JRO's Community Best of 2025 - Global Edition 🌍

Ezra · December 17, 2025, 11:57am

For those more musically well-travelled than I, share your top picks across the globe here! You can find the general guidelines and Japanese edition here.

Global guidelines:

Anything can go in here, Metal, Rock, Pop, whatever is in your Top of this year.
You can include any release from 2025. It doesn’t matter if it’s a single, album, compilation or mini-album, the only condition is that it was released in 2025.
Please include the name of the release and artist (and add the country of origin if you want), a sentence or two on why you like it so much, is very appreciated, and maybe a music video or a song.
If you have an album or mini-album in your top 5 please highlight one or two songs that stuck out to you.
Feel free to make a “Worst 5” release list too.
It’s absolutely fine to make several top 5’s, like Album Top 5 and Single Top 5.

Malleus · January 2, 2026, 8:24pm

Serpents Of Pakhangba - Air and Fire

A few years ago I decided to explore Indian metal a bit and discovered a quite experimental project called Amogh Symphony headed by multi instrumentalist Vishal J. Singh. He described that project as “Limitless, Shapeshifting boiling liquid metal” which quickly became my favorite genre description. I later learned that he has another band, this one, which is more on the folk metal side, described as “Experimental Folk/Witchcore/Shamanic Art Metal”. Sums it up pretty well, IMO. It is inspired by a culture called Meitei from east India, featuring their lore and language. It’s also quite experimental, so listening through is quite the journey. It impressed me greatly. Highlight: North Of Koubru

Nine Treasures - Seeking the Absolute

A China based Mongolian folk metal band. I listened to a few of their songs before, and they were, you know, some nice folk metal, but didn’t stand out that much. Well, I either wasn’t paying enough attention, or they evolved their sound since then, because I was pleasantly surprised by the prog and alternative elements on this album. Some bits reminded me of Tool, which I absolutely mean as a compliment. Highlight: Real Dream

TANA - LOVE FEARLESS

A Chinese rock band with a really cool and varied sound. This is their second album and so far IMO their record is spotless. Highlight: 悲慘世界

Igorrr - Amen

Man, I don’t even know how to describe this band. A French experimental project featuring a crazy combination of musical elements and genres, that do end up something very interesting and entertaining. Highlight: ADHD

Black Spikes - Imperatorė

This band is from Lithuania. This is just a single and it was a random youtube recommendation, but it immediately clicked with me, and put the band on my radar. The song is great and I love that they sing in their native language, but it’s not just that, the MV is also visually striking and cool.

Honorable mentions:

DengeL - 人间乐园 (The Garden of Earthly Delights)

An awesome Chinese gothic metal band. The only reason they’re not higher on the list is because they’re not on any Western music service, and only the third of this album are new songs. It’s a great compilation of their latest minialbums though, I can’t get enough of it. Highlight: Gothic Queen

Cradle of Filth - The Screaming Of The Valkyries

Yeah, this band still got it. I prefer their previous album only because I like those that have a story or an overarching theme. This one’s just a collection of stories, but it still has lots of bangers. Highlight: Ex Sanguine Draculae

Rom Di Prisco - Fields of Verisimilitude

I discovered this project long ago through video games - this Canadian composer made the soundtracks for the OG Need For Speed games, and those OSTs were awesome. Later he started a solo career releasing proper albums, of which this one’s the latest. Just some chill electronic music that I enjoyed. Highlight: Antikythera

blacktooth · January 2, 2026, 8:50pm

Japan is technically part of the globe, but I’ll do a separate retrospective on the Japanese thread because this is, you know, Jay Rock One.

As a man of science, “top” releases are determined strictly by scrobbles. If it wasn’t scrobbled, it didn’t happen.

I’m not always the best at writing about music, nor do I want to pretend that I am, so here’s to inconsistency.

1. Deafheaven - Lonely People with Power

This is the album that finally got me into Deafheaven, which is especially remarkable given my fraught history with sun bat her (and blackgaze in general). Here the band has perfected their craft and presented the best iteration of their sound… yet. I’m a believer now and I’m going to make a point to see them live whenever I can.

Prior releases failed to grab me, the songs were long and meandering and the post-rock sections just felt like interludes. That’s been corrected in Lonely People With Power, which gets the balance right. No song feels too short or too long—in fact, many of these songs manage to sound epic without being sprawling. All that and it’s actually quite accessible if you can stomach harsh vocals.

