MetalMatters: The Best Metal Albums of February 2025

Within February’s best metal albums, death metal once again reigns supreme, showing the genre’s breadth. Some firmly stand on tradition, as Grave Infestation and Phrenelith. Others ascend to the stars, aided by their incredibly technical aptitude, like Metaphobic and Retromorphosis. Some descend to the abyss, with Sepulchral Curse and Morast embracing the doom that is at hand. Vacuous instead reverse the polarity and embrace the grindcore juice. There are also the outsiders, Pissgrave returning with their chaotic polemics, fueled by black/death mayhem but fully committing to a death metal identity.

From there on, black metal also has excellent representation, with Void of Hope unearthing the genre’s depressive self and Praetorian showing its multifaceted, amorphous ability. Similarly, Délirant dive head first into the dissonant space to devour thoughts. However, two atmospheric, folk-infused releases by Naturmacht alumni stand out. Carrying on their rich tradition, both Grima and Havukruunu tap into their respective traditions, both metallic and not. The result is a bident that can transfer you instantly to a different age.

Wrekmeister Harmonies traverse the drone space in the outskirts, and Sleep Paralysis produce an unearthly pastiche with their genre-hopping. For the true traditionalists, if you want something heavy I urge you to check out 16’s Guides for the Misguided. If you want a psychedelic twist, then Year of the Cobra is for you. If you prefer your heavy metal classic, with razor-sharp riffs, then Christian Mistress’s return is exactly what the doctor ordered. That and more, so dig in! – Spyros Stasis

16 – Guides for the Misguided (Relapse)

When wielded properly, sludge metal can be utterly beautiful. For the past 34 years, Los Angeles’ 16 have mastered doing just that by harnessing filthy, distorted riffs, clattering grooves, and pain-ridden screams into a hammer for beating some sense into a senseless world. Like 2020’s Dream Crusher and 2023’s Into Dust, Guides for the Misguided is a purposeful and intense collection of music, equally comfortable while indulging in mean and meaty, doomish hardcore (“After All”) and blues-inflected ballads (“Blood Atonement Blues”).

While guitarist and vocalist Bobby Ferry is the sole remaining founding member today, the current lineup has been more or less stable since 2013. This confidence in the band and each other proves crucial here, as it enables 16 to explore a broader stylistic range than before, even diving into grunge (“Proudly Damned”), stoner rock (“Resurrection Day”), and proto-punk of the MC5 lineage (“Give Thanks and Praises”). It’s bleak yet somehow life-affirming stuff. – Antonio Poscic

Christian Mistress – Children of the Earth (Cruz del Sur)

Listening to Christian Mistress’s return album, Children of the Earth, I cannot help but recall the lines from Vertigo (“Do you believe that someone out of the past, someone dead, can enter and take possession of a living being?”). For the West Coast heavy metal act, it is not simply influenced by heavy metal’s original intent, but rather embodies it. This has been the case throughout their stellar discography, and they resume it with their first record in a decade.

Children of the Earth have a single gear, and the guitar tone from the start of “City of Gold” displays it proudly. Dizzying guitar riffs arrive in razor sharp fashion, the steady rhythm section always on point, and they make the ride so fucking fun. The harsher elements of Diamond Head are front and centre, relishing the NWOBHM quality while Christine Davis’s vocals complete this temporal shift.

What has always been spectacular is Christian Mistress’s ability to ride different emotions through this seemingly unchanging façade, at times arriving with urgency and attitude (“Death Blade”) to then shift toward a more sentimental and introvert self (“Love of the World” and “Lake of Memory”). Like the ones that came before, they keep an equal distance from the latent punk-ish roots that defined NWOBHM (“Voiceless”) and the rocking past (“Mythmaker”).

