Favorite albums of 2025

Heavy metal warning! I don't exclusively listen to heavy metal, but yeah, it is my preferred genre.

Here are my personal favourite releases of this year, in no particular order.

Buried Realm - The Dormant Darkness

This was a very good "play it in the gym"-album. It just has that death metal chug chug which ensures you can go to RPE 10, or RPE 11 if you're really lucky.

Favourite track: Futuristic Hollow Nation

...And Oceans - The Regeneration Itinerary

Black metal is not only about a constant wall of noise, it can be much more! You can add....different kinds of noise! What about electronic? That has to be the thought process of this band, and it works!

In Mourning - The Immortal

Yeah, I'm into metal because of the vibes, so what!? I also enjoy a good riff to accompany the vibe, and this band has got plenty where that came from.

Favourite track: Silver Crescent (begins with juicy riff at once)

Raunacht - Zwischenwelten

More black metal, more vibes. This one was also on heavy rotation in the gym, although it didn't lead to much RPE 10 work.

Mors Principium Est - Darkness Invisible

This is my most played album this year! Just great death metal, man, what can I say.

Favourite track: All Life is Evil (lol, ain't that the truth).

Novembre - Words of Indigo

Yeah, this was my true love this year. Italians can be dramatic at the best of times, and when you pour that drama into music, it can have great results.

This album fascinated me from the start. The way the singer goes about his task...almost as if he's bored? Like he's singing from between his teeth? At first, I thought I disliked it, and then after a couple of spins I started enjoying it. The singing style intrigues me.

The melodic guitar work on this album is also superb. It reminds me of what Agalloch used to do in their songs. Example: Statua (what the melodic guitar does at the 0:40 second mark). It lays down such an emotional foundation that is exactly up my alley. The dramatic teenager in me will never die.

What were your favourite metal albums this year?