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MetalBite's Top 10 Albums of the Month - December 2024
Welcome back to MetalBite's Top 10 albums of the month! December is always a weird time in the music journalism business - it's much more manageable for new releases, but bands that do choose to put their music out tend to get buried in the Album of the Year list frenzy. But here at MetalBite, all albums are created equal. We stick to our steady monthly schedule, and as long as it's got riffs, we'll make sure it gets our glowing seal of approval. Nothing escapes our watchful eyes, and we pass our spoils on to you, the reader. Let's get to it.
-Nate
HONORABLE MENTIONS
A Dead Poem - Abstract Existence
Personal Records
Worship music can be overlooked and underrated - especially when the albums they're influenced by have a fertile well of musical ideas to explore. A Dead Poem doesn't keep its influences a secret - the band name alone is a dead giveaway, and the album promo makes it very clear that the sole purpose of this band was to recreate the sound of mid-90s melodic death/doom: the first two Katatonia albums, Paradise Lost and, of course, Rotting Christ. Fortunately, A Dead Poem is speaking my language: the album that they're named after is my favorite Rotting Christ album and Brave Murder Day was my gateway into Katatonia, who are a top-10 all-time favorite band.
The formula is well established, and it is so for a reason. The simplicity of the building blocks found on albums like Abstract Existence is a big factor in their effectiveness. Stripped-down rock beats with the occasional double-kick section, a strict adherence to a middling pace, and prominent, melodic guitar leads is the order of the day here. It's formulaic, sure, but tropes are tropes for a reason: they work, as long as the executor understands what makes them so effective. The underlying strength here is the effective songwriting. A Dead Poem holds onto an idea long enough to create a hypnotic loop in your head, but still have a wide enough sense of scope to be able to build momentum in the tempo shifts. You won't find a single blastbeat on this album, but the drumming is exactly what it needs to be - minimal fills and each beat a driving force for the somber, ethereal melodies. The production is dingey with an underlying warmth, which contributes to their ability to recreate the atmosphere of the 90s.
A Dead Poem breathes fresh life into a dormant style, and serves as a great reminder as to why this subsection of music was so good in the first place. It's a welcome addition to a walk on a cold, dreary winter day.
-Nate
Monte Penumbra - Austere Dawning
Norma Evangelium Diaboli
Eerie, off-kilter black metal that falls in the same general region as Deathspell Omega, although there is more overlap in the general vibe it gives off as opposed to the riffwork and chord shapes. There's hints of putrid doom that help to add dynamics and variety - there are lots of unexpected twists and it all serves to drag you further into their nightmarish abyss. I get some Impetuous Ritual vibes from this, but that might just be me. Regardless, I imagine fans of them will get some mileage out of this.
-Nate
Pandemic - Phantoms
Dying Victims Productions
Creative thrash, yes, in a genre that's been played a billion times, you can still come up with new ideas. Thrash is timeless and will remain an essential part of the scene. Also, Dying Victims Productions really know how to make an album sound organic and authentic but with a modern twist!
-Raphael
Nocte Obducta - Hammergeddon
Supreme Chaos Records
Nocte Obducta have a nice little present for their fans – a new EP called Hammergeddon. Like the box of chocolates Forrest Gump talked about, you never know what you're going to get with this band. This time, they go dep into their history and play dirty, rough black metal mixed with some rock n' roll elements. The vocals are super sick and the atmosphere is very cold and dark. With "Blut, Bier, Dunkelheit" ("Blood, Beer, Darkness") they have a song title which sums it all up very well and pays some tribute to Motörhead. The last track is very different from the rest, very creeping and sinister black metal with disturbing industrial samples that reminds me I have to make an appointment with my dentist.
-Michael
Svarttjern - Draw Blood
Soulseller Records
You have no idea how many black metal promos I get in my inbox - seriously, bands, unless you feel you have a really fresh take on the genre, stop making more generic ass black metal. The only exception to this rule is if you're Norwegian and have ties to some of the old guard like Carpathian Forest and Ragnarok, as this group does. Then you're allowed.
