2025: Jul-Dec
2025: Jul-Dec
What better way to celebrate surviving up to the halfway mark of 2025 than making another 'things I've listened to' list.
1.
Centuries Of Decay
- A Monument To Oblivion
[9.0] - Top-quality prog-death delivering with the riffs, atmosphere, scope and everything else.
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4.
Farseer (USA)
- Portals To Cosmic Womb
[8.5] - Quality prog-sludge/death album with hints of the likes of Barishi, Anciients and Druids.
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5.
Trudger
- Void Quest
[8.5] - Delicious sludge with tasty guitar riffs and licks alongside a large, fiery tone.
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13.
Smote
- Songs From The Free House
[8.0] - Another great example of metallic psychedelic folk drone, now with some vocals adding an extra dimension to certain parts.
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14.
Monograf
- Occultation
[8.0] - Great mix of post-rock/metal, folk, prog, drone doom that has hints of the likes of Wolvennest, Smote and Wyatt E.
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15.
Moron Police
- Pachinko
[8.0]
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20.
Lorna Shore
- I Feel The Everblack Festering Within Me
[8.0] - Pretty much the next step forward I'd been hoping for back when Pain Remains came out, Oblivion is a top-notch song.
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21.
Effuse
- On Others
[8.0] - Really nice evocative, mostly clean-vocalled modern prog-metal EP.
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22.
Drowned In Silver
- Mothers
[8.0] - Fascinating mesh of occult rock, droney doom, neofolk and other influences.
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26.
Der Weg Einer Freiheit
- Innern
[8.0] - More black metal-centered than the last album, think it benefits from the harsher bite, while still having those strong post-black passages.
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30.
Dyssidia
- Deeper Wells Of Meaning
[8.0] - Nice mesh of bright melodic prog with more extreme moments and djenty passages, brings a lot of sounds I enjoy together very naturally.
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31.
Stonebirds
- Perpetual Wasteland
[8.0] - Slightly Ocean-esque prog-tinged post-metal sound with a lot of resonant melody balancing the sludgier aspects.
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32.
Anna Von Hausswolff
- Iconoclasts
[8.0] - Very creative, varied and artistic album, really enjoy the semi-jazzy stuff like Struggle With The Beast and the Bjork-y parts in particular.
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33.
The Answer Lies In The Black Void
- Transcendental
[8.0] - Strong songwriting and compelling vocals characterize this doom record.
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36.
Sun Of The Suns
- Entanglement
[8.0] - Very enjoyable melodically-inclined prog/tech-death with deathcore leanings, hints of A Higher Place but more melodic/atmospheric, also has hints of Periphery - Reptile.
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39.
Triptonus
- Terra
[8.0] - Really enjoyable stoner/psychedelic rock/metal album with cool world percussion parts.
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40.
Ways To The Grave
- Echoes Of Extinction
[8.0] - Solid prog-death/black with some deathcore moments.
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43.
Monkeys On Mars
- Monkeys On Mars
[8.0] - Really solid debut EP from Monkey3/Mars Red Sky fusion band, bit heavier than either group.
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47.
Homegrown
- Homegrown
[8.0] - Somewhat Smote-esque, occasional quite heavy folk/psychedelic rock record.
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49.
Weft
- The Splintered Oar
[8.0] - Really nice Panopticon-esque black metal/americana fusion with a proggy slant to the final track.
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50.
Völur
- Breathless Spirit [Collaboration]
[8.0] - Very cool collaboration with an eclectic mix of sounds brought together in a compelling manner, I enjoy the eerie, creepy atmosphere from the various strings.
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52.
Defacement
- Doomed
[8.0] - Another strong outing of dissonant black/death metal with a range of tones/emotions, maddeningly extreme to the discordantly uplifting.
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53.
Raphael Weinroth-Browne
- Lifeblood
[8.0] - Man just writes reliably stirring and exhilarating cello music.
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55.
Yellow Eyes
- Confusion Gate
[8.0] - Much preferred to their last one, enjoyable range of sounds and some emphatic riffs.
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56.
Lunatic Soul
- The World Under Unsun
[8.0] - Not entirely consistent due to the length, but some great Lunatic Soul songs in the tracklist.
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58.
Shores Of Null
- Latitudes Of Sorrow
[8.0] - Both sides of this split offer strong gothic doom and death doom respectively.
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59.
Irreversible Mechanism
- Graviant
[8.0] - Cool turn towards a alt/post-prog sound, nice hints of acts such as Tool and The Ocean.
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60.
Bask
- The Turning
[8.0] - Some of the most Lynyrd Skynyrd vocal bits aren't quite for me (Dig My Heels), but overall a very good mix of southern rock, stoner rock/metal and heavier bits.
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61.
Mors Principium Est
- Darkness Invisible
[8.0] - On first listens, perhaps not as memorable as the peaks of Seven, but some strong tracks.
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63.
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64.
Terzij De Horde
- Our Breath Is Not Ours Alone
[8.0] - Fierce dissonance-tinged black metal with unorthodox 'melodic' sensibilities.
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66.
Moriya
- Indestructible Space
[7.5] - Better production than the last one and similarly more oriented towards psychedelia than the debut; still miss the sheer aura of the debut a bit.
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71.
Hail The Sun
- cut.turn.fade.back.
[7.5]
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74.
Sundrowned
- Higanbana
[7.5] - Pleasantly wide-ranging and consistently enjoyable post-metal album with some lush tranquil passages, reminds me somewhat of Sunpocrisy.
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76.
Arrows
- Yearning Arrows; Cloven Suns
[7.5] - Solid black metal album with some unique quirks to it.
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77.
Përl
- Architecture Du Vertige
[7.5] - Really interesting mix of post-black metal with screamo and non-rock theatrical elements.
