Despite the world as a whole spinning off its axis and teetering upon the precipice of oblivion, 2025 has been a pretty good year for us at Noizze, all things considered. This spring saw the second edition of Noizzefest, summer saw us almost succumbing to heatstroke during our live podcast at 2000 Trees and autumn saw us covering what felt like every show in the country. But it’s the strength and vitality of the alternative scene that made it all possible. There’s no denying that alternative music is in brilliant health at the current time, which in turn has made crafting this list an absolute pain. But behold, we got there in the end.
Now, before we delve into the list, a little disclaimer is required. The eagle eyed amongst you may notice a discrepancy between the ranking of this list and individual review scores. Throughout this list a number of records we gave perfect 10/10 scores may be placed lower than albums we gave scores of 9 and 8. The reason for this is that whilst reviews are the opinions of a single writer, this list was decided as a collective. As you can imagine it took a lot of discussion and maybe even some strong words, but we got there.
Now with that in mind, here are our top 50 records of the year.
50: The Beths – Straight Line Was a Lie
New Zealand natives and indie darlings The Beths return with another stellar release which demonstrates their musical and lyrical versatility with punchy pop-punk influenced tracks, shimmery 90’s throwbacks, and downtempo acoustic ballads that will pull at your heartstrings. – Ez Luscombe
49: Fortitude Valley – Part Of The Problem, Baby
Part of the Problem, Baby is the sophomore album from indie-pop supergroup Fortitude Valley and does exactly what it says on the tin. Chock full of beautifully introspective power-pop and indie bangers with fuzzy guitar tones aplenty and thoughtful lyrics, this summery LP is definitely worth your time. – Ez Luscombe
48: Backxwash – Only Dust Remains
Only Dust Remains is a sensational return from Backxwash, that follows her acclaimed trilogy of LPs. Changing tack to a more melodic sound, whilst reflecting on her past and present, make this fantastic release more hopeful than it may appear. – Jasmine Longhurst
47: Jim Ghedi – Wasteland
Simply put, the best folk album of 2025. Wasteland is an earthy, apocalyptic, and inherently human piece of art that centres around Ghedi’s incredible voice, lush guitar playing, and timeless feel. – Kevin Ashburn
46: Imperial Triumphant – Goldstar
Yet again the masked maniacs bring their art deco drenched brand of jazz infused, blackened death metal into dizzying new creative heights, managing to sound entirely recognisable as them, as only they can, yet completely fresh at the same time. Nothing makes sense, everything is a lie, you are merely along for the ride. – Huw Eggington
45: Dinosaur Pile-Up – I’ve Felt Better
Need some guitar rock bangers? Look no further, this trio of raptors has got you. Always reliable in bringing the riffs, but with an innate ability to keep their sound fresh. From the front to the back of these 12 songs, you’ll be taken on a cathartic journey of physical and emotional pain. – Adam Vallely
44: Indifferent Engine – Speculative Fiction
As we ached for the trip back to a golden era where At The Drive In and Thursday reigned supreme. Prayers were answered when Indifferent Engine dropped their huge debut Speculative Fiction giving us the emotional toil and wondrous chaos which showed authentic post-hardcore lives on. – Andy Calderbank
43: Alpha Male Tea Party – Reptilian Brain
The UK’s premier math rock band have roared back into the scene with Reptilian Brain as their voices take the spotlight for the very first time. Choruses on ‘A Terrible Day To Have Eyes’ are stadium large and proved their well of talent is without end. – Andy Calderbank
42: Spiritworld – Helldorado
Is this record smart? Not really. Is it fun? You’re gosh darn right it is partner. The third LP from the self-proclaimed ‘death-western’ crossover thrash group Spiritworld, Helldorado continues to tell the conceptual tale of an undead cowboy’s battle against the forces of hell against a backdrop of whammy abuse and the occasional outlaw country ballad. A rooting and tooting good time delivered with the kind of detail that counteracts how daft it all is. – Dan Hillier