I still believe Deafheaven is more of a screamo band than a black metal band and that’s okay! They can do what they want! This album has it all: the finest lessons from their study in shoegaze (like flipping the cleans and harsh vocals in Heathen, the carefree song of the summer), demonstrations of their technical chops (5/4 blastbeats in Magnolia), and some of their heaviest work yet (Revelator is huge).

2. Pinkpantheress - Fancy That

I remember so eagerly awaiting this album’s release back in May and I have not been able to get enough of since it came out. Pinkpantheress is a fantastic producer and has only been getting better; she knows exactly how to process her own voice and I love her modern spin on classic garage and dnb. Yet at the same time, it’s a lot of 2000s nostalgia: there are breakbeats everywhere and the visual identity is straight out of 2005. Check out the video’s use of AI upscaling just like many Youtube uploads of 2000s music videos.

I feel like I’m sauntering around an Abercrombie and Fitch, and I mean that in the most laudatory way possible.

3. Rebecca Black - SALVATION

This album is crazy. I went into it thinking about blitzball and before I knew it I was in the matrix. My initial review of this album was “Trent Reznor Super Monkey Ball” but I think it deserves a bit more verbosity.

Seven tracks, 21 minutes, and so many different production styles yet it doesn’t feel like a sample platter. In fact it’s very cohesive and clever with not a second wasted and some of the most insane production I’ve heard this year. Just listen to it.

4. Tyler, the Creator - Don’t Tap the Glass

I’m a little surprised this made it to my top five but I’m certainly not complaining. Fifteen years ago I was really into OFWGKTA and Tyler, but fell off the wagon as my tastes changed. I checked out a lot of his later albums but never stuck with them until this one, which apparently had exactly what I was looking for in the moment. I can’t really explain it.

Maybe it’s all the exhaling.

5. The Mars Volta - Lucro sucio; los ojos del vacio

I found it quite funny when I first found out that the band “leaked” this album by playing it in full during their opening sets when touring with Deftones earlier this year for a couple of reasons: 1) the median fan of both bands was probably expecting energetic classics from Delousing or whatever and 2) this album’s sound is so incongruous with Deftones.

It was pretty neat when it first came out, I think I listened to it a couple of times and then shelved it. But the I finally got the chance to catch them live (something I was worried I would never get to do when they broke up in 2012) and it clicked. These musicians have matured quite beautifully and while many see their post-reunion music as a departure from their classic style, I’m starting to see the line connecting this back twenty years to Frances the Mute. The music is tight and technical, but I can’t help but feel that it’s also an exercise in restraint given that their current incarnation has been nailing some of their older off-the-wall songs in recent tours. I wonder what’s next.

Honorable Mentions

Lifeguard - Ripped and Torn

Post-punk revival that takes more from the 70s than the 80s, but not derivative at all. Angular and noisy, and with an almost vintage production style, you can feel the band’s live energy listening to this album. It’s artistic in an approachable way that makes you want to dance, rather than uhhhh [be the first post-punk stereotype that pops into your head.]

Yellow Eyes - Confusion Gate

This would be much higher if it was released sooner, but this has been and will continue to be in heavy rotation for me. Yellow Eyes creates a sort of misty musical landscape similar to what you might expect from the Cascadian black metal scene, but much more perplexing thanks to labyrinthine melodies and cryptic lyrics. This is Confusion Gate, after all.

Released as a companion to their previous (darkwave? post-industrial?) album Master’s Murmur, this album stands out in their discography as a sort of a capstone to the band’s recent musical endeavors, including their side projects Ustalost and Sunrise Patriot Motion.

Beautiful instrumentation here, with a recurring saxophone and a big emotional climax of woodwinds on the closing track.

Shame - Cutthroat

I’ve been listening to these guys since they were touted as a rising star of the so-called Windmill scene, and it’s been very fun to watch Shame and their cohort evolve and diverge over the years.

I don’t think this is their strongest release but I still had a lot of fun with it, and I think they did too. It’s much poppier than their other albums but still unmistakably them, perhaps a palate cleanser from the darker territory they’ve spent the past few albums in.

Missa · January 8, 2026, 11:51am

please allow me to ramble about my subjective experience with albums i liked in 2025. I’m not a critic so don’t expect too much critical insight! I did my best to order them, but you could mix my top 5 into any order and I’d be fine with it.

