Best Of 2025 – Zach Duvall: The Never-Ending Goldrush

Hello and welcome back to the heart of another List Season. Tired yet of seeing these things peppered all over the internet? Of course you aren’t! So below I present my top albums of the year, my top EPs, and some other random thoughts. But before we get to the lists, let’s check in on some 2025 awards and trends, shall we?

Robert Eggers Trophy for Quality Remakes: Sigh. Yes, there are far too many remakes these days (really, Rotting Christ?), and yes, I know just a couple years ago I said some less than great things about bands remaking albums, but Sigh really knocked it out of the park with their redo of Hangman’s Hymn, so credit where it is due.

The Allman Brothers Band Memorial Award for Excellence in Live Albums: Beherit and Beat. The former’s Live in Praha CZ might be the definitive way to hear Beherit’s earlier, rawer material, fully capturing their heavy, hypnotic live sound (got to see them this year too). Beat’s live album, meanwhile, captured the supergroup playing 80s King Crimson material brilliantly, straight down to Steve Vai’s gonzo work imitating Robert Fripp (I wasn’t smart enough to catch this tour, unfortunately).

Subgenre Dominance Recognition: DEATH METAL. 2025 was an absolutely bonkers year for death metal of all styles, whether you want old school pummeling or a good brutal beating. About a third of my top 50 albums fall somewhere within the death metal arts, as you’ll see below.

The Abba “Take a Chance On Me” Award for Labels Taking a Gamble: 20 Buck Spin signing Species. I’m not saying that Species didn’t deserve to sign with a bigger label – they absolutely deserved it – I’m just saying it was surprising to see an American label give a deal to a band from the other side of the world (Poland) playing a not-exactly-trendy metal style (tech thrash). Kinda awesome, really, and damned if it didn’t work. Species even showed up on Decibel’s list.

Undeniable THING of the Year: Comebacks! Coroner and Deadguy both delivered their first albums in at least/about 30 years, and both seem to have nailed it, based on their presence on plenty of lists. But beyond them, we also got the first new Rwake material in well over a decade, and hell, we even got new Cathedral material, even if it wasn’t necessarily new. Counting it.

To the listing!

HONORABLE MENTIONS

Can’t fit all the great stuff in a list of a mere 20 albums, so here are 30 more that entertained me in 2025:

NUGGETS OV NEGATIVITY: 20-11

20. Urakka – Drain the Sky

From my Missing Pieces blurb: “Urakka, more than all their genre splicing and oddball twists, possesses swagger. That swagger is what carries this mix of space rock, prog metal, trad metal, stoner rock, and bits of noise and drone and grunge (which doesn’t tell the full story); it’s like a strange but ultra charismatic combination of Hawkwind, Kyuss, King Crimson, and Black Sabbath (which also doesn’t tell the full story).” Honestly kind of a zonked out album, in all the best ways.

• Last Rites Missing Pieces Review
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19. Chaos Inception – Vengeance Evangel

From my review: “First up is a whole boatload of Hate Eternal in the form of twitchy riffs and rapid blasts. Splice that with a fair amount of Tucker-era Morbid Angel (only speed it up about 30 clicks), a bit of Nile in the melodies, and even some Azarath in terms of how unrelenting it can become. But the kicker? The kicker is that it’s all presented in a bit of a dirtbag production you’d more expect to hear from a band like Autopsy.” A death metal album for people that think death metal has gotten too nice.

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18. Bubba – Cogwheels of the Pious Forge

I don’t even know how to go about recommending a band as out there as Bubba to you all. First of all, they’re named Bubba, and I’m sure there’s a story there, but the real trick is convincing you that you need to hear their combination of extremely ignorant, ping-ping brutal death metal and… Dissectionesque melodic black metal? That’s right, friends. This thing trudges and slams, and then has moments of actual beauty, and damned if it doesn’t work. You’ll probably laugh at it at first, and you should, but once it sinks in, damn.

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17. Compulsed – Amalgamated Anguish

New Jersey’s Compulsed has no such twist to their sound. Nope, this is brutal death metal, as straightforward as it comes, assembled from a boatload of wicked riffs with extreme efficiency. With the slick riffcraft, blast-happy passages, and focus on brutal breakdowns, Suffocation is the main point of reference here, but Compulsed isn’t quite as blindingly technical as their obvious heroes, preferring to leave just enough of a caveman vibe to help you pose for those mosh moments.