The underlying 80's thrash/speed metal contingent here is what most modern bands forget to include - remember that this was a genre born out of kids listening to Slayer and Venom and wanting to make something a little bit more savage and extreme. It adds a catchy edge that gives Draw Blood some reply value. This is a bit goofy in its stark uber-seriousness (see the chanting of "suicide" at the end of one of the tracks), but it's classic Norblack, that's probably what you're here for. It's hard to knock it too much when the band knows what they're going for and execute it effectively.
-Nate
Druparia - The River Above
Independent
Early 2000 melodic death and metalcore worship. It's fast, full of energy and the songwriting is creative so it's never boring. There are a ton of beautiful melodies that made me feel nostalgic of the "good ol days".
-Raphael
Atra Vetosus - Undying Splendour
Immortal Frost Productions
Atmospheric black metal that feels…warm. Perhaps it's the inspiration drawn from Australian landscapes, but the prominent synths, fantasy-esque sense of marvel and wonder, and uplifting melodies make this feel like an album that's much more suited to a summertime walk than a dreary winter, galavanting through the woods instead of trudging about an alienating concrete jungle. Falls of Rauros, Woods of Desolation and Gallowbraid are good reference points, or even Be'lakor through a blackened lens. If you like it bombastic and epic, look no further.
-Vlad
METALBITE'S TOP 10 ALBUMS OF THE MONTH
10: Becerus - Troglodyte
Everlasting Spew
At first glance, this gives the impression of a knuckle-dragger with fewer IQ points than digits, but when you start to pick apart the album there's a certain intelligence in how simple and effective the riffing and structuring is - and there's a underlying intricacy that shows Becerus is dedicated to their craft. Resembling early Deicide (with Satanism replaced by blunt force trauma via guitar), Cannibal Corpse and Aeon, this is no-frills death metal of a high caliber. There's a reason this style has endured for over 30 years now. The vocals benefit from the absence of lyrics, as it leaves them untethered and free to explore all sorts of unique and memorable vocal patterns, and Mario Musumeci has an underrated range in terms of the different sounds (grunts?) that he can deliver out of his throat hole. Sometimes, you don't need atmospheric brilliance or stupefying technical mastery - you just want to get skull-fucked. Becerus understands this.
-Nate
MetalBite's Rating: 8.2/10
9: Old Forest - Graveside
Soulseller Records
James Fogarty (ex-In The Woods…) has been one of the pillars of the UK black metal scene since the mid-1990s, and Old Forest is his vehicle to recapture the spirit of 1994. After the misdirection of the warped, Slayer-esque intro, the rest of Graveside, the band's eighth full-length, in addition to a plethora of EPs, does exactly that, with an excellent set of synth-assisted grim hymns. While the timbre of the keyboards mean that there is an inevitable passing resemblance to Cradle Of Filth, a band Old Forest have previously been much compared to, this is an over-simplification. Old Forest's songs are generally built from monolithic passages of tremolo riffing, which features none of the twin-guitar classic metalisms of Dani Filth's crew, and in general Old Forest offer a convincing take on the unpolished, but still majestic symphonics of early Satyricon, and For All Tid-era Dimmu Borgir, with the spine-tingling 'Witch Spawn' a perfect example of the band's ability to tap into the kind of otherworldly power of those classic records. In the wrong hands, there's a danger that this kind of homage to old-school black metal could come across as hokey, but Fogarty's innate understanding of the sub-genre ensures that the album expertly avoids such pitfalls, and instead ensures that the listener remembers just how exciting it felt to hear the second-wave masters for the first time.
-Benjamin
MetalBite's Rating: 8.4/10
8: Mavorim - In Ominia Paratus
Purity Through Fire
These Germans once again deliver some hateful and highly atmospheric traditional black metal. Baptist and Valfor present ten interesting anthems, each one totally different from the other, all songs kept in German language, which makes for a harsh and martial sound. The riffing is very smart and catchy, the drumming is powerful and thunderous and keyboards underline the epic atmosphere. There aren't any big surprises on the album but it is another solid entry in Mavorim's discography.