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80.
Void Dancer
- Sorrow From Self-Undoing
[7.5] - Solid prog-death/black EP with nice melodic segments.
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81.
Dysylumn
- Abstraction
[7.5] - Rather intriguing black metal release with howling vocals, moments of dissonance, but also subtle melody too.
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82.
Marasme
- Fel
[7.5] - Typical but engaging black-tinged post-metal sound with intense emotion.
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84.
Sunniva
- Hypostasis
[7.5] - Solid sludge/post-metal with some real pounding heaviness at times.
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85.
Esses
- Pain At The Altar Of Jest
[7.5] - Wolvennest-esque goth-tinged doom with compelling atmosphere.
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87.
Drofnosura
- Ritual Of Split Tongues
[7.5] - Ambitiously expansive and twisted atmo-sludge/post-metal album with some Oranssi Pazuzu-esque moments of eeriness in there.
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88.
Burned In Effigy
- Tyrannus Aeternum
[7.5] - Solid mix of Gothenburg melodeath with some darker/more technical death moments.
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90.
Void Paradigm
- Tout Ira Mieux Sans Nous
[7.5] - Sprawling, peculiar, sometimes theatrical avantgarde extreme metal.
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91.
Bell Witch
- Stygian Bough: Volume II [Collaboration]
[7.5] - Enjoyed this more than Vol I, was quite compelled by it at times.
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92.
Veilburner
- Longing For Triumph, Reeking Of Tragedy
[7.5] - Not quite as on board with as last couple, but still impressively maddening carnage.
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95.
Zatokrev
- ...Bring Mirrors To The Surface
[7.5] - Solid range of sounds on this guest-laden post-metal album, ranging from fiery sludge (Faint) to 90s alt-rock tendencies (Pearl Eyes) alongside some lengthy epics.
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97.
Despite Exile
- Where Hope Goes To Die
[7.5] - Rather catchy and satisfyingly anthemic symph-tinged deathcore.
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98.
Vintersorg
- Vattenkrafternas Spel
[7.5] - Solid folk/prog/black comeback; kinda continue being 'not quite as memorable as Borknagar', but not a bad thing.
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99.
Unviâr
- Disglaç
[7.5]
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100.
The Acacia Strain
- You Are Safe From God Here
[7.5] - Savage deathcore, some monstrous breakdowns e.g. Sacred Relic.
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102.
Your Inland Empire
- Your Inland Empire
[7.5] - Enjoyable darkwave successor to Crown.
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104.
Perturbator
- Age Of Aquarius
[7.5] - Less gothy and more synthwave than the last album, but also more slow, subdued and atmospheric than Uncanny Valley.
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105.
Sun Of The Dying
- A Throne Of Ashes
[7.5] - Enjoyably dynamic, melodic and varied progressive death doom album.
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107.
The Black Cat's Eye
- Decrypting Dreams Of Weird Animals And Strange Objects
[7.5]
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108.
Abraham
- Idsungwüssä
[7.5] - Another solid demonstraion of their noise rock/post-metal mesh, doesn't have the standout songs of the last album but also lacks the irritating moments.
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111.
Rival Consoles
- Landscape From Memory
[7.5] - Soothing, bouncy ambient electronica.
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113.
Zmey Gorynich
- Рукоблуда И Сестры Его Малафѣи ※ Peregrinations Of Rukoblud And His Sister Malafeya
[7.5] - Really fun and original folk, deathcore and symphonic metal mash-up; enjoy this more than I remember liking previous effort of theirs I tried.
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114.
Blindfolded And Led To The Woods
- The Hardest Thing About Being God Is That No One Believes Me
[7.5] - Pretty gnarly techy/core-y death metal sound.
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116.
Jacob Roberge
- The Passing
[7.5] - Very nice classic-sounding prog rock/metal with some huge song lengths.
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117.
Karu
- Perdition
[7.5] - Satisfyingly enjoyable and epic Japanese-influenced symphonic melodeath/extreme power in the Wintersun mould.
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118.
Maudits
- In Situ
[7.5] - Solid mostly instrumental post-metal with great vocal cameos and solid riffy atmosphere.
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119.
Hecktic
- Unbeholden
[7.5] - Enjoyable prog/tech-death brief romp.
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120.
Frayle
- Heretics & Lullabies
[7.5] - Alluring post-metallic doom metal with soothing hazy soundscapes and ethereal vocals; can't remember if the occasional harsh vocals are a new addition, but they fit the post-metal vibes to parts of the album well.
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122.
Motherless
- Do You Feel Safe?
[7.5] - Solid crusty sludge.
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123.
Nihilvm
- Ancient Cosmic Emanation
[7.5] - Solid black metal debut loosely in the ominous Aversio Humanitatis/Schammasch/RLHT mould, but also with some post-black hints.
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124.
King Yosef
- Spire Of Fear
[7.5] - Vicious industrial hardcore.
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128.
Barriers
- Decay
[7.5] - Very tasty sludge debut EP.
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129.
Falling Leaves
- The Silence That Binds Us
[7.5] - Doomier than Nailed To Obscurity, but also good melodeath/doom really.
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132.
Ian
- Come On Everybody, Let’s Do Nothing!
[7.5] - Gnarly, crawling sludge/post-metal debut on Human Worth with added cello.
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133.
Hypostase
- Feld-R
[7.5] - Compellingly atmospheric industrial techno sound.
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135.
Cryptodira
- Genesis Of Error
[7.5] - Really neat proggy EP, has some extremity, some Coma Ecliptic-esque softer parts on the title track, and some additional atmospherics/quirks.
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137.
