Ah, list season: the time where everyone discusses their favorite albums and gathers information about albums they missed before ultimately playing catch up. Originally, I wasn’t even going to make a list this year. I felt even more pressure to listen to all the albums I had been interested in, but it was difficult to even find the time to do so. Instead, I opted to listen to music that I was already familiar with, so I spent time with more records I hadn’t listened to in years than with new releases. However, I must comply with seasonal demands, so, like a hostile witness, I am here to present my testimony. Welcome to grief is insurmountable and everything sucks EOY list season!
Last year, I supplied a list of 20 albums that I enjoyed and/or have thoughts about, and now here’s another 20 albums for 2025. We’re sticking with the same format as last year, so there are no metal-adjacent albums or EPs. Structurally, the list is split into three sections:
- The Pit: Album placement is fluid. They might be at the bottom of the list, but there is a set of stairs they can use to leave at any time. There are no numbered placements in this section.
- The Ascent: Album placement is more solidified, but can still be moved around. These could also be considered the staple nine albums at the top of the list. These are numbered starting in descending order from 10 to 2.
- The Apex: Album of the Year.
Also, full disclosure: out of the 20 albums I have listed here, I have written reviews for 11 of them. While I am sure this might count as cheating, believe me when I say I have more to say about them. You must also understand that a lot of my favorite bands (hi, Amorphis!) released new music this year and I just had to cover them. Curiosity killed me and I am now paying for the consequences of my actions. May the new year bring more variety (and less reviews!) to my future lists!
Without further ado, here we go!
Part I: The Pit
In Mourning – The Immortal
It’s been a long time since I listened to an In Mourning album, given all of my interests and time constraints, so imagine my surprise when, out of the blue, In Mourning came out with The Immortal.
I had heard the album was good, in that it wasn’t reinventing the wheel, but it was consistent and delightful. Curiosity took over, and imagine how surprised I was about The Immortal. While this is an album that a younger Hera would have been all over back in 2019, current Hera appreciates this release for what it is: consistent, atmospheric, and rhythmic. There is something inherently bleak about The Immortal, something that demands you pay attention to as it takes you on an emotional journey. Although rooted in melodeath, The Immortal showcases its other genre influences, leaning into prog aesthetics and occasional peeks into death-doom. This may have come from the fact that I have been listening to a lot of death-doom, but you can’t deny that there’s something bleak about The Immortal. I also love that this album breezes through – at 47 minutes, The Immortal wastes no time into going through the trenches with you and then releasing its hold on you. Personally, I am a little ashamed that I didn’t get to this album until way after its release, but I will be giving it more listens in the new year.
Unreqvited – A Pathway To The Moon
Speaking of shame, this album has been on my radar for most of the year… and then I promptly forgot about it.
I haven’t been listening to a lot of black metal – I got burnt out on the genre back in 2021 – but I’ve always been interested in what Unreqvited has been up to. Their blend of black metal, which always seemed to be on the more atmospheric side of things, has elevated on this release. I don’t know if it’s because I have been out of the band’s hair for so long, but A Pathway To The Moon uses more choral and orchestral influences in their music. For example, the introduction to “The Antimatter” sounds like it was pulled from an operatic vocal line before it dives into this darker tone that remains rooted in black metal. Unreqvited has always thrived in showcasing more on each release, and they have always been distinct in how pretty their black metal sounds. There’s also a distinct progressive element that has become more apparent on A Pathway To The Moon, as if the band has finally decided to move towards embracing what they are good at: creating rich, musical texture that shows more than just what black metal has to offer. It’s bands like these that make me come back to black metal, even when I think I have managed to leave it all behind.
Coltaine – Brandung
Another black metal album on this list? Yes, and there’s a couple of others. You might take the person out of black metal, but you can’t take the black metal out of the person.