I TRIED TO MAKE THIS READABLE WITH THE HIDE DETAILS TAG BUT DISCOURSE DIDN’T LIKE THAT, so sorry about stretching the page

Here’s my Top Ten For 2025 Minus #4, Who is Stuck in the Japanese Best Of Topic:

10. Ulver - Neverland

hello reason my list is coming out a week into 2026

Ulver dropped their album on New Year’s Eve, sentencing it to exile from the year-end lists - I wasn’t about to let that happen though! Upon my first listen I thought “oh. This isn’t even going on the list.” Then I spent the weekend using it as reading music, and I realized that this album very much has a place in my life.

Since returning to school, I’ve done a lot to fill the music hole in a way that doesn’t distract me from studying. This means a lot of instrumental music, soundtracks, stuff like that. I’ve been getting in a lot of Godspeed, Swans, Mono, stuff like that. Overwhelming at times, but lacking enough in vocals that I can have it on while I’m reading. Ulver in particular has been the MVP of this musical era of my life. Black Metal Ulver is classic, with Nattens Madrigal being one of the best entries into the genre, but Ulver has only become more and more interesting since they shed their metallic exterior. Neverland feels to me like a distillation of ideas and forms explored in Ulver’s live improv-based releases (namely Hexahedron, probably my favorite entry into Ulver’s later canon). Big cold soundscapes, contemplative, driven by synth and drums, all synthesized with just enough leftover rock energy that it never veers off into sleepy music. The tracks here are more fleeting than when they’ve explored these sounds in the past, taking the form of brief 2-4 minute cuts instead of extended improvs. While both forms have their benefits, Neverland is a much more digestible affair. If you’re into atmospheric electronic or soundtrack music, give this album a shot. It’s quick, and journey that’s both varied and textured. Ulver is one of the great bands in modern music, and it’s a shame that their later works only get niche recognition. This may not be a revelation within their larger catalogue, but it’s the band honing in on a sound that’s been very successful in their live contexts. I’m going to read so many books to this baby in the next year.
Best tracks: They’re Coming! The Birds!, Elephant Trunk, People of the Hills

9. Ciśnienie - [angry noises]

those really are some angry noises

The most out of nowhere release on my list, I saw somebody post this to a music community around its release in September singing its praises. It seemed relevant to my interests - and it was! This album is such a weird little guy. Polish experimental/noise rock, by way of post-rock. Purely instrumental. No guitar, instead there are keys, violin, and saxophone. The lack of guitar in a rock-centered project is so strange, but truthfully I didn’t even really notice until I’d heard the album a few times. Even without The Rock Instrument, this release is still so heavy, distorted, even kind of scary. This is some truly upsetting music that goes places you don’t typically expect from instrumental rock music. Walls of bruised, limping sound with a saxophone painfully squealing atop everything.

Not something I’m reaching for every day, but this really is one of the most fascinating releases I stumbled upon this year. I’m watching this band’s next move with great interest. If you’ve got a taste for noisy improv and art that’s disarming, dark and strange, give this one a listen. Definitely for fans of Swans. An hour-long journey into saxophone hell.
Best tracks: it is simply four very long songs, so, N/A. I think the middle stretch is the best part

8. La Dispute - No One Was Driving the Car

My perception of this album was unfortunately harmed by its baffling rollout - with every song besides two low-key closers released as EP batches in the months leading up to the full album release. I started avoiding these after the second EP until release week, and it still managed to feel anticlimactic. Still! Nobody does what La Dispute does, and this is the most energized and urgent they’ve sounded since Wildlife (their best album). Some of their catchiest and heaviest material, with vocalist/lyricist Jordan Dreyer firing on all cylinders.

If you like post-hardcore and have any inclination towards theatrical spoken-word…well, then you’re probably already familiar with La Dispute and this album; but if not, I think this would be a good entry point! For returning fans, this might not dethrone your personal favorite, but this is really good material that illustrates a band that still truly gives a shit. Maybe I’m favorably biased towards this one since they’re passionate, genuine in their messaging and conduct, and my favorite Michigan representatives, but I’m looking forward to living with this one more & seeing more of its material live.
Best tracks: Environmental Catastrophe Film, Top Sellers Banquet, Sibling Fistfight at Mom’s Fiftieth

7. Lady Gaga - Mayhem

Vanish Into You is Gaga’s finest moment, full stop. She’s always been capable of heartfelt writing, but this song is the apex of that - paired with the perfectly-produced glam/disco backdrop by Cirkut, I don’t think the 2020s have seen a better pop song yet. The world couldn’t handle it if she made an album entirely of Abba-style bangers like this, so she restrained her power on the rest of the album.

