2025 was a year of pristine diversity in heavy music, with releases sprawling across genres and new artists picking up torches for their most influential predecessors. Our team’s selections ranged from metal and rock to hip hop and indie singer-songwriters, and while narrowing it down, we hit points of tough decision and points of unquestioned unanimity.
What we landed on is a list that highlights how the fiery spirit of upcoming new talent can sit alongside the refined and hard-earned praise of heavy music vets in unrelenting harmony. We saw bands push boundaries with immense success and saw artists lean into their signature sounds with new vibrancy. Collectively, 2025 was a year to be proud of, as listeners and makers of music.
If the year’s list showed us anything, it’s that the raw, human, creative lifeblood of music is alive and well, even in this age of artistic uncertainty. With that, we are proud to present HM’s top 25 albums of 2025.
25
Currents
All That Follows
Kicking off our list is Currents’ EP, All That Follows, which introduces a lean, ferocious next chapter in the band’s catalog; one that many fans and critics have praised as some of their sharpest work to date.
24
Failed Sun
Denouement
Failed Sun’s 2025 EP delivers a raw, blistering dose of Bay Area hardcore that reflects the gritty aggression and intensity of the underground scene. While brief, its visceral energy and DIY attitude makes it a standout among full-length releases.
Hear from Failed Sun on The BlackSheep Podcast »
23
Spares
Spares
Portland’s SPARES dropped their self-titled 6-song EP this year, among other releases, and it made some serious noise. Another underground standout, listeners continue to respond to its abrasive but melodic edge—the quality that gives the band its nostalgic air and early momentum in 2025’s heavy music landscape.
22
Lastelle
Exist Vol. II
Emotional and compelling, Lastelle’s Exist Vol. II boasts cinematic guitar work, anguished vocals, and larger than life atmosphere. The band continues to explore themes of loss, exhaustion, and vulnerability in this release, combining classic post-hardcore elements with beautiful signature touches in instrumentation and songwriting.
21
Tyson Motsenbocker
Modern Worries
Singer-songwriter Tyson Motsenbocker expands and deepens his intimate folk-rock persona in his 2025 release, Modern Worries. With earnest lyricism clearly in the driver’s seat and leading to more exploration in its arrangements, the record holds more stylistic breadth than previous releases, making it a somewhat unpredictable, but hugely rewarding listen.
Hear from Tyler Motsenbocker on The BlackSheep Podcast »
20
Moving Mountains
Pruning of the Lower Limbs
After a 12-year hiatus, 2025 is the year Moving Mountains returned with Pruning of the Lower Limbs. The band’s homecoming wasn’t marked with a bang, but instead, a subtle immersion into thoughtful melodies and reflective atmosphere that showcases a new, mature chapter of their music.
19
Novelists
Coda
Their newest release, Coda, marks a monumental shift in Novelists’ sound and evolution as a band. The French metalcore outfit shows off their songwriting chops in the new LP by playing into new vocalist, Camille Contreras’s, unique skills and proving to fans just how vast and tenacious their music can be.
Hear from Novelists on The BlackSheep Podcast »
18
Portugal. The Man
Shish
2025 was also the year Portugal. The Man traded in their polished indie pop colors of recent years for a grittier, more adventurous palette of rock. While some find it tough to get on board with the band’s sonic shifts and raw production decisions, we are among those who see Shish as one of their most creative and heartfelt efforts to date.
17
The World Is a Beautiful Place & I’m No Longer Afraid to Die
Dreams of Being Dust
In Dreams of Being Dust, TWIABP leans into a more confrontational sound that incorporates elements of metalcore and progressive emo with their signature ethereal polish. The shift toward a more aggressive sound, in many ways, unlocks the weight of the content and releases the band into a new realm of emotional dynamism.
16
Mogwai
The Bad Fire
Scottish post-rock veterans Mogwai’s The Bad Fire is a testament of texture, subtle synth work, and instrumental expression. The classic peaks in their past releases will always hold weight with longtime fans, but their new record makes a different kind of statement with its layered soundscapes and evocative mood.
15
Wednesday
Bleeds
In their new release, Bleeds, Wednesday continues their fusion of indie rock, shoegaze, and alt-country and transforms it into an even richer sound. From vulnerable ballads to lush guitar crescendos, the album can only be described as deeply compelling and rewarding.
