Starting my 2025 music catch-up
Feb. 28th, 2026 06:18 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
lucymonsterHere's a life hack for time-poor music fans. If you ignore all new releases within your chosen genre for an entire calendar year, then you get to read a whole bunch of Album of the Year lists at your convenience and listen to ONLY the best stuff.
Which is to say: I have a couple more music recs that aren't, like, hrr grr arrgh blargh Satan! Recs that have maybe a passing chance of appealing to the majority of you who aren't into extreme metal! I also have some recs that probably only Zook and Liriaen and Kimara should even bother glancing at, let alone listening to if they haven't already, but I'll stick those at the bottom of the post. Because it seems like a lot of the best "metal" of 2025 was actually quite mild and accessible, or even just straight up crossover stuff that wasn't really metal at all but appealed to a lot of metalheads for its dark ambiance and experimentality.
Album recs, normal person edition
The Spin by Messa: Smoky, jazzy female vocals over a goth-tinged canvas of reverb-heavy guitar and driving beats. I don't think I've found a single AotY list in my whole search that did not include this album in the top couple of spots. Technically it's doom metal but I really don't think you need to be a doom metal fan, or a metal fan in general, to appreciate this; it's just gorgeous.
Here, have a music video! It's more aesthetic than riveting, but it does feature the extremely attractive singer on a motorbike and is a good representative sample of the album. If you bounce off this song, there's nothing here for you; if you like it, oh boy do you have a treat coming with the rest of the album. <3
Camgirl by Crippling Alcoholism: I honestly have no idea what to call this. It's not metal, though metalheads have been loving it; it's too heavy to be post-punk or goth rock or synthwave, but it has elements of all of them. It's dark and dreamy and wonderful and I have listened to it so many times in the last few days. (Disclaimer: this is a concept album about a sex worker, and I can only make out about half of the lyrics. Quite possibly it's sympathetic and thoughtful? I'm choosing to hear it as sympathetic and thoughtful. But I can't rule out the presence of bigoted shit in the less intelligible parts, and I haven't bothered to listen to any band interviews about the inspiration behind the album, so I cannot in good faith vouch for them as anything other than auditorily enjoyable.)
There might be more coming; in particular, there are new albums by Ainsoph and Calva Louise that come highly recommended and based on their first couple of tracks have a lot of promise, but I haven't found time to give them a full listen yet. But I honestly just want to spend a while listening to The Spin and Camgirl on repeat before I delve into anything else. They're SO GOOD.
Album recs, hrr grr argh Satan edition
Scapulimancy by Hedonist: This is fantastically fun, catchy, filthy death metal with brutal vocals and chugging Bolt Thrower-esque riffs. It's not an album that prompts any sophisticated or nuanced response in me whatsoever; it's an album that scoops the thoughts out of my brain and replaces them with nothing but primitive satisfaction. I don't headbang but this band makes me want to. Just. FUCK yes.
Heritage by Structure: Bear with me. You're all alone in the middle of a black night ocean that is maybe a real body of water or maybe a metaphor for your filthy conscience, being dragged down into the unfathomable depths by an anchor tied to your feet. Looking up as you sink, you see the cosmic sparkle of millions of stars refracting through the water's surface from far above. This is death/doom at its best and I am thoroughly smitten.
Which is to say: I have a couple more music recs that aren't, like, hrr grr arrgh blargh Satan! Recs that have maybe a passing chance of appealing to the majority of you who aren't into extreme metal! I also have some recs that probably only Zook and Liriaen and Kimara should even bother glancing at, let alone listening to if they haven't already, but I'll stick those at the bottom of the post. Because it seems like a lot of the best "metal" of 2025 was actually quite mild and accessible, or even just straight up crossover stuff that wasn't really metal at all but appealed to a lot of metalheads for its dark ambiance and experimentality.
Album recs, normal person edition
The Spin by Messa: Smoky, jazzy female vocals over a goth-tinged canvas of reverb-heavy guitar and driving beats. I don't think I've found a single AotY list in my whole search that did not include this album in the top couple of spots. Technically it's doom metal but I really don't think you need to be a doom metal fan, or a metal fan in general, to appreciate this; it's just gorgeous.