They wrap everything then nicely in the fitting production, going the extra mile for authenticity. The number of acts influenced by this scene might be outrageous, but the number of artists who embody it is much smaller. Needless to say, Christian Mistress exist in the latter category. – Spyros Stasis

Délirant – Thoughteater (Sentient Ruin)

Having recently premiered “Thougheather III” from Délirant’s new record, Thoughteater, it was high time to dive into the entirety of this opus. As expected, we found a treasure trove of dissonant black metal, which draws inspiration from many of the genre’s diverging manifestations. The introduction with “I” immediately establishes the connection to Ved Buens Ende, as the slow pace and droning sense creates a hallucinogenic scenery. It is further elaborated through the psychedelic fumes of “VI” in potent form.

The allusions toward Blut Aus Nord come next, with the weirdness of “III” enhanced through cacophonous riffing that conjures up a storm. It is a quality that elevates Délirant’s approach, from the otherworldly to the epic. But, when it is time for a more fierce approach, it is through the obvious Deathspell Omega applications coming into play, especially with “II”.

Chaos and mayhem ensue, combining through Aosoth’s orthodox black metal to create a destructive force in “IV” and “VII”. While dissonant black metal is reaching a saturation, which can feel tedious, releases like Thoughteater pull you back into this unearthly nightmare. – Spyros Stasis

Grave Infestation – Carnage Gathers (Invictus)

Featuring two members of Ceremonial Bloodbath might trick you into thinking that Grave Infestation also embrace the polemic black/death intersection. However, their 2018 release Persecution of the Living show Grave Infestation dig into the old-school death metal mentality, pulling together the US and Swedish lineages to unearth a potent stench. Their sophomore record, Carnage Gathers, does not deviate from the path, with its start radiating with the melodic deviancy of Entombed and Grave, something that becomes more apparent as groove-laden aspirations are exposed.

Still, the central pillar is an Autopsy-ian modus operandi, and as soon as “Living Inhumation” hits its stride it is just carnage. Frenzied solos ensue, the proto-death metal flavour persisting through a violent barrage in “Ritualized Autopsy” and “Drenched in Blood”. Their modernisations remind me of Death Breath’s debut, Stinking Up the Night, which also coalesces the US and Swedish scene. Yet, Grave Infestation take a step forward in trying to bridge the past and present of old-school death metal (a paradox, but bear with me).

“Inhuman Remains” sees this vision as the Obituary groove gives way to a Grave Miasma meatgrinder approach, something further explored in “The Anthropophagus”. It all adds up, making Carnage Gathers a solid release of old-school death metal. – Spyros Stasis

Grima – Nightside (Napalm)

The first of two Naturmacht alumni, Grima’s niche lies in the atmospheric, folk-inspired black metal. Their output has moved from strength to strength through the years, and their new record, and Napalm debut Nightside, finds them at their best. So, as the immersive introduction fades and “Beyond the Dark Horizon” settles in Bathory’s epic spirit spreads its dark wings, casting a long shade. It is a fleeting technique that Grima implements here and there to pay tribute to those that came before. In that vein, combinations of Agalloch (“Flight of the Silver Storm”) and Drudkh settle in through the melancholic applications, embracing the sad tonality.

But, Grima apply a modern twist, which becomes a prevalent characteristic of Nightside. Echoes of Saor are apparent here, and a definite Panopticon influence can take over. This is mirrored in the momentum and energy that their tracks can harness (“Curse of the Void”). It also extends to Grima’s traditional instrumentation, with the accordion (or bayan) shining throughout. Whether they have it stand-alone, or when they incorporate it within a storm of riffs (“Impending Death Premonition”), it is a highlight. Some further superb additions showcase their range with “Skull Gatherers”.

Here they stretch their influences, moving at times toward the melodic black metal of Dawn, and then retreating to a gothic rock inspired theme. Nightside is a strong release, filled with emotions and hooks, and it is highly recommended for anyone drawn to the luster of modern black metal. – Spyros Stasis

Havukruunu – Tavastland (Svart)

The second Naturmacht alumnus, Finland’s Havukruunu have produced a stunning trilogy of epic, folk-infused black metal records with 2020’s Uinuos Syömein sota standing out. Their Svart debut, Tavastland, does not offer deviations from that theme. “Havukruunu Ja Kuolematon” pushes the traditional black metal modus operandi through the pagan filter.

