2025 is well and truly underway! Just shy of the six-month point of the year, we've had massive new albums from the likes of Spiritbox, Architects, Machine Head, Ghost and so many others to show that the metal world is still thriving.
But which albums have been best so far? With hundreds of records arriving each month, it can be a nightmare trying to keep track of the best metal records 2025 has had to offer thus far, but that's where we come in. Below you'll find some of the finest records that have arrived this year, according to the reviewers of Metal Hammer. Don't see your favourite? Stick it in the comments!
From death metal to deathcore, prog to metalcore, we're looking at some of the best metal albums of 2025... so far.
Architects - The Sky, The Earth & All Between (Epitaph)
After nabbing their first UK number 1 with 2021's For Those That Wish To Exist, you'd forgive Architects for being disappointed with the commercial performance of its 2022 follow-up, The Classic Symptoms Of A Broken Heart when it stalled at 18. But Architects have proven time and again they're a band who can roll with the punches and come back stronger.
The Sky, The Earth & All Between finds the band going back to basics and nailing them on every point. Big riffs, bigger choruses and gargantuan hooks make it an addictive listen from start to finish, while the production work of former Bring Me The Horizon keyboardist Jordan Fish maintains a balance between metallic heft and sleek, genre-blurring quality. Although they missed out on another number one in the UK - narrowly, the album peaking at no. 2 - this felt like Architects reaffirming themselves as scene leaders in UK metalcore, reviewer Merlin Alderslade ruling that with The Sky... "They’ve channelled their current influences into something diverse, impactful and engaging."
Bleed From Within - Zenith (Nuclear Blast)
If the UK metalcore scene is to continue to thrive, the bands within need to find ways to elevate the bar and surpass their own standards to strive for something greater. Thankfully, that's exactly what Bleed From Within have done with Zenith.
The Scottish metalcore group certainly could've rested on their laurels after the exceptional Shrine, particularly given the album helped put them front-and-centre in the minds of many metalheads as they climbed the stages at Download Festival and even played arenas with Slipknot. But Zenith is somehow an even bigger step up, reviewer Will Marshall decreeing; "Zenith doesn’t just raise the bar for Bleed From Within, but dares everyone else to match its vitality, fury and lofty ambition."
Bloodywood - Nu Delhi (Fearless)
Bloodywood were already an internet sensation before the release of their 2022 debut Rakshak, but that didn't diminish the impact of their unique stylistic fusion. Mixing elements of nu and folk metal with bhangra, they emerged as one of metal's most colourful new players.
Nu Delhi is somehow even more resplendent. With more polished production and tighter songwriting, the Indian band haven't reinvented themselves but instead refined everything that made them so brilliant in the first place. The surprise team-up with Babymetal on Bekhauf will doubtless open the gates for new listeners, but the fact the album has ragers like Dhadak, Tadka and the title track should be all the persuasion listeners need to get on board with this lot, reviewer Paul Travers declaring, "Nu Delhi is an exhilarating rush that should see Bloodywood’s star rise still further".
Confess - Destination Addiction
2022's Revenge At All Costs was a crucial moment for Confess. The band's much-publicised plight as they fled imprisonment in their native Iran for Norway added a defiant, triumphant edge to the songs - many of which referred directly to their experiences. But with 2025's Destination Addiction, they're putting the past to bed.
The album is still triumphant and pissed off, but the band are clearly keen to move on to new pastures as they tighten up the grooves and add more of a Bolt Thrower esque rumble to their sound. The result is pummelling and delightful, reviewer Matt Mills declaring it, "Another cry of righteous fury."
![Confess - After Goliath (feat. George Kollias & Marzi Montazeri) [Official Lyric Video] - YouTube](https://img.youtube.com/vi/-R6Cyok9AYQ/maxresdefault.jpg)
Cradle Of Filth - The Screaming Of The Valkyries (Napalm)
Cradle Of Filth are undeniably a British extreme metal institution. Having spent much time after 2006's Thornography reconnecting with their black metal roots, 2021's Existence Is Futile brought back some of the gothic grandeur and theatricality that had fallen by the wayside over the years.