That’s not to speak negatively of the rest of the album! I was hesitant to do a full listen for my year-end roundup, but I was pleasantly surprised how well the album as a whole holds up. I tricked myself into thinking the whole thing paled in comparison to Vanish Into You, but I think this is probably her strongest album pound-for-pound. The Beast stands out as a weak moment - but barring that one, the deep cuts on here are just as interesting and lovingly-produced as the singles. In keeping with the theme of Mayhem, the sounds and influences are all over the place on here; this can make for an uneven full listen, but nothing on here was phoned in. Even biggest song in the world Die With a Smile somehow closes this work perfectly despite being bolted onto the tracklist at the last minute. For Gaga this was both a triumphant return to her roots, and a mature artist confidently demonstrating their artistic growth.
Best tracks: Vanish Into You, Abracadabra, Zombieboy

6. Hayley Williams - Ego Death at a Bachelorette Party

This album also had a weird release strategy, but it did the opposite of La Dispute and compelled me to actively pay attention to Hayley Williams for the first time - and I’m glad I did! This one took a bit for me to digest, but once it did & I returned to it, I was kind of in awe of how Ms. Williams cohered this material. 20-track, hour-long pop albums are generally a hard sell, subject to diminishing returns. This album gets more gratifying once you start digging into it though. It’s an overwhelming amount of material on its face, but this isn’t an album stuffed with filler or recycled ideas. Throughout its tracklist, the album cycles through so many different stylistic permutations of rock and pop music. These variations aren’t haphazard either, she really curated a wide variety of sounds, compiled them in a way both tasteful and meaningful, and rose to meet the unique demands of each one.

She got a lot of points for eclecticism and discernment, but the album wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t good music at its core. Thankfully, this seems almost effortless for Williams - having spent a lot of time with this album, I’m convinced that she’s acted as a sponge all this time she’s been in the music industry. She’s been in it for a long time now, but I think she still has a bright future ahead of her if Ego Death is any indicator. I circled back to her previous solo release after hearing this one, and this really is a huge step up. And to think that most of this album was originally tied to a digital code you’d get from buying her hair dye.
Best tracks: Parachute, Love Me Different, Hard

5. Miley Cyrus - Something Beautiful

lmao what do you mean this album has been labeled nothing but a flop during the 2025 retrospective season.

My friend had to twist my arm to get me to listen to this album, but Miley made me a believer. Her voice always brushed up against my ears in a way I didn’t like, but I warmed to it halfway through my first listen to this album and I loved it by the end. This has similar fundamental strengths to the Hayley Williams record: this is virtuosic pop from someone who came to maturity in the music industry. It’s big, ambitious, and wears its influences on its sleeve; unlike that record, though, Something Beautiful hones in on a very specific sound for its duration, appropriating shimmery sounds from the 70s and 80s into a progressive pop album. The huge production here really sells what she’s going for, believably driving home the grandiosity of it all. I think this might be the best-sounding album this year. This is like a space disco playing out on an IMAX screen. Given Miley’s propensity to disown her previous project when releasing a new one, I’m not sure if she’ll follow Something Beautiful up with a proper evolution - but such an album could do even better on my year end list if she committed to it.

Best tracks: Golden Burning Sun, Walk of Fame, Every Girl You’ve Ever Loved

4. cali≠gari - 18 but that’s not allowed in this topic :c

3. Heraldic Blaze - Monument of Will

This is the black metal band to watch in the next couple of years. Upon hearing their demo a few weeks before this album dropped, I said that their full-length could turn out really special if they kept it up. They did, in fact, keep it up, and this album is, indeed, something special. This is raw black metal that is incredibly fun, and it does that without diluting the genre or dipping into more traditionally “fun” genres like thrash. This is a two-person project from both the US and Norway, with a wonderfully raw production quality that sounds like it was actually intuitive and the results of the tools they had, rather than a half-hearted attempt at sounding like Burzum. There are moments that give me punky skate and surf vibes, but this is no-nonsense black metal through and through.

