I don’t think it’s a particularly bold claim to assert that black metal has the most natural genes for experimentation in the extreme music world. Of all the subgenres in this space, few have found themselves attached to more unique, obtuse, and/or flat-out odd sonic combinations. The year of our infernal underlord 2025 did absolutely nothing to dispel this notion, and it’s why when viewed in retrospect I would claim that it has been one of the most interesting trips around the sun for the iciest of extreme music’s branches in recent memory.
Anyone who has kept tabs on black metal over the past decade-plus is acutely aware of the watershed moment that Deafheaven’s Sunbather was for the genre back in 2013. Not only was post-black metal a definitive thing now, it was also a sound seared into the independent music consciousness. The “blackened [insert other genre here]” trend picked up steam with a vengeance from this point, adding jet fuel to a fire that had begun burning brightly across the underground in the mid-aughts through the likes of bands like Alcest, Wolves in the Throne Room, and Agalloch fusing the traditionally rigid sound with their own unique textures. At this juncture, it’s safe to say that the most influential names in the space (in stark contrast to many of metal’s other subgenres) are relatively new to the music.
And that’s a definitively good thing.
There’s something weirdly natural about the musical style with the most rigid and ridiculous set of stylistic expectations becoming the extreme music world’s most free template for sonic exploration and experimentation. There’s a rebellion to it, a self-referential meta commentary on what makes art, well… art. The rules are made to be broken. Cycles of expectation must be unmoored. Stylistic fences must be hurdled. Propelling itself ceaselessly onward and upward, the most self-limiting space in the artform has easily become its most daring, and we absolutely love to see it. As you’ll find in our picks below, such genre-bending is a welcome property with the HBIH crew. 2025 was rife with it, and we couldn’t be happier about black metal’s current sonic direction.
So feast with us. And, as always, stay frosty while doing so. We’re grateful for you. Cheers to a brilliant 2026.
-Jonathan Adams
Winter’s Crowns - Top Albums of 2025
Jonathan’s Picks
Honorable Mentions
Patristic - Catechesis
Blood Abscission - ||
Esoctrilihum - Ghostigmatah
Vauruvā - Mar da Deriva
The Blood Mountain Black Metal Choir - Demo I - “Folklore”
Top 10 of 2025
- Yellow Eyes - Confusion Gate
I was absolutely not prepared for Confusion Gate, the genuinely masterful seventh outing from New York black metal magistrates Yellow Eyes. I’ve been a big fan of this group since the release of Sick With Bloom back in 2015, and as a collective I don’t believe they’ve ever released a bad album (including their ambient foray Master’s Murmur). I fully expected Confusion Gate to be another solid record for the crew, but I was not at all expecting what Confusion Gate brings to the table. Put simply, it’s not only the band’s best record in all aspects, but it may be a genuine black metal masterpiece.
Actually… skip the “may be a masterpiece” bit. It is a masterpiece. Period.
I’ve listened to this thing front-to-back at least 15 times, and I have yet to find a blemish on it. The songwriting is both intimately accessible through its emphasis on deeply melodic and emotionally resonant textures, yet also is as expansive and daring as an epic fantasy saga. There is a deep, pulsing authenticity to this record that folds back the pretension often found in this brand of music and instead presents what feels like a living, bleeding, beating musical heart. I have a hard time describing the impact this record has had on me. The musicianship is superb, the production perfect for this style of record, and the album as a whole is a cohesive and beautiful journey from its opening seconds to its beautiful finale. One of the few records of 2025 that I genuinely find to be perfect in every way.
- Deafheaven - Lonely People With Power
When Lonely People With Power hit my eardrums I was convinced that it was going to be my black metal record of the year, if not album of the year in total. It’s known around these parts that I am an unabashed fanboy of Deafheaven, and I wear that badge with absolutely no shame. Despite their surprising placement on this list behind Yellow Eyes, Lonely People With Power is in my view the band’s best record since the generational Sunbather, and without question one of the best products in the post-anything musical world of 2025. Blending the more definitive shoegaze vibes of Infinite Granite with the black metal heft of Roads to Judah and New Bermuda, the record represents the most complete version of Deafheaven to date, and is certainly worthy of all of the praise it has received. Outside of a few of the “Incidental” interludes not hitting me with the power I would have hoped, every track proper on this record is among the band’s best. It’s a statement of legacy from a band with nothing to prove, but doing it anyway because the passion is obviously still there. A fantastic record that I will be revisiting for years to come.
