(4) Imperial Triumphant - Goldstar

After stumbling and struggling with the follow up to the exceptional Alphaville, I expected a steady downward trajectory for Imperial Triumphant - a subtle decline, still good, but never capturing the shining zenith that was Alphaville. I’ve been pleasantly surprised: Goldstar reaches a similar nirvana. Though there are re-hashes of sound (the manic wails of the Yoshiko Ohara erupting mid-album, the vintage jingles and similar iconography) Goldstar is underpinned by some of the grooviest sections in IT’s discography. Goldstar is rhythmically more uniform and driven more confidently by percussive playfulness and foregrounding. Tracks flow, slip and slide like a velvety drag. At best, it evokes Gorguts’ “Nostalgia” filtered through an avant-black lens. A wonderful surprise.

(3) Tropical Fuck Storm - Fairyland Codex

Tropical Fuck Storm are a motley crew and their music a rag-tag concoction, often (seemingly) undisciplined, loose and erratic. A band on the verge of a breakdown, of standing at the precipice of their gravelly, spit-and-sawdust punk-blues and diving into a psychotic episode of noise and anti-music. They don’t, though. TFS always keep one foot in reality: within the confines of a blues groove, a folk essence, a rock and roll crank. In Fairyland Codex, their sound is tethered to a frailer whipping post. There are the typically punchy, bustling romps, brawls and loony escapades; there are also, and Fairyland Codex’s strongest points, arresting stretches of solitude and sparsity. ‘Fairyland Codex’ - rooted at the album’s heart - and ‘Moscovium’ - anchored to its tail - are creeping, fantastical beasts.

(2) YHWH Nailgun - 45 Pounds

Inflamed twitch fibres melt in this robotic death dance. I haven’t heard anything this peculiar for a long while. YHWH Nailgun take the frenetic throb of industrial music and modulate it through a math-punk-art-hardcore neuro-dream machine. 45 Pounds is fun. Amongst the horror, there’s silliness. Arcade machine bleeping intermittently raises its hand in ‘Sickle Walk’. The ridiculous drumming as a whole, so constantly sounding like pots, pans and domestic appliances, roots 45 Pounds in goofiness. The faux-soul vocal break in ‘Ultra Shade’ is abruptly amusing. The band must be aware of this. Discomfort and pleasure co-exist, which makes 45 Pounds such an invigorating album.

(1) Agriculture - The Spiritual Sound

The Spiritual Sound is split down the middle. Two modes, two songwriters. First, a caterwaul of abrasive, melodic and dissonant noise in the pre “The Spiritual Sound” half. Bassist/vocalist Leah Levinson’s half, rooted in the frenzied realism of urban life, is a frenzy. Then, the abstract spiritual sound. A meditation and levitation into a space that tries to make sense of the day-to-day chaos of the first half. This is guitarist/vocalist Dan Meyer’s half, an introspective dream-nightmare. I understand arguments that bemoan The Spiritual Sound’s forceful pivot, especially as the fury and energy of the first half is palpable and then discarded. I think it bravely works and ties disparate features extremely well.

Planex’s list

Honorable Mentions

(10) Curta’n Wall - georgie and the dragon

Abysmal Specter seems to have taken a step back in 2025. Long gone is the release schedule of 2020 where he released a 20 minute raw black metal demo under a different name every few weeks, but interestingly, gone also are the higher effort full-lengths. This 23 minute RAW Curta’n Wall release from April and the Old Nick - The “Where Poison Apples Grow” EP from January are the only solo Abysmal Specter releases all year. I wouldn’t put either of these in the GSR hall of fame, but both are enjoyable if not slightly unsatisfying releases. “georgie and the dragon” snuck into the bottom of my list more as a result of not having any other better choices rather than highest praise.

Still, it fits a very specific niche for me of being the exact length of my commute and being simple enjoyable music that’s easy to hit play on. “YR GWYDDBWYLL”, the previous Curta’n Wall release was a big miss for me. It lacked the riffy black metal edge that made “Siege Ubsessed!” so compelling and we were left with nothing but rotten peasant drunken tavern warbling power metal. I was shocked and delighted to see a total 180 on “georgie and the dragon” which is much more in-line with the pre-Ubsessed! demos like “Crocodile Moat!!!!!!!” or “Terr’ble Death”. It’s RAW, Abysmal Specter’s vocal performance is as great as ever, it has dungeon synth breakdowns, all of the right ingredients are here. Now we just have to wait for beautiful songs like ‘triple flail’ to get redone on a high effort full-length. Until then, “georgie and the dragon” remains mostly a success of circumstance in my listening this year.

(9) Ancient Death - Ego Dissolution

I like this album more than I respect it. “Ego Dissolution” is OSDM. Everything you like about is here. It’s written efficiently, hitting every moment you would want from this album without any meandering down overly strange and offputting paths. It’s agonizingly mature for a debut album. Where’s the charming experimentation? The production is too perfect! Where do you go from here? These musicians are obviously very talented and they’ve made a good death metal album.

I didn’t know it until recently, but I saw frontman Jerry Witunsky of Ancient Death rip through Atheist’s classics on stage with Kelly Schaefer at Shredfest 2025 where he nailed all the leads from Unquestionable Presence with a huge smile on his face. That set was my favorite show all year, and I too love Atheist, but Atheist took risks 30 years ago to achieve their legendary status. There’s no risks here, just a freakishly strong foundation. I hope Ancient Death can find ways to challenge themselves in the future.

(8) Martröð - Draumsýnir Eldsins

Icelandic BM bands need to stop releasing in December god dammit. I still feel like I never gave Misþyrming’s “Með hamri” the listens it deserved solely due to it’s December 16th release back in 2022. Lychgate might suffer the same fate. Martröð ends up here almost speculatively as I’ve only listened to it 3 times but it fucking rips every time so far so I’m betting I’ll continue to think this. Scenes are pretty much dead but the culture shift hasn’t reached the remote island yet so they continue to cross-pollinate the twisted evil frenzy of blackened hell between the 20 bands of the same 7 people.

