2025 felt like it started off slow. A few great albums started trickling in but nothing really knocked me off my feet. Yet, those records grew on me and new albums presented themselves throughout the year. Though the real rush seemed to have come right at the end of November/early December; which would explain why I’m a bit late in publishing my list this year. I discovered I missed some essential albums that were released in the second half of the year and I still have so much more to catch up on but I am calling it now so I can publish what I’ve been listening to and appreciating so I can get on with moving into 2026!
Want to keep up with my listening activities throughout the year? Check out my music blog at Bluesky.

So here it is: my top albums of 2025 ALL GENRES, IN ORDER.

25. Madison Mandrake – Aeons

[ FILE UNDER: FREAK FOLK / NEOFOLK ]

Madison Mandrake could be considered a Bay Area supergroup with the unique individual talents and contributions of each artist amalgamating to a very original and authentic sound. It’s a mix of freak folk and neofolk with touches of pagan folk here and there. An impeccably detailed and memorable experience.

24. The Infinity Ring – Ataraxia

[ FILE UNDER: DARK ROCK ]

The Infinity Ring sounds as if Leonard Cohen was hired to do vocals for Swans. No judgement and no shame. Throw just a touch of Godspeed You Black Emperor into that and you have an album that pulls from some of the best modern day rock/post-rock and dark folk elements.

23. Lamp of Murmuur – The Dreaming Prince in Ecstasy

[ FILE UNDER: BLACK METAL ]

A sprawling epic of a metal album featuring elements of neoclassical, neofolk. Lamp of Murmuur pulls from the likes of Dissection and Dimmu Borgir to map an impressive sonic journey with The Dreaming Prince in Ecstasy.

22. Hush Bribes – Yemen Civil Servant

[ FILE UNDER: NOISE / INDUSTRIAL ]

Well composed and impeccably textured industrial noise.

21. Corpse d’Alsace – Via Dolorosa

[ FILE UNDER: NEOFOLK / POST-INDUSTRIAL ]

Beautifully rendered neofolk with tribal and martial influences. Cinematic and expansive in quality.

20. Plataforma – Temblor Nº3

[ FILE UNDER: POST-PUNK / INDUSTRIAL / NEOFOLK ]

This three piece from Barcelona – which is new to me – mixes post-punk, neofolk, and industrial in a fantastically great way to create a very unique and memorable style.

19. Temple of Clear Light – Communion

[ FILE UNDER: INDUSTRIAL / EXPERIMENTAL ]

This prolific Romanian project takes a break from their more improv ritual sound to siphon compositions more akin to the styles of classic industrial and post-industrial summoning the spirits of such greats as DiJ, SPK, and Coil. A varied record but a standout in this artist’s growing discography and one that is incredibly unique and unforgettable.

18. Laibach – Alamut

[ FILE UNDER: SYMPHONIC ]

I had a few things on my bingo card for this year but Laibach releasing an orchestral work of epic proportions wasn’t one of them. Yet here is Alamut; an incredible journey performed by the Slovenia Symphony Orchestra containing elements of Laibach’s token stylistic calling cards: industrial, folk, and symphonic heaviness. Perfektion.

18. Minuit Machine – Queendom

[ FILE UNDER: DARKWAVE / COLDWAVE ]

Previously a duo, Minuit Machine has been whittled down to a solo project but you’d never know with their latest effort Queendom; a heavy slab of coldwave with moments that flirt with pop and industrial.

16. Philip Glass / Iwo Jedynecki – Etudes, Book I

[ FILE UNDER: CONTEMPORARY / MINIMALIST ]

If the gesture of the “swell” was an album Etudes, Book 1 would be it. It’s a work – as performed by accordionist Iwo Jedynecki – that undulates like a restless ocean. Seemingly going in one direction, while strangely going other ways as well. Exceptional.

15. A.F.I. – Silver Bleeds the Black Sun

[ FILE UNDER: POST-PUNK ]

I’ve never really listened to A.F.I. in the past but when I heard they went “neofolk” I had to hear it. It’s true that there are 2 neofolk songs on Silver Bleeds the Black Sun but mostly it’s an excellent post-punk/goth record with stellar performances and a compositional style that clicks together with great effectiveness. I’m a firm believer in letting artists re-invent themselves especially when it’s for the better and in that A.F.I. has succeeded quite tactfully.

14. Nyx Division – Midnight Lights

[ FILE UNDER: POST-PUNK / DEATH ROCK ]

Goth post-punk that perfectly encapsulates that classic foggy midnight 80s sound.

13. Empusae feat. Deutsch Nepal & Lamia Vox – Empusae’s Dystopian Partycollection

[ FILE UNDER: POST-INDUSTRIAL ]

Deutsch Nepal’s post-industrial tunes put through the dark martial industrial treatment from Empusae and Lamia Vox. A haunting and contemplative existential journey of hypnotic and cinematic proportions.