In these moments they take on melodic elements from their native scene, with Moonsorrow being the obvious example. There is also a melodic inclination that in certain moments draws from the early days of Amorphis, specifically in “Tavatland” and through the traditional instrumentation of “Talvenvarjo”.

From there on, Bathory’s spirit has always guided Havukruunu. The kick-off in “Yönsynty” and the rocking tone of “Kuoleman Oma” embrace Quorthon’s machinations. At the same time, the more brutal moments of Tavastland relish the Norwegian’s scene influence. “Talvenvarjo” might not feature a bitter edge, but the Immortal quality is undeniable, something that becomes apparent through the polemic onslaughts of “Unissakävijä” and “Kun Veri Sekoittuu Lumeen”.

There are times when the Frost days glory of Enslaved is infused, with the album’s closer “De Miseriis Fennorum” signalling a triumphant crescendo. All these elements easily put Havukruunu on today’s epic black metal scene’s upper echelons, and small additions in the great use of clean vocals and impressive sound effect quality (“Kun Veri Sekoittuu Lumeen” reaches an almost cosmic level) make Tavastland that much more impressive. – Spyros Stasis

Metaphobic – Deranged Excruciations (Everlasting Spew)

Immediacy is a powerful tool, especially in a genre such as technical brutal death metal, where getting lost in the weeds is easy (and sometimes inevitable). Metaphobic do not have that issue, and their debut record, Deranged Excruciations possesses a singular focus. The brutal lineage lashes out from the get-go as “Spectral Circle” unleashes a schizoid arrangement of leads, sitting on top of a purposeful rhythm section.

It’s a polemic affair that doesn’t hold back, driving even deeper with “Reconstituted Grey Matter”. In these moments, Metaphobic retreat back to a traditional methodology, at times relishing the melodic tease hailed by death metal of olds, in the likes of “Mental Deconstruction” and “Veiled Horizons”.

Still, Metaphobic understand the pitfalls of going too far with their verbosity. Even while the guitar work is spectacular, and the drumming spot on, they rarely come across as showing off. Restraint and discipline can be found here. Where they instead plunge deeper is a hallucinogenic element by way of the slower side of death metal.

“Disciples of Vengeance” flirts with an almost doom/death presence, where Incantation’s spirit possesses the Atlanta band. They explore these darker investigations, through the terrifying closer “Insatiable Abyss” or the early Gorguts-inspired dissonance of “Hypnosis Engram”. Overall Deranged Excruciation is a quality work by an act worth checking out. – Spyros Stasis

Morast – Fentanyl (Ván)

It takes a significant degree of belief in the potency of your work to borrow a title from one of the strongest (and deadliest) opioids. Yet, it’s hard to imagine music that comes closer to representing the fear and euphoria—the near-death experience—of using said drug than Morast’s Fentanyl.

Like their previous two LPs, the German blackened doom-death metal band deal with harrowing, acrimonious sonics. They create pillars of rising, suffocating sound, then let them all crash down with furious force. There are elements to this music, like the crawling, tormented roar of opener “Of Furor and Ecstasy”, that feel almost too much to bear. Here, the combination of grumbling riffs, raw growls, and the funereal march of toms stirs something uncomfortably deep in the soul.

Elsewhere, cuts like “A Thousand and More” and “Akasha” find a more dynamic, forward-driven momentum, but still can’t escape the pervasive darkness that lingers on even after the album has run its course. Approach with care, lest you end up needing grief counseling after enjoying the album. – Antonio Poscic

Phrenelith – Ashen Womb (Dark Descent)

Danish death metallers Phrenelith are a dependable sort (complimentary). Following their 2017 album Desolate Landscape and 2021’s Chimaera, their latest release Ashen Womb sees the Copenhagen-based quartet skilfully blend the genre’s old-school material with more contemporary elements. The result is a collection of familiar yet captivating tracks, with two ambient-coded instrumentals and seven proper death metal bangers.