(7) FM Skyline & Equip - Music 2

Vaporwave and synthwave did not have a strong presence in my 2025 listening. This was the only one to grab me, thanks to a rec from @Snyde. “Music 2” funks, grooves, and bounces in the general vicinity of classic SNES game soundtracks while still sounding modern and fresh. When I wanted a break from the blast beats, I was reaching for “Music 2” every time. As a bonus functional plus, it’s nice to have a new album you can throw to the bluetooth speaker at work without people asking you to “turn that shit off.” This one will stick around on the phone mp3 library for a long time.

(6) Imperial Crystalline Entombment - Abominable Astral Summoning

THEY CONTINUE TO BE FUCKING ICE. FREEZING COLD. YOUR SKIN IS TURNING BLUE. Perfect marriage of aesthetic and sound. “Abominable Astral Summoning” is basically the same album as “Ancient Glacial Resurgance” but that’s fine because they’re STILL FUCKING ICE.

(5) Imperial Triumphant - Goldstar

Imperial Triumphant are the smartest guys in extreme metal. Achieving their current level of mainstream notoriety with songs like ‘Hotel Sphinx’ is unheard of. People get drawn in by the Slipknot masks, art deco visuals, and the novel allure of mixing jazz with blackened death metal. If you just wanted attention, maybe you’d do the same thing. Imperial Triumphant is more than these gimmicks. These aspects are Imperial Triumphant, not stylish accessories to dress their intentions. A dumber, more cynical band would never include an interpretation of Handel’s “Sarabande” as the main riff of “Hotel Sphinx”.

A lesser group of artists wouldn’t have the capacity for a video interview where they tour the Chrysler building professing their love for its magnificence, down to small details of the materials of interior walls. “Goldstar” is astonishingly approachable from a band who’ve declared Portal’s “Ion” to be their holy scripture, and has managed the near-impossible feat of making twisted extremity catchy and memorable. This still doesn’t surpass “Alphaville”, but it’s a total success and a very deserving last ever album to be recorded in the legendary Menegroth, the Thousand Caves (RIP). Imperial Triumphant deserve everything and more.

(4) Species - Changelings

Put simply, this is the best tech thrash album in almost a decade. Species are fluid, surprising, and natural. From riff to riff, groove to groove, changeup to changeup, they teeter but don’t fall over. “Changelings” coaxes a grin from my face over and over with fun, playful writing that skillfully dodges the common tech thrash pitfalls of excess and sterility.

(3) DIM - Dark Age Decadence

Since being mystified and gripped by his 2022 album “Steeped Sky, Stained Light”, I’ve been wanting to live in the world painted by DIM. Perhaps the only transcendent dungeon synth artist, his arrangements are unique and thoughtful in a way I can’t say about any other. He’s shifted styles from genre-defining classic dungeon synth to energetic evolutions, to contemplative ambient, to experimental electronic, all while maintaining an unmistakable signature style. If you’ve listened to his others, it’s very obvious that “Dark Age Decadence” is different.

Or is it? Clearly something is different because this is the introduction of raw, evil, trem picked, 2nd wave black metal ferocity. Yet, it feels like this was always just beneath the surface, bubbling up from below. Having listened to every DIM album multiple times now, there’s this undercurrent of darkness at the edges that was being restrained. On my first listen of “Dark Age Decadence”, on the wonderful ‘The Weeping’, the idiosyncratic lush arrangement gives way to the darkness. “Finally” I thought, as though I always knew this was going to happen. “Dark Age Decadence” is a beautiful and intense purge of black bile as penance to return to holiness.

(2) Suffering Hour - Impelling Rebirth

I have the same experience on every listen to “Impelling Rebith” ＰＬ▲ＮＥＸ — 10/18/2025 1:41 PM np: Suffering Hour - Impelling Rebirth ＰＬ▲ＮＥＸ — 10/18/2025 1:51 PM goddayum This thing’s got riffs. Riffs and riffs and riffs and riffs. Riffing on a level to provoke emotional response. It’s thrashier, it’s more intense. People say it’s dissoshit but it’s dissoriffs. Goddayum.

(1) Deafheaven - Lonely People With Power

I didn’t expect to like this album. Not from trve-kvlt elitism, which I’m not opposed to, nor any aversion to post-black / blackgaze. “Sunbather” is fine, the other Deafheaven albums I’ve heard left no impact on me. “Lonely People With Power” hit me first as a really solid metal album. Songs like ‘Revelator’ got my neck moving enough to prompt a revisit. What I found on my next listen was that moment that I hope everyone knows intimately, that moment that makes listening to new music worth it. That elusive, magical moment where I knew I would be listening to this album a lot. I then proceeded to spin “Lonely People With Power” about once a week for the next 7 months, obsessively reading the lyrics, interpreting the themes, staring at the album art, buying the gatefold double vinyl. This is really something special, and I may not have listened to it were it not for the spreadsheet. The Vortex is a treasure and the rewards are priceless.

strawberrydeluxe’s list

Honorable Mentions

(11) Stimulant - Sub-Normal

Rising from the ashes of powerviolence powerhouse Water Torture, Stimulant continues to separate themselves from the sludginess of their former selves with this brief but battering album. This is their fastest and bassiest record, they manage to make the most out of a guitar/drums duo while still having a (comparatively) good tonal clarity. What can I say, I love when a grind band has songs that go from fast to faster.

(10) Algernon Cadwallader - Trying Not to Have a Thought

For their first album after a ten-year hiatus, Algernon Cadwallader went back to their original lineup and bashed it out in a handful of bicoastal jam sessions. In one interview, guitarist Joe Reinhart describes the album as being what he imagines would be the album they released 14 years after sophomore album, Parrot Flies, regardless of how many albums were released in between, and that certainly makes sense to me. The interlocking noodly guitars, simple drums, and yelping emo vocals are all present, but there’s a kind of maturity and intentionality that comes with age. What isn’t present are the abstract lyrics, and I’m on the fence there; I appreciate that they would write a song about the Philadelphia Police Department’s 1985 bombing of the MOVE house, but the execution is pretty clunky. On the other hand, “Hawk” is a beautiful and touching tribute to a dead friend. It’s far from their best album but it proves they still know how to be Algernon.

