LISTMANIA 2025: A YEAR-END LIST FROM TODD MANNING

(2025 marks the 10th year Todd Manning has been writing with us, and we’re grateful he has stayed with NCS for so long. Below you’ll find his un-ranked list of this year’s best albums (12 of them), plus lists of EPs, “metal adjacent” records, and reissue spotlights.)

Every year I am lucky enough to do this year-end round-up, I typically lament the state of the world, drawing some sort of parallel between the bleak state of affairs and the content of the music consumed. While all that remains true, I’m going to start on a more positive note.

This year, I’ve been able to more deeply engage with all the music that I love, to take refuge in these wonderful music scenes. I got to join a band I was already a fan of (Blasted Heath), do a short tour, and release some material from my noise project (Towers Burning Water). I also just got to hear so much more new music this year than I had in the past couple of years. It was a challenge to narrow this list down and to keep this article at something resembling a reasonable length. I always write this round-up the way I like to consume similar lists of others, a way to gorge on music I missed. Please enjoy…

 

Tombs- Feral Darkness

Tombs have been at this a while now and they continue to hone their blend of black metal and epic sludge, forging a tone appropriate to the apocalypse. All their releases are good and Feral Darkness is one of their best.

Feral Darkness | Tombs

 

Runemagick- Cycle of the Dying Sun (Dawn of Ashen Realms)

Runemagick’s brand of death/doom draws heavy inspiration from Celtic Frost but mines a vein of atmosphere and mysticism that is unique to them. No one sounds quite like Runemagick, even if it is hard to put your finger on why.

Cycle Of The Dying Sun (Dawn Of Ashen Realms) | RUNEMAGICK

 

Gruesome- Silent Echoes

While most bands try to emphasize their unique sonic identity, whether they truly possess one or not, Gruesome takes a different approach, professing a profound love and inspiration from Death. Silent Echoes is an explicit emulation of Human, and a passionate tribute to the drumming of Sean Reinert. A lot of people criticized the album for its lack of originality, but I find it to be a great set of songs, not meant to replace Human but to honor it.

Silent Echoes | Gruesome

 

Qrixkour- The Womb of the World

Portal meets Deathspell Omega dissonance is the name of the game here and they do it better than most. But what really sets this apart are the orchestral elements that are woven in throughout the album. Usually when others try this it sounds out of place, but here those elements sound natural to the atmosphere, creating a horrific atmosphere.

The Womb of the World | QRIXKUOR

 

Atomic Witch- Death Etiquette

It’s clear that Cleveland’s Atomic Witch loves metal, all metal. There’s an old school classic metal to Death Etiquette, but there’s heaps of Bay Area thrash, death metal, and even some Accused-style crossover all over this, all melded into great, memorable songs.

Death Etiquette | Atomic Witch

 

Katatonia- Nightmares as Extensions of the Waking State

Let me be the first to admit I never really “got” Katatonia, maybe with the exception of Brave Murder Day. But Nightmares as Extensions of the Waking State changed all that. Checking it out on a whim, everything clicked. Not only did I embrace this fantastic album, but I also revisited their back catalog and found a lot to love.

Nightmares as Extensions of the Waking State | Katatonia

 

Imperial Triumphant- Goldstar

Imperial Triumphant is a consistent element of my year-end lists. Goldstar is no exception. With this album, they streamlined their sound just a bit but without compromising the brutality or experimentation.

Goldstar (24-bit HD audio) | Imperial Triumphant

 

Sallow Moth- Mothbane Lantern

It’s hard to believe Sallow Moth is really the vision of one man, Garry Brents. The technicality on display is truly astonishing, but it serves the feel of this concept-driven project. Once again, Chuck Schuldiner’s shadow looms large, but this is not a tribute like Gruesome, but an ambitious foray into unimaginable territories.

Mossbane Lantern | Sallow Moth

 

Final Dose- Under the Eternal Shadow

There’s been a lot of progressive, technical metal on this list so far, so it’s time for something more savage. London’s Final Dose excel in punk-fueled black metal madness. Sure, there’s moments that reveal a little dungeon synth and folk influence, but the undeniable bulk of this is nasty, violent black metal.

