Another year gone, and narrowing down the year’s best metal albums remains as excruciating as ever, but then again, that’s part of the fun! What I enjoy is the retrospective exercise, and what it has resulted in over the past few years is that every subgenre, every stream, is producing excellent work.
Take grindcore. This year, we had Blind Equation moving on the periphery, quantizing everything down to molecules with their Nintendocore madness. Meanwhile, Dephosphorus continue to gaze into space, seeking light in the midst of all bleakness. On the more traditional side, Barren Path sharpened their Gridlink-derived pedigree into something direct and uncompromising. At the far, forgotten noisegrind altar, Sulfuric Cautery revelled in the Last Days of Humanity sound. The divergence is remarkable, a genre expanding outward in every direction.
Grindcore was not the only one; black metal, too, was everywhere at once. Yellow Eyes pressed forward on their singular path without a second thought. Stygian Ruin transformed their dungeon synth roots into atmospheric power, crafting their finest work yet. Zeicrydeus reclaimed the heavy-metal fervour of the Hellenic tradition, while Vauruvâ embraced progressive openness, Antiversum leaned into dissonance, and Alicia Cordisco pursued something unexpectedly tender.
Alongside this wave of newcomers, it was a pleasure to see several heavyweights return. Evoken cast their suffocating funeral gloom, Teitanblood and Malthusian descended into black/death battlegrounds, and against all odds, Coroner delivered a triumphant comeback. And there is this direct link between the old and the new that continues to fuel the fire. The forward-thinking mindset of Coroner has opened new possibilities, which bands like Sallow Moth and Retromorphosis take full advantage of, paving their own way.
There is much more to uncover in the selections below, so dig in! – Spyros Stasis
20. Dephosphorus – Planetoktonos (Selfmadegod)
Per aspera ad astra, through hardship to the stars. This ancient motto encapsulates the duality in Dephosphorus’s cosmic vision. The Greek astrogrind band have always viewed the cosmos as something vast and unknowable, but at the same time, they have refused to succumb to nihilism. Case in point is their new full-length album, Planetoktonos, which explores the idea of a future utopia where humanity lives in equilibrium with its surroundings.
It is a fitting setting for their death metal and grindcore foundation, which soon explodes through polemic grooves in “Living In a Metastable Universe”. The latent Bolt Thrower grooves lead the way, morphing into rampant grindcore blasts with “Hunting for Dyson Spheres”, a mode that invokes an urgent and fervent essence to “After the Holocaust”.
What is key for Dephosphorus is their versatility and flow. “The Triumph of Science and Reason” transitions from grindcore roots to old-school hardcore and mid-paced death metal. This modularity allows them to easily traverse a range of sonic realms, from Breach-like post-hardcore contortions in “Pale Veins”, to Knut’s pummeling density, to the more chaotic angularity of mathcore (“Calculating Infinity”), and to fumey, blackened psychedelia (“Hunting for Dyson Spheres”).
The cherry on top is Miltos Schimatariotis’s electronica injections, which provide a hallucinatory and otherworldly effect. Rather than clash with the band’s brutal core, these electronic elements enhance it, pulling chaos outward into deeper, more hallucinatory zones that echo the infinite scale of their lyrical concerns. Thus, Planetoktonos is another triumph in Dephosphorus’s canon, a cosmic assault that refuses despair, instead aiming its rage at entropy and emerging, defiantly, with hope intact. – Spyros Stasis
19. Blind Equation – A Funeral in Purgatory (Prosthetic)
While Nintendocore, a fusion of chiptune and eight-bit videogame music with elements of extreme metal and punk, has been around since the early 2000s, recent years have seen an explosion of bands whose style is both an evolution of the genre and something new altogether. Similar to their Prosthetic Records labelmates Thotcrime, Chicago’s Blind Equation play cybergrind-adjacent music that can borrow from and transform into a myriad of other styles at any moment, ranging from the violent breakcore of the Igorrr variety to sentimentally charged emo and nu metal.
The result is a wild burst of colors, moods, and emotions, composed with a heavy sonic makeup but left cradling an endearingly soft core. A Funeral in Purgatory mirrors many of the intangible things that make albums like Cocojoey’s STARS minor masterpieces, just with an accent placed on denser shapes and metallic edges rather than electronic elements. This is music of the present, yet one that seems built for the future. – Antonio Poscic
18. Malthusian – The Summoning Bell (Relapse)
Thomas Robert Malthus hypothesized an existential crisis in which exponential population growth, bound to finite resources, inevitably leads to famine and war. A dark future perfectly suited toward black/death aesthetics, as Ireland’s Malthusian would tell you. Seven years after their debut record, Across Deaths, the band returns with their first Relapse record, The Summoning Bell. A record of maturity, The Summoning Bell sees Malthusian further hone their style, evolving from the cavernous black/death of their earlier days toward fully-fledged death metal.
The impact is immediate in “Red, Waiting”, with schizoid leads that echo the US death-metal lineage. They convey an imbalanced essence, an unpredictability rooted in Morbid Angel’s legacy, imbuing the music with a quasi-elemental form. A force of nature that cannot be tamed or contained. Yet this time, Malthusian appear almost mathematical. Shedding their black/death murk for a purer death metal form, they have gained a striking precision.