The Screaming Of The Valkyries is an all-singing, all-dancing monument to Cradle at their most imperious, then. As noted by reviewer Chris Chantler, with Screaming's "twiddly Maiden-esque harmonies, 80s German thrash riffs, horror soundtrack bombast and sexy goth allure, it’s peak Cradle crystallised" and manages to touch in on just about every era of the band's three-decade-plus career to spectacular effect.
Dream Theater – Parasomnia (InsideOut Music)
Let's face it: the return of drummer Mike Portnoy meant massive things for Dream Theater fans. Granted, it wasn't a guarantee of quality - and nor is this a dismissal of the five records they made without Portnoy - but for a certain shade of prog metal fan the combination of elements was nothing short of magic.
Huzzah and cheers all around then, that Dream Theater's Parasomnia is absolutely epic. Matt Mills agreed as much in his review of the record, ruling, "To even have a chance of meeting the hype, Parasomnia needed to be immaculate, and it stands as an achievement beyond expectation." Bringing back concepts in a big way, the album showcases balances a showcase of technical splendour and musical brilliance, jammed with massive riffs and thunking beats that underlined DT's status as the prog metal Metallica.
Epica - Aspiral (Nuclear Blast)
Still proudly waving the flag for symphonic metal, Epica's ninth full-length was buoyed by a typical sense of bombast and fist-pumping energy that has carried them to glory for over 20 years. After the stylistic experimentation of EP The Alchemy Project, the Dutch group went back to their foundational elements in a big way, producer Joost van den Broek capturing every nuance and swell of their massive sound, full orchestral elements and choirs adding to a sense of enormity.
Reviewing for Hammer, Catherine Morris asked, "Is this the ultimate Epica record? While songs such as Metanoia are undeniably them, T.I.M.E. and The Grand Saga Of Existence, while excellent, could almost have been pulled from Nightwish’s Imaginaerum and Human. :||: Nature. respectively. Tuomas Holopainen might not have the monopoly on haunted merry-go-round SFX and existential philosophy, but it’s hard not to draw the comparison. What Aspiral does have is the atmosphere, emotion and irresistible hooks that Epica are known for, with real warmth beneath the polish."
Employed To Serve - Fallen Star
A decade on from their debut album, Employed To Serve are truly stepping into their own. Their fifth album, Fallen Star sees the British metalcore troupe build on the arena-baiting enormity that they flirted with on 2021's Conquering while not reducing any of the bite from vocalist Justine Jones' harsh snarls.
Guest appearances from the likes of Wil Ramos (Lorna Shore), Serena Cherry (Svalbard) and Jesse Leach (Killswitch Engage) add to the sense that Fallen Star is ETS stepping up onto the global stage, Merlin Alderslade ultimately ruling that, "This is their best album yet and a major contender for metal album of the year."
Ghost - Skeletá (Loma Vista)
By this point, a new Ghost album carries the same kind of weight and expectation that you'd get with other metal A-listers, be it Iron Maiden, Metallica or Slipknot. Thankfully, Skeletá wasn't about to disappoint. Continuing the arena-ready anthemia the band have embraced since Prequelle, Ghost's seventh full-length bridged AOR sensibilities with some of the occult rock riffage of the band's early records.
The result was something undeniably massive and Ghost became the first metal band this decade to top the Billboard 200 in the US. In a glowing review, Joe Daly wrote that, "Skeletá is Ghost at their most confident, flamboyant and defiant. If Impera was the band’s ascension into the stratosphere, their latest collection finds them looking down from above, unconcerned with whether the world can keep up."
Idle Heirs - Life Is Violence (Relapse)
Given just how prolific and mainstream the metalcore scene is these days, it's easy to forget the genre's underground roots in the early 90s. One of the scene's oft-unsung heroes is Sean Ingram, frontman of Coalesce. With Idle Heirs, Ingram joins forces with producer Josh Barber to create emotionally wrought music that bridges his metalcore roots with the clattering alt-metal of a Cave In.