(9) Anthony Naples - Scanners

Anthony has a weird way about him where he’ll go years releasing decent downtempo albums in between banging hour-long tech house bangers. But if all that mid is necessary to get something as good as Scanners I won’t complain. The drums aren’t booming yet thump hard, blurring the line between ostentatious dance music and something that’s appropriate for casual headphone listening. Acid synths abound in songs that are not as one-note as they first seem, a lot of care was put into fleshing out the tracks with atmospheric pads and filters that subtly tweak the synths and drums. I don’t know what the album cover is, but somehow this sounds like that album cover.

(8) Momma - Welcome to My Blue Sky

Pretty much everything I said about the Wishy EP applies here. I liked their previous album well enough but they struck gold here with twelve ridiculously catchy grungy power pop songs straight out of the Veruca Salt/Letters to Cleo playbook. Certified minivan road trip music. I don’t think I’ve been happier for a band than when I heard “I Want You (Fever)” on the local rock radio station. Someone get these gals on tour with Foo Fighters right away.

(7) Baths - Gut

I once saw someone posit that the reason why Abysma and Traversa were released under Will Wiesenfeld’s Geotic moniker rather than Baths is that each Baths album has to be gayer than the last, and those weren’t very gay. They may be onto something because this is, as Will has admitted, disgustingly gay, leaning into “feelings that are not comfortable or good” and accepting those as part of yourself. In other words, it’s a therapy album without being A Therapy Album. This is the first time guitars and live drums have been this prominent in one of his albums, tapping a mid-2000s indie rock vein while still sounding undeniably like Baths with lush strings, piano, and multi-tracked falsettos. Violent, ugly, beautiful.

(6) Ata Kak - Batakari

Ata Kak made an album in his 30’s that didn’t go anywhere, so he stepped away from music. In his 50’s some white guy tells him that that album is a hit online and asks permission to repress it. It takes off like wildfire, selling thousands of copies and inadvertently making the label Awesome Tapes From Africa successful in the process. Over the last ten years he’s played to sold-out venues around the world. This, his first collection of new music in 31 years, seems to be an auditory manifestation of the gratitude he has for all the people who have danced and jumped around and shrieked to his Twi raps. Twenty six minutes of unbridled joy. There is much pain in the world, but not in this room.

(5) Erosion - Invasive Species

Erosion is a crust band from Vancouver and features 3/4ths of Baptists (another crust band from Vancouver) on different instruments. Their 2018 record was good, about the same as anything by Baptists, but that’s about all I felt. Flipping to this new record though is like getting punched in the face for 24 minutes straight. The best crust bands know how important tempo changes are, and Erosion have that on lock; the way “Celebrations of Dominance” starts fast as a fake-out, goes to a slow-ass d-beat, then right back up to fast tremolo riffs shows that these fine young gentlemen are the real deal, not some snot nosed kids who found out about Dystopia on TikTok and have never heard Monument to Thieves because it isn’t on Spotify. An album with a song called “Only Cowards Bomb Children” should be the angriest thing you’ve heard all week, and this certainly lives up to that challenge.

(4) Caustic Wound - Grinding Mechanism of Torment

When I started my current job and found out they had two fleet trucks with tape decks, I dubbed a few cassettes with albums I liked but wanted to spend more time with, one of which was Caustic Wound’s first album, Death Posture. I proceeded to listen to it dozens of times while driving to and from inspections all around the county, getting intimately familiar with its blasts, deathgrind riffs, and breakdowns. Seeing a new Caustic Wound album on the horizon, I had to steel myself against making unfair comparisons to their fantastic debut. Luckily, it only took three listens for my fears to be assuaged: this album bangs. Casey Moore’s drumming is on point as always, the drop-B riffs are catchy, pinch harmonics are peppered tastefully throughout, and the mix of low and high vocals keep things interesting. What this album has that Death Posture does not is “…Into Cold Deaf Universe,” a track that ends with three minutes of nonstop blasting and dive bombs. If they have to take another five years to figure out how to top that, then so be it, I’ll be ready.

(3) Gelli Haha - Switcheroo

Synthpop that is outwardly silly but has a melancholic core, produced by one of the De Lux guys (which would explain why so many of the synths sound similar), long enough to feel substantial but short enough to make me immediately want to restart it from the top once the last track fades out into stardust. Each song is catchy and dance-worthy in its own way, from the mutant disco “Spit” to the aerobics workout of “Tiramisu” to the “chugga chugga chugga chugga"s of standout track “Bounce House.” The production is incredibly rich and detailed but I wouldn’t call it dense, they know exactly how to layer instruments so there are only brief (and intentional) moments of overwhelm. Gelli makes curlicues of her voice to add to the cartoonish nature of the music, and her falsetto can be both angelic (“Funny Music”) and birdlike (“Gelliverse”). I have to give a special shout to “Pluto is Not a Planet it’s a Restaurant,” breaking away from the irreverence of the previous 30 minutes to get vulnerable with her repeated refrain of first “I accept” and then “I’m afraid,” like the point in a drafty night where you’re uninhibited enough to tell your friends that you’re actually not doing well and you need help.

(2) Punter - Australienation

2025 saw me getting further disillusioned and frankly bored of the hardcore punk scene, what with the trite lyrics about unity and fake friends and instrumentals that fall into two camps: those that refuse to do something that Minor Threat didn’t do 40 years ago, and those that are in a pissing contest to see who can play the breakdown that brings out the most crowdkilling. Listening to Punter is a refreshing reminder of why I ever got into punk in the first place, and it’s certainly not any of the aforementioned hardcore-isms. Guitarist/vocalist Nathan Burns seethes about the usual punk shit (those who are destroying the planet for their own benefit, state violence, people who blather on about nothing, pubs, phone bad, etc) but with a righteous fury that’s impossible to fake. There’s an abundance of piss and vinegar but also lots of melody, flashy guitar work, and unexpected turns (like the bagpipe solo in the first song, what the fuck?). I could tell right away that this is a modern punk classic on the level of Career Suicide’s Attempted Suicide. Maybe it’s a commonwealth state thing.