The songs on here are largely triumphant and cathartic, evoking images of hard-fought sunrises and celebratory heraldry. The pace is constantly blistering. The riffs and drumming are so energetic here, and the vocal performance is awe-inspiring, like a shrieking creature from myth. I worry about the longevity of this band since the members are separated by an ocean - but even if this is the only proper release they ever drop, they absolutely nailed it.
Best tracks: Steel Sun Bleeds Gold, Harken the Pearls of May, The Proffered Word

2. Deafheaven - Lonely People With Power

This was the album to beat all year for me. Hell, it might even be my 2025 favorite in the long run, but one late entry into the year impacted me enough to displace this album at least for the time being. Really the strict ranking isn’t important, what is important is that I got two whole albums this year where my reaction was something like “I can’t believe it…it’s fucking incredible.”

I’ve liked Deafheaven for such a long time now, but have spent years convinced that they were past their prime as a band. I was so damn wrong. Over a decade after Sunbather, they released their strongest work yet, and it isn’t even really close (also Sunbather wasn’t even their best album before this one dropped, just FYI). Their previous album, Infinite Granite, was an enjoyable (albeit underwhelming) diversion into shoegaze which largely alienated their fanbase. Following that release I was convinced they were running out of steam as Deafheaven, but Lonely People With Power showcases a band with a new lease on life. It turns out that breaking free from their established formula for an album was just what they needed.

When lead single Magnolia dropped, I said “oh my god we are so fucking back” - and yet, I didn’t know just how back we really were. Deafheaven returning to their hodgepodge of black metal/screamo/shoegaze was enough to launch the hype off the charts, and somehow they exceeded my every expectation. While I wanted them to leave Infinite Granite in the past, some highlights on Lonely People With Power (namely Heathen and The Garden Route) are largely informed by that work, and LPWP is all the better for it. When you’re a big fan of a band, I think the ideal “new release” is either an exciting new direction, or a leveled-up synthesis of everything that came before, using the familiar to break new ground. The latter of those two feels exceedingly rare (at least with the groups that I follow) but that’s what Deafheaven did here.

Recommended if you like literally anything the band has ever done, or if you like music with big sound and screams - post-rock, metal, noise rock, anything in that general realm of loud emotional catharsis. This is a mature and reflective album, and I’m so pleased that they achieved that without compromising an ounce of their intensity. It broke my heart, made me bang my head, and accompanied me through my wistful summer dreaming. I’ll be incredibly surprised if any 2026 metal release even approaches this album in quality and refinement.
Best tracks: Amethyst, Revelator, The Garden Route

1. Anna Von Hausswolff - Iconoclasts

Holy fucking shit.

Before December 2025 my sole exposure to Anna Von Hausswolff was her guest vocal spot in the Wolves in the Throne Room track Born From a Serpent’s Eye, AKA the last truly great song that band ever released. From this I knew she was a very capable singer, and that she probably existed in the same realm as artists like Chelsea Wolfe. That was pretty much it for almost a decade though, I didn’t think much of her until I started seeing the cover for Iconoclasts around. One thing I read about it was that it’s a good album for fans of Lingua Ignota. I’m a huge fan of LI/Kristin Hayter, so I’m always chasing that Sinner Get Ready high.

Man. Do you ever chase the dragon and then actually fucking catch the dragon? It’s crazy. After Sinner Get Ready, Kristin made a clean break from that project and sound. I’m still into what she does, but the absence of a proper evolution to Sinner Get Ready left me hollow. No longer. This is the exact kind of lush, ornate neoclassical darkwave that I’ve been searching for. Sprawling epics with awe-inspiring conclusions, strange big-name features like Iggy Pop and Ethel Cain who fully commit to working towards Hausswolff’s vision, heavy ruminations on spirituality and love. At a point it almost felt like it was checking boxes for music nerds with my specific set of tastes - but this is a genuine, uncompromised, strange work which never strays too far from the boiling point of intensity. Amidst all this there is so much beauty and vulnerability. Creating this larger than life, monolithic sound and using it to interrogate issues that are painfully human is my favorite genre of music.

