Albums of the year 2025

[Eoin McLove]

I must revisit Seven Sisters. I heard them years ago and found them competent, and well played and produced, but utterly devoid of character or memorability.

[Mithrandir]

I really like the Seven Sisters debut, played it a lot last year. I somehow completely missed this new one. I have the second one on record somewhere but don't remember it making much of an impression, will give them both a lash later.

[Carnage]

Which band??

Messa, I believe.

Haven't heard that one, their last album was pretty good but didn't have much staying power for me.

[Mr Barlow]

That Messa album is brilliant. Doom, with blues and Jazz elements...but this album has a fairly heavy post punk / Cure influence. Yer one is some singer too.

[Blizzard Beast]

Which band?? I presume Seven Sisters but there's a few mentioned? I heard Seven Sisters on bandcamp radio and said I must get back to them but haven't. Really good heavy metal, which wouldn't normally be my thing at all.
Messa!

From the same show I discovered Hexecutor - that's my AOTY so far. I must get around to the new Veilburner yet though... I bought the new Amorphis at release but have yet to get around to listening to it, d'oh! Roll on the fecking holidays

[Blizzard Beast]

Which band?? I presume Seven Sisters but there's a few mentioned? I heard Seven Sisters on bandcamp radio and said I must get back to them but haven't. Really good heavy metal, which wouldn't normally be my thing at all.


From the same show I discovered Hexecutor - that's my AOTY so far. I must get around to the new Veilburner yet though... I bought the new Amorphis at release but have yet to get around to listening to it, d'oh! Roll on the fecking holidays

Messa!

[Blizzard Beast]

That Messa album is brilliant. Doom, with blues and Jazz elements...but this album has a fairly heavy post punk / Cure influence. Yer one is some singer too.

Interesting,il check it out -Thanks

[Blizzard Beast]

.

[Bürggermeister]

I saw Seven Sisters at KIT this year. From all I had heard about them beforehand, I was expecting much, much more. No spark, bland, by-the-numbers heavy metal which is nowhere near as good as I suspect they think it is. I really don't see the appeal at all.

[Beedle]

Just want to say this thread has been absolutely brilliant for a 90s mwtalhead like myself who hasn't moved on much from Cannibal, Obituary, Deicide etc 

I'm really bad at listening to much modern death metal, beyond Blood Incantation and a couple of others, appreciate all your lists folks, cheers!

Huge standout for me so far is the Mortual album, Holy fuck more like that please!!! Crushing stuff

[Anvil]

Took a few listens for the Seven Sisters album to really click, but when it did I was completely hooked and still am.Think there has been a massive jump in their songwriting on this one.  Ended up being my go to gardening album. 

Another album that isn't on my initial list but am hooked on at the moment is One of Nine - Dawn of the Iron Shadow.  Nothing new or original but I'm a sucker for anything inspired by Lord of the Rings.  Probably stick this in at 3 or 4. 

[Paul keohane]

Impurity-The Eternal Sleep, this was another belter!

[Thorn]

I ordered that Impurity along with the Imperishable from Hammerheart but it was out of stock and I never got back to it but I liked what I heard online.
In an attempt to test my patience for being online to the absolute limits I'm going to throw up fifty favourites  from the year over the next few days, in some sort of order though you can't compare a lot of these varying styles. To preserve some sort of sanity the only way to do this, is going piece by piece...

50. Primal Fear - Domination
Mixed bag of Heavy Metal anthems but the good were very good.

49. Helm's Deep - Chasing The Dragon
The title and the album cover will tell you all you need to know .

48. Crimson Butchery - Stalker
Got my Cannibal Corpse fix from these homeboys

47.Vacuous - In His Blood
Brit Death Metallers breaking the mo(u)ld and finding their own niche on their second outing.

46. Necrokinesis - Death Is The Hammer
Homegrown power thrash that really caught me by surprise this year , catchy ,neck snapping stuff.

45. Hexecutor - Where Spirit Withers In It's Flesh Constraint
Very well executed progressive blackened thrash, French vocals alienated me a bit though.

44. Graceless - Icons Of Ruin
First pick up by this Dutch Doom Death band for me and I'll be looking to nab their previous ones.

43. Void Ceremony - Abditum
Mind bending tech death which I'm currently having a love/hate relationship with but at just under a half-hour it's a tight, succinct listen.

42. Sargeist - Savage riffing this year from one of my favourite BM bands but a monotonous vocal performance let it down.

41. Judicator - Concord
Another new band to me though this is their seventh overall, quality U.S. power Metal akin to Blind Guardian and the like.

40. Pyre - Where Obscurity Sways
Russians filled the Dismember sized hole in nicely this year.

[Thorn]

Just want to say this thread has been absolutely brilliant for a 90s mwtalhead like myself who hasn't moved on much from Cannibal, Obituary, Deicide etc 

I'm really bad at listening to much modern death metal, beyond Blood Incantation and a couple of others, appreciate all your lists folks, cheers!

Huge standout for me so far is the Mortual album, Holy fuck more like that please!!! Crushing stuff

The Insineratehymn album this year was good ,punishing DM in the same vein as Mortual if ya can't get enough.

[Ollie]

"Scimitarium I" is coming up hot on the rails.
For fans of Negative Plane, early Tribulation....