- Der Weg einer Freiheit - Innern
For reasons unbeknownst to me, Der Weg einer Freiheit still feels like a band that not many black metal aficionados have heard of. Here’s hoping some shine on their masterful sixth full-length record Innern changes that, because there are few bands out there in the black metal ether making music as expansive, bold, emotive, and furious as these German masters. Rather than an entirely new direction for the band, Innern feels like a distillation and sharpening of their most admirable tendencies, replete with a scalp-removing riffs, utterly bananas kit work, and a borderline tear-jerking coating of emotive atmosphere that permeates every track. Yet there’s also anger here. A real, palpable aggression that hasn’t felt this front and center in the band’s songwriting since Finisterre. “Xibalba” and “Eos” in particular grab listeners by the neck and succeed in choking the life out of them through an absolutely oppressive barrage of tremolo riffs and blast beats coupled with acutely deranged vocal pyrotechnics. It’s a glorious experience from start to finish that showcases everything this band does best, and is an easy placement on this list.
- Martröd - Draumsýnir Eldsins
It’s been a few years since some quality Icelandic black metal has graced these humble environs, but Skáphe sister band Martröd have broken that unhappy silence with an absolutely sinister debut. While a multi-national group consisting of musicians from Iceland’s H.V. (Wormlust) and Tennessee’s Alex Poole (Chaos Moon), the Icelandic sonic influence bleeds THICK from this project’s veins, culminating in an atmospheric, abrasive, and unsettling listen that feels much more akin to Svartidaudi and Mysthirming than anything on this side of the pond. Which is a good thing, in my opinion. Nothing against USBM, but I miss the explosiveness of the Icelandic scene. A lot. And Martröd delivers those distinctly jagged, angular goods in spades. The SparkNotes version: If you enjoy Skáphe, Icelandic black metal as a whole, or music that makes you feel that you’re about to be sent to the weirdest version of hell imagineable, you’ll love this. It’s exquisitely atmospheric and gleefully nasty, with fantastic songwriting and excellent performances across the board. Highly recommended for fans of black metal’s more dissonant soundscapes.
- Blut Aus Nord - Ethereal Horizons
I didn’t really know what to think of legendary French avant-black metal maestros Blut Aus Nord’s sixteenth record, Ethereal Horizons, when I first heard it. As a big fan of the band’s current, psych-driven sonic path established in 2019’s Hallucinogen and culminating in 2023’s Disharmonium - Nahab, I wasn’t exactly sure what to expect from a record that points toward yet another new sonic direction for the notoriously adventurous band. A record this emotionally resonant and sonically expansive was not necessarily on my bingo card, so it took a few listens for me to adjust. But having given this record its due, I’m pleased to report that Blut Aus Nord simply does not miss. Not only is Ethereal Horizons a well-designed and expectedly superbly executed record, but it’s also an unusually catchy one. The central riff in opener “Shadows Breathe First” has been floating in my head for weeks, which isn’t something I normally say about Blut Aus Nord’s music. I enjoy this musical direction quite a bit, and will be interested to see how the band develops it from here. Another bull’s eye from one of black metal’s most consistently innovative groups.
- Agriculture - The Spiritual Sound
Talk about a sonic leap. While I very much enjoyed Agriculture’s self-titled debut full-length, it didn’t really stick out to me as something particularly innovative or exceptional. Scratch all of that with their sophomore outing The Spiritual Sound. Holy crap is this record one-of-a-kind. It’s atmospheric, political, spiritual, weirdly hardcore adjacent and genuinely beautiful across the board. One need only listen to the record’s opening track “My Garden” to understand the above description. This record packs a heavy wallop while also weirdly making you want to cry (here’s looking at you, second half of “Bodhidharma”), and it all feels so… seamless. If you doubted Agriculture’s ability to create a unique and singularly excellent work, doubt no more. This thing rips.
