THINGS YOU MAY HAVE MISSED (BUT SHOULDN’T)

We might be in a new year… in fact, I’m pretty sure we are… but that doesn’t mean we can leave 2025 behind without one last look at a few releases that might have flown under the radar.

Of course, you may also want to check out my extensive, five-part year-end assessment to find even more stuff to check out before 2026 really kicks into gear (and to help you out I’ve provided the relevant links below):

• 2025 – A YEAR IN REVIEW(S): SHORT BUT SWEET
• 2025 – A YEAR IN REVIEW(S): THE GOOD
• 2025 – A YEAR IN REVIEW(S): THE GREAT
• 2025 – A YEAR IN REVIEW(S): THE CRITICAL TOP TEN
• 2025 – A YEAR IN REVIEW(S): THE PERSONAL TOP TEN

But before you do, make sure to give each of these artists/albums – which collectively cover a pretty good swathe of styles and genres – a chance, as you might just like what you hear!

ABSTRACTYSS – OMNIPRESENT MISANTHROPY

Sometimes you’ll listen to a band and find yourself thinking “I can’t believe they’re not Canadian!”

Of course, Abstractyss are actually a German band who put out their first album way back in 2017, but the Cryptopsy and Beneath the Massacre vibes permeating Omnipresent Misanthropy (which, confusingly, was originally released on vinyl back in August but only made it to digital last month) are so strong that you’d be forgiven for thinking that the Bavarian quintet were from Quebec instead.

And while the band aren’t reinventing the wheel here by any means – hence the above comparisons to their Canadian cousins – I have no doubt that moments like the blasting surge ‘n’ purge of “Assimilated Deformity” or the shredding sweep ‘n’ stomp of “The Tantalos Grudge” (the album’s impressive opening pair) will receive a lot of love from anyone who prefers their Death Metal to straddle the Brutal/Technical boundary.

For me, however, the best parts of Omnipresent Misanthropy come when they marry this techy brutalism with a serious sense of neck-wrecking groove that owes as much to latter-day Cannibal Corpse as it does Deeds of Flesh, with the lurching, lumbering hooks of “Palingenesis” and the jagged, bone-jarring contortions of “Inevitable Damnation” in particular showcasing a catchier (albeit still absolutely crushing) side of the band.

Not only that but… whisper it… there’s even the occasional flirtation with mood-enhancing melody (especially during the Abysmal Dawn-esque strains of “Omnipresent Misanthropy”) which makes me think that there’s more to Abstractyss than initially meets the eye (or ear).

That being said, I hope they never lose their primary focus on delivering unyielding sonic punishment, whatever form that may take, as tracks like the gut-wrenching ground ‘n’ pound of “Anthropogenic Extinction” and the dissonantly infectious bludgeoning of “Blasphemous Messiah” (which might just be my favourite track on the entire album) provide some of the heaviest hits of the year.

CATHARSIS – HOPE AGAINST HOPE

2025 brought us many excellent comebacks, that’s for sure, but somehow I didn’t hear about the killer comeback from legendary underground Crust crew Catharsis (26 years on from 1999’s Passion) until the end of the year.

And while it’s clear that the Catharsis of 2025 still holds the same ideals as the Catharsis of 1999 – practicing, not just preaching, the tenets of Hardcore as a musical movement focussed on solidarity and selfless action, rather than performative machismo and petty tribalism – it doesn’t take long for the electrifying, and aptly-named, “Power” to demonstrate how much the band have grown both as people and as artists.

Whether that’s the epic, “Post-Crust” leanings of the aforementioned “Power” – whose punky riffs and punchy drums are augmented by the addition of some heartwrenching clean vocals and haunting ambient passages (the latter of which they’ve at least flirted with before) – the captivating contrast between chugging guitars and weeping violin on “Gone to Croatoan”, or the simmering atmospherics burning at the heart of “Embers”, there’s no question that the band (who were never shy about experimenting to begin with) have returned to the fray with no lack of new ideas (and, with lines like “Through paradise poisoned, through paradise sold / The hellbound plunge hellward ensanguined in gold“, no lack of lyrical inspiration either).

