2025 fucking sucked. I lost my job in March, which killed a huge desire to write as I was struggling for seven months to find something else, only to land a job in November with something I now hate. I’m really hoping 2026 will be better because I could use a W right about now. Anyway, here’s a bunch of music I liked from 2025. That, at least, didn’t suck.
The classic story of an extremely underground band is to drop one cult classic, disappear for over a decade, and then re-emerge as if nothing had happened. That's exactly the case with Veneficium, who dropped their debut LP back in 2008, then proceeded to drop exactly nothing for the next seventeen years before returning out of nowhere with this absolutely fantastic EP, Grand Black Maelstrom Mysticism. Normally I really despise symphonic black metal, but in Veneficium's case, they execute it near-flawlessly. Rather than sounding like slightly heavier corsetcore, Veneficium instead elect to blend in the symphonic organs with the black metal, creating a truly evil-sounding little record. Please don't make me wait another seventeen years for the follow-up!
I'll be honest. I didn't think this record would see the light of day. After their split with Malthusian — Time's Withering Shadow — the drummer of Suffering Hour unfortunately underwent battle with cancer and things were looking pretty bleak for the future of the band. Thankfully, he beat cancer and the band got back together earlier last year, and not only that, but were also gearing up to release their comeback. Impelling Rebirth is that comeback, and is absolutely fucking incredible. This EP, if it were a full length, would easily be a contender for album of the year, if it wasn't too short. It's mean, and is exactly what I've come to expect from a Suffering Hour release. The more insane thing is that it wasn't the only crazy good EP that released that day...
...because Umulamahri came out of nowhere and melted my mind. It seems that everything Doug Moore (Pyrrhon, Seputus, etc) touches to gold, and a collaboration with Andrew Hawkins (Adharcáil, Baring Teeth) is no exception. Learning the Secrets of Acid is a weird, twisted affair of psychedelic death metal that feels like you took some bad mushrooms and your shitty friend forced you to keep taking more mushrooms. Much like with Suffering Hour's EP, this would easily be an album of the year contender if it were a full length. Guitars on this sound more oppressive than they do on any Baring Teeth or Pyrrhon record, with "Leaked Photo of Heaven" being a completely fucked up closer that just makes me want to listen to the record again. I cannot recommend this enough.
Menetekel is one of my favorite musicians around. This Swiss maniac is responsible for a lot of forward-thinking bands out there, and Arkhaaik is one of my favorite projects from him. Their 2019 debut *dʰg̑ʰm̥tós was particularly interesting, and when I saw Uihtis being announced, it got me real hyped. The hype wasn't unwarranted either, as Arkhaaik is now my second favorite Menetekel project after Dakhma. Uihtis is entirely in Proto-Indo-European, and the entire vibe is a group of Pleistocene tribesmen on the hunt for mammoths. "Kerhos Mehnsos" is easily the most rousing song of the year, and it's especially impressive that Arkhaaik have managed to make every song worth the extremely long runtimes. Fantastic release, and a band I'll recommend wholeheartedly.
It should come as no surprise to anyone who knows me that Imperial Triumphant are basically guaranteed on any end of year list of mine in any year they release an album. Goldstar is no exception, and is the best Imperial Triumphant record ever since Vile Luxury. This is still the same oppressive, fucked-up music you know and love, but significantly trimmed down in a way to ensure maximum impact. "Gomorrah Nouveaux" and "Rot Moderne" bring an Abyssal Gods vibe to Goldstar, and "NEWYORKCITY" is a straight-up grind track. Imperial Triumphant have yet to leave their auric throne, and as always, I just want more. Another gem of excellence in a near flawless discography.
In terms of records that genuinely floored me this year, Osgraef might just take the cake. Amor Fati as a label is rather hit or miss for me, but from the first notes of "Sekhem Apep - Vampyre's Enscription", I was instantly hooked. This is a ridiculously violent record and everything about it hit perfectly for me this year, as some of the biggest themes in the music I went for in 2025 were catharsis or just evil. Osgraef is evil, and this debut record was utterly fantastic. The riffs on this thing are meaty, oppressive, and form some of the nastiest blackened death metal 2025 had to offer. And there's a 99.5% chance it slipped under your radar. Go listen now.
