Dolphin Whisperer

Thus Spoke and I go way back. In fact, after our successful graduation from the same n00b class and into our first list season as full article writers, we had imagined that us two as a listing pair would produce a lethal and novel whiplash.1 So welcome to the bottom (or top) half of this eclectic endeavor that’s sure to leave you with thirty-some-odd unique albums to revisit or ignore or whatever it is you do with our strong and word-riddled opinions.

Now, the keen reader may notice I’ve had a bit of a productivity drop-off since about June. Well, that’s cause my wife gave birth to The Dolphlet, first of his name, and that’s kind of a lot of work, as I’m finding out. Baby comes first, as it goes. But I squeaked out a few important things, including a Coroner review that the unwashed masses claimed didn’t jerk Tommy Baron and co. as full of glee as it should have. I did miss other important things, like several of my list items.2. And I sincerely apologize to the following bands and offer them words of condolence or, something like that, based upon their individual situation: Bonginator, you should be glad I dropped the ball, stop it with the lame interludes; and count your blessings, Hell Ever After, thrash doesn’t need to be a musical; Species, you did thrash right though and I’m happy that others enjoyed you even more; Moths, and more specifically bassist Weslie Negron, I’m sorry that I took on your interview when my son was one month old and my brain was fried—your album rocks and you put in so much work to make Moths special. And lastly, to all the classics, I had grand plans to YMIO because I thought my brain could make that work—haha.3

Angry Metal Guy, however, remains home for me. You, dear readers, are a part of that love and drive that keep me here. Sometimes, I may only be able to conjure a half-funny joke in the comments section—you laugh (let me believe that) and give it two to five likes. Others, I may hype the heck out of a promising underground act until one of my trusted colleagues tells me “Dolph, that’s enough already, I’ll review it, sheesh.”—you liked it probably more than I did anyway. You see, for every word of bleeding hyperbole that we scribble, two sets of eyes may walk away enraptured. When you’re dealing with artists who have anywhere from sub-100 to 30004 listeners on the popularity engine of Spotify, every set counts. Every purchase on Bandcamp or Ampwall counts. Every stream on Tidal or some other competitor counts. Even your damn scrobble on last.fm counts if you’re nerdy enough for that. So sappy as it may seem, along with the herding efforts of Steel and occasionally The Big Dr. AMG Man Himself, you all give life to the bands in this wonderful modern metal scene. Hails!!

#ish. Messa // The Spin – I can’t rid myself of the power that a soaring bluesy lick and a smoky siren voice hold, no matter how I try. Burned into my head are The Spin’s glassy chorused-out chorus escalations. Drenched into the cones of my crackling car speakers are the synth throbs of certified shakers “Fire on the Roof” and “Thicker Blood.” Turn up the volume and turn down the lights, Messa has come to steal attention with yet another platter of throwback creativity.

#10. Quadvium // Tetradōm – Steve DiGiorgio and Jeroen Paul Thesseling stand at the altar of supreme metal bassists in my own personal head canon. They’d helm yours too if you were familiar with the span of their collective talents across acts like Death, Sadus, Autopsy, (DiGiorgio), and Pestilence, Obscura, Sadist (Thesseling). Knowing all this, they decided to make an album together. And in their refinement as performers, they managed to make a supergroup two-bass project more than just a thumpy wankfest. Full of diverse and rich tones, modern and proggy jitteriness, and a rounded, jazz fusion-leaning taste for exploration, Tetradōm provides an exciting notch in the weathered belt of these legends. I don’t know where Quadvium goes next after this, but I hope that it’s anything but dormant.

#9. Scardust // Souls – Every time I hear the introductory stumble of “Long Forgotten Song,” I fall immediately into the spastic and serenading world that Scardust crafts with their hypermelodic, histrionic, and confident progressive metal attitude. Central to this success remains the peerless Noa Gruman, whose every melody lands with honey-slathered tack and sing-a-long inspiration, despite my voice being a far, far cry away from the searing soprano wail that functions as a mic-drop crescendo as often as it needs to. Behind her, though, lies one of modern prog’s most nimble rhythm sections, imbuing even ballads like “Dazzling Darkness” and “Searing Echoes” with a bass-popping and hi-hat chattering clamor that places Souls in a league of its own. Also, Ross Jennings of Haken sounds better here than he has with Haken since The Mountain.

#8. Chiasma // Reaches – Chiasma possesses the unique ability to blend in with the modern paradigm of accessible melody prog in the lane of a band like Tesseract without conforming to its most djentrified tendencies. Rather, floating in its own swirl of Cynic-coded riffage and angelic, layered vocal excess, Reaches explodes with atmosphere and propulsive riff alike. In Katie Thompson’s nimble serenades rests a voice imbued with both a fluttering prowess and an aching heart. And in this sorrow—wrapped in the brightness of bleeping electronic backings, flipping virtuosic guitar runs, and singular voice—a yearning and healing takes place in fervent and fluorescent splendor.

#7. Dawnwalker // The Between – Just when I thought Dawnwalker didn’t have any more surprises left in their bag of tricks that seem tailor-made for my enjoyment,5 these sneaky Brits went and pulled out the one-long-song album. Continuing to live in the space of esoteric philosophy set forth in The Unknowing last year, Dawnwalker collects moods from all their previous works—the melancholy of isolation from In Rooms, the vocal aggression from Human Ruins, a sonic palette even grander in scope than Ages—to explore thoughts surrounding death. In lush construction, plaintive discourse, and time-bending magic, The Between breathes as a meditation bookended by heavy chiming bells—a journey that feels longer than its svelte 30-ish minute runtime but with none of the fatigue its gargantuan ask threatens. 6

#6. Gorycz // Zasypia – It’s a shame that Gorycz isn’t a household name, as their mystical, groovy approach to atmospheric and retching black metal sits among my favorites in the genre as a whole. Zasypia, as part three of a trilogy, tells a tale of despair through a warping pedalboard light on traditional distortion, shrieking throat on the edge of coherence,7 and dancing kit full of jazzy aplomb. In the space that lives between recursive and developing refrains, terror lurks. But in the Gorycz tattered exhale hangs a reverence for the beauty that can emerge from destruction and grieving. Feel every amplified string creak as you fall deeper into this devastating world.