Being able to control these crazed moments is vital, and also explains how Malthusian can aptly transform as they descend into extreme death/doom narratives. Slow pace and asphyxiating methodology lead into psychedelia. The transformation is complete, tortured, and near-cosmic. In these moments, Malthus’s theory becomes a reality, as you peek into an unrecognisable world.
The Summoning Bell is a triumphant return, an evolution sharpened through fire. Malthusian honour their black/death roots while fully embracing death metal’s brutal calculus, forging a vision both apocalyptic and exhilarating. – Spyros Stasis
17. Ava Mendoza / Gabby Fluke-Mogul / Carolina Pérez – Mama Killa (Burning Ambulance)
The participation of US guitarist Ava Mendoza and violinist Gabby Fluke-Mogul on a new-music-cum-metal project like this one isn’t all that surprising. Yet, it’s the inclusion of death metal drummer and Castrator co-founder Carolina Pérez that turns Mama Killa into something unusually potent.
Above all, Mama Killa is an exploration of how metallic elements behave when mixed with other influences and the varied and exciting music these alchemical reactions can produce. Some cuts roar to life, carried by a steady groove, with Mendoza vocalizing and coaxing her guitar into making riffs that sound like a gravel crunching machine, only for fluke-mogul’s insistent, revolving bowed lines to lead it into a tar pit of stoner rock and sludge metal.
Others are all incipient noise and grumble, reminiscent simultaneously of the textural avant rock of Caspar Brötzmann Massaker/Richard Pinhas’s Heldon and the heavy jazz fusion of Hedvig Mollestad, blended with traces of blues, country, American roots music, and a sort of punk energy: melody and rhythmic drive dissolving into Tony Conrad-esque microtonal yelps. This is an utterly exciting listen, front to back. – Antonio Poscic
16. Sulfuric Cautery – Killing Spree (Blast Addict)
You know this scene in Breaking Bad, where Walter and Jesse stand in the hallway while watching the hydrofluoric acid eat through the ceiling? Right before body parts drop with a thump to the floor? I have pretty much the same reaction in anticipation of the new Sulfuric Cautery record. The noise-fascinated, goregrind act returns with another brutal, horrifying, and annihilating record in Killing Spree.
This is relentless grindcore that nods to its early Carcass roots but quickly pushes beyond them. Still, it is difficult not to feel the reek of putrefaction coming through, especially in moments where the death metal self gets the best of them. “Utterly Hopeless Existence” and “Uncontrollable Bleeding” showcase this lineage, the slower parts providing a clearer (somewhat) definition to the guitars. It is all a ploy, of course, highlighted in “Broken Shell of a Man”, where the slow start is sardonically taunting you before the real fun begins.
Because Sulfuric Cautery’s heart is not with the early grindcore pioneers, but with their noisier offspring, aka Last Days of Humanity. The swamp-gurgled vocals opening “Toe Tag” make that connection unmistakable. The tight snare sound, a constant, ringing reminder of annihilation and mayhem, is inescapable. The main change from Sulfuric Cautery’s previous records is a newfound technical nuance, reflected primarily in the erratic rhythm structures.
Where, in the past, they would simply steamroll with little variation, here they become more unpredictable, lashing out in a spasmodic manner to increase volatility. As with their past, this is the closest that metallic or punk-ish music can get to the noise genre. And lucky us, Killing Spree is the grotesque blob we did not know we needed. – Spyros Stasis
15. Evoken – Mendacium (Profound Lore)
Part of the extreme doom/death pantheon, Evoken have amassed a near flawless discography. Embrace The Emptiness, Quietus, and Antithesis of Light established an unyielding sense of dread and sorrow. However, starting with A Caress of the Void, Evoken began to soften slightly (very, very slightly), enveloping their dread in a sense of melancholy. Hypnagogia and Altra Mors joined that tradition, but their new record, Mendacium, looks to unravel this.
Mendacium acts as a hybrid point. Opener “Matins” rekindles the old hopelessness, its riffs breaking in slow waves, vocals lamenting as though everything is destined to be swallowed by the abyss. It is a sad procession, a task that must be completed to achieve some form of catharsis. This is where the record twists, with Evoken tapping into their latter-day self. In this mode, they augment their majestic quality, confidently walking toward despair rather than being dragged into it.
To that end, they evoke (see what I did there?) the melancholic spirit of the Peaceville Three, adorning their ceremony with a tangible, sorrowful essence. Then it all comes crashing down again. “None” channels Esoteric’s psychedelic endeavors, and the grand finale with “Compline” results in the final, unavoidable devastation.