41: Bleed From Within – Zenith
A band that just can’t miss, Bleed From Within’s Zenith is a muscular, hook-stuffed slab of modern metal done right. It’s heavy without turning into background noise, and every chorus lands like a hammer. The kind of music you just keep coming back to. – Vee Richardson
40: Soulwax – All Systems Are Lying
Electro-rock-dance-pop legends Soulwax first full release in seven years is a continuation to cement themselves in the annals of time as one of the best to do it. This is electronic rock music as its most raw and ass shaking best. ‘Idiots In Love’ and ‘New Earth Time’ particular foot shuffling highlights. – Adam Vallely
39: Beyond Extinction – Where They Gather
The result of three years of relentless touring, hard work and personal tragedy, Beyond Extinction’s debut album Where They Gather is a dystopian concept record that draws from the wells of deathcore and death metal, blending the two in a downtempo mix that bludgeons with wild abandon. – Will Marshall
38: mclusky – the world is still here and so are we
Taking 2023’s unpopular parts of a pig EP and expanding it into a full-length album of angular art rock and acerbic lyrical wit, Bristol legends mclusky proved they are fully back and still the best to ever do it. – Adam Robertshaw
37: Tayne – LOVE
Call it industrialist noise pop, intimacy music for the abjection-minded or the UK’s answer to HEALTH, regardless, the debut from Tayne is just absolutely brilliant. An outpouring of emotions set against what is essentially the musical backdrop of gyrating and thrusting rust speckled machinery, LOVE may not be what it says on the tin, but it’s nigh on impossible to feel anything else about this record. – Dan Hillier
36: Black Foxxes – The Haar
Executing one of the most introspectively melancholic explorations into the root of pain and suffering; the Exeter Indie Alt-Rockers Black Foxxes, finally delivered on a promise of independent emotional upheaval with their long awaited fan funded fourth studio album The Haar. – Bennie Osborne
35: 601 – We Are Not The Same
Heavy and electronic music – especially the genres of breakbeat and jungle – have long been cosy bedfellows. We Are Not The Same proves this everlasting union perfectly. Packed with collaborations with artists from all corners of the UK alt scene, here, 601 offer a dirty, unsanitised and sweat-coated record that takes inspiration from the pit as much as it does the underground rave. – Dan Hillier
34: Castle Rat – The Bestiary
Forging a fortress of riffs and doom-laced fantasy, Castle Rat’s entwinement of whimsical storytelling and old school heaviness continued in 2025 with their record, The Bestiary. Bold, fun and fiercely memorable, there was no battle for a crown in the upper realms as a standout of the year. – Amy Bowles
33: Woe Bather – Swallowed By The Chains Of Spirit Loss
DSBM meets atmospheric black metal in this masterpiece of the genre. Chilling, spectral riffing, builds the dread filled atmosphere, it’s less of a beautiful shimmer, more of a menacing, suffocating haze. Chaos swirls around listeners as the lamenting, abrasive, wail sits underneath and grounds the whole thing in an uncomfortable and raw realism. – Huw Eggington
32: Cassels – Tracked In Mud
2025 saw us sadly waving goodbye to Cassels, at least for the time being anyway. But what a parting gift Tracked In Mud was. A far more noise-rock influenced affair than their previous post-punk adjacent work, Tracked In Mud is an outpouring of much relatable nihilism that both curses and laments humankind’s failings as a species. A wonderfully scorned record delivered with the all of grace you from being spat in the face. – Dan Hillier
31: Chat Pile & Hayden Pedigo – In The Earth Again