#5. Lychgate // Precipice – You may be aware that this album was released on the 19th of December, a full two days after we were supposed to turn in these lists. Knowing that, I made sure I beat Precipice to the punch of garbage time list upheaval by listening to it, well, before that. In turn, Lychgate made sure that they’d make this late-season blooming count. With the death-thrash spirit of an early Morbid Angel crashing through low-end organ harmony and colliding with Holdsworthian alien guitar bleating, Precipice holds back neither on its urge to wander in arcane atmosphere nor on its urge to churn bodies in kinetic wonder. As another writer (whose name I can’t remember) said, Precipice ensnares by “…oscillating between Zappa’s Jazz from Hell and unearthly, pit-scorching acrobatics.” I couldn’t have put it better myself.8

#4. Barren Path // Grieving – The best grindcore album of the decade so far would come from the manic attack of Gridlink sans Jon Chang. Absent his terrifying shriek, Matsubara’s guitar scatter weighs heavier, Fajarado’s lightning snare rolls clang sharper, all against song lengths that inhabit the true short-form tradition of extreme brevity. The truth is, I’ve spent longer than the album’s length trying to convey its intensity and prowess, so just go and listen to it already. I’ll wait here. No, seriously, do it.

#3. Turian // Blood Quantum Blues – So very rare is the album that aligns like a key to a lock of a heart torn by generational angst. An eloquence exists in the disparity between Turian’s stark societal observations punctuated by raw emotional interjections of “FUCK”. I haven’t bothered to count the instances that this linguistic escalation occurs, but I guarantee that there are more fucks per stanza on Blood Quantum Blues than your favorite album this year. And, after you’ve become addicted to its overdriven noise rock-meets-hardcore-meets-industrial madness, you’ll know every single one as you shout along its contemptuous tales of cultural erasure. Indians don’t vanish, and neither will my love for every riff, every breakdown, and every tirade of Blood Quantum Blues.

#2. Changeling // Changeling – Tom “Fountainhead” Geldschläger poured everything into Changeling. Arranging over thirty performers across Changeling’s seems Sisyphean in scope, but Geldschläger persevered. Through peerless fretless wailings, every instrument under the sun follows well-developed motifs, and a pure love for metal, Changeling expresses nostalgia and novelty in its every loaded nook and cranny. And behind each moment of dense and exuberant songcraft, Geldschläger has tinkered to deliver an experience that feels carved over a lifetime. On top of all of that, Geldschläger is also a true guitar wizard—he zigs and zags and twists and twirls where others wear a scale to death. Like a classic novel or movie, Changeling reveals its worth both in immediate, jaw-dropping action and deep, attention-stealing detail. Geldschläger even put together a Dolby Atmos mix for the album and held listening parties in Berlin. I hear they’re wonderful. Come to California, Tom!

#1. Maud the Moth // The Distaff – When we seek art, we seek bravery and freedom of expression. And in the music that we seek in a refuge like Angry Metal guy, we often find these qualities expressed in emotional theme, in raw, sonic aggression, or in sweeping guitar-led grandeur. Woven from a different base cloth, Maud the Moth on paper does not fit that mold. Amaya López-Carromero wields, instead, a piano and scrawled diary pages. She, too, has pain, the same as any human who has encountered a world unforgiving to a life that wishes to live in a divergent path. And like the artists we value—or rather, like the artists I value—Amaya presents her vision of this struggle with focused and expanding melodic lines, crushing and crying crescendos, and an earnestness that compels its audience to surrender for a moment to a world created by these musical ideas. When your sadness comes, it won’t weep in blacks and ivories the way that The Distaff does. But you can pop it on and pretend for its run that its triumph will transfer from your ears to the very center of your tingling chest.

Honorable Mentions:

• Pissgrave // Malignant Worthlessness – Tempos that flow like a full sewage pipe and riffage that doesn’t let up until the steaming and warped conclusion. The Pissgrave family flows as one heaving death-fueled machine, and it’s sad to see them close shop. But they left us with a monster of a swansong.
• Dormant Ordeal // Tooth and Nail – Pummeling and emotionally resonant—if a bit ham-fisted in some lyrical choices—Tooth and Nail represents the ideal form so far of what Dormant Ordeal can achieve with their gut-wrenching take on the Polish death metal sound.
• Sterveling // Sterveling – The backdrop of black metal on what is otherwise downcast jam music makes for a combo that is both hypnotic and uncontested in the space. It helps that the vocalist lets out some of the most demented howls I’ve heard this year.
• 夢遊病者 // РЛБ30011922 – Speaking of jam music, 夢遊病者 has, over time, morphed from a more frenetic math rock-indebted experience to this current, flowing state of progressive tone porn. 2025 was a good year for the one-song album. And much like Dawnwalker’s The Between, it takes up about thirty minutes and some change. Restraint, class, and fat bass heaven.
• Aversed // Erasure of Color – I’m not normally one for melodic death metal. But when it comes packaged with this much mic vitriol and a neoclassical sense that reminds me of the late, great Nevermore,9 I pay attention. And I spin it again and again and again—constant rotation since arrival.
• Yellow Eyes // Confusion Gate – Certain albums that come out late in the year suffer greatly because their true power lies in remaining interesting and unfolding over a long period of time. Immersion Trench Reverie is a special album, and Confusion Gate feels like its sequel. Comfy and caustic all at once.
• Moths // Septem – As the premier progressive metal band from Puerto Rico, Moths has a loaded mission to make a name for themselves. And with another album that keeps its runtime tight and its riffweight heavy, Septem deserves your attention for half an hour and then some. Hey, look, it’s on Ampwall too!
• Grayceon // Then the Darkness – Cello metal at its finest and most relatable. Despite advances in chamber inclusion throughout the metalsphere, not a single band sounds like Grayceon yet. And their songwriting quality remains so high that I don’t care that this album is just about eighty minutes.
• Helms Deep // Chasing the Dragon – There’s a dragon with a jetpack on the cover. I shouldn’t need to say more than that. But note also that Chasing the Dragon comes also loaded with rollicking ’80s flair and pentatonic guitar wizardry that’s so out of fashion it’s cool again. This is metal.