(1) Trauma Bond - Summer Ends. Some Are Long Gone

I’d been hotly anticipating a new Trauma Bond album ever since hearing their sophomore album, Winter’s Light, back in 2022. That was some sort of artsy grind/metalcore record with a fair amount of industrial elements and nods to Converge and Pig Destroyer. This is all that and more. This was a lock for the top spot on my list for the entire year, yet every time I tried writing about it I felt like I couldn’t do it justice. The issue is that every listen incites such a visceral reaction I can’t think clearly. The opening track starts off sounding like a horror movie trailer with whispered vocals reciting some sort of poem: “Breaking of waves, crushing of bones/Hands out to the infinite blue/Break like the ocean upon my head/Weight of comforting anchors/Brushed by the storm, salt draws the skin/Tension blistering”. Instruments and drums pound, the lyrics repeat, and it ends back where it starts with some faint guitar strings rattling and vocalist Eloise Chong-Gargette barking. Then “Good Grief” explodes with blast beats, mathcore riffs, and vicious harsh vocals, setting the stage for the next twenty minutes. Something you will quickly pick up on is how low in the mix the vocals are, but this is no accident and the key to understanding is in that first song. This is the sound of being suffocated by events beyond your control. You can be pissed off and fight back but it won’t do you any good. And that in itself is reason to be pissed off. Acceptance of some sort can finally be found at the end of the album in the form of a 9-minute sludge metal song. Hands out to the infinite blue.

Tarbeaux’s list

(10) Species – Changelings

Planex said this was probably the best thrash album since Terminal Redux, and that might be true and a bit sad. It’s very derivative: sometimes it sounds like Vektor, sometimes like Death, Cynic, or Voivod, but never quite like something unique that transcends its inspirations. Still, there’s no denying it’s hugely enjoyable, with riffs so good I’m not even mad they desecrated Chuck’s tomb to summon him and steal his last one. This is definitely a band to follow, in the hope they eventually crack the code and release the next great thrash album. Though they really shouldn’t try clean vocals on the next one. Favorite track: Born of Stitch and Flesh

(9) Messa – The Spin

I’m a bit disappointed by this album. It starts with three amazing tracks and makes you think they nailed the post-punk doom mix, but then it never manages to reach that level again. I think the more energetic tracks are the best, while the longer doomy ones drag on a bit and fall flat. Still, the singer’s voice has always been this band’s strongest point, and she’s still amazing. The production is great, and I appreciated the creativity. Favorite track: At Races

(8) Viagra Boys – Viagra Boys

I have a question for you 🤔 : is your favorite album of the year the one you’ve listened to the most? Because Viagra Boys is my most-played album of 2025 (and second overall behind Garbage s/t), despite being quite flawed. The band straddles the line between catchy tunes (Man Made of Meat) and annoying experimentation (Best in Show Part IV). Same for the lyrics: they alternate between cringe (you n33d me) and clever (Uno II, from the dog’s POV), sometimes within the same song. Still, I couldn’t get some of the tracks, especially the first three, out of my head all year. It’s a pretty radio-friendly record that’s easy to listen to in the car, while working, or with friends, with some energetic dance-punk songs that remind me of The Hives. They also manage to sneak in interesting details here and there: a funky bass line, some brass sections… Ultimately, this album is a bit of a guilty pleasure. It’s clearly not great, but it’s plenty enjoyable. Favorite track: Uno II

(7) Tropical Fuck Storm – Fairyland Codex

I never really vibed that much with TFS before, too disjointed and chaotic at times, and I’m not a fan of the main singer’s voice. Well, I got lucky, because he let the two women in the band sing entirely on some songs for the first time, and it was a great decision. They bring a different energy, more variation, and make the album catchier to the ears. I also saw the band live and was pretty impressed (less so by the completely drunk old fart in front of us who fell off his stool and knocked himself unconscious). An album I didn’t really expect to like, but one that won me over with its off-beat rock and quirkiness. Favorite track: Bloodsport

(6) JID – God Does Like Ugly

Sure, it’s not as good as The Forever Story, which will go down as one of the best rap albums of the past five years, but I still thoroughly enjoyed JID’s latest output. The beats are still great, I love his flow, and there are some hype tracks like Glory and Work, you’ll have an overall good time listening to this album. It’s unfortunately a bit too long and loses steam as it goes on, but I ended up listening to it quite a lot, and seeing the tracks live was also a nice experience. Favorite track: Glory

(5) Zeicrydus – La Grande Hérésie

Zeycrideus, a one-man band by the apparently infamous quebecous Philippe Tougas, manages to revive old Hellenic black metal and blend it with power-metal riffage, for a result that apparently only I truly enjoyed on the Vortex. Maybe some of you need Zeus in your life. You get some of the dankest synths of the year with sick riffs, but what really shines is the amazing bass, going absolutely wild with lead sections over galloping guitars. So don’t be a stoic and come have fun in the Acropolis pit. Another surprise, but a welcome one. Favorite track: Profane Spells & Naked Swords in the Emerald Meadows of Nhaath

(4) Exterior Planet – Haragma II

I’m a bit surprised not to see this album more often in year-end lists. The execution is overall brilliant, aside from the messy first track. The album really gets better and better as it goes along, culminating in an amazing closing track where the band displays musicianship and compositional chops of the highest level. Every time I listen to this album, it strikes me as a mix between Mgła and Voivod, and I’m very happy with the results. I love the intensity and the flow, and the production is solid too. It’s so cool to discover and fall for an unexpected band like this. Favorite track: Herecleaide

(3) Agriculture – The Spiritual Sound

Agriculture waste no time and go full throttle with My Garden, which apparently is used to grow sick-ass (almost nu-metal) riffs. Another band I didn’t expect to drop some massive ooga-booga, but here we are. Learning that the album is composed in two halves makes sense, and overall I think I prefer the black-metal one, but there’s no doubt the most impactful and impressive track is the trance-inducing Bodhidharma. I can’t wait to experience these guys live. Overall, it’s a very similar experience to Deafheaven, but both are equally likeable. Very impressed with the increase in maturity compared to the previous album, and stoked to see what they can do in the future. Favorite track: Bodhidharma