The cuts maintain momentum and appeal thanks to the sheer quality of the riffs and solid songwriting, but never veer too far off the beaten path. Some tracks, like “Lithopaedion,” evoke the primitive energy of Morbid Angel at their best. Others, such as the brutal but atmospheric “Stagnated Blood” and the intricate, quasi-melodic “Nebulae”, gesture towards Nile or guitarist/vocalist David Torturdød’s former band, Hyperdontia.

As the world becomes increasingly complicated (and desperate and broken), I gravitate to this sort of death metal formula. You might call it comfort food, even if it’s maggot-ridden, grimy, and quite unsettling. – Antonio Poscic

Pissgrave – Malignant Worthlessness (Profound Lore)

Pissgrave take their time, and it is for good reason. The utter chaos and mayhem of their 2015 debut Suicide Euphoria was honed and perfected in 2019’s Posthumous Humiliation. It was as if Pissgrave took all the teachings of black/death pioneers, retaining the disorder and debauchery but imbuing these with a laser-like focus and precision. Their 2025 follow-up, Malignant Worthlessness continues to walk this line, holding nothing back as the polemic “In Heretic Blood Christened” rushes through the barricades.

It is an utter devastation that carries the Blasphemy DNA, as the frenzied solos of “Three Degrees of Darkness” and the absolute descent into madness that is “Ignominy of Putrefaction” suggest. But, they do not simply vomit out their brutality in the like of Revenge, but instead perform meticulous strikes of aggression and violence (“Interment Orgy”).

In this mode they can slightly alter their form, taking on groove-laden elements (“Dissident Amputator”), or even terrifying, accidental (?) atmospherics like “Heaping Pile of Electrified Gore” where the clean vocals sound spectacular. The noise transformation that closes the record in “Mystical Obscenities” is the most fitting end, as all the brutality melts into nothingness. It’s another fine moment from Pissgrave and a testament of intelligent caveman music. – Spyros Stasis

Praetorian – Pylon Cult (APF)

Pylon Cult, the debut by Hertfordshire, England sludge band Praetorian, is all about unfettered energy, right from its gnarly opener. “Fear & Loathing in Stevenage” is a downright explosive concoction made of heavy guitar tones, cracking drums, and delirious shrieks with the intent of summoning spectres of sludge, doom, death, and black metal.

While this and the following cuts bring to mind the nasty, experimentally inclined take on the genre played by Rwake, Corrupted, and YOB (circa Elaborations of Carbon), Praetorian are much more than a one-trick pony. Soon enough, they reveal their more atmospheric qualities, drawing from both atmo black metal (“Gutwrenching”) and dissonant post-rock (“Tombs of the Blind Dregs”). There’s more than meets the ear here, with repeated listens unveiling layers upon layers of sonic craftsmanship. – Antonio Poscic

Retromorphosis – Psalmus Mortis (Season of Mist)

The three albums released by Spawn of Possession between 2003 and 2012 count among some of the best specimens of technical death metal from that era. When the Swedish group disbanded in 2017, they were in the process of creating new music tentatively titled Retromorphosis. Four of the five members from that final lineup have reunited to form a new band named after the unfortunate, unreleased album.

To say that Retromorphosis simply continues where Spawn of Possession left off would be an understatement. The new group, now featuring drummer KC Howard, retains their predecessors’ flair and zest while significantly expanding their sound. Retromorphosis’ debut LP Psalmus Mortis is varied, exciting, and surprisingly airy with fresh elements incorporated. It remains utterly technical without being overwhelming.

At times, Psalmus Mortis draws a strong influence from grindcore and doom, integrating these styles into the complex tempo changes, rhythms, and riffs throughout the songs. At others, it reaches for synthesizers and electronic effects, introducing atmospheric elements to unexpected sections, ranging from the symphonic (“Machine”) to dungeon synth (“Obscure Exordium”) and even experimental flourishes reminiscent of Canadian avant metallers Unexpect (“The Tree”).

