The Top 10 Shoe-Gaze Albums of 2025

Shoe-gaze continues it's comeback, as it continues to  branch out into dream pop and post-rock so both of those are included in this list, it just makes for an easier title rather than the Top 10, Shoe gaze, dream pop, drugged out indie rock, and hipster post-rock albums of 2025, which is a lot. These are not the coolest, but the best, fuck what other blogs say,.   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 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, you look forward to listening to it again. Perhaps you can find your next favorite on this list; and 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 Shoe gaze albums of 2025.

10-Soft Sun- "Eternal Sunshine" 

Gary Arce from Yawning Man started this band a couple of years ago, while he uses similar tones as he does in Yawning Man here, there is a more melodic shoegaze vibe, which is more song-focused. Thanks to the vocals of bassist Pia Isaksen, there is a fragile atmospheric drift that weaves sleepy melodies in the spaces left by the floating guitar parts. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2025/11/softsun-eternal-sunshine.html

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9-Slow Crush -"Thirst" 

The heavy shoegazers are back, and this time around, there are more emotional layers to the hovering croon of bassist Isa Holliday's dream-laden delivery. This album sounds great as it balances out the dynamics you want from this kind of 90s-inspired affair. They give her voice plenty of room to haunt the songs, as the drums and bass keep a driving backbone of fuzzed-out heft coming at you. This is the Belgian band's third trip into the studio, and they have mastered this, even throwing in things like a saxophone to create another layer of sound. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2025/08/slow-crush-thirst.html

  

8-they are gutting a body of water - "LOTTO" 

They open the album with a renewed commitment to sonic heaviness. It captures the genre's two greatest dynamics . The album experiments with the formula and employs effective dynamics while typically caring about the songs. A more balanced less obtuse album from this band. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2025/12/they-are-gutting-body-of-water-lotto.html

 

7-Mogwai-"Bad Fire" 

11 albums into their career, this Scottish band has a clear focus on their sonic journey. Vocals appear right from the first song, though they are more of a smooth texture that sits into the swirl of sound. I think there is some growth in terms of songwriting and how vocals are used here. After your first ten album you have to do something different to keep things fresh, which is what they are doing here. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2025/01/mogwai-bad-fire.html

 

 6-male// gaze - 'Too Late Now" 

Extreme pop is not a thing? That is what this band of spaced-out hipsters seems to think. The album goes from  easy listening with cinematic dream pop thrown in, the way the strings soar out of control like amped up Phil Spector  to more experimental forms of shoegaze. The drummer helps it all click. everything to click. To their credit, I appreciate their commitment to dynamics and going all out on the big choruses., with some screaming buried in the background. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2025/10/malegaze-too-late-now.html

 

5-Esses- "Pain at the Altar of Jest" 

This Portland-based band plays a stormy version of goth-infused rock that carries some heft that sometimes feels like a cross between Switchblade Symphony and Swans. The hypnotic throb of the tribal drumming and taunt guitars provides the web over which Kelly Correl's voice crawls. There is plenty of dynamic ebb and flow, with witchy vibes swirling around the cauldron of brooding. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2025/07/esses-pain-at-altar-of-jest.html

 

4-Swans- "Birthing" 

Listening to this album through headphones is recommended. This album is an event. \ it is not their best work, but it remembers to employ similar moods that bring them closer to the more classic sounds of the Jarboe era.  They step in a somewhat darker direction while placing emphasis on a spiritually resonating drone. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2025/05/swans-birthing.html

3-Shedfromthebody_"Everything Out There Has Teeth" 

A second album from this Finnish project is a surprise for the darkness of fall to spread over. Her voice continues to glide overly beautifully bleak passages, which is not far removed from where we left off with "Whisper and Wane".There is more grunge influence and a 90s feel overall at times on this one, it is  neck and neck with the more doom feeling January release.

