The Top 10 Thrash Albums of 2025

The Top 10 Thrash albums is a new list, as I felt the need to separate these from the Top 10 Mainstream metal albums list, which is becoming more commercial metal-core, nu-metal revival or even legacy artists who fall between those cracks. Some of these are bands who have made death metal albums previously or even black metal, but are closer to thrash than the genres they evolved from. If there were going to be any power-metal albums, they would most likely fall within the bounds of this list or the progressive list, though that genre is pretty stagnant without the big names releasing albums with enough regularity.

 

 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 Thrash albums of 2025.

10-Spirit World-"Helldorado" 

Despite being called "Deathwestern" the band's 2022 only used country & western music as a window dressing to perhaps bookend the album with. This time around it's blended to create a more Clutch-like swagger. This leaves the more metallic meat of the songs to groove with a darker energy.

 https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2025/03/spiritworld-helldorado.html

9-Drain-",,,Is Your Friend" 

Drain continues to take you back to the time when thrash merged with hardcore. The vocals have more of a Pantera-like scowl this time around. The songs have room to breathe and emote, rather than just hitting you with a rapid-fire pummel. They bring pretty effective breakdowns that will make the kids bust out karate, during this vulgar display of power 

 https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2025/11/drain-is-your-friend.html

8-Sacrafice -"Volume Six" 

This Canadian thrash band has been around since the 80s but never caught on like Voivod. They picked a decent time to stage a comeback with their 6th album. The the producer brought out elements of their sound that points them in a more Power Trip - like this direction. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2025/01/sacrifice-volume-six.html

 

7-Unleashed-"Fire Upon Your Lands" 

I saw this Swedish  band back in 1991 opening up for Morbid Angel. I tracked down " Where No Life Dwells' within the week, and wore that tape out as it was a darker, more dense sound than other death metal albums I owned at the time. Since those days, they have evolved into something more like a hard thrashing  Pagan metal as they have become more Viking-focused. They are quick to take you to Valhalla  it is clear they care about songwriting as conveyed in the powerful stomp  the drums lock in on. Lyrically things feel like they are almost too thematic, but I guess everyone has their thing. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2025/08/unleashed-fire-upon-your-lands.html

6-Testament - "Para Bellum" 

This marks the band's first album with Seven Spires drummer Chris Dovas, whose youthful exuberance gets the job done, even though you might prefer Gene Hoglan. Bassist Steve Di Giorgio, who goes back to "The Gathering," returns as well. . The emphasis tends to be on the rapid-fire style of thrashing, though they do return to their more signature groove, that makes the most  Chuck Billy's powerful voice, that is  also capable of melody,. His singing is one of the signature staples that set the band apart from the pack. It still works here.

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2025/10/testament-para-bellum.html

 

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5-Propaghandi- "At Peace" 

There are weird contradictions in life. One of them being for someone who does not like political punk, I do like this band. Perhaps it's because they are from Canada it hits differently. They have a brooding metallic edge to their sound that is perhaps brought out even more in the production of "At Peace," which is the band's 8th album. The urgency of the vocal opens the door for taunt, thrashing riffing, not is not a far cry from Bad Religion. I think the fact that they are so technically sound as musicians rather than guys banging four chords helps factor into why I like them so much. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2025/04/propaghandi-at-peace.html

4-Age of Apocalypse -"In Oblivion"  

 I loved "Grim Wisdom," so expectations are high for this one. There is more of a thrash feel, until things slow and get more moody and melodic. The lingering Life of Agony vibe is still there but they are e covering way more ground sonically this time around. Their cross-over sound brings  punishing accents to pound you with what some might consider breakdowns. They sell the the melancholy while rocking the fuck out, which is what I liked about Life of Agony, that winning combination works equally well here. 

 https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2025/05/age-of-apocalypse-in-oblivion.html

3-Hooded Menace- ""Lachrymose Monuments of Obscuration"

This band band from Finland improves with each album. Their last album, "The Tritonus Bell," snagged the number 3 spot in the Top 10 Death Metal albums of 2021 list here, but things have changed. What strikes me about this album is how melodic the guitar playing has grown. It is more of a tribute to classic metal with plenty of riffs that sound like they could have come from a King Diamond album, so that, of course, wins me over. The biggest difference is that the vocals are a more one-dimensional growl, though they are delivered with a great deal of purpose, and the lyrics can still be comprehended through the rasp, which is not unlike bands like Sodom or Kreator. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2025/08/hooded-menace-lachrymose-monuments-of.html

2-NITE-"Cult of the Serpent Sun" 

The third album from this San Franciso metal band. They walk a line between black metal and traditional metal. I can hear where Tribulation might have occupied a similar sonic space at one time if they had not turned into a goth band. The snarled vocals  give them more of a black metal sound, as you could have someone with their foot on the monitor yodeling and it would sound like a different ballgame. You can draw comparisons to bands like Angel Witch in this regard. Almost playing the kind of deliberate galloping thrash that evolved from bands like Saxon.

