2025 has been a year of reckoning as much as a year of discovery. Legacy genres have had to decide whether they’re museum pieces or living, breathing organisms. Some chose to polish themselves into oblivion; others doubled down on why they mattered in the first place. What follows is not a definitive “best of” list; it’s a record of the releases that refused to leave my turntable, my headphones and occasionally my conscience.
What struck me most this year was how sharply the line has been drawn between content and craft. The records that stayed with me weren’t necessarily the biggest or the most hyped, but the ones where intent, execution and identity were aligned. From veteran bands re-cutting their past with a clarity they never had the first time round, to unknown Oklahoma kids dropping a debut EP that hits harder than entire festival line-ups, the theme is the same: know who you are, and sound like you mean it.
There’s also been a quiet generational conversation running through the year. I’m not the one demographic modern metalcore is written for; I’m certainly not the target for “pineapplecore” or emo-adjacent sing-alongs. And yet, here we are: a clutch of younger bands have written and produced records so sharp, so emotionally honest, and so structurally sound that even a jaded ex-hardcore kid with a military backbone and a bias for the underground has had to take notice. That, more than anything, tells me heavy music is healthier than the headlines suggest.
So this is my 2025: a year where black metal evolved without losing its malice, hardcore remembered how to have fun without becoming a parody of itself, death metal grew up rather than burned out, and a handful of artists took genres I’ve long written off and forced me to rethink them. These are the albums and EPs that earned their place.
1. Kittie – “Spit XXV” (EP)
I usually treat re-recordings the way I treat “farewell tours”, with a healthy dose of scepticism, but Kittie’s “Spit XXV” is the rare exception that justifies its existence. Rather than sounding like a tribute band covering their own material, these four cuts feel like the version the band always meant to make: heavier, meaner and far more in line with where they stand in 2025 than where nu-metal left them in 2000. The original “Spit” was a Molotov cocktail; this EP is the same bottle, but with 25 years of precision and production muscle behind it. It reminds you how good these songs actually are once you strip away the nostalgia and listen to the riffs, the groove and the intent. Ironically, in revisiting their past, Kittie may have just delivered the most convincing statement of their present.
2. Bloody Pineapples – “Bloody Pineapples”
On paper, Bloody Pineapples shouldn’t work at all. A project born from online collab competitions, occasional meme-tier artwork and a new self-declared subgenre; “pineapplecore” sounds like a joke that should have died on Discord. Instead, their self-titled “Bloody Pineapples” is a legitimately sharp hardcore record that just happens to be having a lot more fun than its peers. Under the masks, chants and Fisher-Price insults, there’s tight songwriting, punchy hooks and a live show that’s already turned heads on both sides of the Atlantic. It’s not parody, it’s hardcore that refuses to pretend it isn’t ridiculous sometimes, and is all the stronger for embracing that truth.
3. Sepulchral – “Beneath the Shroud”
Sepulchral’s “Beneath the Shroud” arrived late in the year, but immediately muscled its way into rotation. Spanish, blackened old-school death metal with a genuinely rotten atmosphere, it leans hard into early extreme metal aesthetics without ever feeling like cosplay. There’s a whiff of grave soil over everything, from the loose, organic drum sound to the clattering, reverb-soaked riffs, but behind the stench is a band with a clear grasp of dynamics and pacing. It’s not trying to “update” the style; it’s doubling down on what made those early records dangerous in the first place. For anyone who still gets a thrill from the smell of damp tape and decaying riffs, this is a very welcome addition.
4. Accvsed – “Dealers of Doom”
The stylised Accvsed branding might scream modern marketing department, but “Dealers of Doom” doesn’t need typographical gimmicks to make its point. This is metalcore operating at peak form: sharp, hostile, groove-conscious and unashamedly heavy, sitting somewhere between chaotic hardcore and precision-engineered modern metal. Where so much of the genre has drifted into over-polished pop-metal, Accvsed sound like they still write with the pit in mind first and everything else second. The hooks are big, the breakdowns are bigger, but crucially, the songs stick. If you want to remind yourself why metalcore exploded in the first place, this is an excellent place to start.