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2025/11/november-is-doom-shedfromthebody.html

2-Hot Line TNT- " Raspberry Moon" 

They have gone in a more Stone Roses direction for this one. In doing so, this means more melody. The vocals got more love in the studio and are crooned with less apathy. On the other hand, this album jangles more and has less punk rock left in its veins. The atmosphere is thicker and often more melancholic. They are in many ways the same band, but attacking things from a different direction. This means bringing a little more rock balls to the songs at times ,as the vocals carry a more surreal plea to their croon. The guitars have several interesting layers, and the overall production on this album is fantastic.

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2025/06/hotline-tnt-raspberry-moon.html

1-Ethel Cain-  "Willoughby Tucker, I'll Always Love You"

Not only the best shoe-gaze / post-rock album of the year , but perhaps the best album of the year. I don't think she set out to make a shoe-gaze album, which is what makes it so effective, the ethereal atmosphere just organically came about  thanks to the hypnotic drones that also incorporate pop and country music into the mix. Unlike Wednesday who takes jarring turn between the two genres, on this album you can't tell where one ends and the other begin as they are woven with such sonic beauty. As stated these albums are ranked according to how much I actually listened to them, and I listened to this album more than any other this year.  

I talk more about this album on our Top 5 Shoe-gaze album episode here... 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iupLD4b-1zo

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2025/08/ethel-cain-willoughby-tucker-ill-always.html

Thanks for reading. Please "like" and share on social media to give music a voice 

https://www.facebook.com/abysmalhymns

Check out our Podcast here ... https://www.youtube.com/@abysmalhymns666

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November's Top 10 Albums

It's time for November's top 10 albums. Staying abreast of the month's highlights may help casual
readers catch up on what they missed and explore these artists. I am not writing brief summaries of them; I am simply linking to the reviews. Inclusion here does not mean that these albums have been released this month, but it is a list of new or upcoming albums I have enjoyed the most. I have albums in my inbox that are not coming out til 2026, so I am normally way ahead of the curve in this regard. They are ranked in order of what I have listened to the most. This month it ranges from indie folk bangers to various shades of Doom metal. Perhaps you will find your new favorite among them. Here are the Top 10 albums of  November. 

10-Oromet - "the Sinking Isle" 

Doom 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2025/11/november-is-doom-oromet-sinking-isle.html

9-Florence + the Machine -"Everybody Scream" 

Folk Pop 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2025/11/florence-machine-everybody-scream.html

8-Bloody Hammers - ""the Acoustic Halloween Special" 

Doom Folk 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2025/11/november-is-doom-bloody-hammers.html

7-1914-"Viribus Unitis"

Black Metal 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2025/11/1914-viribus-unitis.html

6-Shedfromthebody :'Everything Out There Has Teeth"

Doom Gaze 

 https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2025/11/november-is-doom-shedfromthebody.html

5-The Neighbourhood - 'Ultrasound'

Indie Rock 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2025/11/the-neighborhood-ultrasound.html

4-Allie X -"Happiness is Going to Get You" 

Pop Folk 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2025/11/allie-x-happiness-is-going-to-get-you.html

3-Drowned in Silver- "Mothers" 

Doom 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2025/11/november-is-doom-drowned-in-silver.html

2-Home Front - "Watch It Die"

 

Punk

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2025/12/home-front-watch-it-die.html

1-HEALTH- "CONFLICT DLC" 

Industrial 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2025/11/health-conflict-dlc.html

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November is Doom -The Top 10 Doom Albums of 2025

 

I love to celebrate death and darkness. Doom is the music that should not only embrace a sense of loss and depression but sonically express it. These are the albums that did that best captured that feeling this year.   After I sort through the top 10 albums of all the respective genres, I use those lists to compile the top 10 albums of the 2025 The very fact 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 Doom albums of 2025.

10-Born of Plagues-"Dead Endings."