Now, this album was one I picked up on a whim, as I had seen some friends on the ol’ Bluesky raving about how good it was. As such, curiosity took over and I decided to give Brandung a go. While it leans on the atmospheric, albeit folkier side of black metal, Brandung is outstanding in that it doesn’t sound like anything I have heard before. Sure, there are doom and sludge elements, but Coltaine has decided to incorporate a little bit of everything. It sounds like black’n’roll at times, but it didn’t stop me from listening on a loop one day. There is something inherently magical about this album, as it evokes a sense of peace despite the music’s unpredictable nature. I found myself picking up this album when things have been rough, especially in the last couple of months, and I am happy I did. I also plan to spend more time with it, especially as winter approaches, and I need time to enjoy black metal that has some cello in it. Brandung has been the soundtrack to life transitions lately, and I am here for music that evokes a sense of hope despite everything that has been occurring.
Hemelbestormer – The Radiant Veil
While Pelagic remains one of the most consistent post-metal labels out there, I felt as if the label didn’t have a lot of music that caught my attention this year. Also, there was supposed to be five Pelagic albums – there’s three now.
I have written a lot about Pelagic’s albums over the years, and while many have stayed with me, The Radiant Veil succeeds in standing out because Hemelbestormer creates incredibly expansive and eclectic music. For one thing, it does feel like the score to a movie about space and its terror – you can’t help but watch as the eldritch horror that lives on Saturn wrecks an entire spaceship for fun. While it did take me a while to fully enjoy this, the reason I picked The Radiant Veil over SOM’s Let The Light In and Zatokrev’s … Bring Mirrors to the Surface is because the music was always different and compelling across each track. The Radiant Veil has an aesthetic that it adheres to, and it never breaks or shifts away from it. Everything about the music – from the way “vocals” are incorporated to how something is played is a choice, creating an episodic feel that allows someone to pick apart the details. Although the 65-minute runtime might turn some people off from listening, The Radiant Veil is an album that deserves its laurels and is one that will quickly immerse you in its atmosphere and music. I cannot help but recommend those interested in (mostly) instrumental post-metal to give this album a go, even if it’s not something they would be interested in.
Hangman’s Chair – Saddiction
I have made a bunch of jokes regarding being haunted by French metal bands to a bunch of my friends. And, the trend continues with Hangman’s Chair.
Saddiction came to my attention sometime in the latter half of the year, despite having been released in the first quarter of 2025. Knowing me, I figured that now, in October/November, I would give this album the time of day, and oh boy. If you didn’t know the band – and I sure didn’t – you would think that this is a gimmick, that their discussions of mental health, grief, addiction, and sadness are one of the many tropes associated with their brand of doom metal. Turns out, this is what they do: it is all that wrapped in a sonic layer of gothic doom that haunts you in the middle of the night when you are trying to sleep. If someone was addicted to their grief, to feeling the incoherent sadness that just occurs, then Saddiction is the true reality of what that would entail. It’s hope wrapped in layers in sadness, of the overwhelming urge to start sobbing at 2 am when a memory comes to you. Saddiction is an album you listen to when everything is changing, and you feel so paralyzed by that change that you can only go through the motions. This is what listening to this album felt like to me, and it has affected me deeply. This album is going to haunt in a different way than Second Thoughts.
Vintersorg – Vattenkrafternas Spel
Mr. Vintersorg, I have a bone to pick with you: if I catch wind that you are using AI in your music, I will make sure that you (somehow) catch these hands.
Jokes aside, I fucking love this band. It’s been a while since I listened to any Vintersorg – my last conscious listen was Naturbål back in maybe 2018(?) – so I was pleased to hear that the band was releasing new music. As one of my most highly anticipated releases, I was looking forward to Vattenkrafternas Spel after years of not knowing if the band was ever going to come back, and, objectively, the album exceeded expectations. Like The Immortal before it, Vattenkrafternas Spel is not looking to reinvent the wheel, but it does provide a current update of sorts on what the band has been up to since Vintersorg has been out doing other things (do I detect horns and other instruments within the main melody?). It also seems to continue from where Naturbål left off, which, honestly, just reminds me of how great that album is. Personally, while I am not impressed with it – it does feel like the band became comfortable with their current sound – I am expecting to see more experimentation in the future. How the band will execute that remains to be seen, but I have hope for Vintersorg. If anything, Vattenkrafternas Spel is a great time, and I have been enjoying it immensely. This is another album that I will be spending time with it in the new year.