14
Deafheaven
Lonely People With Power
In Lonely People With Power, Deafheaven hones their sound into some of their most emotionally resonant and structurally adventurous material. While the record’s stylistic shifts garnered mixed reactions from longtime fans, the majority of listeners appreciate the band’s willingness to push boundaries and expand the genre—a quality core to their identity.
13
Greyhaven
Keep It Quiet
In the spirit of pushing boundaries, Greyhaven’s Keep It Quiet also pushes the band’s sound forward without losing their signature intensity. The combination of songwriting, riffs, and melodic moments make it a strong and engaging addition to 2025’s heavy music landscape.
12
Thrice
Horizons/West
As to be expected, Thrice’s Horizons/West has been met with emphatic approval from critics and fans, both as a complement to 2021’s Horizons/East and as a standalone record. Distorted Sound even notes, “This release would not be the same without the time taken to reignite their passion for their former works and could’ve so easily robbed us of one of Thrice‘s key catalogue installments.”
11
Pupil Slicer
Fleshwork
Pupil Slicer stretches the meaning of extreme technical metal with ferocious precision in their 2025 release, Fleshwork, melding mathcore, death metal, and avant-garde dissonance into one of the year’s most thrilling releases. The album’s compositional arcs, from chaos to clarity, are equally challenging and rewarding to reckon with.
10
Rolo Tomassi
In the Echoes of All Dreams
Rolo Tomassi continues their fearless fusion of mathcore, ambient textures, and progressive post-hardcore in their 2025 release. The band’s strategic shifts between moments of utter technicality and ethereal soundscapes make it one of the group’s most cohesive and exhilarating statements to date.
Hear from Rolo Tomassi on The BlackSheep Podcast »
9
Between the Buried and Me
The Blue Nowhere
Between the Buried and Me delivers another lesson in progressive metal in The Blue Nowhere. Their technical prowess and genre-blurring writing style make this one of the band’s strongest and most exciting releases in years.
8
Idle Heirs
Life is Violence
Idle Heirs’ Life Is Violence is a slow burn with a heavy hand. It showcases Sean Ingram’s expressive vocals and emotionally raw songwriting within a layered instrumental frame. The album brings new depth and weight to heavy music with its thoughtful balance of space and density.
7
Fleshwater
2000: In Search of the Endless Sky
Fleshwater’s release this year fuses shoegaze, alt-rock, and moments of heavy catharsis. The band has often been applauded for their ability to balance dreamy textures with visceral intensity, and 2000: In Search of the Endless Sky only confirms the hype.
6
Spiritbox
Tsunami Sea
Spiritbox continues to refine their signature sound—a marriage of crushing heaviness and soaring melodies—in one of the year’s most anticipated releases. As their fanbase grows, Spiritbox is overwhelmingly embraced for their range and technicality, further cementing their place as a defining voice in modern metal.
5
Sleep Token
Even in Arcadia
Speaking of growing fanbases, Sleep Token has reached new heights with their 2025 release, Even in Arcadia. No matter how you feel about the hype around the band, it’s hard to deny their music’s creativity, depth, and impact in the scene. Both fans and critics acknowledge Even in Arcadia as Sleep Token’s most expansive and emotionally resonant work yet.
4
The Callous Daoboys
I Don’t Want to See You in Heaven
One name we’re hearing more and more is The Callous Daoboys, and we’re not mad about it. In I Don’t Want to See You in Heaven, the band leans further into their perfectly chaotic mathcore roots with vehement technicality, satisfying unpredictability, and explosive energy that is both exhilarating and unrelenting.
3
Deftones
Private Music
Private Music is everything you can ask for in a Deftones release. The band’s 10th studio album brings listeners to a place that is both comfortably familiar and that breaks new ground in all the right ways. It’s a reminder of the band’s command of their signature sound, and it’s one we’ll pull up again and again.
2
The Armed
The Future Is Here and Everything Needs to Be Destroyed
This year, The Armed arguably unleashed their most chaotic, thrilling record to date. Between its explosive punk‑noise ferocity, abrasive electronic elements, and addictive hooks, The Future Is Here and Everything Needs to Be Destroyed is already a fan favorite.
1
Turnstile
Never Enough
The album of the year for the HM team was evident from the start and one of the easiest to choose. It appeared on every one of our lists, garnered unmatched response from fans and media alike for its unmatched energy, songwriting, and originality. This year, Turnstile’s Never Enough is all we could ask for and more.
