2025: Review of the Year and 50 Outstanding Songs

Written: 27th December 2025

There was much to celebrate in the world of music during 2025: veteran artists that produced some of their best music for some time; up and coming bands that took the next vital step on their journey; and brand new bands releasing music for the first time. 2025 has been the second full year that I have been writing this website and it has continued to be most enjoyable. I have been lucky enough to receive many albums in advance of release, interview some truly remarkable and fascinating musicians and receive some lovely feedback from readers and bands. Being a fan of many of the bands and indeed rock and metal in general, I am very grateful for the opportunities I have had. Thank you all for your support during the past year.

Note: any of the links below lead to my reviews from earlier in the year.

Seasoned Masters and New Voices

During 2025, several legacy bands have released and given us some excellent new music. Testament showed us why they deserve to be considered as one of the most consistent thrash metal bands of all time. With Ascension, Paradise Lost captured all the best aspects of their sound on an album that was praised by critics and fans alike. Warbringer returned with their first album in five years, Wrath and Ruin being a contender for their best ever. One of the most pleasant surprises of the year was the return of Coroner and their highly regarded album Dissonance Theory - their first in over thirty years - which blended classic sounds and modern production. Also releasing albums well worth your time were The Great Old Ones, Lacuna Coil, Grima, Behemoth, Kataonia, AVKRVST, Between The Buried and Me, Bones Park Rider and Azell.

Elsewhere in the world of metal, Whitechapel gave us the wonderfully ferocious Hymns in Dissonance complete with a stunning vocal performance by Phil Bozeman. Other extreme metal releases that made an impact on me included Hideous Aftermath by death metallers Sanguisugabogg - their most accomplished album to date and New Gods, New Masters by Revocation.

In progressive rock circles, the ever prolific Steve Hackett released two completely contrasting live albums (Live Magic at Trading Boundaries and The Lamb Stands Up Live at the Royal Albert Hall) and Norway's Gazpacho continued their excellent form with Magic 8-Ball.

Instrumental albums continued to form a good part of my listening. Marillion's Steve Rothery joined forces with Tangerine Dream's Thortsen Quaeschning on their fascinating Bioscope project. As a fan of both bands, this was a long awaited project and I thoroughly enjoyed the result. Two albums by cellists - Notan by Jo Quail and Lifeblood by Raphael Weinroth-Browne - showcased just how creative musicians can be with both albums fearlessly blending genres. Pianist Gleb Kolyadin's Mobula received many plays here at Hotel Hobbies and Matt Goodluck's Portals displayed his love of Tangerine Dream and Vangelis. Continuing his recent run of releases, Nine Stones Close guitarist Adrian Jones joined forces with Brendan Eyre for a project entitled Deforestation for an immersive, resonant and deeply human journey on 50 Days of Rain.

With regard to up and coming bands, King Kraken continued to make their increasing presence known with their second album - the titanic March of the Gods - and celebrated this with the opening slot at Stonedead Festival. Puppet Cell returned - also with second release - and it is wonderful news that they plan to continue with a new vocalist after it appearing for some time that this might be the last we hear from them. New bands Fireheart and Greyfox Conspiracy released their debut EP and album respectively.

My favourite album of the year was The Immortal by the ever reliable In Mourning. For a full rundown of my Top 40 Albums of 2025 and Top Ten EPs of 2025 click the relevant link.

Concerts

Attending live shows continues to be an enjoyable experience and there were several superb shows I witnessed during the past year including some artists I have been following for close to forty years.

Iron Maiden's biggest headline show to date at their homecoming in East London was a truly incredible performance with a setlist rammed full of classics.

The most emotional gig I attended was Fish's farewell tour in the place where it all began for him: Aylesbury. I do not mind admitting that as the show began with Vigil, goosebumps raised on my arms and a tear formed in my eye.

A fantastic Black Metal line-up descended on Brixton in London in April with Behemoth, Satyricon and Rotting Christ all delivering terrific sets. Ghost were thoroughly entertaining and backed the theatrics up with a raft of amazing songs. Nordic Folk band Wardruna continue to mesmerise in the live arena and cellist Jo Quail provided a beguiling support slot. Disturbed and Megadeth (with the latter sounding the best I have heard them in years) enraptured the O2 in London in October, as did Architects earlier in the same month.

Stonedead Festival remains my favourite, and the organisers and volunteers deserve immense praise for delivering a brilliantly organised event with a stellar line-up, a warm and welcoming atmosphere, and unbeatable value for money – truly a highlight of the year! I look forward to attending again in 2026.

Interviews

Once again, it was a privilege to have the opportunity to conduct interviews with some gifted and fascinating artists, whose perspectives were as interesting as their music. It was a particular honour to speak with one of my musical heroes Steve Rothery who was as engaging and down to earth as he has always been.