(2) Deafheaven – Lonely People with Power

While not reaching the emotional heights of Ordinary Corrupt Human Love, Deafheaven compensate with their most aggressive album to date. From the first track, you’re glad they left behind the failed experiment of Infinite Granite, because they clearly still had some angst left in them. I think the balance between calmer moments with clean vocals and the more violent sections is handled well, like on Heathens. A lot of people have already explained very well why this is a great album, so I won’t go on for much longer—and that’s why it was the easy AOTY… until Body Behaviour, which would have been a great conclusion. Unfortunately, you then have to sit through the worst interlude on the album, completely ruining the flow, followed by two OK tracks that bring nothing new to the experience. Shame. Favorite track: Revelator

(1) Lychgate – Precipice

Let’s go to the crypt-ypt, let’s go get away. The vibes on this new Lychgate are immaculate; they make me want to revamp my cave as a gothic vault. The arrangements and interplay between the organ and the guitars are very subtle and shine throughout an album that reveals new layers of creativity in its composition with every replay. Lychgate strikes the perfect balance between accessibility and complexity, helped by some massive riffs that take center stage in certain songs like Terror Silence. The obvious standout is Hive of Parasites, sure, but I won’t lie: Lychgate playing a thrash riff makes me happy, which explains my song of choice. Tight transitions and good pacing make for an album that’s easy to relisten to and a pleasure to dive into. In the short time it’s been out, I’ve already spun it four times, and it’s very hard to fault. They released something special that I think will be more widely recognized as time passes. Favorite track: Terror Silence

Goldi’s list

My list is now complete. Thank you all for a great year at the Vortex. This can often be a frustrating place, but I know of no other community dedicated to music for musics sake, with genuine appreciation and interest in learning more. It’s been a pleasure listening with all of you, and I look forward to continuing that in the wide world of 2026.

Now, we don’t do singles here, but I do have a Song of the Year, that was to my chagrin, released as a single. The only reason I heard it was because a coworker played it in an attempt to play something I hadn’t heard before. And, because it was a single, I hadn’t, even though I am well familiar with the band. That song is “8.6 Blackout” by Disembodied Tyrant. This track is a crazy high watermark in the deathcore genre, and has one of the best breakdowns I’ve ever heard it in (and I like my crazy fucking breakdowns.) I encourage you to click play on this bad boy as you begin the lengthy task of scrolling through my inane ramblings and wild-eyed crazy talk.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sXFBFGFmMoQ

(20) Abu Lahab - In the Cisterns of Kajamānu

Music of no reference point. Nothing else this year gave me such a feeling of discovering something completely unknown to me, of arriving in a new world of zero familiarity, where everything I saw seemed packed with dense histories I knew nothing about. That is the feeling I crave the most. Abu Lahab is not noise in the traditional, spectral density sense, but in the cacophonous sense, of many strange and alien sounds happening at once, evoking something genuinely disturbing with long-lasting discomfiture. If anyone has recommendations for more of this, please let me know – I would like to indulge this sickness.

(19) Uranium - Corrosion of Existence

The heaviest album of the year. Uranium is as heavy as Elephant’s Foot, a fused mass of black industrial, death-doom, and goregrind. It’s the total inverting of ambient music, instead of listening closely for nuance in the stillness, you are desperately trying to find meaning in the bludgeoning. Nothing else to say. Get wrecked.

(18) 夢遊病者 - РЛБ30011922

A biography in one part, РЛБ30011922 is an epistolary album, containing the wordless letters and memoirs of a lost soul, and like a life lived, it is long, complicated, and varied, and it is forgotten as it happens. Sleepwalker’s dreamlike music is like no other, and like a dream, contains flashes of everything, but in the end, was nothing but a wakeless hallucination, and yet forever haunting. Some of the best work this decade has been done by Sleepwalker and this is no exception.

(17) Kara-Lis Coverdale - From Where You Came

The most recent Animal Crossing game had a different piece of music for each hour of the day, attuned to the mood and feel of that hour. The best one was 5:00am, a work of piano ambient that has become near and dear to me. Coverdale’s album is better at most hours than that soundtrack was. Progressive electronic miniatures, initially human, turn increasingly synthetic until no organic element remains by the end of the album, and all the while, sublimely gorgeous and introspective. One of the best nocturnal soundtracks I’ve encountered. Not quite better than the 5:00am music, however.

(16) Sanguisugabogg - Hideous Aftermath

Music is my animator, and nothing marionettes my decrepit form like Sanguisugabogg, yanking sinew along to jagged rhythms, snapping bones into place again and again. Hideous Aftermath is an album for the musculature, pumping adrenal brutality out to the extremities. Of special note: Cody Davidson’s drumwork, wringing detailed and intricate groove out of the pounding. This was my gym music of 2025, and consider it my top deathcore album this year, even though it’s not.

(15) Grenadier - Wolves of the Trench

Turns out all you have to do to make good melodic death metal is be racist. Wait, that’s the other band. Or is it? Grenadier beats an unceasing march of triumphant violence and conquest, scored to constant harmonious melodies, and historical document narration with brilliant animalistic inflection. The music owes no little debt to Bolt Thrower – not as insightful, but just as fun.

(14) Gwenifer Raymond - Last Night I Heard the Dog Star Bark

The first musical language I learned to speak was the guitar’s. So it speaks in richer tongues, deeper evocations, and lovelier prose than any other to me. Raymond is one of the best writers in that language today, and like the other masters, balks the name of the discipline to create works of technicality and expression of wide expanse and revelation, all purely on the primitive guitar. This was the best work of my treasured genre this year among several quality entries.

(13) Weeping Sores - The Convalescence Agonies

I dug more death-doom than ever this year, and Doug Moore death-doom was the best. As a true artist he’s poured more blood and sweat than anyone into some of the genre’s best works of all-time, at the forefront of the frontier of experimentation and development in an exhausted scene. Convalescence is a deeply personal work, of defeat, anger, regret, and grief, one that only doom metal could depict. The last decade or so will be remembered as a high watermark of funeral and death-doom, and they are honored to have Moore among their ranks.