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16. Glorious Depravity – Death Never Sleeps

If 2025 was a year of death metal – and I already told you it was, you silly goose – then Glorious Depravity delivered the best slab of stripped down, old school, blast-it-from-your-t-top DEATH METAL of yore. Like an unholy merging of Deicide, Cannibal Corpse, and Vader, Death Never Sleeps pounds and blasts and hammers its way through 34 minutes of almost impossible fun. Blast this record and sketch the band’s logo on your notebook like it’s 1992 all over again.

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15. Phantom Spell – Heather & Hearth

It’s easy to describe Phantom Spell’s music as proggy trad metal that timewarped to be made in the early 70s so it has that keyboard-laden, pastoral, and almost medieval sound. See? I just did it. But just a description of the sound doesn’t capture what makes Heather & Hearth so great. No, the greatness comes from mastermind Kyle McNeill’s masterful sense of melody and wonder, giving the album a true feeling of adventure but also giving the impression that he’d make a gem no matter his choice of style. Infectious, escapist, and irresistible.

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14. Grayceon – Then the Darkness

Sadness. Very rarely in my musical history has an album communicated sadness as well as the utterly despondent and sprawling Then the Darkness. It’s Grayceon’s best album in more than 15 years, largely because it so fully indulges the sadness and sorrow (but also anger and rage) that is often at the center of their sound. But it’s never before been so utterly sharp and without light, anchored by what might be Jackie Perez Gratz’ greatest vocal performance. Just, holy crap this album is haunting.

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13. Coroner – Dissonance Theory

From my review: “In some ways, Dissonance Theory feels like a combination of Mental Vortex and Grin, but in many others it is its own album, continuing Coroner’s tradition of never quite releasing the same record twice. It also sounds like it could have come out 30 years ago as a direct follow-up to Grin, compressing time and sounding like the band picked up right where they left off, both in sound and thankfully also in quality.” Much more than just “better than it should be,” but a truly welcome addition to the Coroner canon.

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12. Deadguy – Near-Death Travel Services

Like Coroner, metalcore greats Deadguy returned after decades and dropped a new album as if nothing had happened in the interim. Near-Death Travel Services feels like it could have been made back in 1997, showing a Deadguy that is as rageful, snide, and riffed up as they were during their original 90s run. This contains absolutely nothing new, which I imagine was exactly the point. Instead, the point was making an album as fun and infectious as humanly possible. Old punks did good.

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11. Messa – The Spin

I battled with The Spin for a good amount of the year, unsure if it maintained the stratospheric standards of its immediate predecessor Close. But eventually I let go and just let it be it, and that’s when it really sunk in. Messa is already showing a knack for doing things subtly different on each album, and The Spin is their gothiest, haziest, and driftiest. It also manages those traits while being their most efficient album. Efficient, and absolutely gorgeous, of course.

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IRRELIGIOUS INGOTS: 10-1

10. VAURUVÃ – MAR DA DERIVA

From my Missing Pieces blurb: “…Brazilian duo Vauruvã returns with perhaps their strongest album yet in Mar da Deriva… …a really neat mix and adaptation of some very familiar names. The overall aura and folk-tinged passages – including liberal use of flute, subtle keys, and non-kit percussion – ought to remind listeners of peak Negură Bunget (and the way it fades in could be taken as an homage to the opening moments of Om). Add to that Krallice’s heavy use of gorgeous and extremely ample tremolo lines that weave and change shape and a lot of Enslaved’s riff punchiness (think Below the Lights era) and you’ve got most of the picture.”

Not the last album here that I’ll describe as a warm blanket, but Mar da Deriva certainly is that: a comforting combination of some of my favorite things.

• Last Rites Missing Pieces Review
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9. PARADISE LOST – ASCENSION

From my review: “More than anything, Ascension further hammers down the impression that Paradise Lost could keep doing this well into their elder years. After all, this is a band that already sounded old when they were teenagers. Why not keep playing grizzled, grumpy, and sad music for decades more? As long as they’re still able to write at this level and find tiny ways to keep twisting their formula, the goods will keep coming.”

Given more time with it, I’ve come to realize that Ascension is a bit of an oddball album for Paradise Lost. It’s more than just a collection of songs; rather, it has a real arc that takes time to settle in (once you get past just being floored by “Salvation”), and is one of the band’s most varied albums. It’s also more reflective than I expected from the band at this stage, which is probably a big reason as to why I’ve connected to it so strongly.

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8. DISSONA – RECEPTOR

Full admission: I’ve had a bit of a falling-out-of-love with capital-P Prog Metal in recent times. It certainly doesn’t help that Dream Theater’s reunion with Mike Portnoy this year was a bit of a dud, or that my tastes have veered towards weirder, noisier sounds of late.