I’ve only had this album in rotation for a little under a month. It shot up my 2025 charts so quickly, which really surprised me given that it’s such a dense work. Looking forward to further unpacking this in 2026.
Best tracks: The Iconoclast, The Whole Woman (feat. Iggy Pop), Unconditional Love (feat. Maria Von Hausswolff)

Global honorable mentions are Blacktooth’s #2-4 first and foremost. Both Pop Girl Shorties as well as Tyler The Creator’s Best Album For Bowling are well worth your time.

Also, the new Allie X album Happiness is Going to Get You is some really cool shit. It has characteristics of her past work, but a pretty big shift for her. Intelligent pop music with a surprising emphasis on piano on a lot of its tracks. Good stuff!

And finally, I thought The Mountain Goats’ new album, Through This Fire Across From Peter Balkan, from this year was killer. This band has too many albums, but any time I spend significant time with them I feel better for it. This time they wrote a shipwreck musical. Alright.

Axius · February 21, 2026, 5:11am

Artist Highlights of the Year Axius Edition

Okay I think it’s time to throw my hat in the ring. I had a chance to catch up with a decent portion of 2025 releases I was interested in and I have to say last year had some interesting offerings. Man the females vocalists took over 2025 between babymetal, that spiritbox, evanescence and poppy collab and all these below i didn’t know where to begin here. Below are some of the albums I felt deserve some recognition no set order. I mostly will be picking from metal or rock artists:

Violent Vira - Lover of a Ghost

Release date: 2025-11-14

Wow I never thought I’d be surprised by an indie artist of this magnitude. There is something about her voice that makes me feel warm inside. This album as been my new obsession in 2025 and even now a bit. They initially released an EP called: Till’ Death Was Never Enough which was an okay album. However most of their popularity came from their singles like: I Don’t Care, God Complex etc..

When they announced their first album was dropping I got stoked and interested on what direction they will go. Then they dropped Saccharine as a single which was later put on their album. This song I felt was a turning point the band I hoped would put them on the map more and in a way my hopes were right and expectations were exceeded. Some of these tracks have a very cold feeling to them but in a warm way. Idk if that makes sense but somehow the album will take you on a journey that is both sad, cold, warm and happy all in one package. Some of the lyrics here I can relate to on a personal level as well. If you haven’t heard of them I recommend checking this album out. Its different from things ive heard before and gives off a 2000’s feeling.

Igorr - AMEN

Release date: 2025-09-19

Okay Jezus Christ this album. This release was my first introduction to this band and WOW. What really drawn me into this band was the composition, mixture of instrumentals, and harmonies the album. There is some level of aggression but this type of aggression is done so different it feels like this what metal will be like in the future. Something about this album is so otherworldly and wild. The choice of parts, mix of opera like vocals, and background voices hit different in weird ways I didn’t expect. There is techno here as well and it’s all over the place. This is the best way I can describe it.

There’s also a song on this album where they used an actual excavator in the track to make a specific sound. In the actual music video they call the guy up and the man is out here looking a bit confused why his services are needed . He’s like If your sure it will work okay then lol. A must have listen one day. It’s a fun trip

Enemy Inside - Venom

Release date: 2025-02-27

Okay really listened to this band until this album. Its a rather comeback album for them. I guess i decided to expand my horizons for indie artist a lot in the recent years and im glad i did. This band definitely went the sorta forth wall breaking method? Sorta reminds me of the style ronnie has when he does with some of his falling in reverse tracks. The album overall is a fun release. Its poppy and have a handful of catchy songs thrown in. When you compare this to their other material its honestly night and day. I hope they get more recognition for me most of the album was on spin this year. Either way solid comeback and cant wait for more.

The Pretty Wild - zero.point.genesis

Release date: 2025-11-21

HAAHAH this band just slaps you in the face with aggression its so brutal and beautiful all in one package. I think what really makes them sound so impactful is the duel gutturals. With 2 vocalists that are crazy aggressive and pop-like. There are some tracks with rap in it maybe its the one i honestly forgot. I noticed some harmonics with their tracks making some of the background noises they throw in. They are either in a “lalala” type of melody or there is some background noise that the vocalists match in the song to some capacity. I feel like some parts were like purposely crafted and put in sections of tracks. Excellent album i cant wait to see what this band has to offer next.

