METAL DOMAIN: TOP 10 ALBUMS OF 2025 + 2025 Playlist

Below is the final list with Metal Domain’s best albums of 2025. As always, the list is personal and subjective with inclusions and omissions meaning nothing in the grand scheme of things. Whether you found something that eluded your attention or saw one of your favorite tunes of past months, take this time to celebrate another rich musical year for Heavy Metal!

 

10) REFLECTION – The Battles I Have Won

Epic Power Metal from Greece filled with emotional melodies and reasons to raise your swords in a triumphant way! Its lyrical style reminds of WARLORD, at times giving glimpses of CRIMSON GLORY, and overall the songs ride proudly into battle with banners high and weapons sharpened!

 

Favorite songs: ‘March of the Argonauts’, ‘Only the swords survive’, ‘Lord of the wind’

 

9) MAJESTICA – Power Train

This album feels like an oasis in the middle of a desert. Melodic as it gets, with vocals that will melt your brain, bundled with all the trademarks of classic Power Metal. A very fun and enjoyable listen!

 

Favorite songs: ‘A Story in the Night’, ‘My Epic Dragon’, ‘Go Higher’

 

8) BEHOLDER – In The Temple Of The Tyrant

I like epic Metal, I love geeky fantasy stuff, and BEHOLDER combine both! Inspired by D&D, the band delivers a great debut that only makes me wait patiently for their next roll!

 

Favorite songs: ‘Into the Underdark’, ‘Draconian (Slave or Master)’, ‘I Magus’

 

7) DYNAZTY – Game Of Faces

Nils is one of my favorite vocalists, and DYNAZTY deliver super catchy melodies in an album so upbeat that resisting it becomes impossible!

 

Favorite songs: ‘Devilry of Ecstasy’, ‘Fortune Favors the Brave’, ‘Die to Survive’

 

6) LORD OF THE LOST – OPVS NOIR Vol.1

A very diverse album that blends many styles while always retaining its gothic personality. I was always paying attention to the band’s releases, but the first part of their new trilogy totally caught me by surprise.

 

Favorite songs: ‘Moonstruck’, ‘The things we do for love’, ‘The sadness in everything’

 

5) TERRA ATLANTICA – Oceans

Adventurous Power Metal that makes use of various sounds and instruments. It leans on interesting melodies and ends up creating a rich soundscape that features many combinations of speed and heaviness!

 

Favorite songs: ‘Raven in the Dark’, ‘Oceans of Eternity’, ‘Caribbean Shores’

 

4) EPICA – Aspiral

One of my favorite bands of the last 18 years approached songwriting a little differently than on the previous three titles, crafting another treat worthy of their leading position within the genre.

 

Favorite songs: ‘Darkness Dies in Light – A New Age Dawns Part VII’, ‘Metanoia – A New Age Dawns Part VIII’, ‘Arcana’

 

3) HELSTAR – The Devil’s Masquerade

James Rivera should always be mentioned in conversations regarding the best Metal vocalists! The new album puts the pedal to the metal, leaving you no room to breathe! Even after 40 years, they do not disappoint!

 

Favorite songs: ‘The Black Wall’, ‘I Am the Way’, ‘Seek Out Your Sins’

 

2) CRADLE OF FILTH – Screaming Of The Valkyries

Their past releases were also top-notch, but they nailed it even more this time! Relentless, dark, and extreme, ‘Screaming of the Valkyries’ takes no prisoners!

 

Favorite songs: ‘Malignant Perfection’, ‘You Are My Nautilus’, ‘To Live Deliciously’

 

1) BLACKBRIAR – A Thousand Little Deaths

My most listened-to album of 2025. The vibes I get from the poetic and gothic stories of BLACKBRIAR are unmatched. There is not a wasted note here, every lyric and melody hides its own secrets, and the haunting yet captivating atmosphere of the songs places ‘A thousand little deaths’ on the winner’s pedestal for 2025, leaving all competition far behind!

 

Favorite songs: ‘Green Light Across the Bay’, ‘The Fossilized Widow’, ‘The Hermit and the Lover’

 

Pavlos Pavlakis