50-31 | 30-11 | 10-1

50. Saya Gray – Saya

[Official site] // [Bandcamp]

What makes an art-pop album excellent? If it’s immense attention to production detail, then Saya has it. If it’s melodies that begin subtly, but unravel over time into brilliant earworms, then Saya has it. You can see where we’re going with this: Gray’s second LP and follow up to the highly acclaimed 19 Masters is everything a fan of avant-leaning but aesthetically mainstream music could hope for. It’s also an album that shores up any lingering doubt that she could write a cohesive, broadly-reaching pop record without dulling the keen songwriting which has always made her work such a pleasure to explore in depth. Saya is her most vivid-sounding and wholly representative creation yet – an aptly-titled piece. –Sowing

49. Abigail Williams – A Void Within Existence

[Official site] // [Bandcamp]

Few bands embody musical evolution quite like Abigail Williams. In terms of public opinion, their trajectory has been especially dramatic. I’ll put it bluntly: the band was initially viewed as a laughingstock throughout the old metal blogosphere I used to frequent. Their debut album was a blend of symphonic black metal and deathcore that was widely mocked by the gatekeepers of the era – just take a gander at contemporaneous reviews on Rate Your Music. There was a seething contempt that labeled the album a disgrace to black metal, an opinion that’s aged poorly as Abigail Williams has evolved into a band even those same haters can appreciate.

While I say Abigail Williams, I suppose I am more so talking about the only original member and brainchild: Ken Sorceron. The band has had one of the lengthiest former-member lists of any band, featuring over 20 people, but Sorceron has made it his baby. He writes the albums, performs vocals, guitar, and keyboards while employing session musicians to fill out the rest and execute his vision. He also had a brief stint with The Faceless and joined Vale of Pnath last year to help create a great and especially unique blackened technical symphonic death metal album. He’s a wildly talented artist, and A Void Within Existence is another notch in his growing belt of quality projects.

The album has a bit of everything for fans across the vast black metal spectrum, from the old school icy, crushing riffing of “Life, Disconnected” to the jaunty Emperor-esque leads of “Void Within”, all wrapped together in a neat atmospheric package. There is a tale of two halves here, and each shows its quality in different ways. The first four songs are under 6 minutes and are much faster paced traditional black metal, while the second half, with three songs over 8 minutes, showcases their progressive flair with intricate song structures and slows down the pace with some doomy riffs. It peaks in a tremendous fashion, leaving us with one of the best songs of the year, “No Less Than Death”, a stunning post-black metal track with Sorceron’s clean vocals adding a beautiful serenity with atmosphere and soft melodies that harken to classic Cascadian bands. That is how you write a closer.

Abigail Williams has done more than enough to earn respect over the years, putting in the hard work to truly become masters of their craft. It’s time to start properly recognizing Ken Sorceron’s talent and Abigail Williams as a premier American black metal band. –Futures

48. BRUIT – The Age of Ephemerality

[Official site] // [Bandcamp]

BRUIT is a band that had eluded me up until the release of The Age of Ephemerality, but I’m very glad that is no longer the case. This album is a cavalcade of drawn-out post-rock, soothing ambient and glitch bits that add an extra oomph. It sounds like a ’90s computer game at times, to be honest, and evokes a sense of nostalgia while entrancing you with the sheer atmosphere. These influences work extremely well together and form one cohesive album that you can throw on in the background, and before you know it, you’ll be so locked in that you can’t help but be hypnotized by the circumstances that The Age of Ephemerality puts you in. –Hawks

47. Drudkh – Shadow Play

[Official site] // [Bandcamp]

Drudkh is one of the masters of atmospheric black metal. Ever since their early days, this band has been able to pull the listener in with folk leanings, Pagan themes and hypnotic riffs. Well, friends, Shadow Play is no different and is actually the band’s best album since Microcosmos. Why is that? Simple: this album is a culmination of everything they’ve done to this point. The riffs are unusually melodic for a Drudkh album, but they never sacrifice atmosphere for melody. The blend is absolutely spot-on and trance-inducing. Drudkh have never blown anyone away with their technical prowess, and they don’t have to when the autumn vibes are so damn high. Shadow Play is perfect black metal for the fall and winter months, so sit back and let the trees take over your mind and body. –Hawks

46. The Armed – The Future Is Here and Everything Needs to Be Destroyed

[Official site] // [Bandcamp]

