STEVE K

It feels like every year for like the past, I dunno, let’s go ahead and say 5 years, I end every year saying “this is the year I get my shit together.” And guess what! In 2025, I absolutely did not. Maybe this year! But probably not. I’m trying my best, here.

Anywho, here’s my top 10, and as usual, no particular order.

Creeper – Sanguivore II: Mistress of Death (Spinefarm)
So I guess I already kind of lied cuz, by far and away, this is the most fun I’ve had listening to any record this year. The band’s transformation from fun but unspectacular punky screamo to this fully-realized goth, rock opera powerhouse of punk, classic heavy metal, and new wave just scratches all the right itches. This is a band that have finally, I think, achieved the vision they’ve had all along, and are firing on all cylinders to deliver their greatest record yet. It drips with blood and sleaze and camp and somehow pulls the clever trick of being equally at home in an arena as it would in an abandoned warehouse rave. Also, saxophones. It’s absolutely brilliant, and If you’ve never had the pleasure or checking these guys out, I implore you to stop whatever you’re doing and give them a go.

Amorphis – Borderlands (Reigning Phoenix Records)
I dunno, man. I like what I like, and damned if I don’t like what Amorphis keep laying down. I won’t go so far as to say it’s a total formula change on Borderlands (it’s clearly not), but the band adds just enough satisfying little tweaks and elements on this record to make it its own unique listening experience, while maintaining the signature modern Amorphis sound that has held me by the throat for what seems like forever now. I’m more than happy to let these guys continue to go to back to the well as often as they like.

Destiny Bond – The Love (Convulse Records)
This is another one of those bands and records that just scratch such a particular itch for me so well that I stood no chance to resist its charms. A gritty, rock-heavy hardcore punk record with a party-like attitude that sucks you in with pure, unbridled enthusiasm and energy. This is the band’s first full-length, and what a way to make an entrance. Can’t wait to hear more from these guys.

Bleeding Through – Nine (SHARPTONE)
Even as an unapologetic metalcore fan who experienced the meteoric rise of the genre through the 00’s in high school and college, Bleeding Through, for whatever reason, just never fully caught on with me. 22 years after their breakout This is Love, This is Murderous, the band now finally have my full attention. This is a punishing album with no shortage of absolute banger riffs, breakdowns, and refrains that showcase everything that the band has always been capable of, but come together for this record to complete perfection. Genuinely one of the best metalcore albums I’ve heard in a minute. That said, hot on their heels…

Dying Wish – Flesh Stays Together (SHARPTONE)
That we’re in a time where the classic acts of the 00’s are having a bit of a resurgence (Bleeding Through, Unearth and Darkest Hour have all recently released solid-to-amazing records, with more coming from similar acts in the next year), while younger acts are starting to pick up the torch and carry the genre into a new era, it’s pretty dang exciting. For me, while there are a LOT of really good young acts doing their thing these days, nobody is doing it better than Dying Wish. Emma Boster is one of the most dynamic and charismatic vocalists in the game today, and the rest of the band continues to deliver absolute bruisers that hit like fuckin atom bombs.

Mors Principium Est – Darkness Invisible (Reigning Phoenix Records)
Like countrymates Amorphis, MPE is another band whose distinct sound has carried them for quite some time without ever really making any significant changes, and yet I still eat it up every single time. For me, it’s the all-out attack of the band’s delivery that keeps me hooked, and the band has perhaps never been as aggressive as on Darkness Invisible. Their incredible Dawn of the 5th Era still reigns supreme in my book, but this album seems to keep inching closer and closer with every listen.

Nite – Cult of the Serpent Sun (Season of Mist)
For me, this album is a step up in every conceivable way from Voices of the Kronian Moon (which, to be clear, I still very much enjoy, but somewhat lost its luster over time for me), and recaptures some of the magic that first charmed the pants off of me with debut Darkness Silence Mirror Flame. This is the best collection of riffs and leads the duo of Van Labraskis and Scott Hoffman have laid down yet, and Labraskis’s vocal performance, while still not the most dynamic in the world, does deliver a more seething, downright evil energy this time around that I really appreciate. This is a band that I’ve come to expect nothing but pure quality from, and they deliver in spades on this record.

Hazzerd – The 3rd Dimension (M-Theory Audio)
Good gods, the fucking RIFFS. The state of thrash is in good hands with so many excellent acts these days, but damned if Canada’s Hazzerd isn’t making a strong claim to the crown to carry the genre into a whole new generation of headbangers. Armed with a seamless blend of Bay Area and Euro guitars that absolutely fucking shred, and some iconic Andrei Bouzikov album art, this is honestly a modern thrash classic that needs more attention. In my book, Canada continues to be the most underrated metal country on the planet, and Hazzerd is just another to add to the list of criminally overlooked acts from the Great White North. Speaking of…

Crimson Shadows – Whispers of War (Self-Released)
A follow-up over a fucking DECADE in the making, this album had every opportunity to be such a let-down (I absolutely adore 2014’s Kings Among Men), and instead the band returns with a better-produced, more polished version of the sound I fell in love with so long ago. A blistering dose of aggressive Power Metal with harsh vocals to lend an added edge, the band did the smart thing after so long and said, “let’s take what worked so well before, but let’s just make it sound a little better,” and thank the gods for that decision. It’s exactly what I wanted it to be, and I finally have more of one of my favorite bands to enjoy. These Canucks could have easily thrown in the towel a long time ago, but let this album be a testament to perseverance. Oh and hey, since we’re still on Canada…

Despised Icon –  Shadow Work (Nuclear Blast)
Anyone who knows me well enough knows that Deathcore isn’t generally my thing, but the few bands I do like I REALLY like. These Quebecois sickos have been delivering the goods for so long now, and in my book are still amongst the best at blending Death Metal and Hardcore in a way that is both cohesive, but also allows both elements to stand out with such distinction that you get the feeling they could just as easily rip out straight up albums of either genre and they’d kill. Also, nothing has ever made more sense than Matt Honeycutt (Kublai Khan) doing a guest spot with Despised Icon. This album goes so goddamn hard.

Honorable Mentions!

That these albums didn’t crack my top-10 is more a testament to the quality of the above than anything lacking from the list below. These are all absolute rippers.

Saor: Amidst the Ruins (Season of Mist)
1914: Viribus Unitis (Napalm Records)
Graveripper: From Welken to Tundra (Wise Blood Records)
Blackbraid: III (Self-Released)
Astronoid: Stargod (3DOT Recordings)
Coroner: Dissonance Theory (Century Media)
Spaced: No Escape EP (Pure Noise Records) (Special shout-out for the straight-up Bolt Thrower-worship album cover on a hardcore record)
Whitechapel: Hymns of Dissonance (Metal Blade Records)
Biohazard: Divided We Fall (BLKIIBLK)
Deftones: Private Music (Reprise Records)