Menace Ruine
- The Color Of The Grave Is Green
[7.5] - Not sold by some of the weirder droning bits, but the general medieval folk drone vibe I find rather charming.
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139.
Evoking Winds
- Memories Of The Wolf
[7.5] - Enchanting, vibrant and engaging The Witcher-inspired folk/meloblack.
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140.
Crimson Shadows
- Whispers Of War
[7.5] - Entertainingly hyper-energetic, almost Dragonforce-esque extreme power metal.
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141.
Health
- Conflict DLC
[7.5] - Quite a wide range of sounds on display, not all for me (particularly due to ongoing dislike of the vocals), but the crunchier songs are very solid.
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142.
Vower
- A Storm Lined With Silver
[7.5] - Another promising early release from up-and-coming supergroup.
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143.
The Devil's Trade
- Nincs Szennyezetlen Szép
[7.5] - Increasingly metallic but always atmospheric sound.
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146.
Kaunis Kuolematon
- Kun Valo Minussa Kuoli
[7.5] - Decent melancholic melodeath/doom, like songs 4 and 8 quite a bit.
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147.
Elbe
- Peculiar
[7.5] - Solid post-rock/metal with some leanings towards stoner or alt rock sounds.
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148.
Modder
- Destroying Ourselves For A Place In The Sun
[7.5] - Distinctive and fairly hench instrumental-only combo of sludge, djent, industrial and electronica.
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149.
Maruja
- Pain To Power
[7.5] - Fascinating genre-hopping debut spanning noise rock, jazz, hip-hop and other styles in a dark, suffocating context.
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151.
Uranium
- Corrosion Of Existence
[7.5] - Noisy, bleak, black-tinged industrial metal monster.
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152.
Æl-Fierlen
- All Is Far Away
[7.5] - Very likeable atmo-black debut with plenty of memorable moments.
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153.
Paradise Lost
- Ascension
[7.5] - Not as taken with this one as Obsidian, but still very accomplished release.
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154.
Sisters
- Wings Of Deliverance
[7.5] - Good mix of sludge, stoner, alt rock and noise rock elements.
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155.
Jack The Joker
- The Devil To Pay In The Backlands
[7.5] - Interesting prog finding with a compelling mix of classic and modern prog elements, including djent elements, extreme hints and Native Construct-esque exuberance; the vocals remind me a bit of Russell Allen at times.
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156.
Jours Pâles
- Résonances
[7.5] - The meloblack side is very enjoyable, some of the slightly harsher songs aren't quite as engaging.
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158.
The Reticent
- Please
[7.5] - Perhaps the most Opethian they have ever sounded, some clean vocal parts are still a bit hokey, but a solid listen.
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159.
Liminal Erosion
- In The Time Vulture's Talons
[7.5] - Nicely atmospheric funeral doom with characterful synth parts.
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160.
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161.
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162.
Year Of The Goat
- Trivia Goddess
[7.5] - Rather fun psych/hard rock with plenty of fun and swagger to it.
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165.
Preyrs
- The Wounded Healer
[7.5] - Rather interesting debut on Pelagic Records, mix of retro rock, doom and alt rock/metal, a bit akin to Messa, with comparably evocative vocals, albeit more forceful.
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166.
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167.
The Burden Remains
- Trotz_Däm Nüt
[7.5] - Solid post-metal with clean vocals and more melodic leanings.
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168.
Litania
- Litania
[7.5] - Rather neat Hindustani-influenced psych doom debut.
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170.
Defigurement
- Endbryo
[7.5] - Mad experimental grindcore with prog, blackened and other offshoots, with Mike Heller behind the kit.
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172.
Death Has Spoken
- Elegy
[7.5] - Some Agallochy vibes to decent death doom, underlined by an Agalloch cover at the end.
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173.
Nemorous
- What Remains When Hope Has Failed
[7.5] - Agalloch-influenced atmo-black, has some really good moments but not quite near that level.
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177.
Saint Vengeur
- Sex And Repression In Higher Society
[7.5] - Cool mix of electronica/synthwave with metallic percussion.
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178.
Bläkken
- Światowstręt
[7.5]
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179.
Esoterica
- Ether Metal
[7.5] - A long way from the version of this band I heard over 15 years ago, interesting evolution into an alt/prog rock/metal band with touching emotionality to their songs.
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180.
Intercourse
- How I Fell In Love With The Void
[7.5] - Solidly grim noise rock/sludge/hardcore/mathcore.
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181.
Mélancolia
- Random.Access.Misery
[7.5] - Solid deathcore with reasonable range of sounds, including some well-incorporated cleaner vocals.
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182.
Viile
- A Bottomless Curse, A Bottomless Sea
[7.5] - Djenty prog-metalcore from former Rings Of Saturn vocalist, more enjoyable than most of the music from that band since.
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184.
Calva Louise
- Edge Of The Abyss
[7.5] - Super-catchy electronic/industrial/alternative rock/metal release with distinctive sound and great vocals.
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186.
The World Is A Beautiful Place & I Am No Longer Afraid To Die
- Dreams Of Being Dust
[7.5] - Interesting shift in a more metallic/post-hardcore direction.
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188.
Void Of Sleep
- The Abyss Into Which We All Have To Stare
[7.5] - Intriguing prog/sludge/post fusion sound with some Green Carnation vibes at times.
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191.
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193.
Lowheaven
- Ritual Decay
[7.5] - Interesting mix of gazey metal, Deftones-esque sounds, and some post-hardcore elements.
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194.
Insomniac
- Om Moksha Ritam
[7.5] - Cool Spaceslug-ish dreary, hazy stoner doom sound.
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198.
Hexrot
- Formless Ruin Of Oblivion
[7.5] - Impressive noisy and skronky disso-death heavy on the dissonance.
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199.