Despite my quite enjoying Perfect Saviors, I realize it was a bit of a departure for the group thematically, perhaps going for too much of an arena-rock cum Converge pastiche that didn’t gel with listeners like the early records did. Well now it’s 2025 and there’s plenty for punk rock bands of all flavors to rage against, and with The Future is Here and Everything Needs to Be Destroyed, The Armed burn brilliantly. Centering on the German concept of Weltschmerz, the depression experienced by realizing the world will never meet your expectations, the album tackles the sense of a world where despite the abundant wealth and prosperity, millions can’t afford food or healthcare and where people are “endlessly scrolling past vacation photos, gym selfies, and images of child amputees in the same feed.” The album showcases the “return” (if one wants to call it that) of The Armed’s flavor of buzzy rippers. It’s nothing novel at this point for the group, and the lyrics – while a little strawman-y at points – don’t detract from the euphoric feeling I get when “Kingbreaker” or “I Steal What I Want” so effortlessly infuse catchy choruses with ear piercing walls of sound that let me bop along. The album checks off every box fans want from the group, nothing more, nothing less, for better and for worse. And at the end of the day, the highest praise I can give is this, it’s legitimately difficult for me to describe how good this group’s music is without saying “fucking”. The Armed rule that hard and The Future is Here and Everything Needs to Be Destroyed rules that hard. –Calc

45. Old Sorcery – The Escapist

[Official site] // [Bandcamp]

I consider it my personal sacred mission to stand up for the genre closest to my heart: dungeon synth. Fortunately, Juuso Peltola provides more than enough music to share with the world (think of his black metal project Warmoon Lord, for example), and Old Sorcery has never disappointed. The Escapist, true to its name, is a haven for dreamers, brimming with enchanting melodies and weaving a truly fantasy-like atmosphere that embraces the listeners. This dungeon synth album is a gateway to a mystical world, filled with wonders to discover… a place where magic and adventure await, and a weary traveler can find rest, too. –garas

44. Havukruunu – Tavastland

[Official site] // [Bandcamp]

Havukruunu: a band that can seemingly do nothing wrong after four albums. Tavastland is their most epic, Pagan-inspired album yet. The raw, icy riffage of previous albums is still very much present here, but they’ve really stepped it up a notch in terms of the viking-like atmospheres. This entire album sounds like you’re on a march towards a battlefield on horseback while chanting war hymns and drinking beer, knowing full well it might be the last thing you ever do. Feelings of later Bathory and early/mid-era Enslaved really take over here, and it’s nice to see them really lean into those influences. Black metal can be versatile, and this album shows that Havukruunu can take a different path than before and still succeed with flying colors. –Hawks

43. Blut Aus Nord – Ethereal Horizons

[Official site] // [Bandcamp]

Blut Aus Nord have been one of the biggest forces in black metal for 30-plus years. Who would’ve thought they would release an album on par with their best stuff in 2025? I did, because this band can do no wrong. Other than the 777 trilogy, which is super boring, nobody could do atmospheric/ambient black metal better than Blut Aus Nord. The soaring horizons featured on this album are less focused on horror this time around, as they are about uplifting the listener into another stratosphere. The sweeping guitar leads, the inhuman blast beats and vocals that sound like a spirit calling from the afterlife give the listener an unusual sense of calm. “The Fall Opens the Sky” may be the best track they’ve ever done, perfectly blending everything that makes Blut Aus Nord great. –Hawks

42. Lady Gaga – Mayhem

[Official site] // [Spotify]

More than a decade has passed since we heard Lady Gaga this confident. After a string of rough years for her, where it felt she wasn’t able to fire on all cylinders, Mayhem calls us back on the dancefloor. Pouring her heart out into this set of vulnerable songs must have been a relief because she sounds rejuvenated. Adding an industrial dance music edge to the funk/disco/EDM mix augments the chaotic nature of the lyrics here. As a result, the record caters to all of her fans’ needs while marking an excellent comeback for Lady Gaga. –insomniac15

41. King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard – Phantom Island

[Official site] // [Bandcamp]

Since last year, King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard have “slowed down” a bit, releasing only one album per year. Personally, I didn’t have high expectations for Phantom Island because their last few albums just didn’t click with me, and I don’t think I’m alone in that. But Phantom Island turned out to be a fantastic surprise! The band’s lush instrumentation, especially the heavy use of brass, gives the album a huge boost, and the super-cheesy ’60s British pop/rock vibes are the icing on the cake. Every single track is a carefree, mellow, summery, slightly psychedelic earworm!