While a collaboration between noise rock wunderkinds Chat Pile and psychedelic country guitarist Hayden Pedigo may sound too strange for its own good, the final result is the heaviest, most expansive work of either artist’s career, finding a perfect middle ground between apocalyptic distortion and expressive soundscapes. – Rowan Bruce
30: Forlorn – Aether
Forlorn announced themselves with debut Aether as they married their authentic pagan ideology with crushing midsommer inspired prog metal to conjure the sinister spirit of the elements. Haunting and wailing their way across an album of pure devotion to folk horror which is no mere gimmick but lies at the heart at everything the band does. Its theatrical with a nordic quality, Forlorn are the architects which push boundaries and introduce those willing into their fascinating world. – Andy Calderbank
29: Jim Legxacy – Black British Music
If the definition of genre of emo is catharsis, this is easily one of the best emo records of the year. The beat drop on ‘i just banged a snus in canada water’ feels like flying, the vocal sampling in ‘father’ is second to none, and the guitar on ‘06’ wayne rooney’ has the same energy as any of the emo greats. Black British Music (2025) is a heady mix of uk rap & rnb, afrobeat and the aforementioned emo, this uniqueness may not stay unique for long. – Mia Thunderska
28: Calva Louise – Edge of the Abyss
Fervently pushing the boundaries of the heavy music community, with a release tipped to be their current creative peak due to their eclectic sonic mastery; the London based arty progressive metalcore trio and upcoming Noizzefest 2026 headliners Calva Louise, furthers the reach of their multidimensional cinematic universe with their fourth studio album, Edge of the Abyss. This latest passion project has cemented Calva Louise’s status as experimental pioneers in an industry dedicated to playing it safe. – Bennie Osborne
27: Combust – Belly of the Beast
NYHC has been shown off excellently by the latest LP from Combust. Blending styles from bands like Turnstile, Hatebreed, and OGs Gorilla Biscuits, it’s a celebration of everything good about hardcore in 2025 – all with a notably NYHC spin to it all. The dancey energy flows from every riff and fill, and is as much a love letter to the past as it is the sound of what we want to hear from hardcore for years to come. – Jasmine Longhurst
26: Crippling Alcoholism – CAMGIRL
Their sophomore album drew attention across the underground but CAMGIRL felt like Crippling Alcoholism’s breakout. With its grimy, sultry, pink neon-tinted neo-noir world, it’s hard to pin down where Crippling Alcoholism belong musically. Somewhere between noise rock, goth and glossy pop with influences spanning abstract jazz, mathcore or even Memphis trap; there’s something for everyone here and as disturbing as their universe can get, it’s undeniably seductive and clearly resonates with a broad variety of listeners. – Avrian O’Brien
25: Pile – Sunshine and Balance Beams
Pile returned this year with Sunshine and Balance Beams after a period of experimentation to prove their pedigree as one of the worlds most intriguing bands. Taking familiar noise and swathes of post-hardcore melancholy to devise a sound worthy of admiration. The gentle stampede in ‘An Opening’ to the somber pulse of ‘Bouncing in Blue’ saw them captivate audiences across their mammoth UK/EU at the end of the this year.
24: Drain – Is Your Friend
Some albums sound like the place they’re born, and Drain channel California straight into your speakers – sun, surfing, skating, and pure crossover thrash attitude. Now three albums deep, the trio refine everything they’ve done before and deliver it at their sharpest and most explosive. There’s zero excess here; every riff, shout, and breakdown is built for maximum impact. It feels purpose-engineered for chaos in the pit – a lean, mean, thrashing machine. – Huw Egginton
23: The Acacia Strain – You Are Safe From God Here
A band incapable of putting out a less than an 8/10 record, The Acacia Strain’s You Are Safe From God Here is a stunning, sludgy and punishing addition to their stellar discography, with some of 2025’s heaviest and most nihilistic moments thrown in for good measure. Real “Fuck the world” kinda music – Chris Earl