5. Spare None – “The Excluded Middle” (EP)
Spare None’s debut EP “The Excluded Middle” felt like it appeared from nowhere and immediately started doing the rounds in the hardcore underground. Five songs, twelve minutes, exactly the sort of runtime that tells you a band understands the value of leaving people wanting more. The riffs are tense, the grooves claustrophobic, and there’s just enough experimentation to hint at something wider without diluting the core aggression. It’s the sort of release that gets quietly passed around group chats with a “you need to hear this” attached. If they capitalise on this foundation, we’re looking at the early days of a serious contender.
6. P€ni$lobotomy, Andrew Baena, Johnny Ciardullo & Drewsif – “P1$$WORLD” (EP)
“P1$$WORLD” is what happens when some of the most competent players in modern heavy music decide to weaponise their sense of humour. On the surface, it’s gloriously stupid: Monopoly-themed grind/death with song titles that read like in-jokes gone too far. Underneath, it’s frighteningly tight. The riffs are lethal, the production punches like a heavyweight, and the performances are far beyond what a “joke” release needs. This is the sweet spot where silliness, satire and genuine extremity intersect – proof that you can laugh and get your face kicked in at the same time.
7. Wednesday 13 – “Mid-Death Crisis”
With “Mid-Death Crisis”, Wednesday 13 has finally delivered the record his back catalogue has been hinting at for years. The influences are barely disguised; classic horror, Alice Cooper theatrics, Misfits grit and a strong undercurrent of gothic hard rock, but the songwriting is lean and the choruses are absurdly strong. This is the sound of a veteran artist completely comfortable in his own skin, no longer chasing trends, just sharpening what he does best. It’s arguably the high-water mark of his career: a late-period album that doesn’t feel like a nostalgia play, but a consolidation of everything he’s learned.
8. The Old Dead Tree – “London Sessions” (EP)
“London Sessions” is what we get when a seasoned band meets a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and refuses to waste a second of it. Recorded live at Abbey Road, The Old Dead Tree sound older, wiser and far more relaxed than the hungry young unit they were two decades ago, but no less compelling. The performances are immaculate without feeling sterile; you can hear the room, the air and the weight of experience in every note. For me, this is hard rock perfection: the sort of mature, emotionally intelligent material most bands never reach, captured in a space that understands how to let musicians breathe. This is what a 10/10 sounds like in this lane.
9. Antropomorphia – “Devoid of Light”
There’s a particular satisfaction in hearing a veteran death metal band refuse to coast. Antropomorphia’s “Devoid of Light” is unashamedly rooted in the old school, but it doesn’t sound tired for a second. Tracks like “Unending Hunt” flirt with the spectral melodicism of bands like Tribulation, yet the record never strays far from its core: dense, malevolent riffing and a suffocating atmosphere. You can hear the maturity in the arrangements. This is a band that has nothing left to prove technically and is now focused on feel. The result is one of the standout death metal releases of the year, and a testament to staying hungry.
10. AngelMaker – “This Used to Be Heaven”
On paper, AngelMaker’s “This Used to Be Heaven” leans into several tropes I’d usually run a mile from: atmospheric layering, cinematic interludes, big emotional swells. In practice, it hits like lying down on a railway track and letting a freight train roll over you in slow motion. The deathcore foundation is absolutely intact with low-end punishment, savage vocals, and precision breakdowns, but the added texture and ambience give the brutality a strange, tragic beauty. This is the rare example of “bigger” production and arrangement choices making the music heavier, not softer.
11. Stick To Your Guns – “Keep Planting Flowers”
Stick To Your Guns have always understood that hardcore is at its best when it’s both a punch to the jaw and a hand on your shoulder. “Keep Planting Flowers” is 25 minutes of exactly that: ferocious, riff-driven hardcore shot through with melody, hope and a surprising amount of emotional nuance. The pop-punk and hard rock inflections are there, but they never blunt the impact; they just make the choruses lodge deeper. This is the sound of a band ageing with intent, refusing to become a legacy act and instead doubling down on what the genre can still say.