In my opinion, the band truly put effort into this record: Phantom Island is a mature, 100% feel-good experience. –garas

40. Messa – The Spin

[Official site] // [Bandcamp]

The Spin is what a young and uninitiated me would have expected from a band labelled “doom metal.” I know better these days, but those low and mournful bass-heavy grooves painting bleak horizons, bending slivers of light in at only hues of desaturated blue along jagged rocks of tasteful guitar solos, riding desolate hills at slower-than-thrash tempos and guiding it all along with the ephemeral vocals of alto Sara Bianchin… call me cynical in relation to the rest of the genre, but all of this makes The Spin a perfect audio painting of the word “doom” to me. Now, defining it is one thing, but embodying it and adding those dynamics that make each song something to fawn over is another. Suffice it to say, Messa don’t miss, setting a baseline of experimental doom full of hooks and twists while exploring intricate guitar solos (“At Races”), insanely catchy choruses (“Fire on the Roof”), and even an eye-opening saxophone-jazz guitar duel (“The Dress”). The Spin is an easy standout in 2025, sure to satisfy the familiar, titillate the curious, and lure in the unsuspecting. –AtomicWaste

39. The World Is a Beautiful Place & I Am No Longer Afraid to Die – Dreams of Being Dust

[Official site] // [Bandcamp]

When “Beware the Centrist” was released and the world was introduced to TWIABP 2.0, two pervading reactions stood up amongst the rest. The first was, who switched out my sugary emo twinkles with this salty hardcore? The second was how Dreams of Being Dust is apparently going to be a *gestures broadly at everything* album, as the message of the song was not exactly subtle. Turns out both those notions largely panned out, as Dreams of Being Dust saw the group ratchet their heavier affinities from Illusory Walls up substantially while raging at the current state of the world (déjà vu?). From the metalcore influenced “Dimmed Sun” to the more straightforward hardcore jam “Beware the Centrist”, the band’s choice to marry the immediacy and fire of their message with a newfound aggression pays off wonderfully. And while the band certainly turned it up, they did not exactly rip the knob off. Dreams of Being Dust retains much of the band’s previous oeuvre, from the vocal harmonies to the twinkly guitar arpeggios, that prevent the group from completely alienating those who may have skipped Illusory Walls. It takes just one listen of album highlight “Captagon” to realize that Dreams of Being Dust isn’t just trying things out, there’s sophistication in these songs that require multiple listens to fully appreciate. And with evolution as swift as this, I’m excited to see what’s next. –Calc

38. Coroner – Dissonance Theory

[Official site] // [Bandcamp]

In my opinion, it’s no exaggeration to say that Dissonance Theory was one of the most anticipated albums of the year in metal circles. After all, it’s not every day that fate delivers a comeback album after a 30-year wait! It’s hard to know what to say about such a return, because I don’t think anyone expected the tech-thrash kings to pick up exactly where they left off. Maybe Dissonance Theory doesn’t have the jaw-dropping twists of Mental Vortex or the raw aggression of Punishment for Decadence, but that doesn’t mean Coroner have betrayed their essence. They’re still a brilliant band, and no one else could have written an album like this – only they could pull it off! –garas

37. Whitechapel – Hymns in Dissonance

[Official site] // [Bandcamp]

When you hear a band is “going back to their roots”, you can’t help but shudder. There is a long history of metal bands uttering this phrase and proceeding to release some of the worst garbage you have ever heard. Whitechapel had a good thing going with their last two records; they pushed their sound into a more progressive and alternative direction compared to their glory days as the kings of Myspace-era deathcore. Admittedly, I fell off the Whitechapel wagon after they released two back-to-back groove metal-inspired duds and failed to keep up. However, the promise of rewinding the clocks back to their pummeling signature deathcore sound perked my ears up. Many people were baffled at the sudden change in direction after hitting a seeming creative peak, but the band has earned more than enough respect to at least hear them out.

Hymns in Dissonance really is exactly what you think it is. It’s a fairly straightforward, no gimmicks, no bullshit, heavy-as-balls deathcore album executed at an extremely high level. It absolutely feels like a spiritual continuation of This is Exile – I mean, the two choruses to the title track name drop every song on that album, which certainly put a stupid grin on my face. If you told me this was released in 2011, I would believe you. It’s an updated take on a classic sound, gargantuan chugging grooves, memorable hooks with callouts, a truly monstrous vocal performance and a thick, dense atmosphere. Oh, and don’t forget the earth-shattering breakdowns. A true love letter to the Uncs of deathcore. There are slight tinges of blackening that perfectly complement their old sound, the blast beats really kick into high gear and really pop in the mix. The production is somewhat reliant on loudness, but it does give the album an undeniably massive, epic quality. Hymns in Dissonance doesn’t work just because it sounds like early Whitechapel, it works because it sounds like an even more juiced up polished version of that sound.