22: Vukovi – My God Has Got A Gun
Blending electronic and almost industrial-adjacent soundscapes with stadium-ready rock and the much needed resurgence of nu metal, Scottish duo VUKOVI’s fourth studio album is another heavy hitting and energetic affair that successfully showcases the powerhouse vocals of frontwoman Janine Shilstone and the impressive guitar chops of Hamish Reilly. Definitely whack this one on full blast during your next workout, or the next time you enter a boxing ring for maximum effect. – Ez Luscombe
21: Dying Wish – Flesh Stays Together
Originally emerging at the forefront of the ‘revivalcore’ movement, with Flesh Stays Together Dying Wish have moved fully beyond it into their own world. An album that reflects its creation and the world around it, there’s a bleak hopelessness and nihilism wound throughout that rages and rails against the dying of the light. ‘Revenge In Carnage’ snarls defiance, while there’s tender vulnerability in its opening track and ‘Nothing Like You’. Truly one of the best metalcore bands in the scene right now. – Will Marshall
20: We Lost The Sea – A Single Flower
With 2025 being the ten year anniversary of We Lost The Sea’s breakthrough album, Departure Songs, anticipation was high as to whether their new record could live up to it. Struth, did they deliver in heaps. With A Single Flower, the Aussie sextet put out a raw and intense magnum opus that unfolded across 70 plus minutes of the finest post-rock you’re ever likely to hear. From the tense and brooding opener of ‘If They Had Hearts’, to the sprawling 27-minute-long closer ‘Blood Will Have Blood’, A Single Flower ran the gamut of human emotion. And with it they staked their flag firmly in the post-rock landscape, showing they can stand as equals with genre’s heavyweights like Mogwai and Explosions In The Sky. A rare UK tour in 2026 will be one that’s not to be missed. – Adam Robertshaw
19: Believe In Nothing – Rot
The world in 2025 is a merciless and oppressive place, one where the remaining slivers of light are being absorbed by the powers that govern us. Believe In Nothing mirror this painfully with Rot. An oppressive and downright unpleasant record that unionises the misanthropy of Dragged Into Sunlight, the hostility of Nails and the inherent horror of Chat Pile, Rot is a putrid flow of noise-influenced sludge that’s just as darkly opaque as the future prospects of humanity should current trends continue. It’s an album utterly void of optimism or respite and a release just as horrific as the world that led to its painful birth. – Dan Hillier
18: Lakes – Slow Fade
Lakes joke that their first record was their math rock record. We stated their third was their post rock moment. Their fourth, Slow Fade, may not be either such things, but it’s certainly their most accomplished. Bound by genre fluidity, focused intricacy, well articulated emotion and a sense of much needed whimsy, Slow Fade see’s the Watford ‘glock-rock’ sextet tightening and bolstering all the parts that makes them one of the best names in UK emo whilst adding even new musical motifs. It’s a wonderful and calming record, a respite from the incessant chaos and bedlam that has defined this year. – Dan Hillier
17: Michael Cera Palin – We Could Be Brave
Building a dedicated fanbase over ten years and a pair of EPs, Atlanta based emotive punk trio Michael Cera Palin had the underground’s full attention in the lead up to their debut album We Could Be Brave. Elevating their previous work’s frantic energy with brutally honest lyricism and ambitious, unpredictable songwriting, We Could Be Brave lives up to its name with a fearless approach to deeply personal material. While tracks like ‘Feast Or Famine’ or ‘Wisteria’ carry on the sounds MCP have honed over the years, their debut album stretches their creative abilities on rapid punk tracks like ‘A Broken Face’ and more tender, poetic ones like ‘Crypto’ before building up to the bold and expressive twelve minute closing track, We Could Be Brave stands tall as one of the year’s most gripping releases. – Rowan Bruce
16: aya – Hexed!