Floating – Hesitating Lights
Hesitating Lights should be required listening if you are trying to understand the complexities of avant-garde death metal. After all, how do you describe this album to another person?
Transcending Obscurity has had an amazing year, and I am, for one, happy that I was able to listen to one of the most creative albums on their roster this year. Back in July, I wrote about this album, highlighting that death metal in the avant-garde camp tends to be strange and off-kilter, almost punishing you on a first listen. While I listened to Hesitating Lights a lot in the process of writing about it, it immediately fell off my radar before picking it back up sometime in October/November. My sentiments regarding this album still ring true, though: its death metal-goth club aesthetic is something that I haven’t heard before, and its inherent ability to sound like an 80s record while being rooted in cacophonic death metal is both novel and compelling. I also cannot emphasize how much time I spent tapping my foot or nodding along to the music, especially as I found more threads to pick out on new listens. “Exit Bag Song” remains my favorite song off Hesitating Lights, in that it perfectly showcases how Floating employs both its usage of synths and its punk influences to its fullest extent. It’s a shame that I forgot this album until about later in the year, but given everything else that has been occurring, that is an understatement. I have also recommended it to lots of people since its release, and I am happy to have done my part to bring attention to Hesitating Lights.
Mors Principium Est – Darkness Invisible
Mors Principium Est is one of those melodeath bands that I have always known about, but never got into, even though I own two of their records that I got from a friend. Well, look at me now!
It has taken me a while to get into Mors Principium Est, but I think Darkness Invisible is finally going to be the album that will push me into getting into this band. Back in September, I wrote a review for this album, where I was impressed with how cinematic it is. Its instrumentality lands somewhere between Fleshgod and Mercenary, but they clearly hold their own in terms of how your perception of melodeath should sound. Granted, the Finnish melodeath strain will always differ from the Swedish strain, but you have to admit that this specific brand of melodeath is incredibly enjoyable and moving. While it is incredibly dense on a first listen, you will quickly get lost in how immersive the music is, using a mix of synths and what sounds like orchestral and choral influences to quickly pull you in. It’s clear that Mors Principium Est is trying to get a lot done in the span of 50 minutes, but they clearly accomplish it, and they have also exceeded my expectations regarding the possibilities and the evolution of melodeath. There’s something in the water regarding metal, but it seems a lot of these legacy bands have become invigorated with new influences and a new coat of paint. If this continues, I am hoping to see what else melodeath bands can do, and I hope they are able to incorporate more things into their music. In the meantime, I am going to be revisiting this album a lot in the new year, because it’s an earworm.
Omnium Gatherum – May the Bridges We Burn Light the Way (May the Bridges…)
Speaking of melodeath, I am happy to say that Omnium Gatherum has made a triumphant return to this list, and I found myself enjoying this album more than Origin.
In my review for May the Bridges…, I wrote that the album fixed a lot of problems that Origin had. It also felt as if the band had been invigorated by the music they had been writing, as the album seemed more energetic and brighter than what they previously had to offer. I know I compared it a lot to The Burning Cold, but I think that was the last time I enjoyed an Omnium Gatherum album in recent times. May the Bridges… also happens to be an incredibly lean machine: there are no filler tracks, no amount of time is wasted across any of their tracks’ runtimes, and it just burns through its runtime. While the sound is quintessentially Omnium Gatherum, having both Jens Borgen and Bjorn Strid be part of their production showcased an interesting dynamic that I think the band hasn’t been able to explore in any of their previous albums. They were able to just create music for the fun of it, and while Omnium Gatherum doesn’t allow themselves to experiment much, this album lays down the foundation for potential experimentation in future releases. Also, we got Markus Vanhala singing clean vocals (!), which sound amazing, and references to Cemetery Skyline, another project he’s involved with. What more could I ask for from a band that continues to make music despite the genre’s saturation except to make music that they believe in?
