As the year draws to a close, my Fediverse chums and I have been thinking about the smorgasbord of albums that have released this year.
I don’t think it would be hyperbolic to say it has been a banner year for music that spoke to me. Music is intensely personal and one person’s pleasure is another’s pain, but there was so much from 2025 that will live long with me.
So, here’s my Top 10 Albums:
- Paradise Lost - Ascension
I’ve already spoken about this one at length here but I continue to be a soft mark and perhaps an unreliable witness for anything they do. I can find something to love about everything they’ve done.
- REMINA - The Silver Sea
Atmospheric doom with Heike Langhan’s ethereal vocals is not something I can pass up, but add to that the contributions from Mick Moss (Antimatter) and Tony Dunn (Sgaile) and you have an album for the ages.
- Messa - The Spin
Doom, with a side order of jazz and blues. Sara’s vocals carry that jazzy noir feel, like something you would hear in a black & white hardboiled detective movie. A grand piano in the corner with a glamorous woman signing away, as a gumshoe nurses a glass of Scotch on the rocks. The Spin was a wonderful album.
- Rivers of Nihil - Rivers of Nihil
Whilst their self-titled album will always and forever be compared to Where Owls Know My Name, they’ve managed to pull the rabbit out of the hat with this one. The change of vocalists had the potential to derail them, but they seem to have come back stronger somehow. Another splendid album that is more consistent than The Work.
- In Mourning - The Immortal
Of all the bands that were new to me this year, In Mourning were a welcome find. This Swedish melodeath act have put together an album that is as close to perfect as you can get without being perfect.
- Hangman’s Chair - Saddiction
Stoner-doom, where have you been all my life. I picked up Saddiction based on a recommendation, but then immediately went out and picked up their earlier album A Loner and love that one too. It’s pretty simple stuff, but expertly delivered and with so… much… reverb…
- Nailed to Obscurity - Generation of the Void
Nailed to Obscurity are another new band for me. This German melodeath act have another winner on their hands. It doesn’t quite hit the lofty heights of In Mourning’s new album, but it is so solid, meaty and right up my street.
- Psychonaut - World Maker
This was a surprise. Another new band to me, a three-piece from Belgium, technically psychedelic post-metal but could best be described as, what if Peter Gabriel’s Genesis occasionally let rip and growled. Fascinating stuff.
- An Abstract Illusion - The Sleeping City
Umm…An Abstract Illusion have quickly risen to the top of the tree for me. The new album is fantastic, the previous album is astonishing. I love these guys.
- Fallujah - Xenotaph
Another solid album from Fallujah. Whilst I sort-of prefer their 2022 release Empyrean, Xenotaph is unquestionably a solid piece of work from this San Francisco tech-death band.
Looking ahead
The coming year, at least on paper, is going to require some exploration, as there is only Insomnium from my usual list of bands that I would expect to have an album in the works. I’m genuinely not sure what I have to look forward to, so I’m going to have to step out of my comfort zone and lean on friends and the Qobuz magazine for inspiration.
I’m more than happy with that. The best albums from this year were arguably the ones I wasn’t expecting and many were not even from this year.
See you in 2026.
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