Brutal, catchy, virtuosic, melodic, and humorously eerie—Psalmus Mortis encompasses all these qualities and more. This could very well be the first genuinely outstanding metal album of 2025. – Antonio Poscic

Sepulchral Curse – Crimson Moon Evocations (Dark Descent)

The career of Finland’s Sepulchral Curse has been unusually varied, with each of their full-length albums exploring a different segment of the blackened death metal continuum. The 2020 debut Only Ashes Remain was a particularly blistering affair, full of blast beats and melodic tremolos locked in swirling motion that felt like being pulled into a metallic centrifuge. Meanwhile, 2023’s Abhorrent Dimensions sharpened the style into grim monochrome, trading the appeal of sparkling, melodic black metal in favor of simpler, meaner figures.

Aesthetically, Crimson Moon Evocations is squeezed between past releases, the relentless attacking power of earlier records replaced with doom metal’s imposing atmospheres and grooves, then embellished by a renewed sense of melody. In turn, there are very few blackened elements to be found here. However, the more traditional death metal tropes feel like a good fit for the group, enabling them to simultaneously unleash superbly melodic scorchers (“Beneath the Dismal Tides”) and Katatonia-esque melancholy doom-death (“The Locust Scar”). – Antonio Poscic

Sleep Paralysis – Sleep Paralysis (I, Voidhanger)

In another strong, idiosyncratic batch of I, Voidhanger releases—I urge you to check out Venomous Echoes’ harrowing Dysmor—the Bandcamp tags for Sleep Paralysis by Cerulean’s Stephen Knapp command attention by way of sheer absurdity. “Avantgarde black metal”, “chiptune”, “jazz”, and “classical”, these words stand side by side as if chosen at random, challenging us to try and imagine how a piece of music made with all these elements would sound.

However, once you listen to the album, all these disparate styles combine to create an oddly cohesive experience. Or, perhaps, it’s our perception that shifts instead. As if trying to disorient the listener further, the album begins with a threatening piano recital, where each key’s attack and decay are subtly compressed—an invocation for an elder god—until they finally manifest an eruption of chaotic avant death metal. Then, a burst of eight-bit music vanishes as quickly as it appears, leading into what resembles a vaudevillian interpretation of black metal, complete with jazzy breaks.

So on, and so on, with each track presenting a new, phantasmagorical miniature. Take a step back, and you start to wonder if the entire album was conceived in a hypnagogic state, featuring structures that make sense in some alternate dimension. Regardless of its origin story, Sleep Paralysis is an utterly perplexing and just as captivating affair. – Antonio Poscic

Vacuous – In His Blood (Relapse)

When I wrote about Vacuous’ previous release, 2022’s Dreams of Dysphoria, I described the album as “mostly bloody insane” and likened it to “a mass of the thickest tar swirling around in a tornado, while bits of the filthiest growls, riffs, and drum blasts splinter off in all directions”. Three years later, In His Blood elicits the same sentiment. As soon as you press play, the London quintet inundate you with some of death metal’s most intense and brutal mutations. Their sound is so powerful that it feels like it’s just waiting for the right moment to leap out from the speakers and attack.

As I review my album notes, I come across phrases like “utter insanity”, “riffs, riffs, riffs!” and “melody?!” jotted down in the margins, underscoring just how overwhelming tracks such as the swirling, thrashing “In His Blood”, the grooving “Contraband”, and the Slayer-esque “Immersion” can be. As guitarist Michael Brodsky mentions in the label blurb, the intent is to make death metal by way of Converge’s experimental mindset, pushing things to the extreme. Oh boy, do Vacuous succeed. – Antonio Poscic

Void of Hope – Proof of Existence (Avantgarde)

Formed by members of Moonlight Sorcery and Ondfødt, Void of Hope don’t pick up either the former’s symphonic grandeur, or the latter’s melodic inclinations. Instead, they dive head first into the genre’s depressive stream, approaching it from various angles. There are the necessary atmospherics that have become slight clichés for that scene. The emotive start with the piano lines in “Gift of Life”, the solitary guitar work kicking off “The Hollow Hymn” or the entirety of the grand outro that is “Decaying Years”.