Rothadás – Töviskert… a kísértés örök érzete… lidércharang (Töviskert)
I wasn’t lying when I said that I was getting more into death-doom this year. I just didn’t mention that it was more in the veins of not melodic death-doom.
If you know me, then you know that Hungary has slowly taken over my life with their music, particularly with bands like Thy Catafalque and Leander Kills coming up in my lists in recent times. This wouldn’t be a Hera list without at least one Hungarian band, and let me tell you, Rothadás is unlike anything I have heard this year. Cavernous death-doom that sounds like it came straight from an ossuary, Töviskert impressed me on first listen with how different it was from everything that falls under death-doom. I have no idea how this album was brought up to me – I think someone mentioned that it was death-doom but gave no further details on it – and, figuring that I needed to see what else is out when it comes to death-doom, I took a chance on it. This is not the death-doom I typically listen to, but it provided an interesting change of pace and sound, especially for someone like me, who likes their death-doom to sound pretty. Töviskert has also made me aware of what death-doom could become if you added nothing other than an old-school feel to it, because this album is rooted is covered in old-school death metal grime. Personally, on paper, this is not something I would be interested in, but given how good the production is, I am not even mad that Rothadás has taken a spot on this list. Looks like I will be buying their debut at some point in 2026!
Part II: The Ascent
10. Psychonaut – World Maker
Music can be an incredibly personal thing, and while you make music because you love it, you are the one who eventually decides what themes your music tackles. This is the case with World Maker.
For me, Psychonaut has always been an intense band, one who has always taken their music and their philosophy very seriously, each acting as a feedback loop that feeds off each other. In a strange way, World Maker breaks the fourth wall behind that feedback, asking one profoundly serious question: how vulnerable can you be when you, the musician behind the entity, are underneath the microscope? World Maker is an album about the human condition, the simultaneous battle between new life and current grief, and how new beginnings close life chapters in the scope of human fragility. It’s also an album that persists in displaying how open someone can be with their pain, but are also willing to put up barricades so they can work through their grief. However, despite the intensity, the pain, and the vulnerability, World Maker is an album filled with hope, for better things to come, for the warmth and light of a new tomorrow. Listening to this album again made me cry, as it reminds me that there have been a lot of things happening behind the scenes that I cannot spit out. 2025 has been a year of change for Psychonaut, and, in a way, it has been for me as well. Who would have thought that the latter half of the year was going to fundamentally change everyone?
9. Epica – Aspiral
Epica is one of those bands that will always rank high for me because of their musicianship and because they are one of my old favorites. It’s a little biased, but I can’t let symphonic metal slip away from me.
Epica can do no wrong in my eyes – each of their albums is objectively good, and it has all the orchestration and vocals I have loved over the years – but I must say: Aspiral does beat out Omega in this instance. I may enjoy all of Epica’s albums, but I haven’t truly enjoyed an album of theirs since maybe The Holographic Principle. It didn’t help that when Omega came out, I was in the trenches of grad school, so I couldn’t give that album a proper listen without getting war flashbacks. Regardless, I do find that Aspiral has something new to offer that gives their music some new life: they have become more progressive, including adding djent elements to tracks like “Obsidian Heart.” Considering that these elements work seamlessly with Epica’s music – which were previously seen in parts of The Alchemy Project – it showcases that the band still has some tricks up their sleeve. This also showcases how consistent the band’s lineup has been in the last decade, as it’s clear that this album is a complete all-hands-on-deck, a celebration of a band that continues to make music that makes me extremely happy. They will soon become a legacy band, and Aspiral shines as an indicator of that legacy. Meanwhile, Epica will continue to reign as one of symphonic metal’s greats, and I cannot wait to see where the band’s musical direction leads them.
8. The Great Old Ones – Kadath
I have waited such a long time for a new The Great Old Ones album and I was so excited about their new release that I promptly picked it up and reviewed it.