Disappointments o’ the Year:

• Suffering Hour // Impelling Rebirth and Umulamahri // Learning the Secrets of Acid – You’ll see more words about these later, cause they are great. And they are EPs. That’s not enough music when this quality exists.

Songs o’ the Year:

Why give you one when I can give you twenty-seven? Why twenty-seven? That’s my secret. Now, I’ve talked enough. Go out there and enjoy some music, friends. And enjoy this photo of my dogs eating. And the Dolphlet admiring them!



Thus Spoke

I’ve been blindsided by the year’s end again, and now have to find some interesting things to say about 2025. Other than the fact that I turned 3010, my main personal Thing ov Significance is that I managed to land myself a new job, which I’ll start in the new year.11 Don’t worry, though, I won’t be girl-bossing too hard to have time for AMG.

Musically, 2025 has been a (small) step down from 2024 for me, although this could just be due to my attention deficit. I’ve had my finger less firmly on the pulse in the last six months, such that several albums, by artists I like, many on this list, either took me completely by surprise on release day, or crossed my radar barely any sooner, thanks to me actually checking Slack for once. I don’t have any well-defined excuse for this outside of plain old burnout plus terrible organization. On the other hand, the fact that I didn’t review most of my favorite records this year means that I can bat away criticisms of self-indulgence by having a year-end list mostly comprised of albums I didn’t write about. One thing I am happy to have achieved this year is running my first AMG Ranking piece on Panopticon. It might be the most verbose and least exciting of its kind for the majority of site readers, but being forced to immerse myself that extensively in the discography of an artist I love was very cool (albeit intense).

Speaking of my own erratic presence at HQ, leads me on to the hiatus (official or not) of several wonderful people among the staff, particularly my list-buddy Maddog, whom I miss very much. They all have good reasons, and I support them immensely, even if it means fewer of their excellent reviews. Fortunately, we’ve also welcomed many newcomers to our ranks who can pick up my slack in their stead, and whose reviews help me improve my own writing whilst also appending to the endless list of Things I Must Listen To.

As my extensive yapping here shows, my ability to meet a word count hasn’t improved much. Before finally moving on to the list, I’ll take the chance to reiterate my gratitude for everyone reading this, and some people who might not be. Thank you to all the staff for collectively making this all possible, and giving me the opportunity to speak about music and for people—you guys—to actually read it. Thank you for reading. Even if our tastes are completely opposed and you think I’m wrong about everything, I’m glad you’re here.

Now for the bit people actually care about.

#ish. Panopticon // Songs of Hiraeth – Quietly12 released alongside Laurentian Blue, Songs of Hiraeth is a collection of songs composed between 2009-2011 that never saw the light of day. In it, you can hear the incredible development of Panopticon’s signature emotionally swelling black metal style in this period, and this record, like virtually all of them, as I repeated in my ranking blurbs, is gorgeously, absorbingly heartfelt and powerful. Unlike you might expect, it actually increases in intensity as it progresses (for me), with the final trifecta of “The End is Drawing Near,” “A Letter,” and “The Eulogy” all gunning for my Songs o’ the Year playlist with first devastating rage and fury, then heartbroken solemnity and sublime melody throughout. I guess it’s not fully in the list purely because it’s not a ‘proper’ new release, or whatever.

#10. Grima // Nightside – It could have been easy to forget about Grima, given its dropping right on the cusp of the stacked Spring release season we had this year, and the fact that I didn’t instantly mark it down for a TYMHM as with Clouds. But I didn’t forget. Despite their wintry aesthetic, Grima’s music warms my heart with folky magic and ardent blackened blizzards. Nightside is no exception, its warmth coming this time from a renewed emphasis on the atmosphere and bayan after the higher energies of Frostbitten. I love intense, harsh, frosty black metal, and I love how Grima do it (“Impending Death Premonition,” “Where We are Lost”). But what I love most of all about Grima is how they pair that with their folky tendencies, and the way—as Sharky pointed out—Vilhelm’s rasps graze over it all. This culminates, for me, in the more mournful and urgent tone of several tracks on Nightside, where intense moments still feel dreamlike (“The Nightside”), and vocals breathe like ghostly whispers (“Mist and Fog”). It’s not my favorite Grima record (that’s probably Rotten Garden), but being a Grima record at all, given their caliber, means it’s bloody great and has to be on my list.

#9. Bianca // Bianca – Here’s an excellent example of a record I very likely would never have heard were it not for the AMG writer community. And wow, am I grateful I did. Ken‘s description alone caught my interest, let alone the tidbit that the project includes two members of another 2025 favorite of mine, Patristic.13 It takes familiar concepts from metal, both post—ethereal atmospheres and haunting singing—and extreme—sky-piercing shrieks, undulating, relentless double-bass, and tangled guitar blizzards—but sounds like nothing else. Even in combining these elements, Bianca stands alone. The coalescence of blackened, doomed, ambient layers is mesmerizing, the pitches upward into mania, and lapses back into mournful mystique, captivating. Throat-gripping furor arrests me more inextricably than almost anything else this year (“Abysmal,” “Nachthexe”), and transcendent melodies forged from this black fire lift me fully out of my body (“Abysmal,” “Todestrieb”). I’ve been in love since.

#8. Der Weg Einer Freiheit // Innern – Innern’s influence on me was subtle and insidious. I would just put it on, be absorbed—or be sucked back in periodically, if I was working and not concentrating on it—and suddenly it would end. Then I’d listen to it again. Der Weg Einer Freiheit has been developing their particular intense, dark, atmospheric kind of (post-) black over the last decade or so, and with Innern, it’s approaching an apex. Through endlessly enveloping compositions, filled with fury and urgency (“Marter”) or solemn reflection and introspection (“Eos,” “Forlorn”), that flow seamlessly out of one another, Innern folds you insidiously into its depths. Compelling melodies, dynamic rushing percussion, and here-dramatic, there-soft-spoken vocals, each taking pieces and incorporating trials from Der Weg Einer Freiheit’s career so far, drive the thematic compositional thread through irresistibly. From the anticipatory opening shudders to the ebbing chords at its close, Innern is an experience best taken whole, and one I’ve indulged in countless times to go on this magnetic journey once again.