But then something like Receptor comes along and reminds me how much jubilation can be contained in this music. Yes, Dissona plays progressive metal, but it’s not just a shred-fest of long instrumental passages–this thing has soul. It’s part Leprous, part Devin Townsend, a lot of extreme metal flourishes, and a whole lot of love injected into every second. And that’s the kicker: Receptor sounds like Dissona began with raw frameworks of truly soulful, heartfelt material and added their technical wizardry later (and there is indeed a lot of technical wizardry), as opposed to the opposite method (even on some of prog’s greatest albums, the humanity sounds like an afterthought). The result is a gem that gets better with each listen and fills me with joy each and every time. It’s Joyous Prog, with a capital J.

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7. SPECIES – CHANGELINGS

The thing about great tech metal – meaning bands that know how to write real songs within their spiraling virtuosity – is that there simply isn’t enough of it. So when a band as instantly refined as Poland’s Species comes along, we best appreciate them as they make us remember the classics by such bands as Watchtower and Sieges Even (with a slightly different vocal approach). Changelings represents a massive leveling up from the band’s already excellent 2022 debut, To Find Deliverance, improving upon nearly every aspect of the Species sound, from the technicality and flashiness to the songcraft and band interplay. That interplay is huge, as this trio clearly enjoys both their material and each other’s company, which is key to the album’s success. Great seeing this band and style get some serious attention.

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6. SCIMITAR – SCIMITARIUM I

What I wrote for the top albums list: “Scimitar plays a kind of smoky, goth-tinged form of epic trad metal that ought to remind listeners of greats like In Solitude and even Hammers of Misfortune, and yet, also not. This is a band clearly doing Their Own Thing, even if many of the ingredients – spiraling lead guitars, bombastic drums, shuffling rhythms, bits of neoclassicism, and touches of extreme styles like blasts and dissonance – are sourced from throughout the ages. But the band plays with an almost reckless abandon (especially the drummer), as if they’re intent on creating a slightly manic atmosphere for their crazy talented singer. Vocalist Shaam Larein already has a great solo career, and here she brings her wailing Souxsie-isms and mystical dynamism to a full band situation. The result of this pairing is nothing short of magic, making Scimitarium I one of the coolest debuts of the year.”

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5. KAKOTHANASY – METAGONISM

In a year as loaded with killer death metal as 2025, Kakathanasy stands out for just how slick sophomore effort Metagonism feels. It has the hyper technicality of Defeated Sanity, the knotted up feel of early Deicide, and the blast-frenzy of someone like Brodequin. Most importantly, Kakothanasy possesses an innate understanding of when you can hammer people into oblivion (often) and when you need to pause for some slammy trudges, which they do with great delight (and to our delight). And hot damn it’s slick. Not slick in the production sense really, although it does sound awesome, but slick in a “how are they pulling this off?” kind of way. Slick without sacrificing even an ounce of their extreme brutality. This is a brutal death metal fan’s brutal death metal album, through and through, and for that we thank them.

Big bonus for the song titles, my favorite of which is opener “Drifting To A Moderately Commutable Adjustment Without Fitness Supremacy.” I too only exercise so I don’t have to buy new pants.

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4. WEEPING SORES –
THE CONVALESCENCE AGONIES

The journey to get The Convalescence Agonies made was one fraught with injury, lineup shifts, and a constant internal questioning if it’s even all worth it–band mastermind and good pal Doug Moore explains it all in this great interview with Invisible Oranges. But complete the album he did, with more than a little help from his friends, including drummer Stephen Schwegler and several guest spots to fill in solos, cello, keys, etc. The result of this struggle, of this borderline suffering, is a gem of an album that is as harrowing as it is captivating, at times sounding like a doom/death version of Giant Squid, or rather a slower, emotive version of Morbid Angel, or maybe even a less weird version of Inter Arma. Whatever comparison you choose to make, the impact is the same–this is an emotionally complex, deeply beautiful, and colossally heavy record, one that refuses to be relegated to the background, both while it’s spinning and after it’s done.

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3. DELIQUESCE – SAVIOUR / ESLAVER

From my review: “Saviour / Enslaver is an absolute beast of a death metal album–brutal, crushingly heavy, blindingly technical, deceptively varied, and brimming with far more personality than you typically get from this corner of the style (not to mention impeccably produced by Cappelletti). It should be a no-brainer for fans of Suffocation, Defeated Sanity, and their ilk, but really, let’s not hold back here: if you like death metal, do yourself a major solid and get your head cratered in by Deliquesce.”