What I have always loved about The Great Old Ones is their ability and the care they put into adapting Lovecraft’s work and making it accessible to people who are either interested in cosmic horror or may want to experience cosmic horror without the baggage Lovecraft offers. In the case of Kadath, The Great Old Ones were able to create a straightforward affair while also utilizing everything at their disposal to create music that resonates with those looking for something new in their black metal. I know that I am being biased in having the band rank as high as they do – it has been about six years since their last record – but I genuinely love this one. I love the way they make the city of Kadath come alive and put its main character through the cosmic wringer just so he can get an audience with the Great Ones. I don’t mind the complexities Kadath offers, especially when the concept and story are interesting, especially when I am not going to be reading Lovecraft any time soon. If anything, The Great Old Ones have taken the time to not only combat lineup changes through their six-year hiatus, but have also laid some groundwork for future releases. I cannot wait to see what happens next with this band, and I hope they don’t keep us waiting for too long.
7. Pothamus – Abur
Ever since 2024’s Norna, I have developed a taste for sludge metal. While Abur may not be the same album as Norna in terms of heaviness, they are both on the same sludge spectrum in that they both kicked my teeth in.
In my review, I called Abur a spiritual experience, in that it provides a sense of inner peace within the organic chaos of its sound. Listening to it now for this list made change its position – originally, it was going to be in Part I, but listening to it again after almost ten months reminded me of how much I enjoyed and continue to enjoy this album. While Abur does take its time in getting into the heaviness it promises, the journey of getting there is my favorite thing about it. It places tiny details here and there that guide you in an extremely specific direction, and you end up with a cornucopia of sounds and textures that feel incredibly cathartic. When I first listened to this album all the way back in February, I knew that I would be seeing it again at the end of the year. Its spiritual nature sank its claws into me, and I found myself humming and whistling the vocal lines in “Zhikarta,” especially during highly stressful moments. It’s hard to believe that a post-sludge record can be calming, but there are stranger things out, and the way Abur haunted me was enough to make me rethink its place. I know Abur takes its time to get to the core of its sound, but if you are looking for meditative post-metal that will shake you in the end, then I cannot recommend this album enough.
6. Katatonia – Nightmares As Extensions Of The Waking State (Nightmares as Extensions…)
Having the band co-founders split up and essentially go through a divorce, where one got this band and the other got Bloodbath, was not in my 2025 bingo card, but here we are.
Originally, I didn’t want to write a review about Nightmares as Extensions…, as I wanted to withhold judgement about it until I finally listened to it. However, curiosity got the best of me, and I ended up spilling a lot of words about it, calling it a celebration of the band’s legacy despite what happened to them early in the year. I know people have had conflicting opinions about Nightmares as Extensions…, as the music doesn’t feel heavy enough or interesting enough or just enough to satiate those who want something new to chew on. However, Nightmares as Extensions… is not aiming to be any of those things – this album is about presenting a new face despite a major shake-up; it is about showing that, despite these setbacks, the band continues and persists in their quest to make interesting and compelling music that people resonate with. It might not be what you want out of the band, but as someone who loves their weird, off-kilter albums, Nightmares as Extensions… fits within the schema established by both City Burials and Tonight’s Decisions, and it does pick up right where Sky Void of Stars left off. Granted, at this point, there is no need to present anything new – Katatonia is also not looking to reinvent the wheel in the slightest – but the band did, and it fucking rocks.
5. Mawiza – ÜL (Ül)
I am also not the only who agrees that ÜL is an amazing album, as Rolling Stone ranked it as 47 on its list of the 50 Best Latin and Spanish-Language Albums of 2025. Congratulations, Mawiza!