#7. Paradise Lost // Ascension – I never thought this would land here when first announced. Sure, I like Paradise Lost, but their back-catalog is so mixed (in style, let alone quality), that ‘liking’ them for me comes down to enjoying a handful of their now 17 albums. Even the singles’ being good failed to stir anything more than curiosity, given my experience with intra-album inconsistency. But when Ascension did finally grace my ears in full, it appropriately transcended any doubts and softened my heart towards these doom icons again.14 Paradise Lost were heavy again, melancholic and mopey again—in a cool, atmospheric way—and Ascension just flowed, with grungy aggression and sadboi introspection in perfect equilibrium. This easy, natural duality that characterizes Gothic metal, and Paradise Lost themselves as genre pioneers, when they’re at the top of their game, is exemplified in Ascension. Hopefully, the group can stay on this trajectory for number 18, if that comes.

#6. Clouds // Desprins – I don’t understand how Clouds are as good as they are. I mean this as no insult to the musicians; what stuns me is the depth of pathos, and the consistency with which they deliver it, given the relatively understated and idiosyncratic manner in which they execute it. Their characteristic flute-folk-funeral doom is so ethereally, painfully sad without being overwrought, melodramatic, or crushing. It took my n00bish breath away four years ago, and this year Desprins came and took it again; this time with pieces of my soul attached. The music is just so beautiful—unrelentingly bleak, but beautiful, and Clouds’ balance of the dark and the light through the synths and acoustics, and apathetic spoken-word is exquisite and deeply affecting. These composite melodies, swelling and trilling softly, are transportive for me—particularly “Life Becomes Lifeless,” “Chain Me,” “Sorrowbound,” and “Chasing Ghosts.” Desprins is everything I want funeral doom to be: a prolonged dream-state of melancholy that paradoxically brings me joy.

#5. Deafheaven // Lonely People with Power – I have never been a Deafheaven fan. In all honesty, I’m still not. Lonely People with Power fires me up and fills my soul, while the rest of their discography continues to leave me completely cold. It seems that, briefly departing from metal entirely with Infinite Granite, has matured their sound, adding layers to their edgy blackgaze. Even when indifferent, I never understood the scorn their music generates, and now that I’ve fallen for Lonely People with Power, it makes even less sense. Not only is the way Deafheaven are combining rich, beautiful melodies with—yes—brilliant black metal simply lovely to listen to, slick, seamless, sharp, etc, it’s also distinctive and engrossing. That’s before even getting into how emotionally resonant it is. And it’s not even like this means it can’t be heavy—heck, one of these tracks is on my Heavy Moves Heavy playlist. It’s not ‘cringe’; it’s a phenomenal record and one of the best to release this year.

#4. 1914 // Viribus Unitis – I have always been most moved—emotionally and aesthetically—by 1914’s brand of WWI-themed blackened-death than any other like act. Viribus Unitis somehow outdoes Where Fear and Weapons Meet, and possibly all of the band’s previous efforts, for evocativeness and being straightforward and compelling. From the now hallmark bookends “War In/Out” to frequent samples to lyrics infused with real soldier testimony, Viribus Unitis envelops the listener in this portal to the past through 1914’s most powerful, urgently melodic compositions. Every song is heavy, dramatic, and snappy in just the right amounts, resulting in a series of back-to-back bangers that also occasionally really, really hit home emotionally. “1918 Pt 3: ADE (A duty to escape)” does all the above to perfection and has received an almost embarrassing number of replays in the short time since release. But “1919 (The Home where I Died)” did actually make me cry,15 and its fade into “War Out” is the perfect end to the monumental achievement Viribus Unitis represents.

#3. Patristic // Catechesis – It seems that every year, I review one particular atmospheric-dissonant death metal record which dominates my listening in that subgenre, and instantly secures a year-end list spot. In 2023, Serpent of Old, last year Ulcerate16, and this year Patristic. Catechesis was an immediate, visceral love for me, and not once since June has it left rotation. Sinister and dark, but irresistible in its seamlessly flowing, captivating macro-composition narrated by roars and solemn sermonizing; it ends far too soon. And in addition to being beautifully atmospheric and magnetic in melody and dissonance alike, it stands out for truly insane performances in their own right. Specifically, the drumming, which continues to blow my mind and propels Catechesis from greatness into excellence with hypnotic, intelligent rhythmic interplay. Patristic’s uncanny ability to make extreme, inaccessible music incomprehensibly engrossing and a magnificent expression of its concept are why I can’t stop listening to Catechesis, and why it’s almost the best record of 2025.

#2. Qrixkuor // The Womb of the World – Much like reviewer Kenstrosity, whereas Qrixkuor’s debut Poison Palinopsia rewired my brain with its brilliance, I found follow-up Zoetrope a tad underwhelming. When said sponge began to hint, and then gush unstoppably about the duo’s second full-length, The Womb of the World, which was in his possession, vague hope turned to giddy excitement. Not only the twisted, psychedelic horror of their signature freeform blackened death would await me, but also a full live orchestra. Yet I still don’t think anything could have adequately prepared me for how massive and mad The Womb of the World actually is. With the strings, horns, and piano swooping and crashing about in great surges and falls, Qrixkuor’s already grandiose style fully feels like some tormented classical opus, and it’s utterly magnificent. Things so small as my words can’t do justice to the way the eerie and intense lurching orchestrals, maniacal snarling voices, and cavernous extreme metal combine to create some of the best things I have ever heard, ever. Weirdly memorable and violently compelling despite its monstrosity, I’ve become completely addicted to it since. Ken himself said, it is “a mastapeece for those to whom sanity is immaterial,” when he rightfully deemed it ‘Excellent’. If I must rescind soundness of mind to so esteem The Womb of the World, I will do so gladly.

#1. Cave Sermon // Fragile Wings – Last year, Divine Laughter went from unknown to #5 on my year-end list in about 2 weeks, so when I found out there was a follow-up—thanks to my new Flippered list buddy—I dropped everything.17 My stratospheric expectations were not only met, but they were lifted into outer space. I would fear for Cave Sermon’s ability to deliver in the future, but Fragile Wings itself dismisses any trepidation. So recognizably, uniquely Cave Sermon, it displays a new, more uplifting interpretation of their sound. A commenter pointed out the lack of reference to So Hideous in my review, and in retrospect, I see their point, at least in degree: the two projects are similarly experimental and impressively novel-sounding without actually feeling avant-garde. But there is just something about Cave Sermon that puts them in an entirely different category of genius—for me. Fragile Wings is playful but not silly; it’s complex but memorable, groovy, and fun; it’s dissonant and strange, but it’s organic, harmonious, and digestible. The idea that just one person is behind this18 makes it that much more mind-blowing. At this rate, there could well be another Cave Sermon record next year, and on the current trajectory, it may finally land this fantastic artist the official Iconic status they have always deserved.