Laetitia In Holocaust
- I Rise With The Dead
[7.5] - Black metal 2-song EP with lots of bombastic blasting but also some compelling melancholic melodic riffs.
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200.
Connor Kaminski
- Tapestry
[7.5] - Solid instrumental prog/djent with impressive array of guests.
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201.
Nuclear Daisies
- First Taste Of Heaven
[7.5]
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202.
Kaschalot
- Anemoia
[7.5] - Quite heavy, and fairly tasty math-heavy instrumental post-rock.
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203.
Faetooth
- Labyrinthine
[7.5] - Truding stoner/sludge/post-y doom, pretty cool atmosphere with the dreary clean vocals and harsh backing vocals.
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205.
SoftSun
- Eternal Sunrise
[7.5]
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206.
Etnobotanika
- Kosmobotanika
[7.5] - Cool psybient/space ambient chill vibes.
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207.
Turian
- Blood Quantum Blues
[7.5] - Genre-straddling and creative Indigenous metallic hardcore-based record.
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208.
Moths
- Septem
[7.5] - Charming dark psychedelic hard rock album with occasional harsh vocals and metallic moments, particularly in the closing stages.
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209.
Haxprocess
- Beyond What Eyes Can See
[7.5] - Interesting OSDM-leaning prog/tech-death album, has some really compelling moments, but also loses me at times.
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211.
Ashen Fields
- So Haggard And So Woe-Begone
[7.5] - Solid symphonic melodeath with some really lush melodic moments e.g. the solo passage in The Gods' Vessel.
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212.
Isiliel
- Moonbow Rebellion
[7.5] - Very solid symph-tinged heavy/power metal with strong vocal arrangements and engaging songwriting.
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214.
Sorceröt
- Rotten Magick
[7.5] - This black metal is at its most engaging in its more melodic parts.
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215.
Burial Gift
- MMXXV
[7.5] - Tasty debut post-black EP.
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217.
Nuvolascura
- How This All Ends
[7.5] - Ferocious screamo/metallic hardcore with short, frantic tracks.
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218.
Emberthrone
- Cursive
[7.5] - Tasty disso- and tech-death-leaning deathcore debut EP.
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219.
Liv Moon
- The Land Of Spirits
[7.5] - Nice symphonic/folk/power overlap that fluctuates between songs.
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221.
Chercán
- Chercán
[7.5] - Cool prog fusion album.
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222.
Wytch Hazel
- V: Lamentations
[7.5] - Easy-going and satisfying rock with evocative vocals, upbeat melodic compostions and lush lead guitar work.
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224.
Nero Kane
- For the Love, The Death And The Poetry
[7.5] - Slow, spacious, texturally rich dark folk Western singer-songwriter music.
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225.
We Lost The Sea
- A Single Flower
[7.5] - Well-crafted and pleasant instrumental post-rock/metal, perhaps lacks the impact of their 2019 record.
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226.
Starlit Pyre
- Veins Of Sulfur
[7.5] - Generic but tasty debut melodeath EP.
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227.
Kylver
- The Gobi
[7.5] - Enjoyable long-form instrumental prog rock/metal album.
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228.
Light Dweller
- Illusory Dissolvents [Split]
[7.5] - Solid cavernous disso-death 3-way split.
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229.
Marissa Nadler
- New Radiations
[7.5] - Nice mellow singer-songwriter fare.
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230.
Stomach
- Low Demon
[7.5] - Filthy, thick, churning, at-times droning sludge.
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232.
Nine Treasures
- Seeking The Absolute
[7.5] - Bit too alt-metally for me, but interesting use of Chinese folk instruments.
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234.
Creature (FRA)
- Toujours Humain
[7.5] - Eclectic mix of sounds, reminds me of Cynic on a couple of earlier tracks.
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236.
Nefas
- Oblation Ov Obliteration
[7.5] - Destructive, at-times cacophonic disso/tech-death.
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238.
Sixth Wonder
- Prologue
[7.5] - Pretty tasty djent EP with hooky songs.
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239.
Gates Of Dawn
- III
[7.5] - Interesting mix of black metal, psych rock, country and other elements.
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242.
Voyna
- Monsters
[7.0] - Nice mellow darkwave/post-punk sound.
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243.
Ragana
- Ash Souvenir [Collaboration]
[7.0] - Nice alternation of songs between sullen indie/shoegaze and more ferocious black metal.
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245.
Ghold
- Bludgeoning Simulations
[7.0] - Understandably on Human Worth with mix of sludge, noise rock and electronica.
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246.
Nightfall
- Children Of Eve
[7.0] - Good, sometimes pretty extreme but overly thrashy/OSDM and insufficiently memorable melodeath vs. the pinnacle of the category this year.
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247.
Chaos Over Cosmos
- The Hypercosmic Paradox
[7.0] - Silly shred tech-death; the relentless 1 million mph programmed double bass is hokey, but it's a fun melodic album around the relentless pace of it.
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249.
Basaltic Plateau
- Dead Dinosaurs Echoes
[7.0] - Fun instrumental psych-rock album.
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251.
Giöbia
- X-Æon
[7.0] - Sweet, trippy space/kraut/psych-rock mostly instrumental album.
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253.
Beneath The Kudzu
- Birds Sing As The World Crumbles
[7.0] - Typical but solid sludge doom with nice murky atmosphere.
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254.
Acephalic Void
- We Chose Death
[7.0] - Fairly tasty disso-death/black EP.
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255.
Avdagata
- The Apocalyptic Aeon
[7.0] - Solid melodic blackened death with decent balance of aggression and hooks.
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256.
Yawning Man
- Pavement Ends
[7.0] - More short-form but still chill psych rock.
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257.