It’s time to sing the praises of the unquestionable star of the show here, vocalist Phil Bozeman. He has always been one of the greatest vocalists of the genre and has even gotten better with age. The man is now 40 years old and delivers a career-best performance. Phil’s filthy lows and disgusting gurgles have always been the highlight of the band, but he now employs much more manic ear-piercing highs that provide such a nice change of pace and pair well with the aforementioned blackening. His voice is now a full-fledged deadly weapon. Deathcore has to be one of the most vocalist-dependent genres out there, much like how the NFL is largely dependent on your quarterback. A great one can mask the flaws and elevate their surroundings, but when one is combined with a supporting cast firing on all cylinders? That’s how you get all-time greats. Am I saying Phil Bozeman is the Tom Brady of deathcore vocalists? The longevity, consistency, evolution and quality of performances absolutely draw comparisons. He certainly has a mighty strong case for GOAT of the genre and is still showing the kids how it’s done.

Whitechapel casually popping back in after years and years away from sheer, ignorant, heavy deathcore and dropping an album that could fit right in with their classic era is something I didn’t even know they had in them. Sometimes you just have to remind people that you’ve still got it. The king is back. Long live the king. –Futures

36. Laura Stevenson – Late Great

[Official site] // [Bandcamp]

Death, taxes, Laura Stevenson earning a spot on a Sputnikmusic best-of year-end list. Late Great is a devastatingly heart-wrenching album, even when the harder-hitting twang-and-roll of “I Want to Remember It All” and “I Couldn’t Sleep” might belie the record’s overarching theme. As forlorn as Stevenson might seem at first blush, Late Great is imbued with fearless acceptance of living in the grey: feel the anger, mourn the loss, reflect on good memories, begin to heal, embrace what it takes to move forward. Sometimes, she compartmentalizes in very matter-of-fact fashion (“Your I.D., mine, as they’re set side by side on the desk of the notary / A click of a pen and the stroke of a hand, and there’s no longer you and me”), and the somber piano matches her candor in “Middle Love”. Yet the moments I most gravitate to — and readily empathize with — on Late Great is in hearing her resilience (“It starts and ends here … / I’m standing alone, but I’m standing”). Throughout her career, Stevenson’s penchant for sharing her vulnerability in relatable flashbulb memories is courageous, and Late Great is no exception: its resonance reverberates in your heart long after it ends.

35. Greet Death – Die in Love

[Official site] // [Bandcamp]

“When my time comes, how am I supposed to know?” and “Some folks stay afraid, change is unsafe / If you don’t take the chance, how are you gonna know?” highlight themes of existential dread and fear of the unknown that permeate throughout Die in Love. Complemented by Hum-adjacent fuzz and quintessential celestial Pumpkins twinkling, the quintet acknowledges that nihilism is an easy cop-out to acknowledging the past and expressing curiosity about the future. Co-vocalists and childhood friends Logan Gaval and Harper Boyhtari have undeniable chemistry and lyrical hooks. “Same But Different Now”‘s crescendo into explosive effect-laden guitars and expertly-crafted and adroitly-mixed percussion is one of several remarkable moments as the vocals and guitars envelop you in ethereal haze. The melancholically wistful “Emptiness is Everywhere” and “Love Me When You Leave” further illustrate how two seemingly incompatible constructs – love and death, schmaltz and cynicism, springtime sunshine hues and overcast autumn skies – can seamlessly converge into a brilliant listen. “Feelings pass, people fade away / Friends change, problems stay the same” — death might be the great equalizer in the end, but Die in Love‘s ubiquitous shoegaze shimmer staves off the morbid just enough to foster a zest for life, whatever may come next.

