2025 was yet another year where I spent a Sunday in November sweating buckets trying to cut down all of the music I’ve listened to in the current year to twenty albums as part of the Ghost Cult staff voting. Each year is a mix of pain and pleasure, and 2025 was certainly a difficult one. Before I unveil my Top 20, here are some Honorable Mentions, in no particular order, that you should add to your library if not done already.
Plague Pit – A Whispered Curse (Road to Masochist)
Voracious Contempt – Exquisite Suffering (Self-Released)
Combust – Belly of the Beast (Triple B Records)
Cyclops – Cyclops EP (Self-Released)
Exit Life – Underneath Heaven’s Reign (Armageddon Records)
Kingdom AD – Kingdom AD (Streets of Hate)
Abigail Williams – A Void Within Existence (Agonia Records)
Madman – The Demo (Rebirth Records)
Mastiff – For All the Dead Dreams (Church Road Records)
Dead Heat – Process of Elimination (Metal Blade Records)
Pupil Slicer – Fleshwork (Prosthetic Records)
Primal Force – Demo 2025 (Evil Mosh Records)
And now, without further delay, my favorite twenty releases of 2025:
20. Tribal Gaze – Inveighing Brilliance (Nuclear Blast Records)
Death metal that seeps into hardcore punk influences instrumentally. If you enjoyed previous Tribal Gaze albums, this one will certainly not disappoint.
19. Blackbraid – Blackbraid III (Self-Released)
Indigenous atmospheric black metal solo project’s third chapter. A continuation of the previous albums’ success, so this is not at all surprising to once again make my AOTY list.
18. With Hate – From Boston, With Hate (Tribe Dream Records)
Fantastic up-and-coming Boston hardcore group that needs to be followed closely. Bonus points for the album cover being a black and white of Joe Kelly throwing bombs at Tyler Austin just off the pitcher’s mound at Fenway Park.
17. New World Man – Peeling Through The Skin (Streets of Hate)
This Hudson Valley hardcore band can do no wrong. Mike Shaw writes riffs for the people. This needs to be on your countdown as well.
16. Ingrown – Idaho (Closed Casket Activities)
Powerviolence meets heavy headcore. Ingrown had just come into my radar a few months before this album came out. Incredibly abrasive music, put it in your ear holes.
15. End It – Wrong Side of Heaven (Flatspot Records)
After several releases, the world finally got an End It full-length, and they knocked it out of the park. Hardcore punk meets thrash metal with drops of Soul with societal/politically charged lyrics.
14. Cross of Disbelief / Impunity – New York v.s. North Yorkshire (Streets of Hate)
There’s only been a pinch of splits that have come out, that ended up in my Ghost Cult vote, so you know this amalgamation of hardcore riffage from opposite sides of the pond is gonna go hard. The only downside, each band only got 3 tracks.
13. Sanguisugabogg – Hideous Aftermath (Century Media Records)
This was an act of maturity for the Sangy Boys and really finding their stride in what might be their best work yet. The killer feature spots (i.e:. Travis Ryan of Cattle Decapitation) really puts a bold exclamation mark on this release.
12. Big Boy – Love Songs EP (Daze Records)
Big Boy is just a fun band, overall. Groovy, catchy, aggressive hardcore for the moshers. Real bay shit!
11. Lambrini Girls – Who Let The Dogs Out (City Slang Records)
One of the couple “not heavy” albums that made the cut, but don’t sleep on the Lambrini Girls. This is Punk music at its core, both instrumentally and lyrically. Get pissed off with what is wrong in the world and hit play on this one.
10. Deafheaven – Lonely People With Power (Roadrunner Records)
The Blackgaze masters are back with this release. I have heard many takes regarding this latest Deafheaven album, but my favorite to date is mentioning this is the half-sibling of Sunbather. Pretty damn close and easily their best work since Sunbather.
9. Neolithic – Demo 2025 (Streets of Hate)
Had the pleasure of seeing these fine folk play at an absolute zoo of a venue, Sons of Italy in Hingham, Massachusetts. They even dropped a second release at the end of 2025 that equally kicks ass. This is hardcore with lyrics that are very much on topic for our current timeline, but wrapped together with riffs that feel old, yet new.
8. Crush Your Soul – Living Gracious (Streets of Hate)
Dropping a mere few days into 2025, holy shit, what a way to set the bar for the whole year and still hold up by November and December! Hardcore with nineties/2000s rap skit tracks certainly sets up a sense of false security, as when the breakdowns hit, oh boy.
7. Age of Apocalypse – In Oblivion (Closed Casket Activities)
I am a picky guy when it comes to crooning, but this fourth band to come from the Hudson Valley hardcore scene in this year’s countdown is for a good reason. Age of Apocalypse puts together riffs and breakdowns for all sorts of emotions with fantastic vocals soaring over it all. Add in some sweet features (i.e., Colin Young of Twitching Tongues, Gods Hate, and a zillion other projects).
6. The Devil Makes Three – Spirits (New West Records)
The final curveball to stand out from the absolute heaters in this list, an Americana album?! Seriously, get to a firepit, add a few logs, and put this album on. Mostly chill vibes with a couple of protest songs to get your blood pumping just a touch.
5. Stolen Gun – Demo 2025 (Self-Released)
Metalcore meets powerviolence/grindcore with spiteful lyrics (no surprise as Vincent Bennett fronts this new supergroup). A demo dropping in the first half of the year that immediately put me into withdrawals? Press play at your own discretion. This music is irresponsible.
4. Mongrel – Baptized in the Gutter (Closed Casket Activities)
Another instance of death metal-inspired hardcore that brings out some fighters in the pit. This latest release continues to blur the lines between Death Metal and Hardcore. Cannibal Corpse fight riffs, some two-stepping, and beatdowns? Never skip a Mongrel show.
3. Sin Against Sin – Demo (Self-Released)
Sure, Boston hardcore bias, but everyone and their grandmother was talking up this demo. I think I listened to it every day the first three weeks it came out, and I am still not tired of it. 90’s/00’s hardcore with two vocalists and an intro that will turn the calmest of people into prehistoric humanoids.
2. The Acacia Strain – You Are Safe From God (Rise Records)
How this band continues to evolve in little glimpses while still delivering some of the most punishing metalcore. This chapter lyrically covers mental health, depression, and loss, very real topics that all of us deal with either directly or indirectly. But fret not, this band still brings the fire of the older years and still shows no signs of stopping.
1. Missing Link – Miracle Smile (Triple B Records)
For maybe the first time for me, a back-to-back AOTY winner, Missing Link, continues to grow on their brutality-infested core with four tracks and an outro. Lyrically and instrumentally, one of the toughest bands out there right now, but also catchy with plenty of groove.
TIM LEDIN
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