If you’re worried they might have gone soft, however… don’t be. After all, while “Eremocene” might flirt with some sombre acoustic guitar, it also features some absolutely massive, booming riffs (reminiscent, as is much of the album, of Zao‘s The Crimson Corridor), while the cleverly contorted melodic hooks of “We Live” are backed by a sense of vibrant energy and visceral intensity which you could easily mistake for belonging to a much younger band.

Sure, I’d have liked maybe one more big ‘n’ bold, 5-6 minute track to close the record even more triumphantly (which is not a criticism of “Last Words”, by any means) but as far as “comebacks” go, Hope Against Hope is right up there with the best of them.

DEVIL CITY CULT – MURDEROUS RETRIBUTION

With only one EP to their name thus far (which we covered back in 2020) the Spanish Black Metal Punks who go by the name Devil City Cult may not be a household name, but they’ve definitely got what it takes to win over listeners who already consider themselves fans of the likes of Watain or Woe (who, FYI, just dropped a killer new version of Legacies of Frailty), or who are looking for something to fill that Young and in the Way shaped hole in their hearts.

Lean, mean, and ready to hear you scream, songs like “Fugitivus” and “Malum In Se” waste no time in cutting loose with a barrage of spiky, spiteful tremolo lines and rapid-fire kick drums, all topped off with some lethally infectious lead melodies (especially during the choruses) and snarling, throat-scarring vocals, while even heavier cuts (such as the punishing “The World Is Over” and the hammering “Knives Out”) practically beat you over the head with an array of bristling blastbeats and gritty, pounding guitars (plus the occasional shredding solo).

Don’t get me wrong, the band still find space for at least a little bit of nuance here and there – the clean vocals in “Midnight Butcher” (which also make a few other, slightly more subdued, appearances elsewhere on the album) are a nice touch – and definitely aren’t afraid of a bit of chunky, churning groove (songs like “The Hangman” and beefy, bass-heavy late-album highlight “Macabre” are proof of that) or a dash of merciless melody (honestly, the lead guitar work plays a major role in elevating these songs even further), but for the most part Murderous Retribution is all about, well… murder and retribution.

As a matter of fact, by the end of the album the band’s unwavering focus on negativity and nihilism (not that these are new things in the world of Black Metal by any means) was putting me more and more in mind of the “negative Hardcore” of Gehenna (the “infamous” one, obviously)… and while they’re not quite on that level just yet, let’s just say that Devil City Cult seem to have all the tools necessary to carve their own mark on the scene.

ERODE – DEVOUT

Look, there’s heavy… and then there’s Devout, the debut album from Baltimore-based bruisers Erode.

Short, savage, and utterly unforgiving, it’s eight tracks of ugly, chunky guitars and harsh, howling vocals that straddle the nexus point between Hardcore, Death Metal, and Grind in a manner reminiscent of the likes of END, Tribal Gaze, and Underneath.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s also pretty damn catchy – albeit in a concussive, cro-magnon sort of way – and the occasional switch-up into a gargantuan, grime-soaked groove (primitive, punk-metal anthem “Middle Heaven” being a prime example) will absolutely get your neck moving of its own accord, but the primary focus, and the real name of the game here, is brute force and ignorance (in the best possible way),

Hell, even the occasional touch of ominous, atmosphere-enhancing melody (such as during brutish, booming opener “Immoral Flaw” or chugging, chattering mid-album highlight “As Rain Pours”) just reinforces how stunningly, stupidly heavy the rest of the band’s sound is, with the raw intensity of the likes of “Fever Dream” and “No Sacrifice” – thrashing and smashing and dropping some of the most bone-crushing breakdowns you’re likely to have heard all year – being absolutely second to none.

