1 – Paradise Lost – Ascension
2 – Spritworld – Helldorado
3 – Ghost – Skeletá
4 – The Yagas – Midnight Minuet
5 – Cold Slither – Cold Slither
6 – Lonesome Wyatt and the Holy Spooks – Sad Witch Cult
7 – Lord of the Lost – OPVS NOIR
8 – AVTT/PTTN – AVTT/PTTN
9 –  Lacuna Coil – Sleepless Empire
10 -Biohazard – Divided We Fall

When I ranked Paradise Lost’s 2020 album, Obsidian, as my Album of the Year, I wrote “from the moment that I heard the first notes of the first song on Paradise Lost’s Obsidian, I knew it was a special album.” I can say the same thing about Ascension. This the third time that I’ve given the Album of the Year to Paradise Lost, and it’s their third consecutive album to get it.

Ascension starts off with “Serpent on the Cross” which is such a great song to open an album with. I don’t think it would work in any other spot on the album. The album continues with “Tyrants Serenade” which would be considered my favorite song on the album if it wasn’t for “Lay a Wreath Upon the World.” How a band’s 17th album can be this good, and how they can be so consistent is amazing to me. And just because Paradise Lost is one of my favorite bands doesn’t automatically get them the top spot, or one near the top, as you’ll see in later comments.

Other songs that I really liked from Ascension include “Salvation,” “Silence Like the Grave,” and “Savage Days.”

Sometimes, the YouTube algorithm does good things. Since I listen to a few bands that are distributed through Century Media Records, YouTube suggested another to me, SpiritWorld. I had never heard of them at all before that suggestion. Their musical style is described as “Death Western.” Upon listening to their music, I would say that it’s an accurate description. The first song that I heard from them is “Abilene Grime.” It starts off with a hard rock country style, which I like, and then it got heavier. I was very interested. I heard some more songs from their 2024 album Helldorado and I kept listening. They’ve climbed up the ranks of the list of bands that I would like to see live and I look forward to hearing more new stuff from them. I also look forward to going backwards in their catalog and listening to their previous releases.

In addition to “Abilene Grime,” check out “Wester Stars & the Apocalypse,” ANNIHILSM,” and especially “Waiting on the Reaper.”

I’ve noticed that Ghost’s sound seems to evolve slightly each time that they get a new singer. I know that they don’t actually get new singers, but if you know Ghost, you know what I mean. Their 2018 album, Prequelle, was my Album of the Year. Their next album, Imperra, did not make my Top 10. It had the same character doing vocals and while it has some good songs, it just didn’t move me much. Skeletá, however, had a new character singing and did get me. The first three singles that they released “Satanized,” “Lachryma,” and “Peacefield” hooked me. Especially “Peacefield.” I think that song could be a 1970s prog song or even on a 1980s “New Wave” mix. It’s that good of a song.

If you like Ghost, check out the songs that I’ve mentioned and also “Marks of the Evil One” and “Cenotaph.”

The Fourth Best Album of 2025 is Midnight Minuet by The Yagas. This band is fronted by Academy Award Nominated actress, Vera Farmiga. The song that was recommended to me was “She’s Walking Down.” And after hearing it, I listened to it again and again. And just like with SpiritWorld, I wanted to hear more. As they released more singles from the album, I got more excited about hearing the whole thing. It did not disappoint me at all.

“The Crying Room” is the first song on the album and a must-listen. I also recommend “Life of a Widow” and “Anhedonia.”

If I told you that the Fifth Best Album of 2025 was 40 years in the making, would you believe me? Would the claim be less believable if I told you that the album and the entire band is based off of a 1985 GI Joe episode? The crazy thing, it’s true. All of it. In that episode of GI Joe, Cobra was broke and came up with a new scheme to take over the world and make money. They had Zartan and the Dreadnoks form a heavy metal band called Cold Slither in hopes of having a number one hit that they would put subliminal messaging in to control the masses. For the 40th anniversary of the episode, Hasbro and Reigning Phoenix Music put together a band, they re-did the Cold Slither theme song, recorded other songs, and put out an album. They first did a concert in conjunction with the San Diego Comic Con in the summer and in October, they did a show in NYC for the NYC Comic Con. I was at the NYC show and I had a blast. I’m also fairly certain that I was indoctrinated into Cobra that night.

If you know the cartoon episode, do yourself a favor and check out the title track “Cold Slither. You will not be disappointed. But also check out songs such as “Thunder Machine,” “Knock ‘Em Dead,” and “These Fluffies are Fatal.” Also remember that Cobra is strong.

This is the third year in a row that Lonesome Wyatt and the Holy Spooks have an album in my Top 10 list. Their 2023 album, Longing For Oblivion, was ranked 6th and their 2024 album, Afraid, was ranked at number 2. Being ranked again at number 6 does not mean that their latest release, Sad Witch Cult, is of any less quality than last year’s album. In fact, I think it’s just as good, if not better. For this record, Lonesome Wyatt had a new vocalist, known as the Sad Witch. That change was a pleasant surprise. The album had the sound that I like from the group, but the new vocalist added a little something extra.