(12) Ethel Cain - Perverts

Prayer is many different things. The materialists call it meditation, the secularists, contemplation, mystics say it is communication, and believers know the truth: it is silence. Sometimes, the silencing is of yourself, and what remains is all the greater, and sometimes the silencing is of everything else, and you are all you that’s left. Perverts is an album of prayer, and an album of many different silences. At its most literal, Ethel Cain serves as a guide to quiet seclusion and its introspection, forcing self-reflection by the absence of distraction, where you, the listener, haunt yourself.

At its most literary, Perverts is a verb in the Dantean sense, where all vice is inverted virtue, corrupted by sin into perversions of the good and the graceful. Here those virtues, of love and closeness, are mirrored in musical counterpart, beautiful tones stretched into agonizing distances, quiet dark romance into regretful dirge, love into pleasure and pleasure into masturbation. Some of the songs are hymns, both antiquated and modern, profound in their uncomfortable earnestness, and some are worshipful, yet it is unclear if that worship is in hope or in despair. This is an album to spend time alone with.

(11) Agriculture - The Spiritual Sound

Holy shit, what an opener. Agriculture scratched itches I didn’t know I had with a berserker mathcore assault first punch, and never stops surprising from beginning to end. I will never get tired of the blastbeats over bubblegum pop punk, or sunbleached skronky post-rock, or finding a beautiful folk memory hidden away inside the raging maelstrom. The old, wise saying had it right: “I love the spiritual sound of ecstatic black metal band Agriculture.”

(10) Ghost - Skeletá

Ghost’s worst album still kicks ass. Allow me to explain. Skeletá picks up where Impera and the late entry to Seven Inches of Satanic Panic, “The Future Is a Foreign Land”, left off, in the post-apocalypse after man has destroyed the world. The tracks here explore finding meaning in Satan in a fallen world, the love and unity that will raise up the Antichrist. And so they enter their poppiest and blasphemous sound yet, a fusion of AOR love ballads and hair metal, for their widest audience yet (me). Ghost has been steadily improving on writing albums that tell stories across each song, and the expansion of their grand narrative and lore on this one is fascinating. I hope you saved your groan during that passage for this: we’re going track by track, motherfucker.

“Peacefield”

This is the best song on this album, introducing the conceit: despite the destruction of civilization at the hands of godly men, there is a calling back, a light in the darkness to return to. The chorus here is among their most compelling, and declares this will not be a heavy album, but an album of love stories, across the scattered remains of the earth, the children are coming back.

“Lachryma”

The first of the love stories, “Lachryma” is about the acceptance, and thereby negation, of guilt, turning away from former devotions and back to the light. This has a particularly good instance of my favorite lyrical technique, long phrases where the final words change the meaning, done here in two different ways with “I’m done crying”. Now, I admit here that the guitar tone is indeed bad. Oh well.

“Satanized”

This one is pretty obvious. It’s still a great song, a successor of sorts to “Spillways”, which is also one of their best. I initially thought this was a cliched idea for Ghost to return to, but in the context of the album it takes on new life as a love story from within the church institution, a tale of the struggles of homosexuality, and plus they actually haven’t ever done this angle before. It just seems like they would’ve already.

“Guiding Lights”

I will unashamedly defend the first three tracks as excellent entries in Ghost’s incredibly strong discography. Now we begin some more impassioned defenses that will test my abilities a bit more. In earnest: a believer on deathbed is too far gone to tell his loved ones he sees nothing at the end of his belief. This is a great, regretful ballad of yearning, and it’s biggest problem is that it ends too soon – it really feels like this one is missing a verse or two, the production burying what should be an angelic choir into a confused mush. It was great while it lasted.

“De Profundis Borealis”

Progressive rock! In a callback to “Lachryma”, DPB paints a world frozen in tears of guilt and regret, and promises there is still a way out. Where the choir failed on “Guiding Lights”, here it succeeds, the whole song functioning as a slow, marching call to arms, and this song achieves a really uncanny emotion between hope and militance.

“Cenotaph”

Welcome to side 2. “Cenotaph” opens with the dawn promised in DPB, and finally re-enters the traditional Ghost concept. The light that we’ve been returning back to is fire, the relief from tragic guilty life promised is hell, and we will love our own burning. The riding motif, from a galloping stride to a lyrical refrain, is reminiscent of the love ballad to a well-known vice to marijuana in “Mary on a Cross”. Notice how prominently the keyboard is featured here – it will be important as the fire grows.

“Missilla Amori”

Okay, so Ghost has a stinker on most albums. This one is Skeleta’s; standing with its bummer brothers “Mummy Dust” and “Twenties”. Conceptually, this one rocks, as the facade fully drops to reveal the evil in the ruler of hell, and so the love and the popularity is now turned to hate. Papa cums on your face, which fucking kills you. It’s a sticky landing, but it doesn’t stick the landing. Still, the first verse is really good.

“Marks of the Evil One”

So, now we know the light we returned to is evil. Now our death is revealed. The four horsemen of the apocalypse, which we thought we were leaving, are here to reap the souls – oh, and the third rider looks cool. The survivors of the apocalypse, now abandoning their faiths and lives, are harvested by the riders of that very apocalypse. This song is pretty great already, but what kicks it up another notch – the Ghoulette harmonies on “serpent’s layair”.

“Umbra”

Now is the moment of your death. It’s been a good run, watching the lives of others be given over to the deceiver, and then lost eternally. Your turn. This is an exemplary demonstration of Ghost’s true theologies behind all the illustrations and dramatics: at the end of faith there is nothing but death. This is another progressive rock song, here the concept succeeds “Guiding Lights” in the deathbed rejection of one faith for nothing, and as the song rises to meet its concept, the whole thing culminates in a wild dueling guitar and keyboard solo depicting death. It’s a triumph, is it not? The End.