- Lamp of Murmuur - The Dreaming Prince in Ecstasy
Of the crop of new black metal projects to gain popularity over the past few years peddling a slightly refined and sometimes symphonic version of the genre’s core sounds (thinking primarily of Spectral Wound, Këkht Aräkh, Mare Cognitum, etc.), Lamp of Murmuur stands tall as one of the most consistent and universally appealing of the bunch. While one could argue that the project’s EPs have so far eclipsed its full-length outings, The Dreaming Prince in Ecstasy is easily Lamp of Murmuur’s most immersive, complete, and spellbinding release to date, representing to my ears a significant step up from Saturnian Bloodstorm. The synth symphonics, genuinely remarkable songwriting, and traditionally pristine instrumentation work together to make this record not only one of the best of the year, but the most ambitious and enjoyable release of the project’s discography thus far. If you’ve been skipping out on Lamp of Murmuur, you should probably change that. Fantastic stuff.
- One of Nine - Dawn of the Iron Shadow
I’m an absolute sucker for Metallic Tolkien. The Lord of the Rings is, in my humble estimation, the greatest work of 20th Century fiction, so it makes all the sense in the world for its characters and themes to bleed into a multitude of mediums. Black metal is an especially fertile ground for Tolkien worship, with enough bands pulling from the man’s work that naming all of them would be an article in and of itself. So to be blunt One of Nine is not at all unique in its subject matter. Which makes Dawn of the Iron Shadow’s success all the more remarkable. This is an exceptional black metal record that not only sonically matches its literary themes with aplomb, but presents some of the most effective and melodically brilliant black metal of the year. “Age of Chains” is a genuinely mesmerizing track that hooked me into the record immediately, and I’m happy to report that I wasn’t released until the final notes of “Death Wing Black Flame” were struck. Can’t say enough good things about this record. An easy recommendation.
- Havukruunu - Tavastland
It’s been 10 years since Havukruunu’s impressive debut dropped on our unsuspecting and unprepared noggins, and in that relatively short span the band have released four universally excellent full-length records, with Tavastland representing their latest exercise in folk-tinged and atmospheric black metal supremacy. What else can be said that hasn’t already been expounded upon to death? Tavastland is an exceptional work of black metal songwriting that hits hard, nods playfully to the old school (especially regarding its delightfully distant production), and a borderline perfect balance of atmosphere and riffs. There’s also a healthy dose of psychedelic influence in this record (particularly in “Yönsynty”), which was a welcome surprise. If you’ve enjoyed any of the band’s previous efforts, there’s absolutely no reason you won’t love Tavastland. Another supremely effective outing from a band that has quickly established themselves as underground black metal royalty.
- Lychgate - Precipice
I’ll be completely transparent here: The only reason this record isn’t higher on this list is because it released in December. Which is a bummer, because more time spent with this record would almost definitely ensure its placement in the top five. Lychgate releases are unfortunately few and far between, but every time they drop new music it feels like an event. And Precipice certainly lives up to that expectation. Not only is it the band’s most cohesive, expressive, inventive, and coherent record to date, it’s also a supremely enjoyable affair that fuses all of the band’s best tendencies into one streamlined whole. It’s oddly accessible for a record this strange, but there are enough mysteries here to keep listeners wrapped up in its icy embrace for days on end. I’m several listens deep and still haven’t scratched the surface of all its intricacies. But those listens were more than enough for me to recognize that we have a potential classic on our hands. All hail Lychgate.
Boeli’s picks
- An Abstract illusion - The Sleeping City
While I would hope my placement of this album at the top of any list won’t raise many eyebrows (since it’s a bloody masterpiece of progressive metal), looking at other’s classification this seems to get lumped in with death metal most of the time. I somewhat disagree, although like their contemporaries in grandiose scope and quality Ne Obliviscaris, An Abstract Illusion are comfortably smelting black and death metal influences together into their own super alloy of progressive extreme metal. Sections of snare-heavy blasting and the almost DSBM-leaning vocals, however, give me plenty of cause to classify this black metal and thus afford it the number one spot without crowding my already overflowing death metal top 10. Sue me.