Azell
- Astralis
[7.0] - Overlong but riffy and meaty sludge album.
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258.
Vandampire
- Hope Scars
[7.0] - Typical but enjoyable post-metal album, occasional shades of early OHHMS.
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259.
Murals
- Murals
[7.0] - Decent Swancore-esque debut post-hardcore EP/album.
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261.
Autrest
- Burning Embers, Forgotten Wolves
[7.0] - Pretty classic atmo-black, unremarkable for the genre but very competently made and pleasantly melodic.
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262.
Spire Of Lazarus
- Those Who Live In Death
[7.0] - Perhaps a bit 'technicality over everything else', but pretty fun listen overall.
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263.
Asira
- As Ink In Water
[7.0] - Interesting mix of prog and blackgaze.
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264.
Satra
- In Tears Of Her Reign
[7.0] - Quite stirring fem-fronted symphonic metal in its best moments, albeit with some song-to-song quality fluctuations.
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265.
Tyrannosaurus Dimension
- Part 3: Visions Beyond
[7.0] - Solid instrumental prog album, quite varied and not reliant on the typical sound of modern instrumental prog guitarists.
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266.
The Depth Beneath Us
- Descent
[7.0] - Stirring instrumental post-rock with occasionally metallic heaviness.
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268.
Discarded
- Humility
[7.0] - Chonky thall EP.
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269.
Lamp Of Murmuur
- The Dreaming Prince In Ecstasy
[7.0] - Pretty good synthy black metal that's a bit too norse-y for me.
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270.
Aduanten
- Apocryphal Verse
[7.0]
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272.
I, Cursed
- Heretical Onslaught
[7.0] - Brief, sharp and hooky deathgrind release, above-average for the genre this year.
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273.
Slow Crush
- Thirst
[7.0] - Nice full-sounding shoegaze.
|
|
274.
Birth And Loss
- Untitled EP
[7.0] - Brief but fun debut EP from new Takafumi Matsubara project.
|
277.
Wounds Of Recollection
- I Found The Love That I Was Looking For
[7.0] - Naked Deafheaven worship, but I do enjoy it more than most similarly aping acts.
|
|
280.
Elenion
- The Symphony Of The Night
[7.0] - Quite pleasant symphonic metal album with some covers of classical and world music alongside decent originals.
|
281.
StumpTail
- Sonder Down Yonder
[7.0] - Interesting concoction of southern rock, black metal and drone, among other sounds.
|
282.
Thormesis
- Nevertheless
[7.0] - Former pagan metal band now makes some pretty good post-black metal with nice melancholic guitar melodies.
|
|
284.
Chairmaker
- Leviathan Carcass
[7.0] - One-dimensional but ballistic and at-times chonky grindcore assault.
|
|
286.
The Hyena Kill
- Collapse
[7.0] - Decent album with big Deftones vibes.
|
288.
Hooded Menace
- Lachrymose Monuments Of Obscuration
[7.0] - Enjoy the gothic and melodic hints, not as convinced by the death doom parts, and the Duran Duran cover is a bit iffy.
|
289.
Unaligned
- A Form Beyond
[7.0] - Pretty good tech-leaning death metal, can be a bit dry, but has some attention-grabbing moments, especially Ruins Of Lunacy.
|
290.
|
|
291.
Godchilla
- Psionic Dreams
[7.0] - Quite fun stoner album, at different times closer to doom, sludge and groovy rock.
|
295.
Panopticon
- Songs Of Hiraeth [Compilation]
[7.0] - A rawer side of Panopticon from their earlier years, some rather cool stuff in here, some of it was understandably not committed to a full album.
|
|
296.
The Fallen Prodigy
- Fragments
[7.0] - Fun djenty proggish metalcore with pleasant melodicism and crunch.
|
297.
Starbynary
- Romeo And Juliet, pt. I
[7.0] - Fairly enjoyable symphonic prog/power with elaborate choral arrangements.
|
298.
Grayceon
- Then The Darkness
[7.0] - Slightly SubRosa-esque, quite eclectic, but super-long and not quite engaging enough on a minute-to-minute basis to justify.
|
|
299.
Crowgod
- Emergence
[7.0] - Intriguing and varied EP rooted in sludge, with a few rough edges to the songwriting.
|
301.
|
|
303.
Closure
- The Sweet Suffering
[7.0] - Evocative, catchy prog/post-hardcore EP.
|
|
305.
Årabrot
- Rite Of Dionysus
[7.0]
|
306.
Eden Circus
- Irrlicht
[7.0] - Reasonable comeback at the crossroads of alt, prog and post-metal, but with some iffy parts.
|
|
308.
Arcadea
- The Exodus Of Gravity
[7.0] - Upbeat energy and pleasant catchiness of Brann Dailor-fronted synth rock.
|
|
309.
Broken By The Scream
- Solar Strain
[7.0] - Fun combo of kawaii metal with deathcore and a few other genres.
|
310.
Syrinx
- Time Out Of Place
[7.0] - Fairly enjoyable progressive hard rock/metal rock opera with vibes of Rush, Queensryche, Savatage and others, performed with an appealing conviction.
|
311.
Car Bomb
- Tiles Whisper Dreams
[7.0] - As chaotic and gnarly as expected for the band, over very quickly.
|
|
312.
Agropelter
- The Book Of Hours
[7.0] - Typical but easy-going and pleasant retro-style prog rock, a bit Zoppy.
|
|
313.
Barrens
- Corpse Lights
[7.0] - Typical but warm and soothing heavy-leaning instru-post.
|
314.
Jordfäst
- Blodsdåd Och Hor
[7.0] - Decent enough meloblack stuff, has bleak tendencies but also can be a bit Viking-y.
|
|
315.