Opening with sounds akin to ambient panic chords before falling into the depths of FM synthesis sound design, opening track ‘I am the pipe I hit myself with’ gives hexed! a strong, gripping opening hand. As indebted to the sounds of heavy music as it is to modern experimental sound design, hexed! drifts between its influences and contemporaries with ease. Past the club & live set igniting opening gambit (first single ‘off to the ESSO’ is another highlight, drawing you in to the recursive nights out that feel inescapable), the layers peel back and the drums become more sparse. Becoming less sonicly confrontational, the depth stays and draws you deeper in. title track ‘hexed!’ is eerie and uncomfortable in ways you wouldn’t have expected from the chorus of ‘the names of f****t chav boys’. hexed! is all encompassing, future facing, and will surely be influential to more than just its genre contemporaries. – Mia Thunderska
15: Agriculture – The Spiritual Sound
Black metal has always been known for its extremity – but what if that tendency was partnered with an outpouring of emotion, a copious selection of new sounds, and lyrics that cover topics like Buddhist teachings, stalking, and history? Then, you’d end up with a record that looks barmy on paper, and sounds utterly fantastic, in much the same vein as Agriculture’s The Spiritual Sound. Jumping wildly between soothing moments of vulnerability, and abrasive yet hypnotic freneticism, the four piece have managed to land on a sonic selection that anybody could find something to enjoy within, even whilst being centred on that most extreme of genres. Hats off to them for such an achievement as this. – Jasmine Longhurst
14: Soot Sprite – Wield Your Hope Like A Weapon
There’s a lot of ways to describe the debut LP from Soot Sprite. A long awaited debut that lives up to lofty expectations. An adept fusion of shoegaze and emo. But perhaps the most fitting way to summarise this record would be to call it one of the most resilient records of 2025. A body of work that encapsulates it’s namesake, Wield Your Hope Like A Weapon sees Soot Sprite boldly trying to hold and retain optimism and happiness in a world where such things are in scant supply. It’s not an upbeat record, far from it in fact, but it’s warming release inspires resistance against a world that’s insistent on beating us all into submission. – Dan Hillier
13: Igorrr – Amen
Got a crazy idea? Want to commit it to tape? Do what Igorrr do with their latest release Amen and hire a digger and smash it through a piano. Hit that cowbell in a stupidly obvious moment and yet it is hard AF and hilarious too. This band is ridiculous, their brains must be wired differently, and thank god for that. From operatic epics to breakcore beats, pieces of art such as ‘Headbutt’ and ‘Blastbeat Falafel’ will have you inspired to reach for that theremin your crazy Uncle bought you for Christmas in 2006. Every listen of Amen will confuse and delight more through its blend of death metal, baroque, and electronics. – Adam Vallely
12: clipping. – Dead Channel Sky
When hip-hop captures the attention of swathes of math-rock aficionados that wouldn’t mind this L.A. group to grace the fields of Fernhill Farm in August, you know there is substance and a musicality. This is weird, noisy, experimental, groove laden, dank goodness. ‘Mirrorshades pt.2’ is a certified floor filler with depth and darkness over an irresistible simple beat. ‘Change The Channel’ throws into a world of PS2 soundtracks or Cyberpunk 2077 with an intensity of battery acid running over your fingertips, then you have a track like ‘Keep Pushing’ which somehow will have you singing along about drug dealing. – Adam Vallely
11: Model/Actriz – Pirouette
With their second effort Pirouette the Brooklyn based dance-punk team present beauty and darkness through their music. The drama and eccentricity presented through tight electronics and beats accompanied by vocalist Cole Hayden’s fantastical delivery is “preciously sublime” (an appropriate lyric from the song ‘Cinderella’). The quartet appealing to the indie sleaze dance heads of the early 2000s and those who throw limbs at hardcore punk festivals and everyone in-between Regardless of your musical background, you can not help but move your hips to tracks like ‘Audience’ and ‘Doves’ but in the next breath sit and reflect to gentle nature of ‘Acid Rain’ or ‘Baton’. Priouette is a brilliant step up from their debut Dogsbody adding more strings to their bow. – Adam Vallely
10: Deftones – Private Music