Here, have a music video! It's more aesthetic than riveting, but it does feature the extremely attractive singer on a motorbike and is a good representative sample of the album. If you bounce off this song, there's nothing here for you; if you like it, oh boy do you have a treat coming with the rest of the album. <3
Camgirl by Crippling Alcoholism: I honestly have no idea what to call this. It's not metal, though metalheads have been loving it; it's too heavy to be post-punk or goth rock or synthwave, but it has elements of all of them. It's dark and dreamy and wonderful and I have listened to it so many times in the last few days. (Disclaimer: this is a concept album about a sex worker, and I can only make out about half of the lyrics. Quite possibly it's sympathetic and thoughtful? I'm choosing to hear it as sympathetic and thoughtful. But I can't rule out the presence of bigoted shit in the less intelligible parts, and I haven't bothered to listen to any band interviews about the inspiration behind the album, so I cannot in good faith vouch for them as anything other than auditorily enjoyable.)
There might be more coming; in particular, there are new albums by Ainsoph and Calva Louise that come highly recommended and based on their first couple of tracks have a lot of promise, but I haven't found time to give them a full listen yet. But I honestly just want to spend a while listening to The Spin and Camgirl on repeat before I delve into anything else. They're SO GOOD.
Album recs, hrr grr argh Satan edition
Scapulimancy by Hedonist: This is fantastically fun, catchy, filthy death metal with brutal vocals and chugging Bolt Thrower-esque riffs. It's not an album that prompts any sophisticated or nuanced response in me whatsoever; it's an album that scoops the thoughts out of my brain and replaces them with nothing but primitive satisfaction. I don't headbang but this band makes me want to. Just. FUCK yes.
Heritage by Structure: Bear with me. You're all alone in the middle of a black night ocean that is maybe a real body of water or maybe a metaphor for your filthy conscience, being dragged down into the unfathomable depths by an anchor tied to your feet. Looking up as you sink, you see the cosmic sparkle of millions of stars refracting through the water's surface from far above. This is death/doom at its best and I am thoroughly smitten.
no subject
Date: 2026-03-02 09:15 am (UTC)- MESSA: Definitely sold! Great video, btw. Looked them up and they're supposed to play in November here. 🤩 In case we're all still alive then, I'll absolutely go there.
- SCAPULIMANCY (awesome name): Duuuude!! Absolutley sold. Checked out that one "video" on their bandcamp and thought, "Jesus, hot!singer has his eye liner game really on top, mad props," then realized its a lady singer, cue normal pansexual irritation, still hot but differently? Even hotter?? Discuss. Anyway, I need more of this on my ears, and they're on Southern Lord, which kind of figures AND is a good sign!
- HERITAGE: I really love how you describe their sounds, which fits 100%, and wouldn't that be a great way to just. sink. down? Appropriate tempo for zero fucks, I'm on SO on board.
Thank you so much for this compilation! What a great way to start a new month. 🤜🤛🔥
And do you know, by chance, Black Math Horseman? Their 2009 album (OH god, time, where hast thou gone) 'Wyllt' is one of my personal all-time faves and I'd wager a pretty amount of whatever-it-is-you-want that you should love it. Personally, I can listen to it almost non-stop, and always. Tell me if I'm wrong!!
no subject
Date: 2026-03-05 08:40 pm (UTC)HOLY SHIT I DIDN'T EVEN REALISE THE HEDONIST VOCALIST WAS FEMALE. I just listened to the album without paying attention to the video or even the band photo, and was sold on it on those merits alone, but now I'm even more in love. (I know exactly what you mean about "differently hot" haha. It's so confusing! And yet so viscerally, undeniably A Thing.)
Ooooh, thanks for the Black Math Horseman rec - I'd never heard them, no! Just listened to the first song and LOVED it, and now really looking forward to sitting down with the whole album! <3
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Date: 2026-03-09 11:12 am (UTC)I also understand the Messa frontwoman crush, btw. I'm assuming the music live to be even a bit tighter, which I would look forward to very much. :3
Have fun with BMH, they're really gorgeous. Be sure to take your time listening to the album front to back, it's one of those that are growing and waning throughout, and you kind of need these phases to really let them unfurl. ♥
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Date: 2026-03-03 07:59 pm (UTC)I still have to check out the others, I can already say that Hedonist sound like right up my alley.
❤️
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Date: 2026-03-05 08:41 pm (UTC)Hope you enjoy the others when you get to them! <3
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Date: 2026-03-13 01:08 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2026-04-06 06:51 am (UTC)You are a braver ghoul than me for putting up with that pink background for longer than 3 seconds, but I am very glad to hear that the lyrics looked okay, because I still love the album. <333
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Date: 2026-03-19 01:44 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2026-04-06 06:51 am (UTC)