I’ll grant you that the breakneck brevity of the record stretches the term “album” a little – not that there’s anything wrong with keeping things as stripped-down as possible, but if you’re going to throw a bunch of frenzied, barely 1 minute long Death-Grind crushers like “Devout”, “Suture”, and “Coiled” at the listener (where the drums in particular constantly feel like they’re going to fly apart in an explosion of broken limbs) it probably wouldn’t hurt to add a few more to flesh things out – but there’s no question that Devout is all killer, and no filler, no matter what you call it.

HIEROPHANY – TENEBRARIO

One of the best Black Metal albums of last yearwas released on 12 December last year, meaning that I didn’t have time to get into it properly before publishing my big end-of-year round-up.

Rest assured, however, that if I’d managed to wrap my ears around Tenebrario (the new album from Hierophany, formerly known as Black Hate) sooner it definitely would have wound up on my “Great” list.

Featuring one of the most vibrant and visceral vocal performances of the entire Black Metal scene in 2025 – equal parts dramatic and dynamic in the way it addresses the mystical aspects of Catholicism, all blood and flesh and ritualistic sacrifice – while also expressing a love of malevolent melody and gloomy-shrouded atmosphere which borders on the reverential, these five tracks (plus one unexpectedly expansive soundscape) are perfect for fans of bands like Deadspace, Dødsengel, and Panzerfaust (the latter especially).

At the same time, however, Tenebrario clearly possesses its own distinctive vibe and voice, both due to its ever-present melodic, almost mythic, aura – which immediately makes itself known during the brooding beginning of opener “Ars Moriendi”, but is just as apparent throughout the rest of the song as it is during the rest of the record (such as the devilishly infectious, and demonically intense, “Vigilae Mortuorum”) – and its willingness to dive even deeper into the atmospheric abyss when the occasion calls for it (as it does during the absolutely menacing mid-section of “Communio Mortis”, one of the best Black Metal tracks of last year, no question).

Add to this the album’s willingness to experiment with more esoteric elements – not just the ritualistic vibrations of “Oficio de Tinieblas” but also the sinister, ceremonial introduction to “Beyond the Sacred” – and its ability to incorporate an array of killer, and unashamedly catchy, riffs (the closing title-track is absolutely full of them) into the mix without sacrificing its more epic and creative ambitions, and what you’re left with is an album more than capable of going toe-to-toe, and blow-for-blow, with the very best that 2025 had to offer.

IRREVERSIBLE MECHANISM – GRAVIANT

Hoo boy… people were mad about this one.

After all, whenever a band changes their sound this drastically – in this case switching from the ultra-precise, OTT “Hyper Tech” of their first two albums to a more nuanced and proggy style (heavy on the Tool-isms but with a subtle, Fallujah-esque “Post” Tech Death flair in places) replete with a more textured and restrained riffing approach (albeit with moments of electric, elastic heaviness on songs like “Parasite Paradise” where the band’s roots still show a little) and crooning, charismatic clean vocals – it’s bound to upset a few people.

The thing is, while I can understand this – I don’t think a band’s fanbase is required to like everything they do, especially if they change so drastically that it almost sounds like an entirely new band – I happen to really like what Irreversible Mechanism (whose line-up on this album includes long-running guitar duo Vladislav Nekrash and Andrey Parmon alongside new vocalist Pavel Vilchitsky, plus a guest appearance on drums from the one and only Baard Kolstad) have done here.

Highlights, if you’re willing to give them a chance, include the vibrant, clean-sung vocals, densely-layered guitar grooves and shimmering atmospherics of “Nocturnal Light” – which introduces the band’s new sound with an impressive amount of confidence, challenging the listener to engage and immerse themselves in the new way of doing things right from the start – and the enigmatic, ambient slow-burn of “Rituals” (which couldn’t be further from the group’s previous sound if it tried) and “Cost”, as well as the aforementioned “Parasite Paradise”.

And while this means the album is a little front-loaded (the back half does get a little same-y), unpredictably proggy, and intriguingly heavy/hooky closer “Croc Hunter” thankfully ends things on a much more promising note, suggesting that whatever the band do next – while probably not a return to the sound of their first two albums – they’re more than likely going to build something even better based on the foundation established here.