This is the second album from these Baltimore doomsters. They are capable of stepping on the gas to create more of a death metal feel at times, but it is just a more aggressive dynamic to the doom they churn. Where the first album was more sludge-driven, this one has a darker, more mournful, melancholic edge. That is not to say the sonic edge is gone, but it is smoothed out for a more metal sound.

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2025/11/november-is-doom-born-of-plagues-dead.html

 

9-Oromet-"the Sinking Isle." 

The second album from this California-based duo finds that the potency of weed is not waning in the Golden State. It evokes the kind of lingering doom lethargy that earns the title of funeral doom, with the low growl of the vocals mixed in the background under the sonic procession of guitar that brings Mournful Congregation to mind. They are heavier sonically than heavy metal, with the chords sailing in the seas where shoegaze and kraut rock washed together with the dynamic scope of what they bathe your ears in. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2025/11/november-is-doom-oromet-sinking-isle.html

8-Patriarchs in Black-"Home." 

A project comprised by two music legends, Johnny Kelly of Type O Negative fame, and guitarist Dan Lorenzo, who played in the groundbreaking Non-Fiction.  They play blues-based doom tunes, with different singers on each track. Some of these include  Kyle Thomas of Exhorder, who belts it out in his trademark husky soulful swagger. Another noted performance comes from  Karl Agell from the "Blind" era C.O.C., taking the mic, makes me think of Tony Martin, who belts it out in a more nuanced manner than what you might expect from him.  The entire album is full of surprises that work off the more traditional metal aspects of doom. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2025/06/patriarchs-in-black-home.html

 

7-Drowned in Silver- "Mothers." 

This band from Poland is interesting; the exotic drowning ambiance opens the door to great darkness, leaving you unsure of which shade of it will attack you. The vocals sometimes take on an aggressive grit, as the instrumentation carries an odd dissonance, summoned with the saxophone coloring the background is almsot as noisy as what Swans ventures in at times. Even when things build into a heavier dynamic, this remains a fair point of comparison, perhaps throwing in a doom version of what Diamanda Galas does as another point of reference. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2025/11/november-is-doom-drowned-in-silver.html

 

 

6-Paradise Lost-"Ascension." 

The 17th album from the progenitors of death doom shuns expectations. using the tropes from both genres, while sometimes trying to grab the goth metal throne that Type O Negative left vacant. They go from straightforward death metal to the grandiose pagentry of morose doomy rock that lends itself to the Type O comparisons. He sings most of the song, then things become more split in equal portions when it comes to his delivery.

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2025/09/paradise-lost-ascension.html

 

5-November's Doom-"Major Arcana." 

The 12th album from this band highlights who they are. Sometimes stepping on the gas to deliver a more heavily chugged death doom assault, before flowing into melodic metal power ballads, though generally more of the aggressive side both lyrically and sonically. Paul Kur has fully perfected the dynamic of his vocal style, nailing clean vocals with the same fluid ease he belted out the more powerful growls. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2025/09/novembers-doom-major-arcana.html

4-Cold in Berlin- "Wounds." 

 The lines between goth and doom are blurred even further on this album as the songs carry a darker, more pulsating beat. Maya continues to belt things out with the expected intensity. The hypnotic pulse of "12 Crosses" shares some common ground with grunge from the '90s, while also employing more exotic flourishes of atmosphere. Even amid the deliberate rumble, they leave plenty of room for Maya to express herself as the bass line lurks. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2025/10/gothtober-cold-in-berlin-wounds.html

3-Shedfrombody- "Whisper and Wane." 