Honorable Mentions:

• Dormant Ordeal // Tooth and Nail – Hands-down my favorite Dormant Ordeal album so far. Heavy, groovy, and eminently-listenable, it really got its claws into me—especially during gym sessions shortly after release. It did fall out of my rotation quite substantially, in favor of its rivals above, thus putting it here.
• Primitive Man // Observance – When Observance dropped, and I was listening for the first time, I badly tried to describe Primitive Man to my partner (not a metal fan) over WhatsApp as “being crushed by a big rock really slowly, but in a good way.” Obviously, they didn’t know what I was on about, but Spicie Forrest seems to with his much better analogy of “being imprisoned and forgotten in a lightless pit.” Primitive Man has always made silly-heavy, scary-huge music, but Observance clicked with me like nothing else in their discography prior. I am indeed helplessly crushed and held prisoner.
• Blut Aus Nord // Ethereal Horizons – I think if this had dropped just a tiny bit earlier, it could have ended up on my list proper. Blut Aus Nord has always been one of those artists I know I do enjoy, but for some reason has never fully clicked for me. Ethereal Horizons felt immediately more enthralling. It’s more atmospheric, more darkly melodic, more blackened in its heaviness, and through it all, possibly more frightening.

Songs of the Year

• Cave Sermon – “Ancient for Someone”
• Panopticon – “A Letter”
• Panopticon – “The Poppies Bloom For No King”
• Patristic – “A Vinculis Soluta II”
• Qrixkuor – “The Womb of the World”
• Bianca – “Abysmal”
• Deafheaven – “The Garden Route”
• Nephylim – “Amaranth”
• Clouds – “Sorrowbound”
• 1914 – “1918 Pt 3 A.D.E (A Duty to Escape)”
• Der Weg Einer Freiheit – “Marter”
• Primitive Man – “Natural Law”



Tyme

I’ve spent much of my 2025 thinking about privilege. Not in the sense that the media has conditioned me, or us, to think about it, but in a way that I’ve employed to shift some of the mundane aspects of life onto their respective heads. For instance, it’s a privilege to look in my closet and have to decide what to wear each day. It’s a privilege to look in my kitchen pantry to figure out what I’ll eat for breakfast or, better yet, which coffee cup I’ll drink from. I could go on, but there’s a word limit to these intros. Suffice to say, I really tried to dwell on my blessings rather than my challenges this year.

And despite the blessings of my professional life, which bestowed upon me the incredible privilege of being really fucking busy for the last “whatever” number of months, I’ve been equally, yet much less facetiously, blessed in my personal endeavors as well. For, in addition to having a bountiful roof over my head, a vehicle to get me back and forth to my extremely privileged job, a dog I can honestly say I will have NO idea how to say goodbye to if I don’t go first, and a wife that, despite the ups and downs of a normal, healthy marriage, continues to love me, I have the distinct privilege of contributing my trve opinions on all things musically heavy, or adjacently heavy, here on the best heavy metal blog in the world! And now comes the part where I give thanks.

Thank you, first and foremost, to everyone who reads this blog every day. Without you, none of this would be worth doing. At least for me, who read, lurked, and commented for years before working up the courage to actually apply for this subservient existence. Thank you to this newest crop of freshly demoted n00bs and to my list mate Killjoy and the rest of the Freezer Freaks Crew—Alekhines Gun, Owlswald, and Clarkkent1—who, through perseverance and a buttload of patience, managed to survive nearly two years on ice to land in the crosshairs of the commentariat’s adverse, and always wrong, opinions.2,3 Thanks as well, to ALL the senior staff who are way nicer than they’d have you believe,4 except Grier, who’s even nicer than everyone else. And finally, the editors, the man himself, Dr. AMG, for seeing enough in me to bring me over, and Steel, who runs the tightest, most compassionate ship I’ve ever had the privilege of sailing on. Thanks, boss!

Now! To the LIST!!!

#ish. Antinoë // The Fold – When I snagged this late-year gem back in November, I had no idea it would have me shuffling my list. With a little more time, I’m sure it would have moved up the ladder, but as it stands, Antinoë grabbed my (ish) spot easily. With little to no instrumentation beyond her piano, Teresa Marraco crafted something so beautiful in its basic-ness that I was entranced. Her delicate melodies evoke vibes that are as much Darkher or Tori Amos5 as they are Emperor or Dimmu Borgir, and I am definitely here for it.

#10. King Witch // III – In a year when Messa released a new album as well, the fact that King Witch is sitting on my year-end proper list and not Sara Bianchin and company speaks volumes about the job Laura Donnelly, Jamie Gilchrist, and Rory Lee did on III. Whether crooning over wispy acoustics or belting out doomily powerful tones over rock-heavy riffs, Donnelly is the star of the show, and her performance had me swooning. From the minute I first heard “Suffer in Life” with its swing-heavy riffs and killer vocals, I was happy to take King Witch’s III for a spin over and over, and it’s been part of my regular rotation since summer.

#9. Imperishable // Revelation in Purity – As the year wore on, I became increasingly sure that I may have underrated Imperishable’s Revelation in Purity. In fact, I found myself returning to it several times, forgoing subsequent spins of albums I’d rated higher. With their Nile and Olkoth pedigree, Imperishable’s expert blend of blackened death metal hit an overtly swirling sweet spot for me. The songwriting on Revelation in Purity, while not groundbreaking, is expertly executed, rendering its quality undeniable. And when you toss in those very Alice in Chains-like grunge passages, akin to a cherry on top, it was easy for me to put Revelation in Purity on my year-end list.

