There is no shortage of inspiration for death metal these days, as death is all around us. Perhaps that is why there has been such a huge outpouring of quality death metal this year. These albums celebrate annihilation in all of its forms. These albums captured what death metal should be with very little compromise. After I sort through the top 10 albums of all the respective genres, I use those lists to compile the top 10 albums of 2025. The very fact that these bands made it on the list speaks to how great these albums are, so it's not a slight that the number 8 album is above the 9th album; there is something that just gives it an edge that makes me want to listen to it more. After all, we can try to look cool and pick the hippest bands for a list, but at the end of the day, what makes an album the best is that it makes you want more, and you look forward to listening to it again. Perhaps you can find your next favorite on this list, and I have included links to reviews of these albums if you want to check out the audio on these guys. Anyway, here are the top 10 Death Metal albums of 2025.
10-Disembodiment- "Spiral Crypts."
In the depths of the more brutal and gore-grind leaning bowels of death metal, writhe this monster. The vocals are gurgled up from the sewers running down to hell. This is the band's first full-length. They are great at setting the mood. The mix is somewhat lo-fi, but the point gets across, and it gives these guys their charm. They are heavy as fuck but still care about writing songs.
https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2025/06/death-is-june-disembodiment-spiral.html
9-Behemoth-"the Shit Ov God"
like Behemoth, but they are inconsistent. Their last album was great, but the two before that got a great deal of critical praise but were not worth the hype. I think they peaked with "Evangelion". Though they are getting back to an older, more epic death metal sound with this album, so perhaps this course corrects with a payoff. I think they are better as a death metal band, and the larger-than-life sound does not work for black metal, as they are often not atmospheric enough. I appreciate the more melodic notions that haunt this album.
https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2025/04/behemoth-shit-ov-god.html
8-Graceless- "Icons of Ruin."
The fourth album by this melodic death metal band from the Netherlands captures the groove and hooky songwriting that brought death to the mainstream in the 90s. There is a darker undercurrent running through the mood that seems to be steeped in making anthems that are at least against religion. Are they Satanic? Well, in that sense, but I am always hesitant to consider a band Satanic unless they come out and claim their infernal allegiance, as most of the time it's just obligatory heavy metal nonsense. These guys ride to victory with Bolt Thrower-level riffage, mixed with death doom.
https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2025/07/graceless-icons-of-ruin.html
7-Ossuary-Abbhorrent Worship"
The debut full-length from this band, featuring members of Jex Thoth. Funny enough, drummer Nick Johnson also plays drums for Zola Jesus. The overall sound is dark and gritty, with some sonic depth and a very stark atmosphere to this more Incantation-like school of death metal. The ghastly approach to the snarl of the vocals is effective, though it is buried further back in the mix on the second song. I like the fact that they are purposeful in what they do and not just hitting you with a blur of double bass. To some, it might seem more like death doom.
https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2025/06/death-is-june-ossuary-abhorrent-worship.html
6-Decrepisy - "Deific Mourning."
Crawling up from the cavernous depths where death metal plunges into a more depressive depth to meet in the melancholic tombs of doom, this Portland-based band oozes up with their follow-up to their 2021 debut. Featuring members of Negative Prayer, Vastum, and Coffin Rot, they manage to manifest an inner darkness into sonic form physically by using their instruments as the conduit through which they are expressed. This enables the atmosphere to manifest from the music as a natural progression of where the sound should go, rather than neatly checking off the boxes of required genre tropes.
https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2025/02/decrepisy-deific-mourning.html
5-Tombs- "Feral Darkness."
Mike Hill's sonic travels into darkness find this band continuing to embrace further into darkness. There are fewer black metal moments, making the music carry more of a death metal aggression. Each album is a little different take on the bleak sounds they use, an aggressive barrage of powerful chug to convey. His vocal approach is less of a growl and more deliberate articulation of disdain. I would say at times this album feels like it has more in common with "Domination" era Morbid Angel than it does Mayhem or Darkthrone. The double bass-powered drums adding to the ominous momentum.
https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2025/09/tombs-feral-darkness.html
4-Floating-"Hesitating Lights."
This band brings an interesting blend of sounds that I am always looking for. Given the fact that bands like In Solitude come from Sweden, a death metal band that blends post-punk into their sound, it is not a huge surprise. They go from a Siouxsie and the Banshees-like riff to throwing in a blast beat, and the growled vocals are layered over the guitars, splitting the difference between the two sounds. At times, this is a little chaotic, but it flows well more often than not. This is not to say they are not averse to bringing in some brooding, angular sounds
https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2025/04/floating-hesitating-lights.html
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3-Blindfolded and Led into the Woods-"The Hardest Thing About Being God Is That No One Believes Me."
This band from New Zealand took the 8th spot in our 2021 Top 10 Death Metal albums list. Now Blindfolded and Led to the Woods is taking their experimental sense of sonics further by releasing their first concept album that explores obsession. The technical ability of the band is put on display as they use many of death metal's brutal trappings to attack your ears, but have an eerie sense of atmosphere that balances this out. The vocals are roared in a commanding manner that finds the lyrics more articulated, even when dropping into more of a growl. There are a few different vocal colors on this song, all of them aggressive.
https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2025/09/blindfolded-and-led-to-woods-hardest.html
2-Vacuous-"In His Blood"
The sophomore album from the UK death metal band finds VACUOUS carving out its own sonic niche that sets it apart from the pack, while not leaning too heavily on its influences. For death metal bands, this can be challenging as there are staples to the genre's sound like the guttural vocals and thundering double bass that are expected; it's up to the band as to how they want to use those building blocks, and many get stuck on the sound rather than writing the songs. These guys fucked with the sound by making interesting production choices, then built an almost Incantation-like ambiance, but it's spacious where most death metal hits you with a denser crunch. In doing this, they freed themselves up to decorate this sound with eerie melodies.
https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2025/01/vacuous-in-his-blood.html
1-Sanguisugabogg -"Hideous Divinity."
This is an album I have been looking forward to, so expectations were high. Halfway into the first song, I heard the needed tweaks I wanted from these guys in terms of production have been made, and it is rocking fucking hard. There is more attention to detail in songwriting as riffs have purpose and are not just shifting into the next heaviest chug possible. Songwriting is storytelling, telling, and the message is coming through with a more mature and perfected vision. Devin still does what he does, though his phrasing is refined and more articulate without sacrificing brutality.
https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2025/09/sanguisugabogg-hideous-divntiy.html
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