This is her fourth album, so she knows how to head in the darkest direction for marrying sound to songs, proving you do not have to have a groove as long as you cause the throbbing of said sounds. It is not the album to put on when you are drinking coffee and getting ready to start your day, but more of its getting dark, smoking some pot music. The precision begins to build and create a distant heaviness that is emotive, 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2025/01/shedfromthebody-whisper-and-wane.html

       2-Evoken-"Mendacium" 

 It's been 7 years since New Jersey's doom masters blessed us with an album. The same lineup played on "Atra Mors" is all that matters to me, as they deliver something even darker and more dismal here. There is a great deal of space in the mix. Everything echoes out into it. This does not find the sound converging in lush layers, but isolated, which sonically captures a lonelier mood. Great guitar works rip out from things that are driven by the slow funeral doom march. While this album is compelling and one of the most impressive doom albums you have heard in some time, it was edged out by the number one spot that was taken by a band that transcended all limitations of the genre. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2025/09/evoken-mendacium.html

 

 

1-Hangman's Chair- "Saddiction" 

The modern kings of gloom bring a sonic pounding counterbalanced by the trademark passion of the vocals, things ebb down into a more depressive introspection as the rollercoaster of the album's dynamic sets in motion. Some interesting production choices in this often reverb-heavy recording are best appreciated when played loudly through headphones. It's a band whose songwriting continues to exceed expectations and put them at the top of the heap, not just when it comes to doom or metal, but all artists making music today. Which is why they captured the number one spot here. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2025/02/hangmans-chair-saddiction.html

Thanks for reading. Please "like" and share on social media to give music a voice 

https://www.facebook.com/abysmalhymns

Check out our Podcast here ... https://www.youtube.com/@abysmalhymns666

November is Doom - Shedfromthebody :'Everything Out There Has Teeth"

A second album from this Finnish project is a surprise for the darkness of fall to spread over. Her voice continues to glide overly beautifully bleak passages, which is not far removed from where we left off with "Whisper and Wane". The opening track finds less of a storm brewing and a more vulnerable side. "Heima" finds a more droning strum of dark folk guitar, laying down the haunting foundation. Things do build to a more metallic conclusion. Then the album takes a sharp left turn into the grunge-riden noise rock of "Nature's Weapons". The more sensual vocals release the tension. 

"Horses" finds things getting more serious, with darker clouds rolling in. The vocals are more fragile to contrast this. I wonderfully slithering groove emerges from this. "Salve" is more atmospheric and introspective. Less is more on this one as every not gives the proper amount of space in the composition. There is a more downtrodden bass line to "Spine' which reminds me of a marginally more metallic version of the band Curve. The vocal melodies float over it in a very sensual fashion. 

"Shattermind" is more of a rock song that just leans further into the atmosphere at times, while the vocals really hold everything together. Then she is back to a more dream pop sound with the minimalist arrangement of "Ginger." It does build up into a heavier rock doom trudge toward the end of the song. There is more grunge influence and a 90s feel overall at times on this one, will give it a 9.5, which puts it neck and neck with the January release.

 

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The Top 10 Goth / Industrial Albums of 2025... so far

As the Doomsday Clock races, time speeds up, as 2025 is at its midpoint. With the impending end of times comes a celebration of darkness, and these bands are making substantial soundtracks for that. These lists serve as a decent snapshot of where the year is heading in terms of music. I have already received promos for albums dropping as far out as August in my inbox, so they will need to bring it to compete with the top five albums on this list. For the mid-year report card list, I'm combining goth with its close cousin, industrial.   I have included links to full reviews if you want to check these out, and with all that said, here are the top 10 Goth / Industrial albums of 2025 so far. 

10-Palindrones-Chapter 2 the Slender Blade" 

This British dark wave duo moves in interesting directions. We caught up with them on our podcast. Check that interview out here... 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j6D9B509gzA&t=832s

 https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2025/03/palindrones-chapter-2-slender-blade.html

9-Sowulo -"NIHT"

Neo-folk has always been a sub-genre of goth more than folk; this Nordic project balances the more primal nature with a grandiose atmosphere that captures a darker mood than most, and earns them their spot on this list. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2025/06/sowulo-niht.html

8-Gaahl's Wyrd - "Braiding the Stories" 

I am glad to hear Gaahl continuing to explore his singing voice. The vocals are well layered, with more of his upper register present while the baritone croon holds center stage, which is on brand for him. It is not surprising that Gaahl and I are of a similar musical mindset, for here he proves that the emotive value of darkness is just as heavy as metal.