Beyond Extinction
- Where They Gather
[7.0] - Chunky djent/thall deathcore.
|
316.
|
319.
Chat Pile
- In The Earth Again [Collaboration]
[7.0] - Bit over-varied stylewise, but personally click with it more than the regular Chat Pile.
|
322.
Magus Lord
- In The Company Of Champions
[7.0] - Bit too retro-rudimentary for my tastes, but generally pretty compelling epic black metal in the Bathory/Summoning mould.
|
323.
|
324.
|
325.
Philosophobia
- The Constant Void
[7.0] - Slightly classic-leaning prog; some heaviness is a bit uninteresting, but the melodicism is pretty nice.
|
329.
Weald And Woe
- Far From The Light Of Heaven
[7.0] - Can overdo the Medieval guitar melodies a bit, but largely rather entertaining.
|
331.
Chevelle
- Bright As Blasphemy
[7.0] - Vocals sound quite Maynard-ish here; a bit of an APC feel overall, but I like it a decent amount.
|
332.
Meteora
- Broken Mind
[7.0] - Nicely melodic symphonic metal EP with some rough moments, but some compelling vocal melodies and keyboard/orchestral arrangements, with a bit of a Serenity/Nightwish feel.
|
|
333.
Blood Vulture
- Die Close
[7.0] - Pretty well-made, hooky and likeable grungy alt-metal sound.
|
335.
Tombs
- Feral Darkness
[7.0] - Has some cool songs, but can be plodding at times - not a return to Monarchy Of Shadows level.
|
|
336.
The Bleak Picture
- Shades Of Life
[7.0] - Pleasantly melodic gothic death doom with satisfying and sorrowful guitarwork.
|
|
337.
Leonov
- Shape Of Ash
[7.0] - Neat post-y EP from Pelagic with good mix of metallic heaviness and light airy textures, track 3 drags it down a bit.
|
338.
Elettra Storm
- Evertale
[7.0] - Some duff songs, but at its best a Seven Kingdoms-esque quite stirring power metal release.
|
|
339.
AFI
- Silver Bleeds The Black Sun...
[7.0] - I missed this band's goth rock pivot, but they do it fairly well.
|
|
340.
Sowulo
- Niht
[7.0] - Decent Nordic dark neofolk in the classic mould.
|
341.
Nicolas Cage Fighter
- I Watched You Burn
[7.0] - Groovy, pounding, hooky hard/metal/deathcore, bit too macho BS at times but better than most similar bands.
|
343.
Endrøm
- The Last Swordsman
[7.0] - Raw but broadly satisfying semi-melodic black metal from Indonesia.
|
|
344.
Throat Piss
- Existence As A Grinding Gear
[7.0] - Saxophone-laden sludge, there's some rough mixing choices/uninteresting tracks, but when it gets in its groove it's thick and tasty.
|
345.
Battle Beast
- Steelbound
[7.0] - Decent mix of AOR, power metal, and a couple wildcards (Twilight Cabaret, and folk metal on Blood Of Heroes).
|
346.
Tenebris
- Kochanowski
[7.0] - Interestingly quirky, slightly gothicky prog sound, a bit akin to Disillusion's Gloria.
|
|
349.
Melpomene
- A Body Is A Suggestion
[7.0] - Interesting instrumental death metal-leaning sound.
|
|
350.
Hold Me Down
- Devour
[7.0] - Stompy extreme-leaning industrial metal.
|
351.
Psycho-Frame
- Salvation Laughs In The Face Of A Grieving Mother
[7.0] - Typical breakdown-heavy deathcore, but with a fairly fierce delivery.
|
354.
|
|
355.
Bleak
- First Part
[7.0] - Fun debut thall EP.
|
|
357.
Jo Quail
- Notan
[7.0] - Bit too sparse in parts, but also crafts some enchanting soundscapes, particularly in Embrace.
|
|
358.
Danheim
- Heimferd
[7.0] - Typical neofolk sound, most of it fairly standard quality but with some highlight songs e.g. Stormdans.
|
|
359.
Black Cross Hotel
- Songs For Switches
[7.0] - Bit of a genre hodge-podge with elements of industrial, gothic, post-punk, and parts that sound like Machine Head (vocally at least); features members of Atlas Moth and Stabbing Westward alongside Sanford Parker.
|
360.
Shedfromthebody
- Everything Out There Has Teeth
[7.0] - More alt rock than anything else; the shoegaze/alt rock parts are nice, not as taken by the more noise rock parts.
|
|
361.
Plague Doctor
- Plague Doctor
[7.0] - Typical but fun sludge.
|
366.
Clairvoyance
- Chasm Of Immurement
[7.0] - Decent cavernous OSDM-leaning death metal with high intensity and also occasional doomy parts.
|
|
367.
Alpha Male Tea Party
- Reptilian Brain
[7.0] - Fairly good math rock with some quite heavy moments.
|
|
368.
Serpent God
- Denial
[7.0] - Decent black metal.
|
370.
Bergsvriden
- I Haggans Afton
[7.0] - Folk-tinged black metal, a bit too raw and straightforward for my tastes.
|
|
371.
Isua
- II
[7.0] - Typical sludge doom, has a few cool solo moments.
|
372.
Glenn Hughes
- Chosen
[7.0] - Solid voice still for his age; some ups and downs with song quality, but a few enjoyable blues/hard rockers in there.
|
|
373.
Red Brick
- Thrown
[7.0] - Grim, malevolent, slightly dry sludge/hardcore.
|
|
374.
Oceanica
- Try Not To Dwell On It
[7.0] - Neat 20-minute single-song prog EP.
|
375.
Azure Emote
- Cryptic Aura
[7.0] - Peculiar mesh of electronics, violin, extreme metal, and other elements.
|
|
376.
