Best of Noisy 2025

I have some particular opinions (more particular than usual) about what makes heavy music good.

To paraphrase Potter Stewart, “I know it when I hear it”

• Zealot - Dead Icarus

• New Gods New Masters - Revocation - top-flight tech-death

• Uncommon Grounds - Ckraft - the hardest accordion-and-sax metal band you will hear today

• I Don’t Want To See You In Heaven - The Callous Daoboys - love these guys

• Keep Planting Flowers - Stick To Your Guns - hardcore madness
• Shutdown In A Heartbeat - Dreadnaught - djent-y metalcore that will probably get written up soon
• Enter The Void - Synaptic - more tight riffs
• From Nothing - Benthos - hard to categorize, great to listen to
• The Spiritual Sound - Agriculture - There are still great doom records being made
• Tooth And Nail - Dormant Ordeal - had to represent with some blackened death on the list as well