#8. Mutagenic Host // The Diseased Machine – Mutagenic Host’s The Diseased Machine was the first album I successfully coveted and secured from the sump pit alllll the way back in January of this year. As a freshly demoted staff member at the time, I was overly excited at the opportunity to take it on, and the album surely didn’t disappoint. Mutagenic Host does death metal the way I like it: low-brow, Neanderthalic, and brutally chuggy. It’s a tenuous thing to run across something you deem so good so early in the year, but The Diseased Machine has definitely stood the test of Tyme and proved worth every point of the quarter-pounder I placed on it.

#7. Igorrr // Amen – My fancy with Igorrr has always been somewhat of a passing one. I was nowhere near the listener who would’ve been part of the band’s early target audience (Mousissure, Nostril). Still, I found more common ground with 2017’s Savage Sinusoid and even more with 2020’s Spirituality and Distortion. But when those first electronic beats of Amen’s opening track, “Daemoni,” poured out of my speakers for the first time, I was completely plugged in to Igorrr’s chaotically beautiful brand of metal madness. Amen’s surprisingly accessible break-cored, trip-hopped blackened death ‘baroque’ it’s big boot off in my ass, and I’ve been relishing and wallowing in its avant-garde pain ever since.

#6. Cave Sermon // Fragile Wings – Cave Sermon’s Divine Laughter was something I’d definitely missed out on in 2024. When Thus Spoke covered Cave Sermon’s rapid follow-up, Fragile Wings, in April, however, I vowed I wouldn’t sleep on Charlie Park’s solo black metal project this time around. And I’m certainly glad I didn’t. Words like ‘wistful,’ ‘exuberant,’ and ‘playful’ were tossed about in Thus’s excellent write-up and really homed in on what made listening to Fragile Wings such a connective experience for me. Imbued as Fragile Wings is with upbeat sadness, Cave Sermon proved that I can get on board with post metal, and to be honest, any metal that sounds this good is worth the time spent. And seriously, what is that cover?!6

#5. Crippling Alcoholism // Camgirl – Inspired by a subreddit I’m glad I never stumbled across, Crippling Alcoholism’s provocative moniker steels those who’d approach the band’s output with a certain sense of visceral anticipation before hearing even one note. My love for the disturbingly creepy With Love from a Padded Room led me to the pink, candy-wrapped murderpop of Camgirl with nary a moment’s hesitation. I gladly signed on to plumb the depths of weirdness I knew would exist, but could not have anticipated the absolute fathomless darkness lurking within Camgirl’s saccharine sweetness, especially as revealed with subsequent spins. A disturbing diatribe on hopelessness, disappointment, loneliness, and sex in the digital age, Camgirl wraps its message in a deceivingly poppy form of electronica that, when all is said and done, will have you wondering what the fuck just happened. I love it.

#4. Dax Riggs // 7 Songs for Spiders – Dax Riggs may be one of the more underrated artists of the last thirty years, and while I know I’m not the only one who rejoiced in the recent resurgence and subsequent touring schedule of one of the ’90s best sludge acts, Acid Bath, I also realized a new album will probably never materialize, at least not under that moniker. Instead, the universe graced us with 7 Songs for Spiders, Dax’s first solo effort in nearly 15 years. Filled with simplistically haunting melodies sung in Riggs’s inimitable style, 7 Songs for Spiders strummed every one of my fuzzed-out, laid-back heart strings and has remained consistently satisfying since its January release.

#3. Maud the Moth // The Distaff – I stumbled across Maud the Moth in 2023 while exploring the ever-expanding milieu of performers associated with my favorite artist Darkher. Searching Amaya López-Carromoero’s back catalog, I dove into 2015’s The Inner Wastelands and 2020’s Orphnē, emerging a fan of Maud the Moth’s quirky neo-classical piano-led operatics. When The Distaff popped up in the sump, I was glad to see Dolphin Whisperer snag it, knowing his words would do the album eloquent justice. Soaring in scope and execution, Maud the Moth proffers her most complex yet beautiful release to date. Filled with classically executed vocal acrobatics and massive amounts of intricate instrumentation, The Distaff is less a thing just to be listened to, as it is a thing to be wholly experienced. As immersive a piece of music as I’ve heard all year.

#2. Structure // Heritage – M-A-S-S-I-V-E is the word that best describes Structure’s Heritage, which is to say it’s big, sad, and “heavy as fook!”7 Every time I threw this beast on, and the album opener began crawling forth, it conjured the same cinematic image in my mind’s eye. A lone, bloodied warrior, fists clenched, head bowed, wind-swept and rain-soaked hair hanging down, muscles taut and twitching in furious sadness, standing in a field full of his fallen brethren as a lightning-laced deluge washed the blood of dead soldiers into the hungry ground. Then, slowly, he casts his gaze skyward, anguished tears streaming, contemplating his sole survivor existence, and screaming at the thunder-filled heavens “Will I deserve to live on?” Every time, that’s what I see when I listen to “Will I Deserve It,” and every time I break out in goose bumps with a lumpy throat and welling eyes. Heritage came as close to being my number one as to make the two offerings at the top of my 2025 list nearly interchangeable.

#1. Dormant Ordeal // Tooth and Nail – I know I underrated Dormant Ordeal’s fourth album, Tooth and Nail, for, despite giving it the 4.0 treatment, the sheer excellence of this record has only improved over time. April was THE month for me this year, yielding my two favorite metal releases and leaving Poland’s metal map deeply staked with a big, black-and-gold Dormant Ordeal flag. In true, warrior-like fashion, Maciej Nieścioruk and Maciej Proficz soldiered on without sole founding member Radek Kowal, which opened the door for Chase Westmoreland to waltz in and give my favorite drum performance of the year. From the brutally effective “Halo of Bones” to the excellent, Dylan Thomas-inspired “Against the Dying of the Light,” there wasn’t an album I returned to more this year than Tooth and Nail, its visceral riffs and razor-sharp edges leaving long-lasting scars. But in a good way, you know? It’s with profound pleasure that I dutifully crown Dormant Ordeal’s Tooth and Nail my album of the year.