-Michael
MetalBite's Rating: 8.5/10
7: Misanthropy - The Ever-Crushing Weight Of Stagnance
Transcending Obscurity
Riff salad tech death can turn into an incoherent mess very quickly, but this avoids those pitfalls with constant attention-grabbing motifs. This album never stays in one place for too long, but the transitions aren't jarring and senseless - there is a path that you can follow from riff to riff, but when you zoom out after a couple of minutes and reflect on the journey, you wonder how the hell you got where you are so fluidly. There's a healthy amount of Gorguts-styled dissonance but the way it's presented is surprisingly easy to get into. You won't remember any hooks, but you'll want to come back for the brain-scrambling madness and to challenge yourself to see if you can remember when the occasional off-kilter slam is going to kick in. I wouldn't say it was an especially strong year for tech-death, but nonetheless, this should be in any conversation about the best albums of 2024 in the style.
-Nate
Brutal, dissonant and sometimes groovy, technicality. This album sounds like what you would probably hear when you catch a glimpse of Cthulhu.
-Raphael
MetalBite's Rating: 8.5/10
6: Nogothula - Telluric Sepsis
Blood Harvest
Note: this originally came out in April 2024, but the vinyl release is in December, so we're still including it in this list. Get it in your ears if you missed it the first time around!
Since Blood Harvest brought Cryptic Shift and Snet to this listener's attention, their releases generate a little more anticipation than those of a lesser label. Cincinnati's Nogothula are relatively callow, with just a single EP to their name since their 2021 inception, but they've clearly been pouring all of their available time into the composition and recording of a debut album that is among the very best that 2024 has to offer in terms of death metal. While there is nothing regressive about the band's sound, their appealing mix of modern technicality and an old-school fondness for memorable riffs (of which there are approximately 25 in the magnificent 'Catacomb Cauldron' alone) means that the band perfectly synthesise the song-based approach of Morbid Angel, Suffocation and Deicide, with the precise and fleet-fingered fretwork of modern tech-death in a way that calls to mind Cattle Decapitation, Decapitated, or any other band whose name involves the separation of head from body. Telluric Sepsis (which sounds unpleasant, whatever it is), is a very solid first album indeed, the band's relentless brutality showing just enough personality and potential to ensure that one can be both excited about the force that they already are, and the monster that they may yet become.
-Benjamin
MetalBite's Rating: 8.6/10
5: Aara - Eiger
Debemur Morti
It's haard to describe why Aara is aawesome, because they aaren't necessaarily aa unique baand in the aatmospheric blaack metaal reaalm - they just do it…better. Their aalbums aare caathaartic, graandiose aand irresistibly cold, with aa hypnotic sense of scaale aand pacing thaat taakes you on aa journey. Aaaaaaa this is aawesome.
-Nate
Beautiful and harsh, exactly like the mountain from which the album gets his name. You can feel the cold and harsh mountain winds while getting lost in the grandiose atmospheres and melodies.
-Raphael
MetalBite's Rating: 8.6/10
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4: An Axis Of Perdition - Apertures
Apocalyptic Witchcraft
December is an unusually strong month for British black metal, although both Old Forest and An Axis Of Perdition both seemed determined to bury excellent albums by scheduling releases during the worst part of the year for generating interest in new music. The return of An Axis Of Perdition, one of the sub-genre's most perennially forward-thinking bands, is especially welcome, with their fifth album coming well over a decade after the release of its predecessor. Not that the extended break seems to have done the band any harm, as Apertures takes on the challenge set by the band's previously high standards, and meets it head-on. Although not as immediately experimental and unsettling as the band's first two phenomenal records, An Axis Of Perdition remain avant-garde in their off-kilter approach to black metal, with unconventional melody lines snaking their way around the complex rhythms that assail the listener from unexpected angles, while ambient electronics underpin a sound somewhere between Ved Buens Ende and the psychological despair of the last couple of Oranssi Pazuzu albums. This is black metal driven by urban decay, rather than expansive mountains and valleys, and this uncomfortable soundscape oppresses one in much the same way as the quotidian grind of big cities oppresses society, creating a modern hell in much the same way as other black metal practitioners wish to evoke a more supernatural horror. It's great to see them back.
-Benjamin
Remember these fellas? This industrial/ambient/black metal group had a knack for creating some of the most eerie and unsettling atmospheres in a genre where everyone is trying to do that. The album Deleted Scenes From The Transition Hospital is one that conjures feelings of walking in an abandoned mental asylum, slowly building tension as you're constantly turning your back, thinking you've heard a tortured scream from the apparition of a patient from long ago.