I stand by all of that and everything else I wrote. Deliquesce is operating at an elite level on all fronts, gifting us with brutal, technical death metal that does just enough weird while further honing a unique sound. Absolutely vicious, and just about as good death metal got in 2025.

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2. UNBIRTH – ASOMATOUS BERSMIRCHMENT

So why do I have Unbirth ranked one spot higher if Deliquesce is about as good as death metal got in 2025? Why does Asomatous Besmirchment get the slight nod over Saviour / Enslaver, and by default my death metal crown in a year when death metal reigned supreme? One word: fun. This is not to say that Deliquesce doesn’t do fun – they absolutely do – but Unbirth exudes fun. Asomatous Besmirchment has a lot of influences, but perhaps most key are the riffing of one Terrance Hobbs and the rhythms of peak-period Decapitated, a combination that will leave you both extremely happy and extremely beaten to a pulp. Yes, it’s quite technical, but like Suffocation, that technicality is never at the expense of doing maximum damage at all times, which isn’t always the easiest trick to pull off. It’s also insanely hooky, and after just a few spins you’ll find approximately 300 of these riffs permanently lodged into your skull. That’s a formula for top tier death metal, if you ask me.

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1. 夢遊病者 (SLEEPWALKER) – РЛБ30011922

I’ve been paying attention to 夢遊病者 for quite a while now, but it wasn’t until last year’s Delirium Pathomutageno Adductum that I really felt floored by this deeply experimental project. To say that this set me up nicely for РЛБ30011922 is a gross understatement; I was megahyped the moment I got the Bandcamp email, and I’ve been entranced by these 37 minutes of beauty ever since. I don’t know exactly how to describe what happens on this album – it’s some sort of progressive, avant-garde, black metal soundscape thing – I just know I’m fascinated by it without necessarily worrying about exactly what it is. It’s music good enough to make an extremely nerdy metalhead not really worry about genre tags, is what I’m saying. It’s adventurous, introspective, deeply gorgeous, and truly exploratory. It has moments that speak to past 夢遊病者 releases, but like Delirium Pathomutageno Adductum it seems to be forging new paths forward, widening the possibilities of this project. Beyond any of that, however, is how comforting I find РЛБ30011922. I know it has secrets and meanings (that name has to mean something, right?), but to me it’s a warm blanket that I want to put on over and over, whether I’m chilling at home, sitting in the park, or walking around the city. Music that speaks ultimately for itself that is fitting for any scenario: them’s the goods, folks.

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DEVASTATING GOLD DUST

No year is complete without a collection of The Short Stuff (EPs and demos), and 2025 was particularly loaded with such releases. Here are my favorites:

10. Beyond Mortal Dreams – Devastation Hymns

Who wants some LAVA? Beyond Mortal Dreams return with another slab of absolutely molten death metal. You know the sources: Black Seeds of Vengeance, Formulas Fatal to the Flesh, Dawn of Possession, etc… Beyond Mortal Dreams’ death metal requires oven mitts to handle, and Devastation Hymns is another winner, right down to that surprisingly great Forbidden cover.

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9. Sire Languish – Pull to God

From my review: “…Sire Languish is somehow both more and less death metal than Aeviterne. More because this is a caustic, rather horrifying EP, full of dissonant dread and tortured, charismatic death yowl-growls. But less because Pull to God is also heavily influenced by Killing Joke and other post punk and industrial sounds, helping to give it that feeling of urban decay. The most common analog might be someone like Germany’s Valborg…”

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8. The Lord Weird Slough Feg – Traveller Supplement I: The Ephemeral Glades

From my review: “…The Ephemeral Glades largely finds Slough Feg being Slough Feg. They gallop and wail and trill and play Maidenesque harmonies all over the place, while Mike Scalzi’s vocals remain as appealing as ever, despite having a touch more gravel than in the past. In other words, you won’t be surprised, but you’ll be rocked.” We anxiously await Traveller Supplement II.

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7. Auriferous Flame – The Duel

What I wrote in our top EP article: “Epic, narrative-driven, battle-worn black metal has been the name of the game for Auriferous Flame to this point, and The Duel sees no reason to change the approach. If anything, by going brief, this EP further emphasizes what makes this Ayloss project so cool: impeccable riffs and leads, and an atmosphere of distance and separation to give it all a feel of watching history unfold. The title track positively scorches. Enter the fray.”