Obviously this was going to appear on my list. I gushed about it in my review on this here site, and my thoughts haven't changed. Sijjin delivered a monster on this follow-up to Sumerian Promises, and I love it even more than the debut. This is another album that stuck with me all throughout 2025, and the sheer catchiness and memorability of the riffs and solos are partly why I come back to it. The other part is the sheer fun that exudes from Helljjin Combat. Anything that is so clearly a love-letter to the first death metal bands of the late 80s is going to be crafted with fun at the forefront, and there's not a shortage of that to be found here. Hail Sijjin.
I've written about 夢遊病者 before with their EP Skopofoboexoskelett, and when I initially thought that was their best, РЛБ30011922 had me spinning it three times back to back to back as soon as it released. This is a marvelous record, and it drifts between prog, jazz, and drone seamlessly throughout the single 37 minute track's runtime. I'm so glad we finally got a full length from 夢遊病者, because it's something I've wanted for quite a while. РЛБ30011922 is also such a heartwrenching record, especially when you look at the track titles and realize it's all the Russian spoken word from the album. This is about one of the main contributors' grandmother who reflected on her entire life and ends with the line that she will always be there in spirit even after she passes on. I beg you to give РЛБ30011922 a listen if you haven't, because it's magnificent.
It should be a crime to release such an excellent album so late in the year, and that's exactly what Lychgate did. I shamefully had not listened to Lychgate before this year, but I rectified that mistake and instantly fell in love with this band. Lychgate are one of the few bands that use symphonic elements in a way that do not sound overly-contrived or cheesy, and as a result create some of the most evil-sounding metal out there. "Terror Silence" is a fucking banger on here, and Precipice has become my second favorite Lychgate record, right after An Antidote to the Glass Pill. This reeks of dystopian horror, and I cannot get enough. Lychgate wasn't the only latecomer that destroyed my list though...
...because Martröð came in swinging with nothing but haymakers. Black metal + Iceland = a happy Cosmo, and this record, also released at the tail end of the year, is pretty much exactly what I want from an Icelandic black metal record. Draumsýnir eldsins is Martröð's first full length, released an entire nine years after their initial demo Transmutation of Wounds, and was not what I had for my December 2025 bingo card. Much like any good Icelandic black metal record, this retains the same dissonant sounds and gives off a funereal atmosphere. "Dauðinn" is an especially powerful closer, as it bridges the gap between the relatively mournful "Tíminn" into an unrelenting black metal assault before finally collapsing into abyssal dark ambient. Martröð is phenomenal, and if you appreciate bands like Andavald and the unfortunately gone Skáphe, you'll love this.
No, I wasn't having quasi-schizophrenic episodes attempting to manifest this album into existence, why do you ask? Ever since NoEvDia teased this at the tail end of 2024, I was imagining we would somehow get it in December of that year, and I was wrong. Then I saw it announced for the end of March in 2025, and it was the hypest shit for me. Teitanblood, as I mentioned in my Black Curse review, is my favorite war metal band, and Death is my favorite war metal record of all time. From the Visceral Abyss is not Death, but it comes damn close in levels of quality. Clearly the superior war metal record of 2025, and this was my album of the year for months on end. If you skipped this, rectify it immediately. From the Visceral Abyss is pure, unrelenting violence.
Qrixkuor is, for my money, one of the most nightmare-inducing bands in existence. Poison Palinopsia introduced me to them, and I've been absolutely fiending for more. After Zoetrope, I thought this would come in 2023. Then in 2024. Then I thought this would be another Ingurgitating Oblivion type situation, where we would be edged for a while until finally they released their follow-up. Thankfully we didn't need to wait seven years for this follow-up, and the end result is wonderful. The Womb of the World is a fantastic expansion on Qrixkuor's sound, notably including a full orchestra across the entire record, which is something that most symphonic metal bands fail to do. Not only that, but the creepy atmosphere really lends itself to being foundational in making this one of the most nightmarish records I've listened to in 2025. Put simply, Qrixkuor is again at the forefront of extreme metal. And no, they're not dissonant. If people say they are, they're dumdums.
It was never going to be anything else. Innern is perfection. It's the follow-up I'd been waiting for since Finisterre, being the perfect combo of the sounds present on both Finisterre and Stellar, and has slid into my top 3 of favorite Der Weg einer Freiheit records. There is no other record that has been a better soundtrack to 2025 for me, and has helped me get through what has easily been the worst year in a long while for me. Innern, as stated in my review, beautifully combines two distinct halves into a perfect whole, and on top of that, "Forlorn" is my song of the year with a bullet. 2025 may have been abysmal dogshit, but at least we got some excellent records to make an otherwise unbearable year bearable. Here's hoping 2026 is better. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to have a beer and spin this record five more times.