Back when I first wrote the review for ÜL, I stated that it was a portrayal to how the Mapuche have been treated by the Chilean government, and how, despite the government trying to erase their history and their culture, they have persisted and fought back against their colonizers. ÜL is also the perfect example of a peaceful (musical) coexistence, in that they both embrace their history and their traditions but have also adapted to using modern production techniques to create one of the strongest albums I have heard this year. I have no idea how many times I have listened to ÜL since I wrote the review, but I keep coming back to it, something that while I do not understand in language, I understand in feeling. ÜL is a call for home, for the keeping of peace, for not giving up despite everything that has been thrown at you. Underneath the grime of modernity, of the constant changes and political upheavals, Mawiza calls for defiance and for resistance, and ÜL is a fantastic representation of that continued stance. I also wanted to mention that I know the band gets compared to Gojira in that they both have a similar sound, as seen on Fortitude, but make no mistake: Mawiza’s rage is all their own, and it blisters throughout the album’s entire runtime. Cualquiera persona que no haya escuchado este álbum, hágase el favor de hacerlo lo más pronto posible – se estan perdiendo una joya del metal chileno
4. Amorphis – Borderland
Another favorite and long-term staple in my listening repertoire, I knew that Amorphis would end up on this list. I just didn’t think I would enjoy this album as much as I did.
When I was first writing the review about Borderland, one of the bigger ideas I had in mind when I first decided to approach it was comparing it to Nightmares as Extensions…. Both Amorphis and Katatonia have had an interesting career, each with different musical shifts, changes in vocal types, and lineup changes, resulting in albums that vary in quality, ideas, and influences. However, one of the bigger complaints I heard – and the reason why it colored my review – was that both bands had grown complacent in what they had created. Sure, Katatonia is no longer a black metal or a death-doom band, and Amorphis hasn’t been a (traditional) death metal band, but that doesn’t mean they are unable to create objectively good music that resonates with people. Personally, I found Borderland to be a fantastic sounding album with some minor flaws, and it showed that the band is ready to approach music in a different way than what they are used to. It is also more cohesive than Halo, an album that I felt ended their trilogy on a sour note, and it definitely struck melodic gold. Borderland also has amazing replay value, as I have listened to it several times and I’ve yet to get tired of it. Every time I come back to it, it’s like being hugged by an old friend who you haven’t seen in a while, and we end up talking for three hours. I love this album and you can pry it off my cold, dead hands.
Also, shout out to my friend K: thank you for bringing up the comparison to Anaal Nathrakh in one of the songs Amorphis wrote. I will remember that fondly every time I see “Endarkenment” come on my playlist. 🙂
3. Needless – Premonition
You know it’s been an interesting year when there’s a thrash album on my list, as I am the resident Thrash Hater™ at Nine Circles. Now, because of this album, there are four exceptions to my No Thrash rule.
I know what you are thinking: “Hera, did you get body snatched? You have a history of hating most, if not all, thrash, so how did Premonition end up in your top three for the year?” Two words: those vocals. When I first got my hands on the album for the review, it was sold to me as a prog death album, which is one of the immediate ways for someone to get my attention. After all, I fucking love prog death, and I believe that there are very few bands who are able to do that genre justice. However, funnily enough, the more I listened to this, the more I realized Premonition has more in common with Kreator’s Gods of Violence – one of the aforementioned No Thrash exceptions – than Black Crown Initiate’s Violent Portraits of Doomed Escape. First of all, vocalist Ádám Forczek sounds so much like Mille Petrozza at times that I had to double-check that he wasn’t singing in this band. Forczek packs so much power and versatility into his vocals that you sometimes think it’s the same person singing throughout. Second, Premonition has more of a melodic, progressive flair than the thrash metal I am more acquainted with, and the more I listened to the album, the more I enjoyed it. Of course, there are other elements that I enjoyed, such as the usage of a saxophone on “Dark Epiphany,” the heavy synths in “Twilight Cradle,” and the death-doom tones on “Constellations.” What you get is a robust profile of music that keeps your attention throughout the entire runtime, and this album is a breath of fresh air for people who are looking for something different in their metal.
2. Terzij de Horde – Our Breath Is Not Ours Alone (Our Breath…)
Given what I have seen and dealt with this year, I’d rather go back inside Plato’s cave and see the shadows on the wall. However, I know my favorite Utrecht boys are going to drag me out once again.