In a glowing review, Dom Lawson wrote that, "Life Is Violence is full of troubled thoughts and worldweary resignation, as Idle Heirs ponder the meaning of paternal influence, the burdens of heritage, and the turbulent nature of love itself. Occasionally angst-ridden, but never less than completely honest and raw, these are songs borne of frustration at the state of the world."
Imperial Triumphant - Goldstar (Century Media)
Accessibility is something of a prickly subject for extreme metal fans. While there's an undeniable delight to seeing the likes of Amon Amarth in arenas or Cannibal Corpse at The Roundhouse, there's sure to be dozens of detractors bemoaning the same, begging the music to be ever harsher and more infernally complex.
Somehow, Imperial Triumphant have figured out how to have their cake and eat it too. With Goldstar, New York's extreme-metal-meets-jazz mavericks creating something impressively dense and vicious while also opening it up just enough that new listeners won't pop a braincell Scanners style. In his review, Kez Whelan hailed that "Goldstar is easily Imperial Triumphant’s most focused and direct release so far, chock-full of riff-centric bangers that don’t sacrifice any of the band’s extraordinary musicianship or surreal aesthetic."
Jinjer - Duél (Napalm)
A lot has happened in the four years since Jinjer's last album, Wallflowers. While the band's story has always been told against a backdrop of war, the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine derailed any plans the band might've had in rushing back into the studio.
But the wait proved worth it. Duél finds Jinjer leaning harder on the progressive elements they had explored on Wallflowers, with an impressive attention to detail as they crafted an album that seeded hooks amidst acrobratic instrumentals in what is undoubtedly Jinjer's angriest record to date. In her review, Dannii Leivers acknowledged that, "Duél, much like the band that created it, is one tough cookie, but is very much worth your perseverance."
Killswitch Engage - This Consequence (Metal Blade)
There's plenty to be pissed off about at the moment. Even Killswitch Engage, metalcore's ambassadors for PMA, found themselves on furious form when it came to new album This Consequence. And it's a delight.
25 years on from their debut, Killswitch are long past reinventing the wheel and shouldn't need to besides. The majority of metal's modern hard-hitters owe them fealty and This Consequence is rammed with the sweeping riffs, huge hooks and massive choruses that made Killswitch so inspirational in the first place. In his review, Stephen Hill wrote, "Jesse has rarely sounded as seething and fucked off as he does here. Even in the melodic sections, he sounds like his brain is about to combust, each syllable spat out with a ruthlessness you can’t help but be swept up by. The death metal vocals on Collusion make David Vincent sound like Sabrina Carpenter. Jesse Leach is on one, and it slaps."
Lacuna Coil - Sleepless Empire (Century Media)
They might've started out in the realms of goth metal, but Lacuna Coil have added a lot more strings to their bow in the decades since. Sleepless Empire continues a trajectory of heavier compositions that started with 2016's Delirium.
The gothic metal air hasn't been lost entirely however, and album ten manages to both feel like a fresh spin on Lacuna Coil's sound whilst not losing sight of their rich past. In her Hammer review, Holly Wright noted that, "With Sleepless Empire, Lacuna Coil dive headfirst into their heavier side – and it works. This is a band that’s unafraid to evolve, to experiment and to hit hard. Gothic metal’s crown isn’t going anywhere anytime soon."
Love Is Noise - To Live In A Different Way (Century Media)
Three decades since the worlds of metal and shoegaze first began to intermingle, at this point you could interchangeably switch the notion of "heavygaze" with the much more fitting "Deftonescore". The sometime nu metallers' influence looms large on a whole bunch of bands in recent years - Bleed, Oversize, Narrow head- but Love Is Noise might be top of the pack.
The UK group's debut To Live In A Different Way makes a conscious effort to expand its horizons beyond the obvious influences and capture a variety of styles and sounds across it's runtime, throwing up gorgeous melodies and addictive hooks. Reviewer Stephen Hill was suitably impressed, ruling that the album could well be "the first truly great debut album of 2025".