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6. Suffering Hour – Impelling Rebirth

Suffering Hour have already shown how much their forward-thinking black/death metal works both on regular albums and long-form songs (the Dwell EP), and now they’re going as brutally efficient as possible. Impelling Rebirth doesn’t even average three minutes per track but packs as many details, killer riffs, passages of suspense and tension, and big time shit yes moments as their full length albums. Another killer slab from an act that is quietly building a very vital catalog within their stylistic sphere.

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5. TDK – ZHVK

Bulgaria’s TDK (ТДК) picks up right where they left off on 2023’s Nemesta: by remaining one of the wildest and weirdest bands in the sphere of heavy music. ZHVK is noisy, bombastic, progressive, experimental, irate, and more than a little out of its mind. Is it some form of noise rock that got smashed up with In the Wake of Poseidon? Industrial getting disassembled and reconstructed by free jazz weirdos? Some sort of nightmarish lounge music? Just plain cool? Sure, and yes, to all of it.

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4. Primitive Rage – Visions of Ecstasy

Grinding, gnashing, smashing, pummeling, rumbling, pounding, blasting, hammering death/grindcore. Primitive Rage absolutely refuses to give you time to breathe – even when they slow down you’re about to get clotheslined by some stinky brute in the pit – making Visions of Ecstasy eight absolutely devastating minutes that will leave you beaten to a pulp and quite happy about it. No notes.

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3. Rigorous Institution – Tormentor

Rigorous Institution do crusty, blackened grime as well as anyone these days, and Tormentor shows no signs that the band is cleaning up their act after the wicked Cainsmarsh. This is just nasty, smelly stuff, like a swamp that develops in a flooded urban ruin. Everything about this EP sounds filthy – even the drums sound like they have mud on them (in the best way possible of course) – and the vocals are delivered with the type of unkempt belligerence that can’t quite be taught. In short: it’s a boatload of rotten fun.

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2. Palsied – Legendary Hatreds

Because I know you haven’t had enough great death metal yet, we have Palsied on the EPs list. Like a more brutal, but quirkily prog-minded version of Deicide, Palsied riffs and batters and buzzsaws through 27 neck-snapping minutes, sometimes zigging when the part of you that knows this type of material firmly expects you to zag. Yes, this EP is mostly concerned with beating the tar out of you (killer Hatebreed cover included, which is kind of hilarious with these vocals), but it occasionally takes a strange path in connecting fist with face. This aspect, and its overall busy nature, are unsurprising given the rumored other acts of lone member Rick Legitimate. Blink-you’ll-miss-it weirdness mashed up with overt brutality.

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1. Lucerne Hammer – Vermilion Pyre

What I wrote in our top EP article: “Like the cover that adorns the EP, Vermilion Pyre possesses an undeniable grayness that speaks to its influences and intentions. Lucerne Hammer wants this EP to be sad, but also uplifting in its way, fitting as the most notable influence is Wolves in the Throne Room. But it’s an efficient, direct version of WitTR; there are no 20-minute songs here, or any that surpass even six. Between the more overt black metal moments are also droning, soundscape interludes that ought to remind listeners more than a little of Urfaust’s atmospheric tendencies, and like the nods to WitTR, Lucerne Hammer already has a great knack for weaving it all together into a concise, rather stunning whole. Vermillion Pyre is incessant in how it worms its way into your mind, almost insidious, even, and you’ll be more than happy to repeatedly give into its aura.”

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FINAL THOUGHTS ON MUSICAL MINING

I don’t have a detailed non-metal list this year. Not that there wasn’t other music I enjoyed this year – god knows the new solo billy woods and Armand Hammer records got a lot of spins – but most of my less heavy listening went to older material, so I don’t have a round-up this time.

However, what I do have is a reminder to you all to never allow yourself to become bored with music. There is always another path to take, another artist to discover, another style with which to become familiar. This year for me, that path was diving deep into Sonic Youth for the first time in my life. I’d long known that I should have given the noise rock legends their time, and due to the urging of some friends and discouraging of others, I finally hopped in. Basically, I wanted to hear what some friends loved and wanted to know why the others were wrong. I became obsessed pretty quickly, and no matter what you read up above about all of 2025’s metal, Sonic Youth was my band of 2025.

Never stop exploring. Never stop digging for that musical gold. The world may be in shambles (no “may” about it), but we also live in a time when there has never been a greater bounty of art – both old and current – to enhance our lives. Consume it with glee and joy. Defend it from those that would see it destroyed. Create it if you have even a spark of inspiration. Our expression is what makes us human.

Thanks for reading. Go spend time with people you love.

Posted by Zach Duvall

Last Rites Co-Owner; Senior Editor; Obnoxious overuser of baseball metaphors.

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