Honorable Mentions

• Cryptopsy // An Insatiable Violence – This thing is an ass kicker. Full of satisfying death metal brutality and, like it or not, my favorite since the classic None So Vile.
• Pissgrave // Malignant Worthlessness – Thirty-one minutes of absolutely insane death metal that will melt your ears into maggot-infested pus. Soooooo good.
• Messa // The Spin – It’s Messa, fool! ‘Nuff said. There was no way I was getting out of 2025’s Listurnalia without mentioning the new album from one of my favorite doom bands.
• Depravity // Bestial Possession – This thing blew my socks off and, had I gotten more time to spend with it, might have threatened to rattle the cage of my list order for sure. Death metal done right.
• Diabolizer // Murderous Revelations – I had been in a death metal drought when I picked up Murderous Revelations; its traditional, no-frills approach hitting me hard. This one came so close to listing for me, I could smell its charred, crispy, burnt ends.
• Lipoma // No Cure for the Sick – Gurgly gore vocals over a circus parade of melodic death metal riffs. What’s not to like? I had tons of fun with this thing.
• Puteraeon // Mountains of Madness – Puteraeon was a band that had never been on my radar. Mountains of Madness’s mature aesthetic, great storyline, and engagingly crafted melodicism took me entirely by surprise.

Song o’ the Year:

‘Twas a mother-fookin’ toss up between my top 2 albums. I flipped a coin, so close was the race. (Heads) Structure // (Tails) Dormant Ordeal.

WINNER(?):

Structure – “Will I Deserve It” – Satisfyingly goose-bumpy!8

Killjoy

The fact that I’m writing this list feels nothing short of surreal. When I became a regular reader of this blog in 2019, I had a strong interest in metal but a knowledge of only a handful of its subgenres. I did not expect to make it this far when I auditioned, but somehow I became a member of the Freezer Crew. Although we were initially forced to huddle together for warmth to survive the n00b trials, as time went on, I developed a deep respect for all of my Crewmates. Their camaraderie and encouragement were great motivation for me to keep writing this year, even when it was tough. We were even allowed to organize a special edition Rodeö! I’m so proud to associate with them.

On a more somber note, I was sad to see many of the longtime writers who helped me fall in love with this site slip into the abyss we sometimes call “non-suspicious sabbatical.” While I will miss reading their eloquent words, their legacy and contributions will always influence and inspire me.

And now for some thank yous. I’m grateful to AMG Himself for creating the site and allowing me to run rampant with my questionable opinions. A gorilla-sized thanks to Steel Druhm for keeping day-to-day operations running and being the kindest, cruelest taskmaster I could hope for. Thank you to my list mate, Tyme, for making my musical tastes seem better by association. Finally, I’d like to publicly thank my wife for being so supportive of my new hobby.

I’m excited for what awaits in 2026 (which hopefully includes more power metal than I managed to review in 2025)!

#ish. Kauan // Wayhome – Kauan has demonstrated time and again that their ability to compose evocative soundscapes is unmatched in the post-rock sphere. Wayhome draws a little bit from different eras in Kauan’s fruitful career to form a richer, warmer experience. Each individual instrument—acoustic and electric guitars, strings, voice—is a crucial brush stroke in a breathtaking panorama. This is some of the most enchanting music I’ve ever heard.

#10. Anfauglir // Akallabêth – When I first grabbed Akallabêth for review, I was blissfully unaware of the 72-minute runtime (but probably should have had an inkling). After spending some time with it, I became blissfully aware of how awesome it is. Based on the chapter of Tolkien’s The Silmarillion chronicling the 3,000-year rise and fall of the island of Númenor, Akallabêth is as epic in sound as it is in scope. Mrs. Killjoy was more interested in the concept than the music, but it still made for some fun conversations. While the long runtime makes it a bit harder to revisit than the other entries on this list, this is my idea of a great symphonic black metal album.

#9. In Mourning // The Immortal – Progressive death metal comes in all shapes and sizes, and I tend to be drawn to the more emotive flavors. When Disillusion released Ayam a few years ago, it took me a while to understand the hype. In a similar manner, it took longer than it probably should have for me to appreciate The Immortal. I don’t know why this was, but in both cases I’m glad I stuck with them. In Mourning’s signature combination of earnest melodies and energetic riffs is now embedded in my mind and heart.

#8. Asira // As Ink in Water – Due to journalistic circumstances that I won’t discuss with fans, I was fortunate enough to obtain this promo earlier than I normally would have. Good thing, too, because As Ink in Water turned out to be a grower for me. The vocals proved much less popular in the comments than I anticipated, but they are the biggest reason why this record resonates with me. The buttery-smooth guitar and bass lines are another big factor. The fact that As Ink in Water was released during the tail end of 2025 might mean it appears on fewer top ten lists, but it should not be missed.

#7. Judicator // Concord – I don’t have a long history with Judicator. I am part of the seemingly small minority that prefers the post-Cordisco era, although I admit that I need to spend more time with their earlier work. Concord sees Judicator returning to their heavy/power metal roots after an experimental foray into progressive territory (which I also loved!). Other than brief saxophone and fiddle segments, there aren’t any fancy frills this time, only lots of guitar hooks and infectious choruses. And, in this case, that’s more than enough to make me happy.

#6. Valhalore // Beyond the Stars – I don’t normally see the point in quibbling about scores, however, I feel that Beyond the Stars was soundly underrated. It’s a distillation of everything I love about peak Eluveitie and Æther Realm. The folk instrumentation blends perfectly with the fast-paced melodic death metal elements. The interludes cleverly foreshadow and ease the listener into the subsequent songs. I also love the tender vocal performance by Anna Murphy towards the end. Beyond the Stars is a fun and emotional journey from start to finish.

#5. Gloombound // Dreaming Delusion – I’m always down to sample funeral doom, but it takes a very special kind to keep me coming back. Gloombound expertly walks the difficult balance between atmospheric and stimulating music. The overall sound is that of a soul trying to escape imprisonment, whether physical, emotional, or mental. Dreaming Delusion makes me feel different emotions every time I listen, but chief among them is a crushing awe.

#4. Phantom Spell // Heather & Hearth – I love uplifting, feel-good metal (this should not come as a surprise by now). So, it was almost inevitable that I would love the nostalgic keyboards and guitar solos of Heather & Hearth. But, for some reason, it took AMG’s landmark blog post about the evils of Spotify for me to really pay attention to Phantom Spell. I’m grateful I did, because I might have missed out on one of the most addictive pieces of progressive rock I’ve ever heard.

