Enthroned return with Ashspawn, delivering fast, hostile black metal rooted in classic extremity. Relentless drumming, razor-edged riffing, and venomous vocals dominate, leaving little room for subtlety. The album embraces speed and aggression with conviction, offering a direct, uncompromising listen for fans of traditional, ferocious black metal.

Ghost Bath sharpen their depressive black metal sound on Rose Thorn Necklace, balancing piercing tremolo riffs with softer, melancholic passages. The songwriting emphasizes contrast, moving between anguish and fragile beauty. Emotional pacing drives the album, creating sustained tension that feels intimate, bleak, and cathartic without resorting to excess.

Kardashev continue to blur genre boundaries on Alunea, merging death metal heaviness with post-metal atmosphere and progressive ambition. Expansive compositions build patiently, combining crushing growls, soaring clean vocals, and textural depth. The album rewards close listening, offering emotional weight alongside technical precision and carefully layered dynamics.

Marodeur finds Karg refining their emotionally charged black metal with sharper songwriting and stronger melodic focus. Despairing screams, flowing guitar lines, and dynamic shifts carry the album between vulnerability and aggression. The material feels deeply personal, balancing raw intensity with moments of fragile beauty and reflective calm throughout.

Bianca’s self-titled debut is a bleak, minimalist black metal statement driven by raw emotion and repetition. Sparse arrangements, anguished vocals, and icy guitar lines emphasize atmosphere over complexity. The album thrives on isolation and restraint, creating a hypnotic, depressive mood that slowly burrows under the skin with haunting persistence.

The Regeneration Itinerary sees …And Oceans fusing symphonic black metal roots with industrial and electronic elements. Dense layers of synths, aggressive riffing, and shifting tempos create a futuristic, mechanical atmosphere. The album feels restless and experimental, constantly morphing while maintaining intensity and cohesion across its sprawling, genre-blurring compositions.

The Halo Effect continue their melodic death metal revival on March of the Unheard, channeling classic Gothenburg influences through modern production. Melodic leads, tight riffing, and anthemic structures dominate, creating songs that feel familiar yet energized. It’s direct, hook-driven metal that thrives on nostalgia without sacrificing precision or punch.

Steelbound finds Battle Beast leaning fully into polished, arena-ready heavy metal driven by big choruses and glossy production. Energetic riffs, pounding rhythms, and Noora Louhimo’s commanding vocals fuel each track. The songwriting prioritizes immediacy and momentum, delivering a confident, high-energy record built for crowd engagement and repeat listens.

Saor return with Amidst the Ruins, weaving atmospheric black metal with Celtic folk melodies and sweeping, nature-inspired themes. Long compositions unfold patiently, blending blast-driven intensity with tranquil acoustic passages and traditional instrumentation. The album feels expansive and evocative, capturing a strong sense of place while balancing aggression and serenity throughout.

Remina’s The Silver Sea expands their atmospheric doom and post-metal palette with vast, oceanic soundscapes and slow-building tension. Clean vocals drift through layers of reverb-drenched guitars, while heavier passages emerge gradually. The album emphasizes mood and patience, rewarding attentive listening with immersive depth and a haunting, contemplative atmosphere.

Green Carnation return with a deeply atmospheric progressive metal work that unfolds slowly and deliberately. The Shores of Melancholia emphasizes mood, introspection, and rich melodic layers over heaviness, drawing the listener into a contemplative journey. Its restrained pacing and emotional depth reward patience, creating a lush and immersive listening experience.

Darkness Invisible showcases Mors Principium Est at their melodic death metal best, blending razor-sharp riffing with memorable leads and tight, energetic rhythms. The songwriting emphasizes hooks without sacrificing aggression, resulting in concise, driving tracks. Polished yet forceful, the album highlights the band’s knack for combining melody and intensity seamlessly.

Mystic Circle embrace old-school extremity on Hexenbrand, merging black and death metal traditions into a direct, riff-driven assault. Occult themes, aggressive vocals, and relentless tempos dominate, while sharp songwriting keeps the chaos focused. The album thrives on raw energy and nostalgia without feeling stale, delivering a punchy, no-frills extreme metal experience.

Scorched Earth sees Harakiri for the Sky refining their emotional blackgaze formula with sharper songwriting and heightened intensity. Sweeping melodies, anguished vocals, and dynamic pacing drive long, cathartic compositions. The balance between post-rock beauty and black metal fury creates a powerful, emotionally charged experience that lingers long after the final notes fade.

Sea Mosquito’s Majestas delivers dissonant, oppressive black metal built on jagged riffing, chaotic drumming, and a suffocating atmosphere. The album feels hostile and confrontational, yet carefully structured, allowing its raw aggression to land with precision. It’s abrasive, unsettling, and uncompromising—music that thrives on tension and controlled disorder.

Cradle of Filth sharpen their gothic black-metal theatrics on The Screaming of the Valkyries, combining bombastic riffing, symphonic flourishes, and Dani Filth’s unmistakable vocal venom. The songwriting feels focused and energetic, embracing dark melodrama without excess. It’s a confident, punchy release that balances classic traits with renewed momentum.

Waldgeflüster’s Knochengesänge fuses melodic black metal with folk-tinged emotion and sweeping atmospheres. Naturalistic themes shine through warm guitar harmonies, dynamic drumming, and heartfelt vocal delivery. The album moves fluidly between intensity and reflection, crafting songs that feel expansive, uplifting, and deeply rooted in a sense of landscape and memory.