Under the Eternal Shadow | Final Dose

 

Lychgate- Precipice

With a release date of December 19th, this one snuck in at the last moment. But everytime Lychgate does a record it has a spot in my year-end list. Extremely heavy gothic doom intermingled with Emperor-esqe black metal, and I swear a little tech thrash influence as well (more in the riffs than the drumming). A masterpiece, as heavy as it is atmospheric.

Precipice | Lychgate

 

Rwake- The Return of Magik

Man, so glad to have this amazing band back after 13 years. Progressive sludge full of occult, southern vibes, psychedelic and mind expanding. This release is an epic journey that should be experienced without distraction.

The Return Of Magik | Rwake

 

Agriculture- The Spiritual Sound

For better or for worse, the most hyped records of the year tend not to have a big impact on me. This year is different. I’m sure black metal purists are sick of hearing about Agriculture, but honestly this is a fantastic record. At turns violent and feral, and then beautiful and poignant. While I’m not sure if I’d call it black metal, I would call it the album of the year.

 The Spiritual Sound | Agriculture

 

EP’s

1. Unholy Altar- A Sullen Dark Sky
2. Flesher- Gore on Gore
3. Homeskin- Soul Washed Bleach
4. Crypt Sermon- Saturnian Appendices
5. Slough Feg- Traveller Supplement 1: The Ephemeral Glades

Metal Adjacent

Many of us only make a minor distinction between metal and other underground genres so here’s a quick bit for us. Iron Lung Records has been the kings of crust, d-beat, and grind for a while now, and they are still killing it, especially with the new full-length from their namesake grind duo Iron Lung. Youth Attack Records has seemingly come back from the dead and released some of the most violent and feral hardcore I’ve ever heard.  City Hunter, Cadaver Dog, Mangled State, and more take hardcore to war metal levels of intensity. Brainrotter Records also killed it with tons of lo-fi, fast, and nasty hardcore from the likes of Total Con, Burial Plot, and others.

Wenches hit us with Stupid Sick, a perfect representation of their punk and roll style, MC5 meets AC/DC. Shrinkwrap Killers released Feed the Clones Pt. 2, sounding like Devo if they lived at Charles Manson’s Spahn Ranch. Deaf Club raised a middle finger to the status quo with We Demand a Permanent State of Happiness. Panopticon gave us a stunning acoustic album of dark folk with Laurentian Blue. Finally, Watch It Die by Home Front might be my overall album of the year. I can’t get enough of their blend of punk and synth-driven new wave out of my head.

Reissues

This is the first year I really paid attention to the reissue scene, but there was definitely some noteworthy stuff going on. Sticking with the metal adjacent things just a bit longer, Skin Graft Records reissued Dazzling Killmen’s Dig Out the Switch and U.S. Maple’s Long Hair in Three Stages while Spartan Records reissued Season to Risk’s In A Perfect World. These are three of the best noise rock records ever and if you’re into that kind of thing definitely worth your attention. Also, archival label The Numero Group added a lot of Antioch Arrow onto streaming services in anticipation of physical releases.

Now, getting back to metal, I honestly thought Satanica was the only Behemoth album I really cared for, but Metal Blade showed that Pandemonic Incantations was also great. This was where their black and death really started to mix together. Kamelot also reissued several of their early releases. While I have never cared much for them, these slightly grittier early albums like Dominion and Siege Perilous are more my style. A lot thrashier and less polished, somewhat reminiscent of Queensrÿche.

Relapse Records reissued Wolves in the Throne Room’s 2005 Demo and it might be my favorite release of theirs. Roar! Records reissued three of Hexenhaus’s records. I always thought The Edge of Eternity was brilliant, with its blend of progressive metal and technical thrash.

Finally, since I figure most metal heads are also Pink Floyd fans, I must mention the reissue of Live in Pompeii. Remastered by Steven Wilson (Porcupine Tree), this audio and video reissue is pretty damn amazing.

The Yearly Stats

 I listened to 289 new releases this year, up substantially from last year’s 139. I am so glad I was able to dig back into music after a couple of off years and it’s something I hope to continue moving forward.