#3. Halocraft // The Sky Will Remember – Halocraft quickly became one of my favorite bands since I discovered them early this year. Their purposeful yet dreamy brand of post-rock is practically custom-made for me. This year, they expanded their creative limits by writing two very different records. I’m partial to The Sky Will Remember, but don’t miss out on its companion, To Leave a Single Wolf Alive, for a gloomier vibe. Their prior albums are really good too, and I listen to them just as often.

#2. An Abstract Illusion // The Sleeping City – “If not 4.5, then why 4.5 shaped?”, one of you rabble-rousers quipped about my review of The Sleeping City. The truth is, the more time I spend with it, the more I wonder if maybe I did underrate it. I’ve somehow grown to love The Sleeping City even more in the months since I awarded it a 4.0. Sure, the production leaves much to be desired, but there aren’t any other notable qualities that I would consider faults. It won’t appeal to the exact same audience as the legendary Woe, but I have plenty of room in my heart for both (and likely whatever An Abstract Illusion devises next). It was such an honor to write about this wondrous record.

#1. Black Narcissus // There Lingers One Who’s Long Forgotten – When I plucked There Lingers One Who’s Long Forgotten from the promo pit, I was a little skeptical about music made with only bass and drums. It turns out, though, that this minimalist approach—along with excellent songwriting, of course—was the key to unlocking a new realm of possibility within the post-rock genre. The bass blooms unfettered in this distraction-free biome, and the drum tone is crisp and refreshing. The two instruments intertwine to engender a spirit of companionship and exploration. There Lingers One Who’s Long Forgotten will always have a special place in my heart, and I am grateful to Black Narcissus for sharing this gift.

Honorable Mentions:

• Crimson Shadows // Whispers of War – As a parent of two children under age five, I am not often in the mood to be overstimulated by the media I consume. However, Whispers of War is so fun that I have to make an exception. The addition of melodic death metal feels like such a natural progression to the signature DragonForce style that conquered my naive teenage heart circa Guitar Hero III.
• Wyatt E. // Zamāru Ultu Qereb Ziqquratu Part 1 – My very first score safety violation! After spending more time with it, I can understand how some might see this as incomplete or underdeveloped, though I’m willing to give Wyatt E. the benefit of the doubt while I wait for Part 2.
• Bergfried // Romantik III – I’m a sucker for a good rock opera. Romantik III is undeniably rough around the edges, but not in a way that rubs off any of its charm. To the contrary, in my opinion.
• Moron Police // Pachinko – Talk about a late-year list disruptor! Pachinko is a wild and addictive whirlwind of prog/pop rock that I know for a fact I’ll still be spinning next year.
• Braia // Vertentes de lá e cá – Vibrant folk rock with a huge array of instruments and musical influences. This didn’t get nearly as much attention as it deserves.
• Aganoor // Doomerism – Okay, maaaaybe I overrated this by half a point. But it’s still really solid psychedelic stoner doom with catchy riffs and lush instrumental breaks.
• Ancient Bards // Artifex – Am I only including this one for sentimental reasons? Probably. But it does contain some of my favorite songs of the year (“My Prima Nox,” “Soulbound Symphony,” “My Blood and Blade”) that I still revisit regularly.

Song o’ the Year:

Judicator – “Concord”



Record(s) o’ the Month – February 2025

By Steel Druhm

2025 is rolling along at a disturbingly brisk pace, and because of this (and through no fault of our own), we find ourselves a few months behind with our Record(s) o’ the Month pieces. February had a collection of big-time releases, and no matter what we selected, some quality albums would get unfairly shafted. As always, we used our proprietary blend of democratic voting and top-down dictatorial edicts to arrive at the big winners. This is the violence forever inherent in the AMG system, and it’s worked for us so far.1 Embrace it.

Should it come as any surprise that the Finnish warriors in Havukruunu claimed the throne for February by laying waste to all pretenders and false prophets? They’ve been ruling the Bathorycore roost with an iron fist for years, and on Tavastland, they keep the swords sharp and shields stout. As before, the burly Viking metal sound references Bathory, Immortal, and Moonsorrow at their best, as Havukruunu march across muddy fields of battle in blood-spattered armor. This is martial music to be spun with axe in hand and glory in thine heart. Epic, sweeping soundscapes unfold with a vintage black metal energy, propelling robust tales of heroes and conquests. War chants join pounding drums and scathing riffs, and you’ll feel like He-Manowar by the end of the first song. As a loincloth-clad and oiled-up Doc Grier proudly proclaimed, “Not only does Tavastland continue to show a band that never disappoints—and continues to get better—but it’s one of their best-produced records.” Get this or be cast off Crom’s Mountain.

Runner(s) up:

Grima // Nightside – From Russia with love comes the atmospheric black/folk sounds of Grima once again. On Nightside, the accordion is still the law, and urgency and aggression are at a premium. Traces of grand symphonic doom flit around the edges as Grima plays with a sweeping tapestry of sound, keeping the atmosphere at the forefront. The writing is sharp and slick, and the folk elements are used adroitly to accent and offset the heaviness. As a well-impressed Carcharodon gushed, “Grima’s songwriting continues to progress, and Nightside feels like the most nuanced and best-paced outing to date.” Accordions never lie.

Maud the Moth // The Distaff – Putting genre labels on Maud the Moth feels futile, but the project of vocalist Amaya López-Carromero references darkwave, post-rock, and prog as The Distaff weaves its odd and unique spellcraft. Through twists and turns, López-Carromero is the guiding light, leading the listener through myriad moods and emotions, always enchanting, beguiling. The Distaff may not qualify as a metal album, but it lurks outside the genre, waiting to strike the unwary. It left a stunned Dolphin Whisperer gasping, ” Without a peer, Maud the Moth threatens to fly freely at the top of its own constructed throne.” Leave the lights on and let the right one fly in.

#2025 #Grima #Havukruunu #MaudTheMoth #Nightside #RecordSOTheMonth #Tavastland #TheDistaff

Listening to Maud the Moth, "The Distaff"

Saw a strong recommendation for this earlier, so giving it a try. No real idea what to expect!

#music #NewMusicFriday #MaudTheMoth