I’m gonna do a better job tracking the best albums of 2025 than I did in 2024. Here’s my top albums of 2025, which will be regularly updated as I discover new favorites. Hopefully, it’ll be a better year for music. Did I miss out any awesome 2025 albums in here? Write me on Instagram.
About me – deathdoom.com, music and more
- Stefan Nordström
- Musician, songwriter, content creator, digital freelancer
- Stockholm, Sweden
- Bands: Desolator, Soliloquium, Ending Quest, Ashes of Life, Trees of Daymare, The Ashen Tree
- Social: Facebook | Instagram | YouTube
- Stay in touch: Newsletter signup
- Support my work on PayPal: 1€ | 2€ | 5€ | 10€
Shameless self-promotion of 2025
My progressive death/doom band Soliloquium is releasing an album entitled “Famine” on April 11th. If you dig dark Nordic music like Katatonia, Insomnium, Swallow the Sun and like, why don’t you have a listen? You might dig it!
My top albums of 2025
15. Pothamus – Abur
Do you like Amenra? Well, then this is a mandatory listen. Pothamus takes things into more ritualistic territory, and it’s an album I’ll give more spins for sure.
Listen: “Savartuum Abur”
14. Phrenelith – Ashen Womb
I’m hoping to get into more death metal this year, and Phrenelith’s third album “Ashen Womb” is a good start. Just as previous releases, it’s a murky old school death metal offering, and it hits the spot, especially if you’re a fan of the style.
Listen: “Astral Larvae”
13. Throne – That Who Sat Upon Him, Was Death
As mentioned, my death metal interest isn’t exactly soaring, but this album sure does the trick. Just like Throne’s debut, this is another slab of well-written riff-driven death metal. Definitely an album I’ll be bringing to my gym sessions.
Listen: “Disentombed”
12. Last Leaf Down – Weight of Silence
Switzerland’s Last Leaf Down is a reliable producer of dreamy, atmospheric music since 2003. This is another tasty dive into post rock and shoegaze that I’ll definitely spin from time to time. Recommended for fans of the style.
Listen: “Reach the Sun”
11. Apocalypse Orchestra – A Plague Upon Thee
I’m not entirely into traditional folk/viking-ish elements, but this album just does it to well even for me to ignore. It’s a really nice crossover between doom metal (think Isole) and folk metal with solid heaviness, really digging the style and atmosphere.
Listen: “Saint Yersinia”
10. Messa – The Spin
I’ve dabbled in Italy’s Messa now and then, and I consider myself a fan. This is yet another solid offering that expands a bit on their previous sound. I’ll give it repeated listens and see if it makes me enjoy Messa as much as some my friends who are bigger fans.
Listen: “At Races”
9. This Gift is a Curse – Heir
I’ll rarely say no some oppressive-ass bleak extreme metal music, and This Gift is a Curse deliver well on it. I’m a bigger and bigger fan of this kind of vibe and atmospheric sludge/post/black bands overall. “Heir” is exactly what I’m in the mood for in 2025!
Listen: “Kingdom”
8. Deafheaven – Lonely People with Power
While I’m not on the 4,0+ rating on RYM hype train, this is certainly a good album that I’ll give repeated listens. Solid atmosphere and songwriting, and the album title and its themes couldn’t be more fitting for the unreal times we live in.
7. Unreqvited – A Pathway to the Moon
I’ve dabbled in Unreqvited before, but this album is what really lifts the band from a good band to a great band. The addition of soaring clean vocals into their atmospheric/post black metal sound is a perfect idea, increasing the emotional impact of the sound a lot. Love this album, especially the singles.
Listen: “The Starforger”
6. Dawn of Solace – Affliction Vortex
Tuomas Saukkonen + Mikko Heikkilä is an unbeatable Finnish doom/gothic metal combo, and I already knew this would be good. This right on par with the last two albums after reactivating the project, which means it’s absolutely wonderful. If you’re looking for Finnish winter sadness, this is it!
Listen: “Murder”
5. Dawn of Ouroboros – Bioluminescence
Another atmospheric and style-acrobatic album from DoO. As usual, both the brutal and gentle stylings of the band leave me impressed. I hear everything from Rivers of Nihil to Twin Peaks music here. DoO is clearly going places, and for good reason. I’m certainly ready to put the band in the quality-guaranteed category after a third super-nice full-length release.
Listen: “Bioluminescence”
4. Jonathan Hultén – Eyes of the Living Night
Jonathan released an interesting, but uneven, debut some years ago. He’s actively breaching out his acoustic folk sound more and more, finding something more unique. Some amazing singing and emotion on this if you’re looking for something softer than most things on this list.
Listen: “Riverflame”
3. Noctambulist – Noctambulist II: De Droom
I really enjoyed the debut from this Dutch atmospheric black metal band, and it feels like they took another step forward here. It sounds amazing sonically, seamlessly mixing extreme and non-extreme moments. Very tasty album that totally hits the spot for me.
Listen: “Lichteter”
2. The Man-Eating Tree – Night Verses
Featuring Ghost Brigade vocalist Manne Ikonen sure piqued my interest, and “Night Verses” really surpasses all expectations. This is a superb dive into Finnish melancholic offering aggression, melody, atmosphere, and above all great songwriting. Recommended!
Listen: “The Seer”
1. Hangman’s Chair – Saddiction
Considering how much I loved “Loner”, it’s no surprise that this became my leading AOTY right from Valentine’s Day (perfect release date for some of the most depressing shit ever?). This album feels a bit more loose and vocal-driven, which is just perfect, because the vocals are even more amazing than on the last album. Another total banger album! I love this band.
Listen: “Kowloon Lights”
Other good stuff
Black metal from 2025:
- Kryptan – Violence, Our Power
Doom metal from 2025:
- Inborn Suffering – Pale Grey Monochrome
- Sorrow Blue – Elegy for a Bleak Autumn
Death metal from 2025:
- Sepulchral Curse – Crimson Moon Evocations
Melodic death metal from 2025:
- The Halo Effect – March of the Unheard
Progressive metal from 2025:
- Lunar – Tempora Mutantur
Sludge/post metal from 2025:
- Black Narcissus – There Lingers One Who’s Long Forgotten
- Guiltless – Teeth to Sky
- Novarupta – Astral Sands
Thrash metal from 2025:
- Cryptosis – Celestial Death
- Sarcator – Swarming Angels & Flies
EP’s:
- Obscure Sphinx – Emovere
Support my content and music
So, I’m running this website to share and discuss awesome music, but also to promote my progressive death/doom metal band Soliloquium and my other music endeavours.
If you want to support me and increase my ability to put time into passion-projects like this, please check out my progressive death/doom metal band Soliloquium and buy the digital music or merch from Bandcamp. Want to give me 2025 music tips or just shoot the shit? Add me on Instagram.
0 Comments