After about a decade of inactivity, the group has emerged again, and while I would say they are past their peak, they haven't lost their innate ability to merge angular, discordant black metal riffs with hypnotic sample loops in a way that paints mental pictures. Even at 80% capacity, they're still creepier than 90% of bands this side of Portal.
-Nate
MetalBite's Rating: 8.7/10
3: Pillar Of Light - Caldera
Transcending Obscurity
Super crushing sludge/doom but with beautiful post metal atmospheres and buildups. It's disgustingly heavy and beautiful.
-Raphael
MetalBite's Rating: 8.8/10
2: Moondark - The Abysmal Wound
Pulverised Records
Moondark has existed for about 14 years now and finally released their debut album, but they are by no means newcomers to the scene - members have played in bands such as Interment or Dreadful Fate and were involved in former Dellamorte back in the day. Given this, it is no big surprise that The Abysmal Wound is a rousing death-doom monster with a lot of references to Winter or old Bolt Thrower. Blastbeat attacks and lots of frosty riffs make this album a good pairing with a winter walk and some fresh air. If you like death-doom, this should not be avoided as it is a standout album in the genre.
-Michael
MetalBite's Rating: 9/10
1: Skagos - Chariot Sun Blazing
Independent
When I was forging my lifelong passion for extreme metal as a teenager, Cascadian black metal was kind of a hip new thing. Wolves in the Throne Room was and continues to be one of the most prominent acts, but Skagos came up with groups like Panopticon, Ash Borer, Alda and Falls of Rauros. They are one of the lesser-known bands of the scene, but their naturalistic image and sound heavily rooted in the "Cascadian ethos" makes them one of the most powerful and representative acts. Their debut album still remains on my wantlist 12 years later, as it's hard to find for a price below 100 dollars. Honestly, I'm considering shelling out the benjamins for it.
Their return shows an expansion of palette and a broadened scope, with horn arrangements and other garnishes added for atmosphere. The black metal influences are as they were before - warm, earthy, and with a certain radiating positivity. You can tell why crusty black metal diehards hated this style when it first started making waves, but I'll take this over a million Grausamkeit demos any day. It brings out emotions you forgot you even had, almost connecting you with a buried inner self - when I listen to this and get lost in it, I want to sell all my possessions and go live in the woods.
The fact that they've gone 12 years and a significant overhaul in sound without missing a beat and remaining connected to their roots is incredibly impressive. It's as if they embraced a hermetic lifestyle and are showing us the results and how powerful this can be. Chariot Sun Blazing is the rebirth of Cascadian black metal, and brings forth memories of a time when the genre was a fertile landscape with endless possibilities to offer.
-Nate
MetalBite's Rating: 9/10
Thank you as always for stopping by. Check out all of our previous 2024 AOTM lists here and get your year-end list cleaned up:
And, of course, Follow MetalBite on Facebook, Spotify and Instagram so you can be there right when the next Top 10 list drops!
Entered: 1/18/2025 3:39:19 PM
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MetalBite's Top 10 Albums of the Month - January 2025
Welcome back to MetalBite's Top 10 Albums of the Month! January is a special month for this column, because the start of the year also marks our anniversary. We've been keeping this up, without missing a single month, for 4 whole years now! Writers have come and gone, the lists have fluctuated in size, but one thing that never stops is our love for all that metal has to offer and passing on our findings to you, our readers.
This is also a special month because we've got two new contributors cutting their teeth in this list. Welcome aboard Adam and Greg. Celebrations all around!
-Nate
HONORABLE MENTIONS
Tormentor Tyrant - Excessive Escalation Of Cruelty
Everlasting Spew
Legion is my favorite Deicide album, so it's no surprise that Excessive Escalation Of Cruelty tickles my fancy. This is propulsive, savage death metal that strikes a great balance between high-octane riff blitzes and nasty, midpaced grooves. I hear a fair bit of thrash influence, which makes sense given the old-school throwback vibes, but it's more of the Demolition Hammer/Beneath the Remains strain of thrash, so this can still hang with all the extremophiles and should appeal to all the kids that just want mosh music. With connections to Solothus, Pestilent Hex and even the underground legends of Wormphlegm, it's clear that Tormentor Tyrant has heaps of experience in the face-ripping arts.