Paleface Swiss - Cursed (Blood Blast)
Dubbed "the deathcore Slipknot", Zurich's Paleface Swiss certainly live up to that epithet with their third record. It's hard not to think of Iowa's eighteen-legged maniacal machine hearing the likes of Hatred, Marc "Zelli" Zellweger letting loose his best unhinged Corey Taylor impression over thumping breakdowns.
It's plenty to get excited about however, and with sold out shows in the UK in their subsequent tour Paleface Swiss have seriously stepped up as an exciting new proposition in the metal scene. Dom Lawson was certainly effusive in his praise: "Every extreme band wants to push the boundaries of aggression, but these guys are on another level."
Spiritbox - Tsunami Sea (Rise Records)
Four years is a long time for a rising band to not release an album, even more when it's a gap between debut and follow-up. But Spiritbox showed patience is a virtue with Tsunami Sea, their second album not only refining the sound that made the Canadian metalcore band so revered in the first place, but adding new elements to expand their repertoire as they incorporated electronica and pop more confidently than ever before.
The Hammer review reflected the massive enthusiasm around the band. "Whether they will continue to influence wider trends across the metalcore andalt metal landscape remains to be seen. But Tsunami Sea feels like the moment Spiritbox firmly step into their own as a band who could contend with the likes of Bring Me The Horizon and Sleep Token, as the next zeitgeist-setting act."
Svarta Havet - Månen Ska Lysa Din Väg (Prosthetic)
Bridging the worlds of crust punk, post-hardcore and black metal, Finland's Svarta Havet offer up anti-fascist fury that'll surely strike a chord with any fans of Svalbard, Oathbreaker or the like. Their second album, Månen Ska Lysa Din Väg delivers a frenzied mix of brittle, emotional notes and caustic intensity.
In a glowing review, Kevin Stewart-Panko noted, "Månen… won’t be the album that silences the warmongers’ war machines, reverses the catastrophic damage levied onto nature, or stops politicians from grifting their constituents. It won’t be the clarion call for mankind to stop digging its own grave, but who among us wouldn’t prefer their protest music to sound like it’s spewing from the mouth of Hell instead of arthritic hippies plucking on weathered acoustic guitars?"
Venamoris - To Cross Or To Burn (Ipecac)
With Dave Lombardo behind the kit, you might expect Venamoris to be another high-speed blast of heavy metal. Not so. Teamed up with wife Paula, the Lombardos crafted a gorgeous, oft-elegiac sonic journey in To Cross Or To Burn, bringing to mind the likes of Emma Ruth Rundle or A.A. Williams whilst sounding entirely unique.
In his review, Joe Daly noted that, "From the ethereal balladry of Stay With Me to the gothic pulse of In The Shadows, the album confidently bridges stylistic borders."
Vukovi - My God Has Got A Gun (Sharptone)
Scottish alt. metal agitators Vukovi embraced darkness on My God Has Got A Gun. Opener This Is My Life And My Trauma lays their stall out in no uncertain terms, vocalist Janine Shilstone transforming personal demons and battles into infectious and hopeful anthems.
In her review, Dannii Leivers praised that "My God Has Got A Gun’s tracks feel like a continuation of Nula’s polished and kaleidoscopic electro-rock, with big payoffs. It’s all executed so well, and it’s hard to begrudge a band coming into their own and nailing their signature sound with as much aplomb as Vukovi do here."
Whitechapel - Hymns In Dissonance (Metal Blade)
Deathcore veterans, Whitechapel helped build the style and sound that has since fostered breakout bands like Lorna Shore and Slaughter To Prevail. Not ones to be left behind, Hymns In Dissonance finds them reaffirming their chokehold grip on the fundaments of deathcore whilst pushing their own boundaries forwards.
It's a powerful release, and reviewer Adam Brennan was suitably impressed when he wrote: "Proving that the more seasoned can still mix it with the young breed, Hymns In Dissonance is a measured but assuredly ugly slab of modern deathcore. But while it spits venom and strikes with serrated blades, it does so with a bit of class."
