Suffering so you don't have to!
Vicky
As a Symphonic Metal enthusiast, my heart is overfilled with joy when I tell you that I have recently spoken with Thomas Vikström (whom I must thank once again for this opportunity!), Therion’s talented lead vocalist, about his entire career, and numerous preferences, including his beverage of choice, and a top 20 songs he currently loves. Enjoy reading this interview and don’t forget to get back to us with some feedback.
Metalcatto
I’m late to this party again, but here we are: a new Ellende album exists, and that alone means we can’t just let it pass unnoticed. The band has been delivering stunning Post/Black Metal for years now, to the point where having an opinion on a new release isn’t just advisable, it feels almost mandatory. I also happened to see that one of the band members (L.G.) defended his PhD not long ago, which honestly explains a lot. Suddenly, the sheer emotional devastation of this record makes complete sense. Ellende, if you’re reading this, I’d love to say the academic pain is over, but judging by Zerfall, it has merely transformed into sound.
Metalcatto
I guess I should stop giving chances only to the big fish and actually start caring more about the tiny ones, even if that comes with fewer views and less immediate payoff. After all, we mostly don’t do this for the money, right? Anyway, Shadowmass deliver a Thrash Metal record with Wasteland that at least promises not to be completely derivative. Let’s say they don’t… waste our time (don’t hit me for the pun). There’s a clear sense of intent here! Let’s go!
Metalcatto
You know what you know. Let’s start
Metalcatto
I don’t know what Willowtip Records is cooking most of the time, but somehow they keep delivering. So when Eximperitus – Meritoriousness of Equanimity (what does that even mean?) landed in my mailbox, for once I actually had expectations. I knew next to nothing about the band, and judging by the lack of noise around them, this still feels like a fresh act in an already hostile scene. Fearing I might be getting ahead of myself, I dove into uncharted territory hoping to find gold—like a proper colonialist—but enough context, let’s start the plunder.
Metalcatto
Welcome back—it’s been one day! So let’s get into what the new year already has in store for us. If you were hoping for brutal and merciless blackened death metal, then today is your lucky day, because I’m here to show you what Shine have to offer with Wrathcult. An album with a promo campaign more pagan than an Edda Reddit thread. So prepare your spells and animal bones, because this is going to be one of those mythological trips—or at least I hope so.
Metalcatto
Just like last year, I leave the subgenre that contains my album of the year for last. It’s been a great year for Prog, honestly. At first it didn’t seem that way, but just like a 20-minute-long track, it gained momentum little by little (who am I kidding, you can’t sit through 20 minutes of anything). Anyway, let’s get to it.
Metalcatto
It’s time to reward the albums that made us scratch our heads and wonder: what the heck just hit me? Is this even metal? And should I be having an identity crisis because this album makes me feel stuff I didn’t even know I could feel? Anyway, you don’t have the answers to these questions either, so why keep bothering you? Here are my favourite avant-garde albums of 2025.
Metalcatto
There’s one subgenre that almost never disappoints, and that’s the original extreme Metal style. I’m talking about Death Metal—the one that’s given us the best and worst reputation among the normies. But enough chatting; here are my picks for the best Death Metal albums of 2025.
Metalcatto
Well, you already know thanks to Vicky that this was a decent year for black metal. In fact, this is probably the top I struggled with the most, but in the end I came up with a few jewels for you to listen to in your darkest hours.