A Void Within Existence finds Abigail Williams leaning into darker, more atmospheric territory, merging black metal intensity with expansive, cinematic moods. Dense layering, shifting tempos, and ominous melodies create a sense of unease throughout. The album feels calculated and immersive, balancing aggression and atmosphere while showcasing the band’s continued evolution.

Sargeist remain fiercely devoted to orthodox black metal on Flame Within Flame, delivering icy riffs, venomous vocals, and relentless pacing. The songwriting is sharp and direct, with just enough melodic nuance to elevate the aggression. Raw energy and conviction dominate, proving the band’s enduring strength within traditional, uncompromising black metal.

Unreqvited’s Pathway to the Moon drifts through melancholic blackgaze, blending shimmering post-rock textures with harsh screams and emotional melodies. Long, flowing compositions emphasize atmosphere over aggression, building a dreamlike sadness that slowly unfolds. The balance of beauty and despair makes this a deeply immersive, introspective listen best experienced uninterrupted.

Heretoir’s Solastalgia blends post-black/blackgaze roots with cleaner shoegaze and post-rock glow across eleven moody tracks. Lush guitars and layered vocals meet intense drumming and flashes of aggression, moving from grief-soaked desolation to cathartic climaxes. The nine-minute title track lands hardest—dense, hopeless, and deeply moving.

Hexvessel’s Nocturne stays frosty and strange, fusing atmospheric black metal bite with dark-folk mysticism. Desolate keys, piercing guitars, harsh screams, and eerie clean vocals build bleak, dreamlike scenes, shifting momentum through trancey tempo changes. Guest turns—including Vicotnik on “Unworld”—hint at deeper madness. Mystical, unique, and compelling.

Novembre’s Words of Indigo is a dreamy, emotive return that folds death/doom melancholy into progressive and gothic colors. Shimmering guitars and mopey atmospheres glide through songs like “House of Rain,” while tempo shifts and sparing harsh vocals add contrast. It feels crafted, immersive, and magical from start to finish.

In the Woods… deliver Otra: seven intoxicating tracks of melancholy metal that stitch hypnotic clean-sung drama to sudden, fast, harsh eruptions. Catchy hooks, subtle atmospherics, and sweet melodies coexist with blistering passages, drifting between gothic, progressive, and dark-metal shades without losing identity. Queue it for emotional heaviness and chills.

Epica’s Aspiral explodes with dramatic orchestrations, lush guitars, and Simone Simons’ commanding vocals. It opens as a banger and races on with choirs, clever tempo shifts, heavy riffs, and bursts of harsh growls, then turns delicate and eerie. A cinematic symphonic-metal rush that begs immediate replays.

Paradise Lost return with Ascension, a gothic death/doom heavy-hitter that honors their early weight while threading in later, rock-leaning elegance. Expect mournful melodies, thick riffs, and a seasoned sense of atmosphere that feels both classic and current. It’s the kind of dark comfort only they can write.

Darvaza sharpen their blade on We Are Him, stepping up from already strong releases with adversarial black metal meant for pure headbanging. Blistering guitars and pummeling drums drive furious momentum, while the songwriting feels tighter and more confident than ever. If you crave fierce, no-frills aggression, this one absolutely delivers.

Omnium Gatherum sound refreshed and unstoppable on May the Bridges We Burn Light the Way: nine tracks of polished melodic death metal built for fists-in-the-air choruses. Catchy riffs, soaring vocal layers, and tasteful solos keep the pacing dynamic, closing with blistering force and dreamy atmospherics. Hit play for instant uplift.

Fauna’s long-awaited Ochre & Ash is a harrowing, primal statement: nearly 70 minutes of feral atmospheric black metal that creates discomfort and then punishes harder. Cascadian vastness, uncompromising grit, and majestic build-ups stretch into epic lengths, culminating in a richer, stronger final surge. More than worth the wait.

Messa face the impossible follow‑up and win: The Spin expands their doomy, jazzy, proggy foundation with fresh surprises and a road-tested confidence. It’s heavy yet cinematic, moody yet soulful, shifting textures without losing the hook. A record that feels both adventurous and instantly lovable—press play, then press repeat.

Afsky’s Fællesskab is 45 minutes of violent, melancholy black metal that never turns predictable. Intricate riffing and blistering guitars ride a relentless, guitar-driven momentum, shifting pace just enough to keep the despair immersive. No gimmicks—just savage onslaughts, crushing melodies, and a raw edge with brilliant production.

Bell Witch and Aerial Ruin deepen their collaboration with Stygian Bough: Volume II, a crushing funeral-doom meditation where cavernous heaviness meets ethereal, song-like melancholy. Slow, immense movements build bleak beauty and raw emotion, rewarding patient listening with cathartic swells and intimate atmospheres. Put this on and disappear.

One of 2025’s most awaited returns, Blut Aus Nord unleash 51 minutes of nightmare-inducing atmospheric black metal. The band’s evolution—from industrial edges to avant‑garde grandeur—collides here in bombastic, hellish waves. Piercing textures, punishing momentum, and outer‑space scale make this a mesmerizing, oppressive trip.

Amorphis deliver peak melodic metal on Borderland: epic, cinematic hooks welded to hefty riffs and crafty drumming. The songs stay melancholic yet bright, overflowing with catchiness from start to finish. There are nods to earlier doomier days, but the band keeps evolving, leaving you eager to replay immediately.

Der Weg einer Freiheit hit a new peak: six tracks of crushing atmospheric black metal that shifts from raw, punishing surges to hypnotic, melancholic passages. Dense production, cathartic riffs, and moments of eerie calm bloom into a dreamy finale with chilling clean vocals. Demoralizing, immersive, and endlessly replayable.