Disclaimers aside, with The Sleeping City these Swedish songsmiths have taken the magical, artisanal songcraft shown with some inconsistencies on Woe (especially “In The Heavens Above You Will Become a Monster”, which is just sublime) and forged their sound into a whole album shining with quality and splendor. Now sitting comfortably in my progressive extreme metal pantheon among the aforementioned Australians, Disillusion and White Ward, The Sleeping City offers a dense, layered and textured take on thai hard to define genre. Intricate yet explosive drumming, guitars that oscillate between a grinding intensity and shimmering climaxes, and a thick,sumptuous layer of otherworldly keys and the occasional string embellishment lead the melodic charge, while the heartrending screams return masterfully. On the clean side, the inconsistencies that plagued Woe have been effaced, with the aid of tasteful vocal effects that combined with synth heavy sound give The Sleeping City a spacey vibe without sterilising its organic qualities or neutering its affectivity. At an hour of sprawling, intricate music I’ll happily admit I have much more discovery to do when it comes to this album. I’m also confident that further familiarity in future will only serve to cement its spot among the best metal albums of 2025.
- Havukruunu - Tavastland
Leading the charge on the blackened side of modern blackened viking/pagan metal, Finnish Havukruunu offer a speedy, thrashy melodic and above all fun take on the subgenre. Their excellent formula of blazing fast tremolo riffs juxtaposed with slower, stomping “hell yeah” sections has yet to fail in making me attempt to realign my spine. Bolstered by strong vocals, both of the harsh variety and of the booming, choral variety, Tavastland is a worthy successor to Uinuos Syömein Sota, even if I think I prefer their previous album to this one. In a year that honestly failed to blow me away when it comes to black metal, a rock solid release by a band whose sound I love is all I wanted, and Havukruunu delivered that by the overflowing horn.
Between the powerful arrangements of “Yönsynty” and the swaying, lovely folk sections that break up the rollicking “Havukruunu ja Taivenvarjo” and the breakneck melodies and grooving licks of the title track, that particular triptych is enough to beat out most of this year's black metal for me. The quality does not let up there however, with “Kuoleman Oma” offering some truly anthemic choirs, and the albums last three songs each offering their own strong take on the established Havukruunu sound. With Tavastland, Havukruunu have confidently claimed their territory in the middle of the forested regions of folky black metal once again.
- Blackbraid - Blackbraid III
This could just as easily have claimed the silver in this year's line-up, to be honest. While my number two band perhaps did not improve as much on its previous output, Blackbraid certainly did with III. Stronger in confidence, polish and songwriting and perhaps even more immediately engaging than the previous outings, Sgah’gasowáh (Jon Krieger) brings us another urgent collection of folk-infused black metal from the Adirondack wilds. Equal parts propulsive and contemplative, violent and melancholic, Blackbraid III is a triumphant next step in the establishment of a cornerstone act in the indigenous American black metal canon. Controversy around festival drama and heritage aside, I’m happy to see an act that breaks away from the normative notions of white European heritage in black metal, even if those are still inherently an indivisible part of the subgenre.
Especially since the music is just fucking good.
- Der Weg Einer Freiheit - Innern
German black metal institution Der Weg Einer Freiheit once again herald the coming end with a pitch-black, yet atmospheric and occasionally contemplative call from and to the void. Innern marries the tenebrous oppression of Stellar (still my favourite of theirs) to the atmospheric escapades of Nokturn. Meditative yet overwhelming, DWEF pummel and transport, leaving clearings for the occasional cathartic, melodic clearing. While masterfully paced and executed by all members, it’s always drummer Tobias Schuler who truly slackens my jaw, with some of the tightest and most commanding kit performances in black metal. While he won’t dethrone Austin Lunn for me, his darker, denser style and ability to drop back into sparser post-rock patterns when the music calls for it is unrivaled both on album and live. Another triumph in shades of obsidian.