Acrid Rot
- Where Flesh Transcends... Man Stands Tall
[7.0] - Decent death/sludge.
|
377.
Hemelbestormer
- The Radiant Veil
[7.0] - Good, but like the last album, a bit overlong and under-interesting.
|
|
379.
Trace Amount
- Flagrant
[7.0] - Grim industrial noise release.
|
381.
Lord Of The Lost
- Opvs Noir Vol. 1
[7.0] - Found this surprisingly likeable (and more metallic) than their previous stuff I'd tried, albeit with some fluctuating quality.
|
383.
Kirk Windstein
- Ethereal Waves
[7.0] - Reasonably decent sludgy doom, keyboards are an interesting touch; never been a big Kirk/Crowbar fan, and this doesn't convert me.
|
384.
Testament
- Para Bellum
[7.0] - Some mid thrash songs, but the tracks with extreme metal tendencies are a bit more inspired.
|
386.
Born Of Osiris
- Through Shadows
[7.0] - Solid djenty technicality to the album with decent grooves and some nice atmospheric vibes, plus the deathcore crunch; not a fan of the clean vocals.
|
|
387.
Constrict
- Kadavergehorsam
[7.0] - Brief, gnarly deathgrind assault.
|
|
388.
Sheev
- Ate's Alchemists
[7.0] - Interesting stoner/alt rock-metal stuff with curious tendencies (e.g. Tool-ish passages).
|
|
389.
DeadTrees
- 十万肉喇叭 / One Hundred Thousand Meat Horns
[7.0] - Oddball release with elements ranging from black metal to folk and shoegaze on different songs.
|
392.
Whitehorse
- The Dissolution Of Eternity [Split]
[7.0] - A grim, harrowing combination of sludgy drone doom metal and harsh noise.
|
|
393.
All Men Unto Me
- Requiem
[7.0] - Occasional metallic leanings, but predominantly solo vocal contemporary take on the concept of religious mournful music.
|
394.
Scalp
- Not Worthy Of Human Compassion
[7.0] - Straightforward but devastating grind with a slight twist at the very end.
|
399.
Drain
- ...Is Your Friend
[6.5] - Good enough for hardcore/crossover, but not something I'm eager to revisit.
|
400.
Aeronwen
- Blood On The Pyre
[6.5] - Slightly scattered mix of symphonic and electronic elements, but pleasant songs and good vocals.
|
|
401.
Voragoth
- Storm Obey No Masters!
[6.5]
|
403.
Jester Majesty
- Infinite Measure, Finite Existence
[6.5] - Somewhat intriguing thrashy prog-metal sound calling back a bit to acts such as Nevemore, Psychotic Waltz and Control Denied, but ultimately just not that interesting to listen to, and I don't care for the vocals.
|
404.
Inhuman (POR)
- Gloriæ
[6.5] - Gothic/alt-metal sound, some decent songs and good solos, vocals are variable.
|
405.
Currents
- All That Follows
[6.5] - Better than some of their recent stuff, still short of those fleeting peak moments from their early career.
|
408.
Wode
- Uncrossing The Keys
[6.5] - Pretty good black/heavy sound with melodic aspects, but do find myself zoning out to a few tracks.
|
409.
Zeicrydeus
- La Grande Heresie
[6.5] - Cool elements to this (I like some of the basslines in particular), but found it a fairly unremarkable blackened heavy metal sound, outshone in a year with Scimitar.
|
|
411.
Bioscope
- Gentō
[6.5] - Pleasantly mellow but slightly insubstantial Steve Rothery-featuring new age/prog rock.
|
|
412.
Mrs Frighthouse
- Solitude Over Control
[6.5] - Creative, at-times very compelling but slightly rough-edged mix of industrial, noise rock, drone, sludge, and theatrical synths.
|
|
413.
Arcane Tales
- Ancestral War
[6.5] - Pretty enjoyable Rhapsody-style symphonic/neoclassical power metal.
|
414.
Dolmen Gate
- Echoes Of Ancient Tales
[6.5] - Slightly rough-edged but generally decent heavy/doom metal, the solos stand out as a highlight.
|
416.
|
417.
Unén
- Forever Winter
[6.5] - Reasonably solid melodic prog metal with some highlight songs, and some lulls in quality.
|
|
419.
Aneverlow
- Violet
[6.5] - Big-sounding and fairly emphatic electronics-laden djent-core EP.
|
421.
|
422.
Gnaw Their Tongues
- The Genesis Of Light
[6.5] - Actually pretty likeable ambient music - pure ambient for the first half, but turns more distorted in Part 3.
|
423.
Mourn The Light
- Sorrow Feeds The Silence
[6.5] - Interesting addition of power metal elements to a heavy/doom base - could have done with a bit more of it in honesty.
|
|
424.
Donella Drive
- Axon
[6.5] - Reasonably enjoyable post-hardcore/math rock/alt metal.
|
425.
Panopticon
- Laurentian Blue
[6.5] - Pleasant acoustic Americana folk, particularly when the strings come in, some of the tracks drag a tad, and the vocal style on An Argument With God doesn't quite do it for me.
|
|
426.
Violent Testimony
- Aggravate
[6.5] - Rapid-fire deathgrind assault.
|
|
427.
Pendulum
- Inertia
[6.5] - Some fun songs, a bit of an uneven experience.
|
428.
|
430.
|
433.
Rage
- A New World Rising
[6.5] - Very NWOAHM-esque thrash/heavy; it's competent, but just a bit grating, particularly vocally.
|
|
434.
Ho99o9
- Tomorrow We Escape
[6.5] - Punk/hip-hop/+ mix, bit scattered stylistically and variable in quality, but has good parts.
|
|
435.