Three other bands I have followed for many years are Gazpacho, Katatonia and In Mourning and it was an absolute treat to be able to interview members of each band. I look forward to seeing Gazpacho and In Mourning live again in 2026 having seen Katatonia just a few weeks ago. Covering a wide range of bands, I also interviewed Steve Wiener of genre-blending black metal band Am I In Trouble?, four members of Puppet Cell, cellists Jo Quail and Raphael Weinroth-Browne, pianist Gleb Kolyadin and Martin Kennedy of All India Radio.

Two bands that I am sure are destined for bigger things are King Kraken and Empyre. Mark and Richard of King Kraken were great fun to speak with and I had a great time speaking with Henrik of Empyre about the band's origins and their great relationship with their fans.

In a completely different type of interview, it was extremely illuminating to speak with artists Mark Wilkinson and Eliran Kantor whose work I have admired for many years on the covers of some of my favourite albums.

Every artist I interviewed shared their thoughts with openness and generosity, and it was clear how much they valued the genuine interest in their music. I am excited to do more interviews in 2026.

In Memoriam

Every year brings losses in music, but 2025 has been particularly hard for rock and metal fans. The death of Ozzy Osbourne in July was the most significant. Only weeks earlier he was on stage in Birmingham for the Back to the Beginning concert with Black Sabbath, a performance that felt like a final gift to the fans. At seventy-six, Ozzy’s departure marks the farewell to a figure who helped shape heavy metal from its earliest days. His voice and presence defined the genre and influenced generations.

In December, Chris Rea left us at seventy-four after a short illness. His blend of rock and blues carried a depth that spoke to many. Songs such as The Road to Hell and Driving Home for Christmas remain part of the cultural fabric. His guitar tone and understated style gave his work a timeless quality.

2025 also brought the loss of Aaron Rossi, whose drumming drove Prong and Ministry with precision and force; Coburn Pharr, remembered for his vocals on Annihilator’s Never, Neverland; Les Binks, whose work with Judas Priest helped shape their early sound; and Clem Burke of Blondie, a drummer whose style reached far beyond punk.

Also passing away this year was Brian Montana of Possessed who was part of the foundation of death metal; Daniel Williams, known for his role in The Devil Wears Prada, brought energy and creativity to metalcore; Mick Ralphs, whose guitar work powered Mott the Hoople and Bad Company, wrote riffs that became classics; and Paul Day, the original singer for Iron Maiden, remains part of the band’s origin story. Tomas Lindberg’s death was a shock to the melodic death metal community - his work with At the Gates gave the genre its identity and depth and Thomas Klein of Warrant, part of the glam metal era, added his own chapter to that scene.

Songs

It would be impossible to count how many songs I have heard this year, yet almost every album or EP I play has one or two tracks that gradually become favourites. Below is a selection of fifty songs from 2025 arranged alphabetically by artist, chosen to reflect the range of rock and metal styles I enjoy.

Some of these tracks also appear on my Top 40 Albums or Top 10 EPs of the year while others have been included to provide variety by highlighting a different song from the same release. The list features standalone singles, tracks from albums that did not make my final forty and songs I have enjoyed but not had the time to fully absorb the album from which they are taken. Each artist is represented by one track only.

At the end of the list, there is a link to a Spotify playlist featuring these songs - I have chosen fifty songs that are available here. However, if you discover something you like, I recommend visiting the bands’ official sites or Bandcamp pages to purchase their music.

Absolva – Justice

Don Airey – Godz of War

Allegaeon – Wake Circling Above

All India Radio – The Red Room

Am I In Trouble? – Black

Architects – Elegy

AVKRVST – Waving At The Sky

Azell – The Crumbling Facade

Behemoth – The Shadow Elite

Between The Buried and Me – The Blue Nowhere

Bioscope – Vanishing Point (Parts I - III)

Bones Park Rider – October

Coroner – Symmetry

Cosmic Cathedral – The Heart of Life

Deafheaven – Doberman

Dream Theater - Bend The Clock

Fireheart – Wild Hearts; Wild Nights…

Gazpacho – Gingerbread Men

Ghost – Umbra

Matt Goodluck – Shifting Sands

Greyfox Conspiracy – Preacherman

The Great Old Ones – Leng

Marko Hietala – Two Soldiers

Jonathan Hultén – Afterlife

In Mourning – North Star

Katatonia – Lilac

Killswitch Engage – I Believe

King Kraken – Hero

Gleb Kolyadin – Radiant

Lacuna Coil – Sleepless Empire

Moon Halo – Empires Burning

Omnium Gatherum – The Last Hero

Paradise Lost – The Precipice

Pearl Handled Revolver – Black Rock

Puppet Cell – Hotel Death’s Door

Jo Quail – Butterfly Dance

Revocation – Buried Epoch

Rivers of Nihil - The Logical End

Sanguisugabogg – Rotted Entanglement

Savage Lands – Visions of Life

Gianni Scaleri and The Jury – Flip The Script

Sever Red – One More Time

Testament – For The Love of Pain

Those Damn Crows – Still

Underking – King Under The Mountain

Ward XVI – Blood Is The New Black

Wardruna – Lyfjaberg

Warbringer – Through A Glass, Darkly

Raphael Weinroth-Browne – Pyre

Whitechapel – Mammoth God