12. Morwan – Vse po kolu, znovu

[ FILE UNDER: POST-PUNK / COLDWAVE ]

Morwan tempers their tribal post-punk sound here and it results in a much more focused work than their previous efforts.

11. Amphisbaena – Rift

[ FILE UNDER: BLACKENED DEATH METAL ]

Rift is a metal album but it’s so much more than that. An impressive and underrated offering of coiled song structures, layered tones, and a labyrinthine atmosphere from this Vancouver based blackened death metal band.

10. Faetooth – Labrynthine

[ FILE UNDER: STONER DOOM / ALTERNATIVE ROCK ]

This “Faerie doom” trio are back, sounding like a doomier/heavier Deftones if they had a woman for a lead singer. Great mix of stoner rock and 90s alternative influences with some great vocal performances and effects.

9. Rome – Civitas Solis

[ FILE UNDER: NEOFOLK ]

One of THREE full albums Jerome Reuter released under the Rome banner this year. Civitas Solis could be seen as following the main storyline of the project expanding his “neofolk stadium rock” sound. And it’s an album that just keeps on giving. Memorable, epic, somber folk with a neoclassical backdrop of percussion and understated orchestral elements are a go-to formula that doesn’t fail the project. Keep it coming.

8. Sopraterra – Seven Dances to Embrace the Hollow

[ FILE UNDER: CONTEMPORARY / DUNGEON SYNTH ]

A cinematic journey through a uniquely stylized world existing somewhere between a medieval realm and a contemporary classical film school. Add a small dosage of experimental noise and you have what might be the most original and refreshing album listed here.

7. Anna Von Hauswolff – Iconoclast

[ FILE UNDER: POP / CONTEMPORARY ]

A soaring triumph mixing contemporary melodies with unforgettable vocal performances. Iconoclast is a pop record at its core but one that adeptly obscures the most garish aspects of the genre through unique instrumentation, orchestration, and lush atmospheres.

6. Steve Von Til – Alone In a World of Wounds

[ FILE UNDER: DARK FOLK ]

The master of dark folk returns with one of his best albums yet. Guitar layers converge with subtle percussion and even synthesized elements weaving into the carefully constructed compositions. Pure melancholic beauty.

5. Ars Goatia – Agitators of Hysteria

[ FILE UNDER: BLACK METAL ]

Ars Goatia has crafted an incredibly dynamic album ranging from blackened death metal to belligerent black metal. With a vocalist that successfully covers screaming, clean singing, and everything in between and songs that range from blast beats to slower almost-industrial ambient neoclassical compositions; Agitators of Hysteria is one of the best albums of the year.

4. Rien Virgule – Berceuses des Deux Mondes

[ FILE UNDER: SYNTH-POP / CHANSON ]

Dark cocktail music and synth pop collide with tinges of industrial on this landmark album. Perfect night driving music and a sound so mysterious and exotic but at the same time accessible and memorable.

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3. Desolation Colony – Impossibility of a Barren World

[ FILE UNDER: INDUSTRIAL ]

Minimal, pulsating, threatening industrial/power electronics from this up-and-comer artist. The master craft of texture, layering, pacing and restraint truly sets this record apart.

2. Frederikke Hoffmeier (Puce Mary) – The Girl with the Needle OST

[ FILE UNDER: MINIMALIST ]

An original soundtrack from noise artist Puce Mary made for a very well done but also depressing film. The thing that hits really different with this soundtrack is that when I watched the film I didn’t notice it too much. Perhaps because the film is very intense. But when listening to the soundtrack only, it stands on its own as a piece of music much more effectively than so many other soundtracks do. Subtle, delicate, yet has that deep creep that only Puce Mary can seem to siphon so well.

1. Chimehours – Underneath the Earth

[ FILE UNDER: NEOFOLK ]

Underneath The Earth sends shivers down my spine on every listen. An incredible album of folk horror influenced neofolk with subtle elements of post-industrial and trad folk as well as a very high level of production. The solid song structures carry an atmosphere matched only by the album’s memorable moments and beautifully rendered instrumentation and performances. A truly timeless atmosphere.

TOP 10 LIVE PERFORMANCES 2025

10. Clew of Theseus @ Slab Fest V – Manchester, NH

9. Hope & Failure @ Azoth – Portland, Oregon

8. Byssus @ Azoth – Portland, Oregon

7. Crooked Mouth @ Wave Gotik Treffen – Leipzig, Germany

6. Incirrina @ Wave Gotik Treffen – Leipzig, Germany

5. New Model Army @ Wave Gotik Treffen – Leipzig, Germany

4. Beherit @ The Hawthorne Theater – Portland, OR

3. Kiss the Anus of a Black Cat @ Wave Gotik Treffen – Leipzig, Germany

2. In Gowan Ring @ Wave Gotik Treffen – Leipzig, Germany

1. Mayhem @ Temple Theater – Tacoma, WA

Made it this far? Here’s my listening habits from the various platforms I use to listen to music: