Lost In The Riffstorm 2025: Part 1

Metalcatto

It’s that time of the year! When I try to look at the albums we missed because we were too busy covering other releases or making the horrible decision of having a life outside music. You should try it sometime — it’s rewarding and actually pays the bills! Alright, so let’s get to it.

Aephanemer – Utopie: The French had already taken over Black, Death, and Avant-Garde Metal, so of course the next step was taking Melodic Death and Power. Utopie is a solid addition to a catalogue already full of spectacular albums. If anything, this release takes the band to new technical and narrative heights. The brilliance of Aephanemer is taking complicated ideas and turning them into something joyful that any Metalhead could enjoy. In that sense, the band answers the question: what would happen if a Power Metal band sounded respectable and wasn’t Symphony X or Unleash the Archers? Well, it’d sound like Utopie — a riff party that will leave music nerds and average nerds gasping for air.

Author & Punisher – Nocturnal Birding: I would’ve missed this one completely, but some of our followers kept spamming me about it. So I gave it a try. If I could tolerate Godflesh, it’d probably come in the form of Nocturnal Birding, an album that takes such a niche industrial sound and gives it a personal spin, ending up with something surprisingly accessible. You get perfectly fitting production, interesting moments of experimentation and atmosphere, and riffs that, despite their relative simplicity, hit you right in the gut and make you feel something. It’s an album you could easily play twice and still wonder why it’s so effective at what it proposes. Anyway, I don’t even like Industrial music that much, but this got me thinking!

Agriculture – The Spiritual Sound: Holy Satan! This is probably my biggest omission of the year. Don’t let the first moments of The Spiritual Sound fool you — this is far more than a mashup between Deafheaven and Converge. It’s as if Calligram went on a profound journey exploring the edges of what Metal even is, and returned with something as relentless as it is beautiful. No other band has made literal silence as heavy and dreadful as Agriculture. It has emotional depth and creativity behind that raw, inaccessible shell. You might find it hard to digest, but if you’re resilient enough, you’ll be rewarded with a fascinating experience. I usually don’t score these short reviews, but Agriculture is a 4/5 if we’re strict, and a 4.5/5 if we’re obsessed — and it’s very easy to get obsessed with this album.

There you go, people. Let’s see if more of these lost albums pop up and find redemption through writing and shout-outs. It’s the only way to go right now. Blast one of these albums before the year is done and let us know what you think.