However, beyond the ticking-the-checkbox approach, Void of Hope’s debut, Proof of Existence covers significant ground. There is the epic drift, where they bring to the surface a later days Austere presence, the slow tempo of “The Hollow Hymn” standing out in its defiant spirit. Then there is the contradictory rocking sensibility, where the sadness gives way to a grounded rhythm and an in-your-face approach in “Proof of Existence”.

Void of Hope dig deep into the gutter, their destructive screams tearing apart the soundscapes in a Silencer-like manner, before bitter black metal steel of “T.E.T.L” comes through with its cyclothymic and dizzying riffs. For a band subscribing to the DSBM genre, something intrinsically affirming in their methodology makes Proof of Existence stand out. If they can shed away their inclination to fulfill the subgenre’s idioms, and instead focus on their epic and gritty side, then I am sure something astonishing will come next. – Spyros Stasis

Wrekmeister Harmonies – Flowers in the Spring (Thrill Jockey)

Flowers In The Spring, the new record from Wrekmeister Harmonies finds them returning to a point of origin. In past years, JR Robinson and Esther Shaw have embraced an openness to altering and/or expanding their project’s sound. The post-rock via drone motifs of You’ve Always Meant So Much to Me gave way to the punishing, apocalyptic sludge/doom in Night of Your Ascension. Now, minimalism prevails, as “Flowers in the Spring” immediately suggests.

Abstracted guitar riffs echo in the distance, bring in a luminous tonality that mirrors the later days of Sunn O))) with Life Metal. “A Shepherd Stares Into the Sun” further unfolds this radiant glow, the heavy drones becoming transparent, leaving behind their oppressive quality for something that produces a sense of wonder. In these moments, Robinson and Shaw further experiment with verbosity, the sonic manipulation on the opening track contradicting the slow progression with their hectic quality.

Similarly, random blips in “A Shepherd Stares Into the Sun” offer unpredictability. Completing the picture is the deconstructed Americana vibe of “Fuck the Pigs” echoing through the great beyond, before the variation of “Flowers in the Spring” offers a glimpse into the dark, alternate route this experiment could have taken. It is a solid work, even though I find they are at their strongest when they do not descend into this level of minimalism. – Spyros Stasis

Year of the Cobra – Year of the Cobra (Prophecy)

On their third album, Year of Cobra have no intention of reinventing themselves. The Seattle-based psychedelic doom metal band know who they are. They are a heavy, groove-laden duo that requires just vocals, bass and drums (OK, and some keyboards) to convey their message. The Black Sabbath-ian introduction of “Full Sails” leaves no doubt to that, as heavy, fuzzed out riffs come crushing down with a sludge level of dirt.

What Year of the Cobra do well in their third, self-titled record is cherry-picking their areas of interest. At times they carry a rock vibe, a throwback quality that gives them a high-octane output (“War Drop” and “Daemonium”). In this moment they channel an essence akin to early High on Fire, but soon enough they descend to another Matt Pike act, namely Sleep.

At times they are lost within the stoner rock sense, as “7 Years” suggests with its palm-muted bits and 1970s groove. However, it is the psychedelic edge where Year of the Cobra thrive. The slow, relaxed progression is where they excel, and controlling the vibe to stay on the dreamy side without going full hallucinogenic finds them at their strongest.

In this mode they unleash some of the better moments of this work in “Alone”, “Prayer” and “The Darkness”, with singer Amy Tung Barrysmith giving a strong delivery. So, even though this is not a record that provides much innovation in the field, it does carry its flame proudly. – Spyros Stasis