-Nate
Exul - Perpetual Catastrophe (EP)
Independent
One of the most promising thrash bands to come out of Poland recently, alongside the nearly homonymous Exist, Exul offer a brand-new EP in the dawn of 2025 with this Perpetual Catastrophe. The band's guitarist and main man is currently the new recruit of crossover thrashers Terrordome, but here we're at the total opposite – compositions are long, with a decent amount of twists, and, most of all, tons and tons of lead guitar goodness, like on their debut LP Path To The Unknown. Exul still convey the impression they could do ever so slightly better in the memorability department, but the welcome death metal tendencies, especially due to Bogdan Sroka's improved vocals and the new drummer's more extreme portfolio, more than make up for it. Plus, 'Deathbringer' might be their new all-around best track... for now.
-Greg
Onirophagus - Revelations From The Void
Personal Records
Apocalyptic Death/Doom for our apocalyptic times. If you want your music to sound painful and desperate, Onirophagus from Spain have concocted something so disgusting, it's beautiful. The vocal performance is interesting, he can deliver the lowest, deepest growls and great cleans, that are a kind of howling scream/chant. This phenomenal vocal performance is accompanied by a perfect blend of slow and heavy doom with occasional bursts of faster but equally heavy death metal. If you like your death/doom disgustingly heavy, this is for you. And that cover by the master Paolo Girardi, chef's kiss!
-Raphael
A Tyrants Lament - Offerings Of The Inhumane
CDN Records
It's hard for me to hype this up because I know all these fine folks personally, but I don't rep shit from the homies on this column unless I would listen to it of my own accord, and that is absolutely the case here. Kyle Sharpe's drumming alone makes this worth the price of admission, as his dexterity and tasty fill placement holds its own with all your favourite blasturbators. The guitarwork and song structuring is careful and flowing, with enough surprises to keep your interest but enough attention paid to the transitions because that's where the money is made. These fellas cover XenoChrist by The Faceless live, which is a good enough reference point, but I hear lots of Deicide and Job for a Cowboy (Genesis-Demonocracy era) as well. A nice helping of guest solos and vocal cameos gives a few extra garnishes and when you get right down it, this is just an all-around solid death metal album.
PS: check out the 2:20 mark on "Mountain Of Lies" :)
-Nate
Tumenggung - Back On The Streets
Jawbreaker Records
A hard rock album, tinged with speed and hair metal, from East Java, Indonesia doesn't come along every day, and certainly not one that is as good as this. Indeed, if Tumenggung are part of a thriving scene in their homeland, it suggests that we should be paying rather more attention to what's happening in that part of the metal world than we generally do. Tumenggung are a pitch perfect recreation of the harder end of 1980s hard rock, occupying the denim 'n' leather filled space between Judas Priest, early Queensryche, and Van Halen, right down to the smallest tom-laden drum fill. The pristine production allows the crunching guitars to chug their way through 34 minutes of infectious rifferama, elevated by some heroic twin guitar solo passages, and enlivened by choruses that would not be out of place on the first W.A.S.P album. Back On The Streets is almost too much fun, but one should emphasise that the enjoyment experienced is absolutely not ironic. Tumenggung play things straight down the line, and the sincerity and conviction of their delivery shows that they are taking it just as seriously as you should. Java: not just coffee.
-Benjamin
Thy Kingdom Will Burn - The Loss And Redemption
Scarlet Records
Melodic death metal from Finland, one of the most iconic sounds in metal. Folky and super melodic riffing, varied instrumentation sprinkled throughout the album, from piano to strings, with bursts of more aggressive blast beats, this is a beautiful, old school 2000 era, Finnish melodic death metal record. At first, I wasn't the biggest fan of the vocals, the growls in particular, because the cleans are epic as fuck but after a few listens, I've grown to like them.
-Raphael
Rudra - Antithesis
Awakening Records
Vedic death metal is a great concept. Melechesh and Cult of Fire are a couple of immediate comparables, as they also have a distinct flavour that adds spice and atmosphere to their extreme riffing. and it's surprising that more bands don't incorporate Eastern influences like this because it seems like an easy way to explore relatively uncharted territory. But perhaps it's more common than I think…take Rudra for example, who have been doing this in some form since 1992 and are on their eleventh full-length album with the release of Antithesis. Maybe I'm just in my Western bubble and out of the loop on this?