“Excelsis”

The third and final Ghost classic, that of sympathy for the devil. This is one of their best works of Luciferian perspective, warring the war against all himself to understand the fallen angel, and the pursuit of surpassing creation itself. Here, Lucifer admits defeat, not above his own deception after all, still pulling whatever he can down with him. There are few last album lines better than the devil himself muttering “I am afraid of eternity too.” There you have it. Those who know me know I am easily baited by others disliking what I hold in high esteem, and it is hard for me to acknowledge there is legitimacy to their views. So I wanted to write at-length about what may be my most controversial pick this year, as an album I think is genuinely quite good, and worth considered analysis and discussion, rather than crash out and call you all dumb motherfuckers. This is your last warning; I will be crashing out in the replies to this.

(9) Spine - Tetrapytch

A resplendent year for funeral doom, and it was very painful deciding which ones to include here in my favorites. In the end, this was the most intense experience, a harrowing dismal journey with some terrifying moments. In a year with many strong theological albums, Spiine issued the most interesting, complex work of grief and faith, with soul-rending music to match. These kinds of genius works are simply not happening outside of funeral doom.

(8) Skare - I tåkeheimens djup

I’ve been listening to tons of underground black metal over the last three years. Much of it is very interesting in a way that’s hard to explicate, and thus never gets the attention it deserves from me, much less anyone else. Skare does not have that problem. This stuff is instantly arresting and interesting, featuring insidious creeping dissonance inside initially conventional patterns, strange folksy baroque basslines from below, sardonic chanting cleans from above, neofolk hymns from within, progressive black metal convolutions, all in track 1. This ranks so highly in part because I cannot believe how hard it was slept on.

(7) Maddie Ashman - Otherworld

I asked Aker to co-write a Maddie Ashman blurb for me for the Cull the Week that never was, and ended the series. Here, reproduced in full, saved from the graveyard of my abandoned projects, is Aker’s wonderful writeup for Maddie Ashman, of which I wholeheartedly agree with.

“Ashman’s phrasing, rephrasing, and fairy-like deconstruction of acoustic guitar and vocals in the 13-minutes of Otherworld is like rediscovering and relearning a once lost language. It helps, too, that Otherworld is upheld by a lyrical narrative linked to memory, language acquisition, and myth-making. Trying to capture this in writing comes across all lofty and pretentious, but as a sound, Ashman delivers her shapeshifting language with a real, delicate beauty.

Dear reader, beware, the next paragraph is one of the most pompous pieces I’ve put to paper. Otherworld, at first glance, evokes the flutter and unpredictability of outsider folk: naïve, childlike in its exploration of sound. This would be a misreading. Her compositions are not the product of accident or whimsy, but of control, precision, and much fine-tuned care. In fact, it feels wrong to call this outsider music at all (mainly because no one, except me, has called this outsider music.) To continue the pretension, and likely insult Ashman’s social and mental intelligence, this is savant-folk: eccentric and exploratory but executed with clarity and command.

“Dark”, for instance, begins as an awkward, amorphous blob, then unspools into sinewy threads before reassembling into something structured and recognisable. What first appears as simplicity reveals itself as a complex interplay of guitar and voice, stitched together with surgical precision. I knew Otherworld was good when I unfairly mocked Ashman during “Blossom.” Using my school-level knowledge of Welsh, I thought that Ashman was butchering pronunciation of Welsh words. Hah, this microtonal conjurer is actually a court jester! Look at her. She’s a fraud.

However, I underestimated Ashman: the song was about language discovery, assimilation, re-creation, and learning, and Ashman was purposely mispronouncing. Just like the guitar lines, her vocals and lyrics were capturing the process in a tender, alluring way and she was mocking me for not paying enough attention. I’m quite happy to wax pretentiously lyrical over this dainty needle stumbled across in an abusive Bandcamp haystack. Otherworld’s greatest strength is in Ashman’s voice. Beyond all the theory and technicality and conceptual fluff, Ashman’s control and phrasing is otherworldly. The lightness of her voice manages to nestle itself amongst the complexity of the nest below expertly. Otherworld is short but rich, not a second wasted.” by Aker

(6) Witherer - Shadow Without a Horizon

You knew the funeral dissoshit would be here. This thing is the most innovative thing in the genre all year, a shambling and disintegrating mass of slow decay and collapse. You could think of this as a particularly haunting cavernous death metal album, or an unprecedentedly doomed black metal album, and it stands right there with (forgive me some namedrops) Abyssal, Thantifaxath, and Ruins of Beverast – all quoted in the blurb itself, and the winners of my annual “Most Accurate Namedrops Award”, because I completely fucking agree.

(5) Doseone & Steel Tipped Dove - All Portrait, No Chorus

My most played album of the year. I could not stop listening to three things. First, Steel Tipped Dove’s beats are top notch, inventive, and compelling all on their own. Second, Doseone’s bars and technicality is entrancing, just trying to keep your head up above the syllables is frantic enough, much less the allusions, wordplay, and intents. And most of all, third: what a wonderful voice this man has. He sounds like four different people at least, each with different mannerisms, affectations, and styles, all of them sick as fuck, and the best one, affectionately refferred to as the “juggalo voice”, makes melodies out of throat strain and voice cracks as if the album was recorded inside the esophagus. I listened to “No Cops”, “Ta Da”, and perhaps my song of the year “Dial Up” dozens if not a hundred times this year.

(4) Yowie - Taking Umbrage

Yowie is a perfect storm of some of my dearest music loves. They are: clear and articulate precise attack (this one many of us can relate to), then contrasted and juxtaposed against one another in increasingly complex ways (this one a good few of us relate to), and then played with technical aplomb and arrogant flagrancy (anyone still with me?) and topped off with absurd hyperdensity of minimal repetition and nearly nonsensical non sequitur structures (He is alone. Even the wind is gone.) This is not quite the achievement that Synchromysticism was, and it’s still one of the best albums of the year.

(3) Mossback - Black Canyon City

It’s trap. It’s grunge. It’s outlaw country. It’s stoner rock. It’s southern hip hop. It’s sludge metal. It’s avant-garde rock. Whatever it is, it’s unparalleled in brilliance in genre fusion, because Mossback is harmonious, all these elements work together in ways free of distraction, allowing excellent compositions and beautiful songs to shine through, each one from another world. Look, this one is almost impossible to describe and do it justice. If you haven’t listened to it, you really should, there’s naught else like it and may never be. “Horsethief” is my fourth most played song after the three Doseone tracks.