- Istapp - Sól Tér Sortna
Sweden’s Istapp was an unfamiliar name for me until a friend recommended them to me, coming off my disappointment with this year’s Vintersorg album. Istapp strip melodic black metal down to Ymir’s icy bones, and then crown it with a tasteful helping of burly viking choirs and the occasional folksy flourish. This heady brew is sticky like mead and just as comforting after an icy sheet of black metal sleet. Istapp are certainly not reinventing the wheel here, but their ear for melody and the contrast between the icy, treble heavy meloblack and the triumphant melodicism on display has drawn me in repeatedly in a year where most black metal left me cold or uninvolved.
- …and Oceans - The Regeneration Itinerary
One of the first albums I reviewed as part of this venerable institution, The Regeneration Itinerary hit me hard, a whirlwind of colors and ideas held together with alchemical magic. As hard as it hit me, it also somewhat failed to stay in steady rotation. Perhaps this has to do with this scintillating amalgam’s lack of clear cohesion. Whenever I thought of a particularly great moment or song on the album, that reminded me of some other band which I would then proceed towards. Still, great the moments on …and Oceans latest album undoubtedly are. I might have slightly overrated them in my review, but I still stand behind the words as I read them while listening to this strange kitchen sink concoction again. On sheer quality and originality this album deserves a spot on this year’s list, even if it might be because there hasn’t been enough black metal that blew me away this year to oust it from my top 10.
- Thormesis - Nevertheless
This might be the least certain I am of any placement on this list for 2025. Few black metal albums have managed to directly pluck my heartstrings like Thormesis. Even though the album was only released in November, I’m confident it deserves its spot on this list, and with time it might have even moved up higher.
Thormesis aren’t doing anything particularly groundbreaking here, stepping foot on the same frozen soil as established post-black acts like Harakiri for the Sky. Where many post-black metal acts unfortunately choose to unleash a quality riff or melody and proceed to let it bleed out over the course of an overlong song, Thormesis have mastered the act of stick and move, giving their enthemic and rousing melodies enough time to shine before moving onto the next one or delivering a grittier gut punch in between to keep the melodies engaging when they hit.
There’s not always a need to reinvent or break the wheel, when the wagon is carrying musicians who know their craft like Thormesis do. I’ll just keep humming the melody of “Entzweit” and singing along to “Fahnen” all winter long regardless.
- Arkhaaik - Uihtis
Uihtis is an exercise in niche craftsmanship on premise alone. Swiss black/doom/post metal group Arkhaaik have crafted here a concept album about a Bronze Age hunt, both literally and in mythologised sense. This album is painstakingly crafted down to the reconstructed indo-european language used for its lyrics and the atavistic sounds and primeval instrumentation that surrounds the black, doom and post metal core. While the soundscape, concept, attention to detail and the frankly excellent production are howling for a higher spot on this list, some of the riffs are a bit too plodding and prehistoric for my taste, which combined with the long song lengths make parts of the album less compelling than others. When the album's unique formula works, though, it is a transportative and meditative experience, while still heavy like a pouncing smilodon.
- Brotthogg - Ved Veis Ende
Perhaps the most “pure” black metal album on this list, Ved Buens Ende managed to ensnare me with its whirling, razor sharp riffs and ice cold second wave atmospheres, all cloaked in a modernised production. In the end I think I have to agree with Josh’s earlier assessment that the album lacks in memorability but makes up for that whenever you put it on, by once again taking you by the hand and proceeding to gnaw it off with the gusto of a starving draugr. Individual moments are excellent, with almost every song having at least one head-snapping riff that ends up both satisfying and surprising you within its winding barbed wire coils. These great moments fail to truly coalesce into a memorable whole, which has somewhat impeded my desire to replay the album, but when I do it’s still just as good. Just listen to “Skarpretter”and tell me that isn’t some excellent black metal.
- Walg - V
Walg are probably my favourite act from the emerging Dutch black metal scene, which at this point might even be an established one. Who knows. In any case, these prolific Groningers have been steadily putting out about one album per year, and while the cogs that churn out their formula might be more apparent by now, that doesn’t seem to affect the quality of their product. That formula consists of a very melodic, bombastic and cathartic blend of post-back metal and while not every song hits home for me, the ones that do (prime examples being “De Adem Van Het Einde”, “He Schimmen Dialoog”, “Daar Waar Stilte Spreekt” and “Ego-Dood”) are good enough to award Walg the closing spot on my year end list.