12. Dire Thorns – “The Happy Man”
Dire Thorns’ “The Happy Man” remains one of the most striking debuts of the year, and not just because it’s largely the work of one man. On record, Jacob McCabe stitches together nu-metal, death metal and blackened extremity into something that shouldn’t cohere, but absolutely does. It’s raw, uncomfortable and often deeply personal, yet technically assured enough to avoid collapsing under its own ambition. This is extreme metal as an emotional exorcism rather than a genre exercise. You don’t just listen to “The Happy Man”; you walk through it, and you don’t come out the same on the other side.
13. Baelfyr – “Empowered by Hatred” (EP)
Baelfyr’s debut EP “Empowered by Hatred” is a fascinating snapshot of a band in transition. Blackened melodic death metal with teeth, it balances grand, almost cinematic moments with an undercurrent of barely controlled spite. Knowing what followed for the band only sharpens the irony of the title, but taken on its own terms, this is a powerful, promising statement. The songwriting is already strong, the performances committed, and you can hear the potential clawing at the edges of every track. If they manage to channel the turmoil around them into the next chapter, this could prove to be a pivotal first step.
14. Avdagata – “The Apocalyptic Aeon”
Sweden has never been short of bands flying the flag for the Gothenburg sound, but Avdagata’s “The Apocalyptic Aeon” feels less like a throwback and more like a logical next chapter. The melodic death metal DNA is clear with sharp harmonised leads, driving rhythms, and an undercurrent of melancholy. Yet the record is lean, focused and surprisingly vicious when it wants to be. Songs like “As Humanity Falls” and “The Apocalyptic Aeon” manage that rare trick of being both instantly memorable and structurally interesting. It’s the kind of album younger bands are going to quietly study when they’re trying to work out how to do this properly.
15. The Pretty Wild – “zero.point.genesis”
Finally, The Pretty Wild’s “zero.point.genesis” is one of those records that should by rights be a mess; metalcore, pop and electronic all fighting for dominance, but instead lands as an unapologetically modern, deeply enjoyable statement. Tracks like “Button Eyes” and “Afterlife” balance glossy, hook-laden choruses with genuinely heavy moments, never quite tipping into the cynical territory that similar bands have crashed into. It feels earnest, passionate and carefully crafted rather than focus-grouped. In a year where “genre-less” often just meant “bland”, The Pretty Wild delivered something colourful, cohesive and genuinely exciting.
Looking back over this list, a few threads are hard to ignore. First, maturity no longer means going soft. The Old Dead Tree, Antropomorphia, Wednesday 13, even Kittie, these are not bands chasing relevance, they’re bands using decades of experience to sharpen their point. The lesson for the rest of the field is obvious: if you’ve survived long enough to have a back catalogue, either put that weight to work or get out of the way.
Second, the most interesting “new” voices are the ones refusing to pick a safe lane. Dire Thorns dragging nu-metal, death and blackened chaos through one person’s lived trauma; Bloody Pineapples turning hardcore inside-out with humour and still landing harder than most “serious” bands; P1$$WORLD proving that grind can be both stupidly funny and frighteningly professional. All of them are reminders that subversion is still the lifeblood of heavy music, provided it’s anchored in craft rather than gimmick.
Finally, the middle tier, that supposedly unfashionable space between viral and legendary, is where the real work is happening. Records like “Beneath the Shroud”, “Dealers of Doom”, “The Excluded Middle”, “Empowered by Hatred” and “The Apocalyptic Aeon” aren’t competing for playlist slots; they’re quietly building the foundations of what the next five years will sound like. If there’s a call to action here, it’s simple: labels, promoters and festivals would do well to spend less time chasing the next algorithm-friendly headline and more time listening to what’s actually happening in these margins.
As we move into 2026, I’m less interested in genre labels than in intent. If you’re going to modernise black metal, metalcore, hardcore or death metal, do it with the conviction of the artists on this list, or don’t waste our time. Heavy music doesn’t need more releases; it needs more records that actually matter. This year, enough of them did to keep me optimistic. Now let’s see who’s brave enough to raise the bar again…