Anyhow, this mini-review is my method of atonement for generally neglecting this style. This album effortlessly gives off a vibe without abandoning battle-tested extreme conventions. Reminiscent of Absu in that it's thrashy with some blackened death metal spliced in, there's lots of uptempo moments, but the speed never feels less than intentional. Glistening pedal effects make this feel…historical, like an unearthed relic of hymns used in traditional celebrations.
-Nate
Mutagenic Host - The Diseased Machine
Dry Cough Records
Departing from the usual themes of death metal, Mutagenic Host "tackle the modern-day spectres of complacency, apathy, and the looming threat of AI". We used to call this science fiction, but sadly we are now living in a reality where AI does kill dozens of people every day, for the past 15 months straight… If you're interested, read: 'Lavender': The AI machine directing Israel's bombing spree in Gaza from 972 magazine to really understand how fucked up Israel's genocide truly is. Musically, Mutagenic Host do not reinvent the wheel but they are still super creative and blend OSDM with more modern compositions and production. Excellent soundtrack for our dystopian times.
-Nate
Relics Of Humanity - Absolute Dismal Domain
Willowtip Records
If you were saddened by the demise of Belarusian tech-slam group Ominous Scriptures, you should find this to be a thoroughly satisfying replacement. Guitarist Sergey Liakh is a constant in both, and it seems as though Relics Of Humanity is now his main project.
For connoisseurs of all things brutal, this will be a satisfying addition to your repertoire - little bit of ping in the snare, a dash of slams in the guitars, a lot of gurgle in the vocals and a slightly jazzy touch in the standalone bass sections. Defeated Sanity are undoubtedly the kings of this style, but a band with even 60% of their power is bound to be worth your time.
-Nate
Sarcator - Swarming Angels & Flies
Century Media Records
This album is best when they crank up the speed to the max, it feels like you're assaulted by pure rage, it's at times dizzying and it's awesome, think of a similar feeling as you get listening to Vitriol! They slow down a bit towards the half and add a touch of melody and they lose me a bit, especially with the instrumental but overall, it's a hell of a blackened thrash good time.
-Raphael
The Halo Effect - March Of The Unheard
Scarlet Records
Being a big fan of In Flames, I absolutely love to see the old line up continue making music together. They get back right where the last album left off, bringing nostalgic melodies but this time, I think they truly found their own sound. It of course is very reminiscent of In Flames and Dark Tranquility but they add a few new touches that make the whole thing sound extremely nostalgic but new at the same time. It's not as good as their first but it's still pure Gothenburg melodic death candy.
-Raphael
March Of The Unheard has a lot of melody and Mikael Stanne adds a lot of character. This is catchy and infectious and the atmosphere evokes memories of classic 90s Gothenburg metal - mainstream and accessible enough, but still satisfying to hardcore fans of the genre. Songwriting is solid and well-done, the drumming provides a steady backbone, and while there's nothing here that hasn't been done many times before, the rousing, flashy choruses should be enough to make this an entertaining listen.
-Adam
METALBITE'S TOP 10 ALBUMS OF THE MONTH
10: Unreqvited - Pathway To The Moon
Prophecy Productions
At times ferocious and ominous, other times symphonic and ambient, sometimes fast but most times, slower and peaceful with warm melodies and atmospheres, this post-black album has rich layers and textures, it's a heartwarming journey that will satisfy any fan of Alcest, Harakiri For The Sky and everything ambient and shoegazey.