I had the pleasure of writing the review for Our Breath… this year, and I don’t think anyone was prepared for the rage and vitriol Terzij de Horde was willing to detonate to get their message out. This album is less about considering reality from all angles and more about facing fear head on, even if it feels you are drowning in a glass of water. Our Breath… also fucking punched me in the face with just how cacophonic their music sounds. Underneath the heavy layers of relentless blackened hardcore lies one of the most poignant, philosophical albums this year had to offer. Just how Mawiza stands for defiance and resistance, Terzij de Horde’s defiance is more of a personal one, telling us that, despite the chaos the word has thrown us, we must be able to take care of ourselves. We must continue to survive and fight another day – we cannot despair at what is outside of our control, and we must see to the future we want to create. Things may be accelerating and we are being pushed to our limits in deciding what we must do, but we cannot let those outside forces win. We cannot allow them to forget us again. This album also had the privilege of making me cry, because I have never felt so seen. Our Breath… resonates because everyone is so tired of what is happening and it feels like we can’t do anything to stop it. However, there’s hope at the bottom of the box, and we must keep it together. Go listen to this album when you have a moment; it is worth every single second of its runtime and may be one of the most important (political) albums this year had to offer.
Part III: The Apex
The Man-Eating Tree – Night Verses
Both Our Breath… and Night Verses fought for supremacy throughout the year, and although I was very close to making Our Breath… the top album for this year, there was something about Night Verses that called me back.
To say that 2025 has been an emotionally-charged and taxing year is an understatement, to say the least. Every time I opened social media or watched the news, it felt like I was being bombarded by a constant slew of terrible, traumatizing things. In the macro-sphere of things, this shouldn’t be an issue – things happen everywhere all the time – but then events started to affect the people I love. This worry, combined with my own personal issues, only accelerated my need to disappear, to slow down, to take a breather before my mental health took a nosedive into hell. When I am stressed, I like to escape, and Night Verses was the soundtrack to my escape.
I don’t remember how I found this album, but I am sure it was by scrolling through Bandcamp one day. Now, I have a distinct memory of listening to a song of theirs a long time ago, but I couldn’t recall how, and I opted to just sit and listen. Imagine my surprise when I found out that there were strains of death-doom, and I immediately clung to Night Verses in a way that most people might see as unhealthy. In the past, all my top albums have struck a chord with me, made me feel seen, and/or resonated with me in some way. I have no idea why Night Verses struck me in the way it did, but something about its music just kept me coming back to it. Underneath its inherent cohesion and atmosphere, the music feels both ethereal and foreboding, as if there was something I wasn’t supposed to find. However, the more I listened, the more the music followed me, and I kept reaching for it. Amidst the chaos and the constant bombardment of news and tragedy, Night Verses was and continues to be the balm that assuages my fears and kept me company when I felt most alone. Even when I was listening to Nightmares as Extensions…, Premonition, and even Hesitating Lights, Night Verses was the album I picked up afterwards, and I let myself be swayed by Manne Ikonen’s vocals. If the name is familiar to you, it’s because The Man-Eating Tree had a lineup change and ended up recruiting various musicians from the Finnish metal scene, which included Ikonen (best known for Ghost Brigade) and Aksu Hanttu (best known for a little band called Tuoni). With these powerhouses, this band came back swinging from the dead, and now I have a new album that I can come back to any time I please. No words can state how much I fucking love this album, and believe me, I will be listening to more of it during the new year.
Every year, I tell myself I am going to write less, and every year, I end up writing more than 6000+ words for this thing. You would think I would have nothing else to talk about, but believe me, there’s always more to say after the fact, especially when you end up going back and re-listening to music that you have forgotten about. There was a lot of cool shit this year, and I am sure I haven’t even scratched the surface of what I may have missed or what I am becoming interested in.
Although I already have reviews scheduled for 2026, I would like to spend more time this year doing the following things: 1) purposely listening to music that I might have missed in 2025; and 2) re-familiarize myself with music I already have and have forgotten about. I also would like to get into all things death-doom, so if you have any recommendations for me, please send them my way and I will make a list to look into.
2025 has been a year of chaos and uncertainty, and all I can hope for is that everything improves. We cannot keep living under these conditions when things are escalating to the point where fear is becoming a major part of people’s lives.
Please stay safe out there and I hope to see you soon!
Hasta la proxima!
— Hera