After well over a decade, Deftones have found themselves recharged, reinvigorated, and come into a new era of popularity with their strongest late career record to date. Private Music is pure, no frills Deftones with those hulking riffs, Chino’s voice at the peak of his ability, and a low-key bravado that feels so effortlessly infectious. Where Private Music is different to the Ohhms and Gore, is in its energy and vibrancy. ‘Milk of the Madonna’ and ‘Dead Space’ are true latter day Deftones bangers, while tracks like ‘I Think About You All The Time’ provide that perfect lightweight counterpoint. Deftones have always been at their best when they’ve balanced the ethereal with the downright danceable, and Private Music has all of that in spades. – Kevin Ashburn
9: BRUIT ≤ – The Age of Ephemerality
The modern day music industry is a rigid game where artists are expected to comply with pre-defined rules. Your work must appeal to algorithms, it must be tailored for social media and it must be perceived as disposable commodity, not as art. Musicians are expected to repress the artistic instinct to meet such criteria. But BRUIT ≤ are the antithesis of all of this. The latest LP from the French instrumental collective, The Age of Ephemerality feels akin to a spearheaded refute against the sterile industrialism that’s adverse to BRUIT ≤’s experimental approach, one that rallies against the mass commercialisation of art with an urgency that’s palpable. Bound by borderline neo-classical flourishings, industrial motifs as oppressive as technocracy as a concept and a sense of experimentalism that denies it to be pigeonholed, The Age of Ephemerality is the sound of the resistance against all the Musks and Zuckerbergs of the world. A record as culturally crucial as it is musically brilliant. – Dan Hillier
8: The Armed – The Future Is Here and Everything Needs To Be Destroyed
The Detroit collective returned with a vengeance in 2025. The record’s title is not only a statement on the world but a statement on their approach to music. Genres? Laughable! This is a blend of everything that has come before, everything that is and everything that will be. Rooted in hardcore, but spat through various lenses into any willing listening participant. From the abrasion of ‘Grace Obscure’ and ‘A More Perfect Design’ to the poptastic ‘Sharp Teeth’, this army of musicians and their fellow guests, such as QOTSA’s Troy Van Leeuwen, never cease in their drive to push boundaries. Taking on arena stages with Biffy Clyro in January, it will be the next step in challenging people’s opinions in what music can be. – Adam Vallely
7: Orchards – Bicker
Brighton indie trio Orchards are back with another much-needed dose of intricate math pop; and with riffs that will get stuck in your head all day, and lyrical content that’s both upbeat yet deeply personal in equal measures, it’s very easy to see why Bicker has made such a lasting impression on us. From the self-doubting lyricism on lead single ‘I Feel Terrible’ that contrasts the electronic groove with chugging guitars beautifully, to the more minimalistic and atmospheric ‘Bethnal Green’ and everything in between with punky riffs, effectively modified vocals, and choruses that you just can’t help but sing along to, Orchards‘ second album feels like a permanent summer vacation that you never want to come home from. – Ez Luscombe
6: God Alone – The Beep Test
Cork party math lads God Alone have had a fantastic year in 2025 with yet another appearance at ArcTanGent, live dates with And So I Watch You From Afar and Brontide and of course the release of their sophomore LP The Beep Test. Throwing acts like Foals, Shellac, Oranssi Pazuzu and Talking Heads into a blender and chugging the result, God Alone embody the chaos of math rock like no other band. While their previous work has taken a deep dive into sounds borrowed from prog, black metal and post-hardcore, The Beep Test pushes their boundaries further into indie, noise and post-rock, even resulting in pop bangers like ‘Pink Himalayan’ and danceable beats on ‘Rubber Hands’. God Alone are ready to take you on a rapid-fire rocket through the alternative world’s lawless underbelly, please keep all hands and feet inside the ride at all times. – Rowan Bruce
5: Knives – Glitter
Planting their flag in the ground as one of this cursed island’s most exciting prospects, Knives emerged from an ever flourishing Bristol music scene. Taking clear influence from some of the biggest and best post-punk bands their city has birthed, but adding their own flavour. Hints of hip-hop through vocalist Jay Schottlander’s delivery and a sprinkling of nu-metal ruffage and groove. Always, (always!) more brass instrumentation should be welcomed too, with saxophone throughout. When lined up against the right riffs, those toots cut the right way, such as on ‘Public Juice’. This is an album full a brilliant chaos and reflects their high energy live performances. Supporting the likes of Ditz and Bob Vylan this year, we can not wait to have Knives sharpening the focus of the crowd at Noizzefest 2026. – Adam Vallely