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2025/03/gaahls-wyrd-braiding-stories.html

7- Bootblacks- "Paradise" 

This Brooklyn-based band, BOOTBLACKS, is dancing in a more dark wave direction with their new album, with songs driven by synth pulses. The reverb-slathered guitar sits back in the mix, content haunting the backdrop.

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2025/05/bootblacks-paradise.html

6-Corlyx-"Purple Pain" 

This album showcases their strength of embracing both the past of traditional dark wave and still not shying away from paying tribute to this era, with new sounds, like vibrant synth-wave keyboard lines, and pop-inflected hooks.

  https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2025/02/corlyx-purple-pain.html

 

 5-The Cure- "Mixes of a Lost World" 

In case you forgot this was coming out, Robert Smith is not the control freak he once was, as he is allowing 24 artists to remix the band's 2024 masterpiece.It shows how much reach the Cure's influence has on music as a whole.

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2025/06/the-cure-mixes-of-lost-world.html

 

 

4-Ministry- "the Squirrelly Years Revisited" 

The joke about back when Ministry sounded like Depeche Mode wore thin on Uncle Al, after polishing off the early songs for live sets, even before releasing their last album, he re-recorded the songs from the "Twitch" and "With Sympathy" era. The vocals are more in line with how Al sings now. Sometimes the guitars are providing more heft, with the more new wave leaning dance beats driving the hot rod that Jesus built. In some cases, this works just well enough. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2025/05/ministry-squirrelly-years-revisted.html

3-Peter Murphy- "Silver Shade" 

At 67, Murphy looks older than he sounds. The new wave bounce on these songs would not have been out of place on his 89 classic "Deep". Not as dark as Bauhaus, it is true to the era. He keeps the '80s pulse going paying a great deal of service to his fan base, which is wise. His pipes stay fluid even when going up into the wavering vibrato of his upper register. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2025/05/peter-murphy-silver-shade.html

 

2-Youth Code -"Yours, With Malice"  

On previous releases, they felt more like a militant version of Skinny Puppy, so this might be more neon lit, and not as dark as, say, 'A Place to Stand'. They employ more dynamics at times as Sara retains her signature scowling. It does not sound dated and moves industrial music forward, rather than solely focusing on the past eras.

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2025/04/youth-code-yours-with-malice.html

1-Shedfrombody- "Whisper and Wane" 

This project from Finland marks another entry to the hallowed halls of ethereal hot girl music. It's almost like ASMR set to brooding post-rock. The vocals are hypnotically layered, and the songs have a subtle slither to them, but despite the somewhat hopeful cadence of the vocals, this album is dark like a brooding thunderstorm, and less dressed up for Halloween, though still dark enough to earn it's place at the top here. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2025/01/shedfromthebody-whisper-and-wane.html

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The 420 Playlist - the 2025 Edition

Before you start this day off with same boring old tunes all the bong worshippers today will be, ya know the ones, Bob Marley, Cypress Hill, Pepper and the mix of jams bands the more Kombucha minded masses will be playing today here is a mix stoner vibing metal and shoe-gazing rock to provide you a better soundtrack,  here you go smoke'em if you got em.

Year of the Cobra- "Full Sails "

 Dax Riggs - "sunshine felt the darkness smile"

 

Superheaven- "Numb to What is Real"

 

 

shedfrombody-"Sungazer"

 

 Softcult -"Shortest Fuse"

 Ride - "Last Night I Went Somewhere to Dream"

 

 Vulture Feather- "The Illusion of Time"

 O Zorn ! - "Cloud None"

FATIMA- "Blue Aliens Wear Wigs"

 

 

16- "Give Thanks and Praises"

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