Surfaced
- Where Angels Fear To Tread
[6.5] - Chunky, feisty metallic hardcore EP.
|
|
436.
Goblinsmoker
- The King's Eternal Throne
[6.5] - Typical but fun sticky sludge/stoner.
|
|
437.
The Grand Myth
- The Devils Of Vulture Valley
[6.5] - Decent melodeath EP.
|
|
438.
Vaarcloc
- Contururi
[6.5] - Very pleasant but generally unremarkable post-rock/metal.
|
|
439.
Wintereve
- Birth of Tragedy
[6.5] - Rough-around-the-edges Draconian-esque gothic doom, some stirring melodies make it pretty enjoyable.
|
440.
Anima
- Entity
[6.5] - Melodeath/doom with clean vocals - rough around the edges, but pleasant listening.
|
441.
Street Sects
- Dry Drunk
[6.5] - Reasonably good industrial rock/metal with some tasty moments and some less impressive ones.
|
|
442.
Libretto Orchestra
- Dark Side Dominion
[6.5] - Overlong and lacking in memorable songs, but good performances (particularly vocally) and some stirring arrangements and moments (particularly in Cathedral Of Evil).
|
443.
Slaughter To Prevail
- Grizzly
[6.5] - Some interesting quirks and cool moments to the songwriting, but overall just not that engaging.
|
|
444.
Whispers Of Granite
- Liquid Stone
[6.5] - Decent atmospheric/prog rock spin-off from Frequency Drift lacking slightly in compelling songwriting.
|
|
445.
SouphL
- Flore
[6.5] - Oddball noisy grindcore with abstract improvisational pieces amongst the short grindy bursts.
|
446.
In The Company Of Serpents
- A Crack In Everything
[6.5] - Competent but ultimately somewhat unengaging stoner/sludge.
|
448.
Stargazer (NOR)
- Stone Cold Creature
[6.0] - Hard/arena rock anthems with a power metal leaning vocally (not pacewise), eminently listenable but not impactful.
|
449.
|
451.
Primal Fear
- Domination
[6.0] - Inconsistent mix of good power metal songs and tedious trad heavy tracks.
|
452.
Deaf Club
- We Demand A Permanent State Of Happiness
[6.0] - Somewhat irritating hard/math/grindcore release that flits about a bit too much.
|
|
453.
Crooked Royals
- Create Me // Erase Me
[6.0] - Decent djent-core EP with some subpar clean vocal cheese and awkward 'rap' dabblings.
|
|
454.
Void Awaken
- Relentless
[6.0] - Reasonably tasty djent-core with somewhat offputtingly rough harsh vocal style.
|
455.
Unleashed
- Fire Upon Your Lands
[6.0] - Pretty bog-standard OSDM-leaning death metal, fine but forgettable.
|
457.
|
|
458.
Hibernaut
- Obsidian Eye
[6.0] - Brawly sludge, appreciate the energy, not keen on the vocals and not wowed by the writing.
|
459.
|
|
460.
Midnightmares
- Mortalis
[6.0] - Good operatic vocals, some decent songwriting parts, slight roughness to production, all-round OK but unremarkable symphonic metal.
|
|
461.
Phantom Heir
- Fragile Immortals
[6.0] - Decent and slightly different djent, clean vocals don't quite work and some songwriting is awkward.
|
462.
Haggus
- Destination Extinction
[6.0] - The punk/grindcore sound in general isn't that much for me; the soloing is pretty scene-stealing in moments.
|
465.
Born Divided
- Chronicle Of A Shipwreck
[5.5] - Occasionally promising but somewhat iffy proggy melodeath.
|
|
466.
Grafix
- Don't Slow Down
[5.5] - Poor man's Pendulum, lacks the hits from the previous album, listenable.
|
467.
Orbit Culture
- Death Above Life
[5.5] - Real squandered potential, they've been interesting in the past, but there's so much monotonous groove chugging, and the cleaner choruses sound like 00s In Flames in a bad way.
|
469.
|
|
470.
Glaciers
- A Place Beyond The Pines
[5.5] - Electronics-heavy djent-core with a bit too much vocal processing and trap bits I can pass on, but some nice grooves.
|
|
471.
Bone Fetish
- Bone Fetish
[5.5] - Crunchy death/goregrind with a few decent riffs.
|
472.
|
473.
Ylva De Lune
- II
[5.5] - Rather pleasant black/shoegaze backdrops undermined by out-of-tune vocals.
|
|
474.
Headless Kross / Pound Land
- Headless Kross / Pound Land [Split]
[5.0] - Typical but reasonably fun and groovy sludge/stoner split on the Headless Kross side; Pound Land's odd noise rock is rather less appealing.
|
|
476.
Death Meta
- Malware
[5.0] - Very irritating cybergrind.
|
|
478.
Void Sinker
- Echoes From The Deep
[4.5] - Turgid, static, overlong drone doom metal.
|
479.
Today Is The Day
- Never Give In
[3.5] - Some very boring noise rock/goth rock with occasional harsher moments sandwiched in.
|
Disclaimer: All top lists are unofficial and do not represent the point of view of the MS Staff.
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Comments
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Posts: 3554  |
Posts: 3554
Your lists have become one of the main ways I stay on top of new metal releases lol. Mostly because I don't have the patience to listen to 1000 new albums per year
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 Posts: 8655 |
Posts: 8655 Written by Alex F on 09.12.2025 at 19:00 very sensible to not listen to 1000 new albums per year, maybe one day I'll be similarly wise shame I feel so obligated to keep on top of all the different subgenres so that I can weigh in on the different category nominations for the MSAs, could easily cut out a couple hundred if I wasn't bothering with that lol
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