Here, doom contorts into something harsher, as death metal brutality tears through the funereal veil. It is an excellent structure, paying homage to the band’s evolution over the years and collecting all its individual components into a unified form. Thus, Mendacium does not just retrace Evoken’s past; it refracts it, proving that their command of extreme doom/death’s language remains as devastating and as essential as ever. – Spyros Stasis
14. Nekrodeus – Ruaß (FDA)
It’s a rare pleasure these days to discover new music via a concert experience first, and even rarer for the band to then live up to the energy and sparkling tension of their shows on record. The third full-length by death metal group Nekrodeus accomplishes just that. I write death metal, but the Graz-based outfit veers far beyond the basics of the genre, encasing their riffs in crust and hardcore, propelling their songs at black metal speeds, and submerging everything in the abyssal tunings of doom metal and sludge.
There’s a significant variety across the 11 tracks. ”Trümmerjugend” clashes D-beat with black metal, “Volkscancer” reaches grindcore levels of insanity—but they are all held together by an overarching sentiment, a genuine belief in antifascist values, as screamed and growled by Stefan Rindler (“We bare our teeth / To bite the hand that holds the leash / Not here to please”) and supported by the roar and clatter of his bandmates’ instruments. Stunning stuff. – Antonio Poscic
13. Barren Path – Grieving (Willowtip)
The unexpected return of Gridlink with the fantastic Coronet Juniper was unfortunately short-lived. Thankfully, all Coronet Juniper members, minus Jon Chang, have now regrouped as Barren Path, with Mitchell Luna (Maruta/Shock Withdrawal) taking over vocal duties.
As is expected, Barren Path carry forward much of Gridlink’s lineage in their debut, Grieving. The chaotic energy is still the guiding force, immediately taking over from the start of “Whimpering Echo”. The tumultuous ride does not cease. Barren Path showcase an unhinged resolve as “Subversion Record” twists and turns and “Lunar Tear” storms ahead at lightning speed.
Where Barren Path diverge from Gridlink is by trading their sense of playfulness for a more determined, in-your-face approach. The feeling of exhilaration still carries over, lending an epic quality to the underlying melodies of “No Geneva”. It also navigates aptly through the maze-like structures of their song, as if navigating a sonic labyrinth, each turn narrowing like a corridor in House of Leaves.
Luna’s dual vocal delivery further distinguishes Barren Path from their predecessors. Here, the approach leans more towards death metal, with cutthroat vocals and deeper growls that yield monstrous moments, as seen in “Primordial Black”. It is a warranted departure from the path, one that echoes with towering figures from mid-to-late 2000s grindcore, and especially Nasum. No karaoke mode this time, just 13 relentless minutes of down-to-business grind. Precisely as it should be. – Spyros Stasis
12. OvO – Gemma (Artoffact)
Italian experimental musicians Stefania Pedretti and Bruno Dorella have been playing together as the avant-garde doom-noise duo OvO for 25 years, forging a relationship that eclipses art and spans all facets of life. In return, this stability and mutual support have enabled their music to inhabit ever stranger niches of the metal world and beyond, all of which have led to the alien soundscapes that form their latest album, Gemma.
Born from a tension between marching beats, abstract electronic gestures, dissonant riffs, and the eldritch quality of Pedretti’s vocal delivery, the album is often a deliciously uneasy listen. Its industrial stomps, layers of serrated synths, and full-bodied screams seem to be engineered with a purpose that, like Demián Rugna’s 2017 horror Aterrados, draws you into an ominous parallel dimension, equally harrowing and wondrous. In its whole, Gemma feels like the crowning accomplishment of OvO’s often breathtaking career, but also like a stepping stone to whatever terrifying sonic universe they’ll imagine next. – Antonio Poscic
11. Author & Punisher – Nocturnal Birding (Relapse)
Different forces have always pulled Author & Punisher. Tristan Shone’s fascination with the artificial is well established. By building his own drone and dub machines to articulate his industrial vision, Shone proves his complete dedication to his craft. On the other hand, he has always balanced his mechanical harshness with an unmistakable human core. His music might collapse into brutal breakdowns and sonic debris, yet beneath it lies an unmistakable emotional resonance. Case in point, his latest work, Nocturnal Birding, where he draws inspiration from birdsong for his compositions, forcing his machines to abide by their sonic quality and rhythmic structure.
Following an excellent record in Krüller, Shone does not look to repeat the recipe. Krüller might have been the epitome of Shone’s organic/inorganic approach, but Nocturnal Birding takes a different route. The record is condensed, clocking at just over 30 minutes. The compositions themselves are much more immediate, heard in the devastating Godflesh-ian breakdowns of “Black Storm Petrel” and “Rook”.
Similarly, the hooks here feel less intricate and more immediate than those on Krüller. “Meadowlark” pushes toward a Nine Inch Nails subtleness, the desolate vocal delivery creating an encompassing space. Even more impressive is the ending to “Mute Swan”, where the final ascent carries a hypnotic and otherworldly quality. It ties the urban to the transcendent in fascinating equilibrium, the sound design intricately mirroring the background bird chirps.
In many ways, Shone has not changed his ways. His vision remains unwavering, but still, he finds places to experiment. If Krüller was the culmination of his hybrid vision, Nocturnal Birding shows how potent his sound can be when stripped back to its most direct, primal form. – Spyros Stasis