 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2025/01/nite-cult-of-serpent-sun.html

1- Coroner - "Dissonance Theory"

The band's first album in 32 years. Things are different in many ways, though they do not sound like they are in their 60s. Weirdly, Marquis Marky is not behind the kit, leaving Ron Royce and Tommy Baron as the only original members who feel more pronounced as a trio. Their new drummer, Diego, certainly pulls it all off. This is not them trying to recapture their 80s sound. Nor should they. A big difference lies in how forward Royce's vocals are in the mix, as he used to sit back in the guitars more, certainly having grown more confident in what he does.  You can hear how they influence bands like Meshuggah. This album grew on me with each listen, and it's clear they are more vital now than ever. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2025/09/coroner-dissonance-theory.html

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May's Top 10 Albums

It's time for May's top 10 albums. Staying abreast of the month's highlights might help casual readers see what they missed and check these artists out. I am not writing little blurbs on them; I am just linking 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 August, 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, there tends to be a dominant theme of new wave, pop, and goth, though we have a couple of metal bands in the mix as well,  so you may find your new favorite among them. Here are the Top 10 albums of May 

10-HEXVESSEL- "Nocturne"  

Black Metal 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2025/05/hexvessel-nocturne.html

9-Swans - "Birthing" 

Experimental Post Punk 

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

8-Katatonia -"Nightmares as Extensions of the Waking State" 

Prog Rock 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2025/05/katatonia-nightmares-as-extensions-of.html

7-Sleep Token - "Even In Arcadia" 

Pop

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2025/05/sleep-token.html

6-Ministry - "the Squirrelly Years Revisted"

 

New Wave / Goth 

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

5-Peter Murphy- "Silver Shade" 

New Wave / Goth 

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

4-Age of Apocalypse - "In Oblivion" 

Hard-core 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2025/05/age-of-apocalypse-in-oblivion.html

3-the Callous Daoboys- " I Don't Want to See You in Heaven" 

Metal - Core 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2025/05/the-callous-daoboy-i-dont-want-to-see.html

2-Pixel Grip - "Perceptide the Death of Reality" 

Dark Wave  / Pop 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2025/05/pixel-grip-perceptide-death-of-reality.html

1-Freeze the Fall - "The Red Garden"

Hard Rock  / Nu-Metal 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2025/05/freeze-fall-red-garden.html

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Age of Apocalypse : "In Oblivion"

I loved "Grim Wisdom," so expectations are high for this one. The opening track has a more thrash feel, until things slow and get more moody and melodic as the song progresses. There is still a Life of Agony vibe going on, but they are covering way more ground sonically this time around and throwing down with more punishing accents to pound you with what some might consider breakdowns. "Maximum Suffering' sells the melancholy while rocking the fuck out, which is what I liked about Life of Agony, that winning combination works equally well here. 

"Gilded Hatred ' highlights the fact that the melodies are punchier this time, but hold more hook, yet the band does not shy from balancing this out with a heavier drive. The title track carries a more deliberate stomps, as the riffs jerk you about with dizzying transitions. The songs are rather compact, so they are packing ample riffage into them. The gang vocals in "Equilizer' keep the hard core roots of the band present despite the more metallic bombast they are hitting you with this time around. It seems like the "Apocalypse Intro' which is an instrumental, should have been the first song.

"Impulse" has more of a punk drive to its energy.  They split the difference for "Snake Oil God" and have the hardcore muscle balancing the thrashing guitars. The vocals are more of an aggressive though, find the croon that feels more like AFI  here. They belted bellow of the vocals is perhaps running with the river in it's deepest shade of red on "Symbol of Mourning". The last song "Over Mine" is melodic to the point of being a power ballad, thought the vocals sound great on it and it works really well. I will round this one up to a 10 as it just needs a few listens to grow on me. Close enough to the first album, but shows an expansion of their sound in a direction that is both heavier and more melodic vocally. May 23rd Closed Casket Activities.  

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Age of Apocalypse : " Grim Wisdom"

 I am a little confused as to what is going on here, but I like. Crooned vocals offset what might be a rock n roll ringed hardcore album if the more typical shouted vocals were a thing here. Yes, it sounds like "River Runs Red" era Life of Agony to some extent. AFI could also be another reference point. The vocals are a little hookier in terms of the melody on the second song, The guitar is also more metal than hard core most of the time. The vocals get more aggressive on "Fury". As someone who is old enough to remember when Life of Agony came out, they leaned in a more Biohazard direction, but were never as aggressive as what goes down here though they did play faster. They are not a Life of Agony tribute band and once you get to this song that fact is fully beat downed into your head. 

They pick up things to more of a thrashing speed at times on the title track and prove themselves capable of locking into a groove when they feel like. I how these guys show that being melodic and heavy are not two things that cannot exist at the same time. It is one of the heaviest albums with sung vocals that i have heard in a minute.  "Begging the Reaper" backs off on the heaviness and opts for more introspection. This is in a more 90s emo manner but with darker atmosphere.  "Rotten Kingdom" finds them finally speeding up to more of a punk pace. It is the first song that also does not connect with me on the first listen.  "Ghost" kicks you with a very powerful stomping groove. The vocals do not forget their purpose even in the heaviest chug that hits you. It commands you to bang you head that is how killer the riffs in this song are. 

"Pain of Creation" offers another beating but with the metal factor in the guitar dialed as high as it can go before, they have to rip out guitar solos. The last song opens with what sounds like it is going to be a hard core beating them finds new melodic groove to twist into. This is an incredible album It comes out January 21st, on Closed Casket Activities my only regret is that I have to wait for the promo I can download and pop it into my iPod to listen to all the time, this is one of those discoveries that make doing this worthwhile. If you want some dark emotive metallic hardcore of sorts that pays homage to the 90s this is the band you did not know you were hoping to to find.  I give this one a 10 for sure.