The landscape of metal was vast and impressive over the last twelve months of 2025, and there were so many great heavy albums that stood out.
Before we get deep in the throes of 2026, let’s take a look back at some of the best heavy albums from 2025 that I will continue to play non-stop as this year goes forward.
‘Private Music’ by Deftones
The nu-gaze gods returned in 2025 with a brand new album, five years in the making, and it absolutely did not disappoint. It bursts with fast moments, and then slows down time like a plane coming in for a hard landing.
Private Music reunited the band with producer Nick Raskulinecz, who worked on both Diamond Eyes (2010) and Koi No Yokan (2012), and it’s very obvious. The tones here are similar to those albums, with big contrasts of bright and deep sounds.
‘Lonely People with Power’ by Deafhaven
Deafheaven is a band that, every time I think they can’t possibly top themselves… they just do. The band’s 2025 album, Lonely People with Power, is a masterclass, but it’s a masterclass in what they do, specifically. Because this band is practically genre-less. No one, and I mean NO ONE, sounds like Deafheaven. You can call them “blackgaze” if you want, but even within that definition, they stand alone in their sound.
So what makes Lonely People with Power such a perfect album? It’s the intentionality. The way you can distinctly hear what they’re doing and how expertly they accomplish it. It’s a collection of heavy musical art that was truly nurtured.
‘Flesh Stays Together’ by Dying wish
Dying Wish f***s SO HARD.
I have been saying for years that no one is doing with metalcore what Dying Wish does. Their new album, Flesh Stays Together, makes me feel so vindicated. It’s brutal hardcore infused with heavy metal precision and breakdowns that could crumble Mount Hood.
‘I Feel the Everblack Festering Within Me’ by Lorna Shore
I’m going to call this, easily, my favorite deathcore album of the year. Certainly, I won’t deny being a tad biased toward these guys, but I feel justified in saying that this record is flawless. On Everblack, we find the band in peak form, amping up those killer solos and building on their symphonic elements. All the while, frontman Will Ramos took advantage of the opportunity to write lyrics that are more personal and candid.
This is something, I feel strongly, should push deathcore forward, into more mature spaces, and I believe this is the only band that could have done that.
‘Goldstar’ by Imperial triumphant
New York City’s experimental aficionados torched the metal scene in 2025 with their new Speakeasy Deathjazz album, Goldstar.
From its first track to its last, this record is profoundly unique. Some moments feel dangerously unrestrained. Others warmly walk you through a beautiful corridor of glittering sounds while easing your mind around the chaos taking place. Collectively, it is nothing short of phenomenal.
‘Inveighing Brilliance’ by Tribal Gaze
Tribal Gaze is fascinating. In five years, they’ve gone from just forming as a band in Texas to making this masterpiece of a sophomore album, Inveighing Brilliance.
I vividly remember listening to it for the first time in the Las Vegas airport and being just baffled at how these dudes crafted a death metal album worthy of envy from even the most dedicated genre icons. This is skull-crushing music at its finest.
‘Hideous Aftermath’ by Sanguisugabogg
In a year when metal saw major growth, it’s important that we include Ohio’s Sanguisugabogg in the conversation. These dudes have been cranking out some of the best modern goregrind for years.
Then, they fire Hideous Aftermath onto the field, slaughtering everything in its path with dark, deathy riffs. If their early stuff was like Cannibal Holocaust, this is some Texas Chain Saw Massacre s*** right here.
‘Spire of Fear’ by King Yosef
Your ears are just not ready for the industrial-core sounds that King Yosef is cooking up. The PNW native has been honing his craft for years. It’s all led to this moment, his 2025 album, Spire of Fear. It’s slightly blackened and chock-full of breakdowns, but never loses sight of its purpose: to thoroughly and unconditionally, f**k you up.
‘Discipline & Punish’ by Cold Steel
It’s been less than two months since Cold Steel dropped their new album, Discipline & Punish, but you only need one listen to know it’s the best thrash record of the year. Hands down.
Hailing from Florida, the project makes it clear that the Cold Steel boys are here to shred, and shred they do.
‘Tsunami Sea’ by Spiritbox
Spiritbox is what I like to think of as a “torchbearer” band. Their fanbase is growing rapidly, they are absolutely poised to be an arena-headlining metal band, and they’ve worked their a**es off to get there.
Trying to sit here and explain to you why Tsunami Sea is perfect feels like a waste of time. It’s just so obvious. This band is not watering down their sound to be anything they aren’t, and their creativity is undeniably firing on all cylinders.
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