Messa: The Spin
On their fourth album the ever-changing Italian doom formation Messa are embracing their Post-Punk and Gothic influences. The result is an absolute belter of an album that offers diverse songwriting, heavy Sabbathian riffs, pounding rhythms and magnificent guitar solos. And sweet baby Jesus, those vocals are without a doubt offering the most soaring and catchy melodies you’ll hear this year. Do yourself a favor and listen to this masterpiece.
Deafheaven: Lonely People with Power
Well, who would’ve thought? After the shoegaze experiment Infinite Granite, Deafheaven ramp up the heaviness to 11 and deliver a menacing but subdued Post-Black Metal record that serves as a shining example of how far they’ve come as songwriters. Each track offers beautiful climaxes, memorable riffs and thoughtfully crafted build-ups that transport an otherworldly atmosphere between melancholy and raw aggression. Their best record yet. And that’s saying something.
Blut Aus Nord: Ethereal Horizons
Legendary French Black Metal act Blut Aus Nord once again show us their more melodic and cosmic side on this year’s Ethereal Horizons. After the more dissonant nightmare soundtrack Disharmonium, the forward-thinking French connection makes another 180 and offers a masterclass in atmospheric Black Metal, creating soundtracks you can dream along to while still being exposed to the genre’s bleak and icy tropes of tremolo riffing, blast beats and distant howls. With a newfound accessibility and beautifully crafted songs, BAN without a doubt jumps on this year’s Black Metal throne.
Greyhaven: Keep It Quiet
The most underrated band of the last ten years delivers another impeccable exercise in mathy Post-Hardcore excellence with their fourth release Keep It Quiet. Kylo Ren lookalike Brent Mills shows why he is without a doubt one of the most talented vocalists in the game right now with hooks galore in every single track. The rest of the band is no slouches either, offering techy and mathy riffing and scales, breakneck rhythm changes and head-bobbing grooves throughout. With no skippers on this thing Burn A Miracle and Technicolor Blues show that the sky is the limit for these trailblazers. But make sure to listen to this complete fucking thing.
The Callous Daoboys: I don’t want to see you in heaven
Now this is a wild one. The mathcore outfit simply decided to throw everything at the listener that band could possibly think of. Super aggro mathcore outbursts, heavy ass breakdowns, piano, sax/trumpet, disco, techno and everything in between with nearly 60 minutes playtime. What sounds absurd on paper thankfully works out extremely well. Aggression and catchiness work as a yin and yang on I don’t want to see you in heaven, making the record a must-listen for everyone that’s missing The Dillinger Escape Plan and wished wished they had gotten poppier during their prime-time with each song being memorable and sticking.
The Acacia Strain: You Are Safe From God Here
Simply their best record yet. 13 (thirteen!) records deep Vincent Bennett and the boys are really pushing their stylistic boundaries once more on You Are Safe From God Here. Disgusting guitar tones and arrangements, battering drums and Vincents most manic vocals are condensed into 12 songs of pure devastation and agony. The eleven tracks preparing you for the 14 minute doom closer Eucharist ii leave no room for breathing while hammering you down with gnarly fight riffs, down tempo breakdowns and dynamic blast sections. And somehow all tracks are catchy in their own right. But the aforementioned closer takes the cake when it comes to atmospheric soundscapes of true pain and desperation. All killer, no filler on this thing and surely one of the best records of 2025.
Der Weg Einer Freiheit: Innern
German Post Black Metal titans deliver with Innern a testament to the bands discography as it incorporates everything that made the band stand out from the beginning. Offering blistering blast beats, melancholic and dissonant tremolo riffing and plenty of atmospheric traits it is the records pacing that works as its greatest strength. Starting off fairly traditionally, the bold and big incorporation of more atmospheric synth and postrock sections really draws you in and serve as a perfect emotional counterpoint to the more aggressive cuts. No weak tracks on here and a truly remarkable record in its entirety.
Revocation: New Gods, New Masters
Revocation deliver another banger with their latest release. As technically proficient as always, Dave Davidson crafts another nine technical Death/Thrash songs that work just as great as pit anthems as they work as exciting demonstrations of songwriting skills in heavy music. The opening punch of the title track and dystopian vermin showcase their direct side perfectly while “The All-Seeing” and “Buried Epoch” work as great examples of their more progressive and technical side. Safe to say the other tracks are no duds either and Revocation are still on top of their game here.
Sanguisugabogg: Hideous Aftermath
The bogg is back baby! And thankfully with their best record yet. While maturity usually is more of a synonym for boring and stale songs, this is not the case here. Without decreasing their brutality (quite the contrary) the band simply improved their songwriting significantly. Extending their sonic palette with more dissonant and traditional death metal riffing makes the more simplistic slam and mosh sections way more effective and hard hitting. And for a 47-minute of a fairly brutal death metal album, this thing is actually catchy and dynamic. Album highlights are scattered throughout this thing but “Felony Abuse Of A Corpse“, “Abhorrent Contraception” and the Godflesh-inspired “Repulsive Demise” serve as a testimony to the boggs newly crafted muscles.