(2) YHWH Nailgun - 45 Pounds

Fluid industry, the flows of liquid alloys, the curves of arcing joints, a cascade in unison of gears in harmony, releasing color and light in timed vibrant explosions. Ostensibly some kind of industrial rock, 45 Pounds is unlike anything else around it, paradoxically ripping dance floor groove out of industrial rigidity, driven by Sam Pickard’s jaw-dropping drumwork, dizzyingly complex but immediately compulsive, simultaneously playing heavy-thudding mechanical punk and island Cuban rhythmic bliss.

This alone would be worth the price of admission, but it gets better. These unbelievable beats furiously generate power underneath strange, simple melodies, so rudimentary they sound more like a single yawn from a distant siren, or a monolithic squeak from a massive aged pendulum, or the slow back-and-forth swing from a rusted-out childhood. In combination, and perhaps influenced by the album cover, 45 Pounds has a vibe completely original to itself, shadows cast by falling dust on behemoth machinery in the slowly glancing arc of the sun across the blissfully ignored fields of generators.

The result is a musical optical illusion, where you insist you think you know the dots aren’t moving as they dance all over you, where you know the lines aren’t bending as you feel dizziness set in, and when you know the shapes aren’t moving toward you as you fall into them. This thing is absolutely brilliant, and indescribably fresh. Check it out.

(1) Lychgate - Precipice

Words fail me now. I wholeheartedly and truly believe this is an innovation, not just for this year, or even for this decade, but for all 56 years of metal’s history, this is a landmark achievement and a monumental work of art in a new style. It staggers me that Lychgate left behind their doom influences and replaced it with something else entirely, and that this new entity has a serious shot at being better than my oh so beloved Contagion. I have listened to both of the last two in succession, and genuinely think they might be equals, and I cannot explain why. I can barely even grasp the reasons, and can mostly just feverishly insist that Vortigern is one of the greatest composers in the metallic sphere.

Nonetheless, I will make a fragmented and desperate attempt: notice how no riff on this album sounds like a riff from any other album, and there are so many of them, and they tie together so well, and they are so technical and contrapuntal, and they are so complex, virtuosic even, all creating works in a new genre, only distantly related to its nearest relatives, majestic and ruinous in awesome and bewildering dark glory. And that’s without mentioning the phenomenal Greg Chandler or the sublime Holdsworthian soloing. On this one, I have no case to make. All my albums listened, all my praise inscribed, all my crashouts and all my impassioned defenses were for this moment, in service of this one ask: Trust me on this one.

Verinen’s list

(10) Species - Changelings

Changelings is a worthy recent entry into modern tech thrash. While it falls short of living up to Vektor, it still scratches that itch, which is more than can be said for many competing bands.

(9) Floating - Hesitating Lights

Floating plays a blend of post punk and death metal that immediately made me think of Fluisteraars. That’s a solid reference, and Hesitating Lights succeed where few venture.

(8) Uulliata Digir - Uulliata Digir

Another early contender that made it to the year’s end list! Trumpets, female vox and deep growls are well mixed together and flow nicely. A very impressive debut!

(7) Veilburner - Longing for Triumph, Reeking of Tragedy

For many years Veilburner sounded like something I should like, and yet didn’t really. 2024’s The Duality of Decapitation was where it started to pick up for me, but didn’t make it to the year’s end list. Finally, in 2025, they managed to produce something truly good. Longing for Triumph incorporates ethereal vox with very sharp, quasi militaristic rhythms. The experimentation works very well and makes me enthusiastic for the future of the band.

(6) Volahn - Popol Vuh

A mix of Black metal and flutes, quite reminiscent of Faunalia -probably explaining Snyde’s 8- Volahn presents an unrelenting album that keeps pummeling away at you. Brutal, uncompromising, and adept at seamlessly integrating the folks elements, Popol Vuh is well deserving of a spot here.

(5) Exterior Planet - Haragma II

An early year contender that made it to the end list, well done! I kept coming back to Haragma throughout the year and enjoyed it every time. Haragma 2 is dense and I didn’t fully wrap my head around it until a few listens - I’m not sure I’ve fully done that to be honest. Doing that while remaining a compelling listen is not easy, and makes the album all the more rewarding to listen to.

(4) Fleshvessel - Obstinacy: Sisyphean Dreams Unfolded

After a promising but poorly executed EP in 2020 and a forgettable album in 2023, Fleshvessel doubles down on the silliness with Obstinacy. It is packed full of over the top vocals, jazzy moments and overall weirdness. The execution is not always perfect, but it’s such a fun listen that it’s easily forgivable for me.

(3) The Great Old Ones - Kadath

I had completely given up on TGOO. While I’m a great fan of their earlier production, from Al Azif to EOD, going through the astounding Tekeli-Li, their more recent stuff has brought me nothing but disappointment. I’m thus very pleasantly surprised that they managed to come back into my good graces in 2025. If Kadath doesn’t shine by its originality, it throws me back to the Lovecraftian eeriness that TGOO knows all too well.

(2) Imperial Triumphant - Goldstar

For me, Imperial Triumphant is the complete opposite of Deafheaven. It’s a band I’ve enjoyed very consistently, 8ing all their releases since Vile Luxury. Goldstar is, as advertised, more accessible than their usual albums. It’s the one that I’ve taken in the most rapidly, without finding more to love with each listen. And frankly, that’s a bit disappointing. Yet, their sheer competency and unique style punched through. I’ve found myself coming back to Goldstar time and time again. I don’t know if it’s the direction I would have favored for Imperial Triumphant, but they nailed it.

(1) Deafheaven - Lonely People With Power

I’m neither a fan of post black, nor a fan of Deafheaven. I’m not familiar with the rest of their discography and they never struck me as a band I would enjoy. Yet, I’ve been very impressed with Lonely People With Power. The blend of evocative, dreamy moments interspersed with Angst is nothing short of amazing.