34. Raphael Weinroth-Browne – Lifeblood

[Official site] // [Bandcamp]

Alright, listen up: I didn’t know anything about Raphael Weinroth-Browne before Lifeblood, but my god, when you see the promotional pictures of that red-hued shirtless Canadian cellist looking like bearded Fabio ready to kill you with the power of chamber music, you best believe you’re looking at a man who’s got the sound to back up the press kit. To some extent, Lifeblood extracts a virtuosic performance on the strings not unlike what you’d see from Tigran Hamasyan on piano – a showpiece grounded by a blend of the traditional and modern, as evidenced by the arpeggiated electronic undercurrent of self-titled opener “Lifeblood” dancing with the low-end of Weinroth-Browne’s string barrage while the higher register draws classical comparisons to lighten the mood. Until the bottom drops out in what can only be described as an organic incarnation of dubstep-inspired sudden growling lows and soul-screeching mids. The thread spans the album as Weinroth-Browne masterfully connects the pulse of a modern dancefloor to new elevated and twisted ways to lead, sweep, pluck, bubble, and shred (see “Ophidian”, “Nethereal”) like no cellist has done before. The kicker? Those electronics I mentioned before? Also cello. Every layer is cello. It’s a feat that deserves praise and recognition on its own, but the way Weinroth-Browne can make you forget about that and lose yourself in the soundscape is all the more impressive. It’s a high water mark for 2025 and leaves me with a genuine sense of wonder — both that Weinroth-Browne was able to pull this off, and at what he might dream up next. –AtomicWaste

33. Djrum – Under Tangled Silence

[Official site] // [Bandcamp]

A meditative medley of exquisite sounds that almost did not see the light of day, Under Tangled Silence is spectacular in every discernible element and might prove to be the IDM album of the decade. Integrating classical piano and resplendent harp into modern UK bass with a virtuosic touch, Felix Manuel’s brilliance is omnipresent. Take for instance the pulsating rhythms of the playful “Three Foxes Chasing Each Other” (which could soundtrack the next iteration of Tetris Effect: Connected), acid-tinged grooves and gorgeous motifs heard in “Galaxy in Silence”, and the can’t-miss hypnotic splendour felt in “L’Ancienne”‘s second half or the mesmerizing piano alchemy in “A Tune for Us”: the technical proficiency and creative synergy on display is unparalleled. Under Tangled Silence is a sublime journey, where radiant flourishes and subtle ripples are uncovered upon each and every listen. Have it accompany you on a mindfulness walk in fresh air, on your commute, as the soundtrack to your mise en place — the possibilities are endless, and in the face of what could have been potential artistic devastation, Manuel’s perseverance and ingenuity are seemingly limitless.

32. The Acacia Strain – You Are Safe From God Here

[Official site] // [Spotify]

“All problems are nails if your hammer is big enough,” snarls Vincent Bennett on “I DON’T THINK YOU ARE GOING TO MAKE IT”, and evidently his singular mission is to bludgeon with reckless abandon throughout YOU ARE SAFE FROM GOD HERE. Put simply, he succeeds — Futures had it right when he wrote that Bennett is the heartbeat and soul of The Acacia Strain, especially in how many techniques and cadences he uses in his fury to accompany his menacing metaphors. Bennett’s guttural growls are some of the best in the genre this year — and he potentially makes for a fascinating case study for an ENT physician. The pummeling instrumentation echoes Bennett’s misanthropy: malevolent riffs steeped in sludge, squealing pinch harmonics, and Matt Guglielmo’s venomous drumming are relentless in their onslaught. Any fears that the revolving door of musicians would have led to a drop in quality can be laid to rest. YOU ARE SAFE FROM GOD HERE’s closer, clocking in a shade under 14 minutes, is another rewarding surprise after the preceding 24-minute assault. To be clear: there is still room for fun in deathcore — look no further than the gang vocal in “THE MACHINE THAT BLEEDS” (specifically the “God’s hate” breakdown, which features God’s Hate, who have a song called “God’s Hate” off the album God’s Hate), the array of samples embedded throughout the record, or the dissonance in “A CALL BEYOND”‘s “Six feet closer to Hell” breakdown being briskly followed up with “Bury me vertically”’s consonance. An indisputable, uncompromising behemoth of a record.

31. An Abstract Illusion – The Sleeping City

[Official site] // [Bandcamp]

I’ll be the first to admit: I always thought An Abstract Illusion was super overrated. Their bombastic brand of prog/melodeath focused less on riffs and more on sounding as big as possible, and while I still don’t enjoy their previous albums, The Sleeping City is another beast entirely. The guys finally realized how to write hard-hitting riffs to mix with their over-the-top synth work and epic atmospheres. The opener “Blackmurmur”, in particular, is an absolutely engaging riff-fest that makes you feel like you’re screaming from the top of a mountain. My problem with these guys was never their ability, it was the fact that metal without good riffs rarely resonates with me. Well, they’ve certainly rectified that problem here. –Hawks

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