-Raphael
MetalBite's Rating: 8.3/10
9: Zero Absolu - La Saignée
AOP Records
Containing members of Alcest and Regarde Les Hommes Tomber, Zero Absolu are the renamed version of Glaciation, and their dreamy atmospheric black metal sits somewhere in between all of those bands. The crystalline guitar shapes of Alcest are present and correct, but Zero Absolu take a much more freeform approach to black metal than Neige's more song-oriented troupe. The artwork of the interior of post-fire Neseblod Records in Oslo (once Euronymous's Helvete) raises a wry smile, the band surely making some mischief here, given the short shrift that their pretty and expansive sound would likely get from the shop's more elitist patrons, but the warped vision of classic black metal that it suggests is not, in fact, so far away from the truth, as the odd furious tremolo line escapes from the twinkling math-rock of much of the first track. The second (and final) song, 'Le Temps Détruit Tout' is the stronger of the two, mixing some angular chord progressions with ambient passages that evoke Paysage D'Hiver, before climaxing with a series of stately cadences with serve to pull the band's amorphous threads together at the last moment. An auspicious start for a band that can ultimately travel to just about wherever they wish in the future.
-Benjamin
MetalBite's Rating: 8.3/10
8: The Great Old Ones - Kadath
Season Of Mist
This French group has always been in an odd spot where they're clearly a part of the "mainstream underground" - signed to Season of Mist, tour with some bigger bands fairly regularly and have a substantial following on social media (almost 30k on Facebook) - but I never see them talked about in the online circles I frequent. Maybe it's because I'm in North America and all of their activities, live shows etc are in Europe? Hard to say.
Regardless, they're awesome and definitely deserve more recognition across the pond. Their brand of post-black metal is multifaceted and riffy, but generates just as much ethereal atmosphere as bands that lean more on repetitive hypnosis (Altar of Plagues, Forteresse, Harakiri for the Sky). Their dynamic song construction that includes many different motifs makes for a style that you don't get bored of easily, and the Lovecraftian angle, while not the most original conceptual theme, is a bit less explored in this subgenre, and it fits well.
Previous albums have the downside of too much exploration and not enough focused riffing, but Kadath strikes a better balance. While it still meanders a fair amount, there's more of a destination and the payoff is extra satisfying. We'll have to wait and see how this stacks up with the rest of the 2025 releases, and I wouldn't call this an immediate AOTY contender - but The Great Old Ones have a strong first volley for the year, and have an album that rewards repeated listens and also has a fair amount of surface appeal.
-Nate
MetalBite's Rating: 8.3/10
7: Hazzerd - The 3rd Dimension
M-Theory Audio
Super varied thrash, with virtuoso technicality, and a great sense of melody. Here you get fast and aggressive songs, yes, but always with a lot of dynamics and never forgetting about musicality! Dylan Westendorp on drums and vocals brings a lot of these dynamics, he is comfortable with going crazy fast but he easily pulls back and lets the guitars be the hero, and trust me, they are, with a healthy dose of meaty riffs and incredible soloing. Vocally he has a raspy and high pitch aggressive shout/scream that pumps you up and makes me crave a Pabst blue ribbon. No, just kidding, ew.
-Raphael
MetalBite's Rating: 8.4/10
6: Grafjammer - De Tyfus, De Teerling
Folter Records
Dutch black punks Grafjammer are back with their fourth full-length album and with this the stories about Dutch history, religious insanity and destruction continue. The band hasn't changed much since the last album De Zoute Kwel but you can find some surprises in songs like "Bertken" or "Rampokker". If you like a casual mixture of traditional black metal combined with a lot of Celtic Frost and some punk riffs, you can't go wrong with this.
-Michael
MetalBite's Rating: 8.5/10
5: FaithXtractor - Loathing & The Noose
Redefining Darkness Records
I almost passed on this one, because of that stupid name, (which I now realize is pronounced faith extractor but I still read it as faith X tractor) and thank the lords of metal I did not! This is high quality death metal that sounds massive, incredibly precise, with a good amount of variety, going from fast paced brutality to slower, almost death/doom territories but always with impeccable riffing and shredding solos left and right. Death metal starts strong this year!
-Raphael
MetalBite's Rating: 8.5/10
4: Disrupted - Stinking Death
Independent
Everybody who is into Swedish death metal should get all ears on this. It's old school as fuck. On Stinking Death early Dismember, Entombed are the main influences, with some Grave in the rougher parts. This album wears its inspiration on its sleeve and classifying it as a "worship album" is appropriate.
Has it ever steered you wrong before though? Didn't think so. Get your ears chopped off by this stinking album, you won't regret it. Only the unpolished and super rough sound (in comparison to Dismember or Entombed) might be a little bit unpleasant for the more pampered listener.