I recommend the songs “Tired of Being a Good Girl,” “Satan Kissed Me,” “House of Cats,” and “Calliope Moon.”

Lord of the Lost released two albums in 2025, OPVS NOIR Vol. 1 and OPVS NOIR Vol. 2. For the sake of simplicity, I’m counting it as one release here and ranking it at the 7th Best Album of 2025. I’m standing by this decision, even with OPVS NOIR Vol. 3 scheduled for release in early 2026. I’ve been listening to Lord of the Lost for a few years. They’ve got a great sound and they’re a lot of fun to see live. They also put out albums pretty quickly and I’m impressed by how they don’t continue to keep my attention.

“I Will Die In It,” “The Things We Do For Love,” and “Light Can Only Shine in the Darknesss” are my favorite songs from Vol 1, while “One of Us Will Be Next,” and “Would You Walk With Me Through Hell?” stand out from Vol. 2.

I knew of the Avett Brothers, but not really their sound. I know Mike Patton very well, but I never know what to expect when he’s on album. Their group (and album) name is simply AVTT/PTTN and what we got with their collaboration is a blend of Folk Rock, Americana, Alternative Rock, and Experimental Rock. I would not be surprised if this album was nominated for Grammy Awards.

“Eternal Love” was the first single that they released. In addition to that songs, I liked “Dark Night of My Soul” and “The Things I Do” a lot.

Lacuna Coil’s Sleepless Empire is the 9th Best Album of the Year and could have easily been ranked higher if this year wasn’t so stacked. They had slowly been releasing tracks from the record for a while before the entire thing was released. Songs such as “In the Meantime” and “Hosting the Shadow” (featuring Lamb of God’s Randy Blythe) got my attention very early, but it was “I Wish You Were Dead” that totally hooked me on this album. This is Lacuna Coil’s 10th studio album, and I’m glad to see (like Paradise Lost), they’re still doing the work.

The 10th Best Album of 2025 is Divided We Fall from the reunited Biohazard. When I first heard some of the new songs, they felt comfortable. It was definitely Biohazard. I saw them live in November and their singer/bass player Evan Seinfeld said that with they “weren’t looking to reinvent the wheel” with this album. They were looking to put out a Biohazard album, and that’s what they did.

“Forsaken” and “S.I.T.F.O.A.” are songs that stood out to me.

There were a lot of good albums in 2025. Some others could easily have been listed in my Top 10. Here is a listing of other albums that came out during the year (in alphabetical order by artist):

Alice Cooper – The Revenge of Alice Cooper – This was the first album with the original Alice Cooper band in 50 years. It’s a good rock album.
Amorphis – Borderland – This album would definitely have been in my Top 10 list if the list wasn’t so stacked with great albums
Arch Enemy – Blood Dynasty – It’s a good Arch Enemy album, not a great one.
A Bad Think – Watch Your Mind – I ranked one of his previous albums high. This one didn’t do much for me.
The Black Keys – No Rain, No Flowers – See Amorphis.
Florence & the Machine – Everybody Scream – See The Black Keys.
Garbage – Let All That We Imagine Be the Light – This album may be their weakest one. Nothing on it made me want to hear more. Maybe that’ll change over time.
Halo Effect – March of the Unheard – This band, made of up ex-In Flames members, made an album that sounded too much like the In Flames that I wish was unheard.
Heaven Shall Burn – Heimat – See Garbage.
Katatonia – Nightmares as Extensions of the Waking State – Katatonia had my Album of the Year in 2009, 2012, and 2023. They’ve never put out an album that I didn’t like, until now. As much as I love the band, I found this album to just be boring. I’m hoping it’s just a blip and not a sign of things to come from them.
Pothamus – Abur – I became aware of Pothamus through professional wrestler Aleister (Malakai) Black. I’ve liked what I heard from them. This is a good album that I’m likely to listen to a lot, while it’s in the background.
The Reverend Peyton’s Big Damn Band – Honeysuckle – A very good blues album that I expect will be played from time to time.
Sarcator – Swarming Angels & Flies – This was another YouTube suggestion. The first song that I heard from them was the best of it.
Scour – Gold – I had no idea that Phil Anselmo fronted a Death Metal band. But he does, and they’re pretty good.
Sleep Token – Even in Arcadia – See Florence & the Machine.
Steven Wilson – The Overview – Nope.
Whitechapel – Hymns in Dissonance – See Heaven Shall Burn.

I don’t know much about albums that are coming out in 2026, other than the aforementioned Lord of the Lost album, and new ones from Clutch, Muse, and Robbie Williams. I’m hoping to hear good things from all of acts that I’ve mentioned and I also hope to find a lot of new acts, like I did this year.

A note about eligibility for my 2025 Album of the Year:
– the album must have had a United States release date in 2025.
– the album must be new material (for the band or artist).
– live albums are only eligible if they’re new material.