Vicky
Before our calendars even think about telling us that we have entered the realm of December, I think we need a top 10 songs that have been released throughout 2025 just to motivate us. Now these tracks have been carefully selected by yours truly after spending 11 months listening to almost every single new material that Spotify could provide in the Rock/Metal domain, as well as going to different shows in my beloved homeland.
Quick reminder: this list is just a prelude for what’s coming up soon, the better, scarier, and overall longer list that sums up 2025. Shall we begin?
10. Shades of Deep Water – “Mare Septentrionale” (The Years on Borrowed Time, Meuse Music Records)
It felt natural to start with something Doom. If you remember, I actually wrote a full review on The Years On Borrowed Time a few weeks ago, and I still haven’t really changed my mind. “Mare Septentrionale” is one of this year’s best Doom Metal tracks, with its thick layers of emotions, and its great instrumentals. I know death fear, I know the end is near, as Shades of Deep Water would say.
9. Alestorm – “Banana” (The Thunderfist Chronicles, Napalm Records)
Another album I loved reviewing, except now we enter the realm of pirates-infused Power Metal. I think that “Banana” pretty much captures the essence of Alestorm – unexpected, often funny, and overall remarkable… This song is without a doubt in my most listened list on Spotify (please be kind to me this year, Spotify Wrapped, because I, too, am living my best life as a pirate. Just hold the pirate part).
8. Big Fish – “Vad blir kvar” (Fyra liter stoft, Progress Productions)
According to Google Translate (sorry, my Swedish is a tad rusty), “Vad blir kvar” means “What Will Remain”. Even though Big Fish plays Experimental Rock, this song has a strangely Metal-esque vibe to it. The lyrics are quite philosophical – let me give you an example: What will remain, maybe an ember that never fades, a bloodstream that never cools or just four liters of dust. The original variant is in Swedish, however you may find translated lyrics with a swift Google search. Anyways, to keep things brief, I think that Fyra liter stoft is the addition you need to your playlist.
7. Vathsath – “The Veil of Neoclassical Dawn” (Forgotten and Lost Empires)
For reasons that remain unclear even to me, I loved this album. It has just the right amount of Prog/Symphonic/Melodic Metal added to the Norwegian-like Black Metal to make even those who claim they hate shrieks and double kicks (ehm, myself partly included) like it. It has pretty much anything you could ever ask for from a Black Metal material, and more. Here’s a sample of the lyrics for “The Veil of Neoclassical Dawn”: In marble halls, where shadows play, a world reborn, its grand ballet. The past revives, in gilded grace, an ancient muse, a timeless face.
6. Halcyon – “Stench of the Stillborn” (Stench of the Stillborn)
While I am preparing the main list which contains From Amber To Sun, it seemed only logical to listen one more time to “Stench of the Stillborn”, released by the other band of Pilgrimage guitarist Zain Vermin Gauci. Now, as I was stating in a previous article, this song is definitely one of the best Technical Death Metal materials of the year. While we await the release of the Halcyon debut EP Severed, here are some lyrics taken from “Stench of the Stillborn” to keep you company: The air reeks of what once was – what will never be alive.
5. Awake The Demons – “In Denial” (In Denial)
If we had an Experimental Rock track in this list, it’s time for some Progressive Metalcore as well, is it not? Great. So “In Denial” is – with all due respect – one of the most complex Metalcore songs you will find when it comes to Romanian bands. It represents, from various points of view, the pure essence of Prog Metalcore as a genre. If I were to write more about it, it would probably take me all day, so I’ll just leave you with some lyrics and you check out the story behind them. In denial sorrow will find you, in denial you will find me.
4. Clouds – “Life Becomes Lifeless” (Desprins, Loud Rage Music)
And now, moving on to one of my favorite Doom Metal bands of all times (my proudest moment this summer is when I saw Clouds live). They never disappoint, and are one of the few Dark Metal bands that you will hear switching from the most brutal/gloomy thing you have ever heard all the way to Folk Metal in just a few seconds. I think this might be the most heart wrenching song we have in this list, as well as the most introspective one. Desprins marks a new era of Clouds, a time of maturity and of unaltered emotion, sung straight from the deepest pits of the heart. Here are some beautiful lyrics for you all: I’ve put this soul on an altar, forever lost in time, forever lost in eternity.
3. Candlemass – “Black Star” (Black Star, Napalm Records)
This doesn’t feature Messiah Marcolin, but it’s good enough. It has unique guitar solos, impeccable vocals, and it really reminds one of old days’ Candlemass. Somehow, I feel obliged to genuinely applaud lead vocalist Johan Längquist who, at 62 years old, is still brilliant (in the studio, I don’t know about live performances). Think of an older version of Russell Allen – I’m sure you are sold now. Anyways, let’s dig into the lyrics: I got no reason at all, to doubt you mother, you have always been there, but out of reach, sometimes I feel you are lost, into the dark void but now you call me nearer, nearer.
2. Symphress – “Iconoclastul” (Iconoclastul)
Alright, so “Iconoclastul” literally means “The Iconoclast” in English. The lyrics to this song are in Romanian, but even if you can’t speak the language, you will probably feel something that can’t really be put into words, since this track is basically everything you would expect a great Power/Progressive/Symphonic Metal song to be – intense, dramatic, emotional, introspective, and an absolutely outstanding song. My second proud moment of the article is that I have seen “Iconoclastul” being played live twice this year (one of those times being in my hometown, actually). The track has been taken off the band’s latest album, Serpentine (Coils? I think so…), that is going to be released soon. Let’s check out some lyrics I have translated into English right now (sorry in advance for this): A sheet of paper torn into thousands of stars, a poetry of sleeping pills, a touch in a corner of winter, eyelids touched in your summer.
1. Váthos – “Self-Loathing” (Self-Loathing)
And we finish this list off with one of my favorites (if you dig deep enough in the MER archives, you’ll find a longer description of this song), and that is “Self-Loathing”, a surprisingly catchy song that manages to cheer you up in your darkest moments. Honestly, this tune just leaves me speechless every time I listen to it, and I’ve gotten to know all of its lyrics by heart. Congratulations to all five members of the band (Radu, Alex, Dany, Ducu, and Rotta), this song is a real masterpiece. If anything is to be remembered, music-wise, of 2025, I really hope that it’s going to also be “Self-Loathing” by Váthos, amongst so many other good songs (just check out the others on this list). This is just Post-Black/Atmospheric Doom/Alternative Metal at its finest. The only time I feel at peace is through this numbness. Is this a form of egotism? Am I a narcissist in my beliefs?
Alright, now that we have taken care of this lovely list, it’s time to craft the one with the best albums of 2025. I am sure that you’re not yet prepared (emotionally, psychically, physically, etc.) for the plot twists and for all the beautiful LPs that we have prepared for you. Until then, listen to these 10 songs – they’re worth it! 🙂
Metal Eclipse Reviews 