Aah, the chill is in the air (it’s actually not, thanks climate change), the snow is coming down (again, not really), the turkey has been devoured (this one actually did happen) and we’re right in that sweet spot between whatever winter holiday you celebrate or don’t and the start of a brand new year, which means one thing: it’s list season.  We’ve already got a strong start over here Nine Circles, LLC, and now that I’ve worked up the post-holiday gumption, I’m gonna join in on the fun with a little something to amuse your bouches: some releases that just kiss up against the line between metal and not, but are definitely heavy music nonetheless, and also happen to be some of my favorite releases this year, genre be damned.  As always, keep your eyes peeled here for more from me and all the other fine specimens on staff.  Now, before we get hyped for all the riches 2026 is sure to bring, let’s wrap up 2025 in style, shall we?

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you, infinite – s/t

I had a lot to say about the pedigree from which you, infinite comes from when I wrote about this album back in March: when you get a brand new band together from the core duo that started This Will Destroy You, one of my favorite post-rock bands of all time, writing music meant to capture the sound of the early days of said project, you could almost pass on this album, writing it off as rehashing too many old ideas.  Perhaps so, but I just don’t think I care when nothing else out there hits like old This Will Destroy You, and when this album found me at a time when it was exactly what I needed.  These songs are transcendent, evocative and full of a lifetime of passions rediscovered and friendships reconnected, all in service of something that I couldn’t call anything less than “magical”.

I did, in fact, write a full review of this album, so if you didn’t check that out and you want to read more, do so here!

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L.S. Dunes – Violet

In a post-Circa Survive world, it’s hard for someone who’s been an Anthony Green fan since Saosin’s first EP to cope.  L.S. Dunes, however, is just what the doctor ordered, and it’s so much more than just a vehicle for Green’s falsetto delivery: it’s a veritable who’s who of my post-harcore high school listening days.  Violet is a superb follow-up to 2022’s Past Lives, with a little more focus on the progressive tendencies of Circa and Coheed’s (via guitarist Travis Stever) early days and anchored by the punky, rock-n’-roll stomp of the musical stylings of Frank Iero and rhythm section of Thursday in Tucker Rule and Tim Payne.  If Past Lives was the proof of concept, then Violet is the statement piece that shows that supergroups are more than just a flash in the pan, bigger than the sum of their parts and better than just a novelty act.

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Propagandhi – At Peace

A new Propagandhi album is always worth celebrating, but man alive is At Peace a real testament to where Propagandhi, and the world at large, is at right now.  From the metallic opening chugs of “Guiding Lights” to the somber plod of closer “Something Needs to Die But Maybe It’s Not You”, the forceful and scathing societal critiques of frontman Chris Hannah and company sound older, more mature and less snot-nosed than their earlier work, but all the more resonant and never less timely and relevant than they always are.  Interestingly, the punk rock abandon that one would expect are even more fleshed out by off-kilter, slightly progressive riffing and fleet-fingered melodies, making this a very different sounding Propagandhi than you might expect, but it is, most assuredly, the same core group with the same core values, begging and imploring you to give a shit through it all.

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Turnstile – NEVER ENOUGH

Anyone asking if Turnstile are a TikTok-era novelty or if they actually have the bonafide chops to make it in a music scene where attention spans are catastrophically low clearly hasn’t been around with the band long enough to see the grind that Turnstile have been on.  Yes, they have blown up rather recently, but I wholeheartedly believe that it’s deserved.  GLOW ON was a fantastic and truly modern take on hardcore punk that showed a multi-faceted band with an attitude that was open and welcoming as much as it was in-your-face.  NEVER ENOUGH builds on that in spades, and goes even farther outside the boundaries of what you’d find on a punk record, with woodwinds, synths and dance beat interludes backing up the d-beat fury of “Sunshower” and “Sole” alongside the grungy, flannel-clad romp of the title track and “I Care”.

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Mclusky – The World is Still Here and So Are We

And I am so glad that they are.  A LONG time has passed since the last time Mclusky put music to wax, but when I pop on The World is Still Here it feels like a band that is picking up exactly where it left off, despite Falco being the only member returning.  The bite and humor that made them immediately relatable to me is as intact as ever, and the older they get, the more relatable they seem.  Mclusky are the undisputed kings of wit in noise rock and The World is Still Here is a showcase of how they use that and a whole lot of amplifier noise to get their point across in a way that does not overstate its welcome and leaves you wanting more.  The World is Still Here is a lean and mean album, with a razor sharp aggression that belies the absolute charm that lurks underneath.