-Michael
MetalBite's Rating: 8.5/10
3: Harakiri For The Sky - Scorched Earth
AOP Records
These Austrian boys are truly the masters of making intense but beautiful and super sad post-black metal. Every song delves in heavy subjects like depression, suicide and grief all accompanied by sad melodies with impeccable production. Michael Kogler aka J.J. has a distinctive screamed howling that perfectly conveys all of the pain described in the songs. The first thing that might turn off black metal fans is the production, it's a modern sounding record, nothing is out of place, every instrument sounds crystal clear and massive. As is the case for all their previous albums, it's a long one, an hour and eight minutes of moody and atmospheric post-black that is as beautiful as it is emotional.
-Raphael
Scorched Earth has a nice intense atmosphere to it. It shows a band playing blackened post-metal to good effect. There is an admirable harsh tone that enhances the emotional impact in a way that makes it an early standout for 2025 releases. Scathing guitars and strong vocals come together to create an expressive work.
-Adam
I must say I never cared too much about Harakiri For The Sky until I heard the hype about this album. That was a big mistake because this is great! On their sixth full-length album, so much happens that it is really hard to describe in a few lines. Eruptive outbursts full of desperation and hate go hand in hand with melancholic piano tunes and in many moments there also is this underlying hope, a feeling you can get redeemed from your own personal Weltschmerz. The tremolo-picking is dominant but in some lighter moments you will find some catchiness shining through the dystopian music. This is a really great example of how post-black metal can turn out great instead of getting lost into too many different emotions.
-Michael
MetalBite's Rating: 8.7/10
2: Lunar - Tempora Mutantur
Saibot Reigns
The artwork for Tempora Mutantur, Lunar's fourth full-length, suggests that we are to be treated to some folky black metal, or perhaps something more traditional in the vein of Argus or Slough Feg. It is, therefore, a surprise, when the pure prog of opening track 'A Summer To Forget' channels Van Der Graaf Generator and Yes, before transitioning into a form of progressive death metal that alternates between slamming thrash riffs, and ornate flights of fancy that transport the listener to something far beyond the satellite of the Earth that their name invokes. Perhaps the nearest comparison is Still Life-era Opeth. Lunar's use of unconventional chord voicings, combined with classical metal phrasing is reminiscent of the Swedes at their most metallic, although it doesn't truly capture Lunar's broader reference points, and their tendency to dive much deeper into the progressive side of their music, as well as their more straightforward vocal melodies, such as the soraing 'Weakening Winter Touch'. In fact, this song and others recall early Dream Theater, particularly in the lengthy interplay between the guitars and keys, albeit without some of the more off-putting elements of that rather polarising group. Regardless of who Lunar remind the listener of at various points, what makes Tempora Mutantur so addictive is that it ultimately transcends its obvious influences, bringing something fresh, timeless, and grandiose, but not overly pompous. This may not be January's heaviest album, but it's certainly the record that this listener has returned to most often this month.
-Benjamin
MetalBite's Rating: 8.8/10
1: Fleshbore - Painted Paradise
Transcending Obscurity Records
High quality technical death metal jammed pack with riffs after riffs, intricate bass lines, precise and powerful drums and a beast of a vocalist, doing Archspire style, rapid fire growled lines sometimes going slower, sometimes doing incredibly low, brutal death demon growls other times doing high pitch snarls. Musically it follows the eclectic vocal performance with more melodic and even catchy guitar chorus and then pummels you to the ground with a groovy, brutal death breakdown. The whole album has a real progressive side, with complex and melodic soloing and full of "djenty" grooves. The cover art, a beautiful digital art by Mark Erskine, depicts a tranquil scenery that makes you think this album doesn't sound like a hellish whirlwind of technicality and brutality but, thankfully, it does sound like that!
-Raphael
MetalBite's Rating: 9/10
As always, thank you for checking out our lists! If you'd like to backtrack your way into 2024, here's the link to December's Album of the Month list, which links to all the previous year's lists, which you can slowly go down the rabbit hole of all the way back to 2021, when this column began. Happy digging!
And, of course, Follow MetalBite on Facebook, Spotify and Instagram so you can be there right when the next Top 10 list drops!
Entered: 2/24/2025 3:22:47 PM
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