Spiritbox - Tsunami Sea

Release date: 2025-03-07

Okay okay so hear me out. @zeus might crucify me for this or not lol unsure. This release was good just not as good as their first album. My stance on their work so far is that in my opinion “Fear of Fear” is the best release by Spiritbox. Now i know what some people may be thinking. How can you compare an ep to an album and why this release”. I took a while to process their EP and noticed that there are so many aspects and noises in it that make it sound chaotic and fun. I even heard on an interview and watched a behind the scenes for that release. It was crafted unexpectedly well. Fun fact you can play the ep on loop from beginning to end and each song leads into each other, even the last track. Anyway not to get off topic im suppose to talk about this album

Fata Morgana definitely is the best opener track. It just hits you in the face right away with aggressive riffs and screams but at the same time its soft and light. Its almost like this weightlessness feeling that makes me wanna drift then back to aggressive. Its almost like this balance of water and fire constantly fighting for control. Black Rainbow best track on the album hands down. There is a surreal atmosphere that is created that brings you into in this horror like chaos but there is some like spacial element to it that is hard to explain without listening. Its catchy, poppy and aggressive in all the right ways. Skipping around tracks like, Perfect Soul, Tsunami Sea, A Haven With Two Faces and Deep End are the soft tracks they don’t progress the same but have their moments of becoming catchy but also has this vibe where it makes you feel like you by the ocean. Lots of water vibes. I wont go through every single track but i have to mention their top tack soft spine which is their most aggressive track to date even quoted by Courtney herself.

From my perspective i don’t see this as their heaviest track at least instrumentally. Something about soft spine has this dance like vibe to it the screams and guitars are aggressive however as the track plays on it tunes out in a pop like beat paired with the guitar slides and drums. Two chords → slide → Guitar part with the drums following that same beat. The re-usage of the same progression is present throughout the song with some variations to them. Not to say that the song isn’t heavy definitely is however i think spiritbox has heavier tracks. Maybe this track is their most vocally aggressive?? There are some other comparable picks. Overall an album that strikes me as interesting and fun all at the same time. I dont see this album as something super groundbreaking but more stuff to add to the spiritbox world that is chaotic and calming like the ocean

Honorable mentions:

I will simple list some of the honorable mentions on here below i wont really go much into detail:

House of protection - Outrun you all

Release date: 2025-05-23

I think this release is actually better then their first one. Like their first release the usage of techno elements are pretty profound however this one takes a more better spin the ideas done from the first ep and switches it up a bit. I enjoyed this one threw and threw. House of protection is just an overall fun band with high energy.

Not Enough Space - Weaponize your rage

Release date: 2025-09-12

You ever wanna know what an angry demon sounds like well listen to this and you’ll find out. Liv’s screaming vocals are so brutal i can hear the demons screaming in my basement lol. Overall the album gives us a mix up of many different music styles in one package i feel makes this a more diverse metal experience. Hence why its here but also ive seen them live before this album its interesting comparing both experiences. Upon listening to this album i can tell both vocalists gotten better.

Memphis May Fire - Shapeshifter

Release date: 2025-03-28

A bit of a typical pick but mostly what i liked about this album was the fact that its catchy enough, has uplifting moments, and has a high energy. You can really hear the vocalist clearly paired with the way they chose the lyrics and composition. The album was written in a very smart way which makes almost every song here memorable to me. Amazing album

blessthefall - Gallows

Release date: 2025-09-05

This band came back from hiatus and i love what they did. This whole band did a nice re-work of their sound and im looking forward to a heavier and fresh version of blessthefall

Orbit Culture - Death Above Life

Release date: 2025-10-03

This album at point makes me wanna go outside and bench press 3 houses . Like damn these riffs and just the overall atmosphere is crazyyyyy. I need to listen this album to fully digest it in the coming days but man it’s something.

Linx - Annihilation

Release date: 2025-10-10

A bit of a compilation of their singles but some new songs thrown in. Been following them since 2023 when they released “Crystal Jellyfish”. They are a bit of cyberwave metal that touches on areas i feel could be more explored. Linx has an interesting approach to music from what ive heard so far. Its never consistent in how the songs progress here but what does remain same is this element of cyberwave/techno vibe that has me entranced in moments. I recommend to those who are looking for a different experience.

Upon a burning body - Blood of the Bull

Release date: 2025-10-05

All i have to say is boom bitch kill shot! This album is crazy Danny is such a talented vocalist and all the band members did a good job on this one.