In my mid-year round up, I called a shot with this album, and it turns out I was right!  It’s still one of my favorites!  Go read about all the other albums I loved circa June and see which ones still made the cut in the coming days…

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Deftones – private music

You would be a fool to think that the best days of Deftones passed them by with Diamond Eyes or Koi No Yokan.  private music is just as much of a clinic in how to crush a person into a two-dimensional object as any other release of theirs, and their particular brand of building-leveling riffs meets soaring, anthemic chorus is as catchy and effective as ever.  Indeed, the addition of new-to-them bassist extraordinaire Fred Sablan seems to have lit a fire under the rest of the ‘Tones to put out some of the most accessible and groovy music this side of Around the Fur.  Angela and I have listened to this album together more times than we can count, and it’s one of the albums that pulled her back into heavy music amidst the year we’ve had.  Perhaps it’s how much this album makes my wife smile that endears it to me so, but I would also add in that the fact that it kicks ass is at least part of it too.

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The World is a Beautiful Place and I Am No Longer Afraid to Die – Dreams of Being Dust

Whenever, If Ever this ain’t.  This album fucking opens with blast beats, harsh vocals and breakdowns, and that immediately threw me for a doozy of a loop when I popped it on.  Dreams of Being Dust is a direct response to the state of the world from a group that has always and will always stand for and with marginalized communities everywhere.  And with the world being so dark and grim, it’s easy to see why this album drops the emo revival altogether and goes in a much heavier, much more decidedly post-hardcore direction.  There is, however, that same level of fire and plaintive emotion that marked their earlier discography, just more matured and more in tune with the present day.  This is an album that is about hope as much as it is about how fucked up everything is.

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Arm’s Length – There’s a Whole World Out There

I discovered this album quite by accident, as a random Spotify recommendation while sitting drunk on whiskey around a campfire on the 4th of July with my best friends, and it has never left me since.  Arm’s Length’s blend of folk-tinged emo punk blew up on Never Before Seen, Never Found Again and There’s a Whole World Out There continues the band’s emotive and bare-bones honesty with a newer, deeper introspection that takes you to the bottom of the valley just as much as the peak of the mountaintop.  Rousing and raucous hardcore hold down the majority of the songs on the album, but there is a twinge of something deeper and more rustic in the swing beat and lush chords of “Fatal Flaw” as well as the majestic banjo on standout track “You Ominously End”.  This is the sound of bared authenticity, and it’s a highlight for what music can still do when it is done this well, with this much heart.

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The Callous Daoboys – I Don’t Want to See You in Heaven

I, for one, have never doubted the ability of The Callous Daoboys to be able to leap and bound their way through various genres, styles, attitudes and mindsets as they have done since their earliest incarnation, but they are one of the few bands out there that seems to get better and better with each release, and I’m not the only one who noticed it!  Our very own formerly lukewarm Chris has mentioned them twice now in a listicle of best music from this year, and I think that shows just how much the Daoboys have been honing their craft and perfecting their wild abuse of the word “genre”.  If nothing else, this year I have listened to “Distracted by the Mona Lisa” more times than I can count because it is the most 2008 of all the songs that came out in 2025, perhaps second only to “Lemon”.

If only I had the time and headspace to review this one properly, but it did wind up on both Chris’ and my mid-year breakdown lists, so check those out in the links provided!

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KennyHoopla – conditions of an orphan//

It wouldn’t be a year-end list without an EP to round it out.  Ever the stylistic chameleon, KennyHoopla is one of the most underrated and unapologetic artists going today.  From hip-hop to indie rock to pop punk there really isn’t anything Kenny can’t or won’t put his spin on, and conditions of an orphan// sees him go back to the indie rock that brought him to my attention, with a much heavier focus on synths, funky basslines and dance beats than the three chords and an attitude that characterized SURVIVOR’S GUILT.  Of course, there is also some bonafide midwest emo in “charity ii//” and some of that synth pop goodness on “monalisa, we miss you//”.  No matter which way you slice it, this kid is making music today that sounds like the exact shit I would be into when I was 20 years younger.

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Well, now that that’s out there I hope your appetites are sufficiently whetted.  There’s a lot more where that came from, from me and everyone else.  The past few years have been treasure troves of music, and 2025 was no different, so I am nowhere near done waxing poetic about the various and sundry albums that have fallen into my lap this calendar flip.  As always, just because these might not *necessarily* fall into the purview of metal as we know it, they absolutely belong on this here website and in a list of the best music that came out this year.  Hopefully this will tide you over for now, but it won’t be too long before we have the true lists, as well as more genre-specific ones.  We take care of you over here, so you take care of yourselves and we’ll check in with ya real soon.

-Ian