4: Ethel Cain – Willoughby Tucker, I’ll Always Love You
It was nearly impossible to escape the phenomenon that is Ethel Cain this year, largely due to the release of her EP Perverts in January and her second album, Willoughby Tucker, I’ll Always Love You in June. For those not up to date with the Ethel lore, Willoughby Tucker is a prequel to her debut album, Preacher’s Daughter. It explores teenage love (‘Tempest’, ‘A Knock at the Door’ and ‘Waco, Texas’), resentment (‘Nettles’, ‘Dust Bowl’, ‘Fuck Me Eyes’) and desire (the two instrumental interludes). Ethel Cain delivered a major tour de force with this record, where Americana, shoegaze, bedroom pop and even heavy drone and goth are part of the cinematic fantasy we all fall into when we were young, dumb and full of melancholy. 2025 was the year of the revival of nostalgia-core, and Ethel Cain’s near-perfect impersonation shows that sometimes what really matters is substance and brutal honesty. A brilliant album through and through. – Nessie Spencer
3: Conjurer – Unself
Already regarded as one of the best bands in the country, Conjurer spent 2025 taking themselves up to a completely new level entirely. Unself isn’t just any other record though. It’s a testament to discovering your personal identity, a forlorn look at how the world is unsuitable for the marginalised, and a violent plea for change and acceptance. The growth of front person Dani Nightingale as a guitarist, lyricist, and vocalist is the beating heart of Unself, and that personal journey laid bare has no doubt paved a whole new road for the midlands sludge metallers going forward. On top of all that? Riffs for days, a razor sharp production. Modern metal that is inherently human and not delivered by a machine. Conjurer are priming themselves to take the crown as not just the best metal band in the UK, but possibly anywhere. – Kevin Ashburn
2: Deafheaven – Lonely People With Power
In time, it will be said that Lonely People With Power is Deafheaven’s magnum opus. While Sunbather laid the foundations over a decade ago, and sprung up a whole raft of soundalikes, there has only ever been one Deafheaven who have consistently forged on with their own unique identity. Where Lonely People With Power tops their catalogue is in its ability to be the very best of everything Deafheaven have tried their hand at, blended together smoothly, seamlessly, and with an effervescent vitality that no other band making black metal rooted music could achieve. Violent, heartbreaking, and truly monumental in scope, Lonely People With Power is another world beater from a band who make nothing but world beaters, and deserve to be talked about with the same reverence as those in the upper echelons of metal. – Kevin Ashburn
The Album Of The Year: The Callous Daoboys – I Don’t Want To See You In Heaven
Wake up babe, The Callous Daoboys dropped the hottest record of the year, and it isn’t hard to see why. When bands like Turnstile and IDLES are taking over arenas, this Atlanta troupe is stealing people’s hearts. In the current musical climate where we are not 15 any more, and it is actually OK to love riffs and a chorus, The Callous Daoboys feed every fantasy with their multi layered and chaotic approach to songwriting. Whether it is the floating beauty of ‘Body Horror for Birds’ or the tearing of a new asshole in ‘Full Moon Guidance” they have you covered. They also manage to force multiple delicious flavours of ice cream down your throat in individual songs. The flip from bubble gum pop to Rated R heaviness in ‘Two-Headed Trout’ or the head kicking in ‘Idiot Temptation Force’ that turns into horn backed disco booty shaking, everything goes down a treat. Let’s not forget about the Justin Timberlake-esque ‘Lemon’ and the many Fall Out Boy and Enter Shikari influences flowing throughout.
The Callous Daoboys, along with others in our list this year, continue to change the way ‘heavy music’ should be written and interpreted, yet still make it a god-damn party. More importantly for vocalist Carson Pace and his fellow Daoboys it is time for personal reflection, talking about personal journeys and struggles. Regardless of how you interpret this record and the band, it is an essential listen and will stand the test of time living up to, if not surpassing, those they take influence from. – Adam Vallely