Were you missing the 2025 Mathcore Madness list? Miss no MOAR!
![Dear Hollow’s Mathcore Madness [Things You Might Have Missed 2025]](https://www.angrymetalguy.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/DH_HC_Compilation2025_01-2048x2048.jpg.webp)
Dear Hollow
2 coo 4 schoo, 2 dear 5 hollow
Crystal Lake – The Weight of Sound Review
“Crystal Lake is one of those bands that I lost track of. I adored 2015’s The Sign, its blend of hardcore attitude with a surgical metalcore attack and just enough djent and deathcore to make things interesting resulted in some of my all-time favorites in the style (“Prometheus,” “Matrix,” “Hades”). Yes, it’s knuckleheaded and boner-dragging brutality posturing, but for a jolt of breakdown-heavy sonic adrenaline, the Japanese quintet fit the bill.” Lake effects.
The Ruins of Beverast – Tempelschlaf Review
“The Ruins of Beverast has never released a bad album. Its architect, Nagelfar alum Alexander von Meilenwald, has both a devotion to the trve and old-school as well as a flexibility to experiment, creating a legendary discography that feels like a natural progression from beginning to end. From the early and raw marriage of black metal and doom that set the foundation with genre classics Unlock the Shrine and Rain Upon the Impure, to the more melodic and ritualistic horrors of Foulest Semen of a Sheltered Elite and Blood Vaults, culminating in the ritual-imbued pinnacle Exuvia, the act has an uncanny ability to recall the familiar while trudging into unexplored territory.” Ruins, runes, and revulsion.
Upon a Burning Body – Blood of the Bull Review
“Upon a Burning Body is back, baby. Your favorite groovy Texans are ready to lay on the hurt with as many riffs as your ears can muster. Predecessor 2022’s Fury offered a no-frills attack that more substantially simplified the attack, recalling more the groove-oriented likes of Pantera or Lamb of God, as opposed to the longstanding comparisons to deathcore’s partyharders Attila and “fight everyone” breakdowners Emmure to whom they’ve been compared in the past.” Tastes like burning.
![Geese – Getting Killed [Things You Might Have Missed 2025]](https://www.angrymetalguy.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/Geese-Getting_Killed.jpg.webp)
Geese – Getting Killed [Things You Might Have Missed 2025]
“When a non-metal album is this good, the Great Ape mandates that we write about it – it’s unclear if it’s for posterity or humiliation. But when you have a band called Geese, the latter seems more likely. New York City fowl collective owe just as much of their attack to Bruce Springsteen and Television as to Swans and The Velvet Underground, as its drawling and honkin’ blend of roots rock, noise rock, blues, country, funk, and post-punk is a clusterfuck that feels distinctly like something a band called Geese would make.” Genre-hoping and goose poop dropping.
Mrs. Frighthouse – Solitude Over Control Review
“How much noise is too much? I used to believe you could never have too much noise, with bands like Theatruum and La Torture des Ténèbres weaponizing it for respectively vicious and otherworldly approaches. Then bands like Ulveblod and the infamous Ordeal & Triumph collaboration happened – and I lost my naivety. Ultimately, as we will see with duo Mrs. Frighthouse, diving into the noise genre offers a low ceiling and an equally low floor.” Extreme noise terror.
Howling Giant – Crucible & Ruin Review
“Howling Giant occupies such an odd place within its scene. The Nashville collective is stoner metal and psych rock to the core in an energetic way that recalls the down-and-dirty acts like High on Fire or Mastodon, but layers of melody and creative chord usage feel progressive a la Intronaut or Baroness and the triple vocal harmonies are catchy yet evasive, not unlike Torche or Helmet. They also don’t take things too seriously, with a solid sense of humor and a relatable relationship with fans to bring their formidable technical skill to earth.” Howls from the south.
Conjurer – Unself Review
“I’m beginning to think Mire was a fluke. I’m not saying that as a bad thing, but I remember listening to Conjurer’s debut and thinking that it was a top post-metal album steeped in atmosphere and enigma, tied together with vicious vocals and vindictive weight. So then, I was immensely let down by follow-up Páthos because it seemed to shed substance for novelty: if I’m being honest, its stark dichotomy of heartwrenching melodies and kickass riffs felt inauthentic and shoehorned. Thus, I approached Unself carefully, hoping for something like Mire but tentatively expecting Páthos.” Tricks and treats.
The Acacia Strain – You Are Safe From God Here Review
“I can pinpoint the moment The Acacia Strain went from the poor man’s Meshuggah to “existential” deathcore – seemingly without changing much. It all occurred with 2014’s Coma Witch, which as a whole, was that traditional hardcore-infused deathcore beatdown you would have expected from predecessors Wormwood or Continent. But then the closing track did something a little different – “Observer” showed an ambitious, albeit imperfect, twenty-seven-minute track full of the band’s signature breakdowns and misanthropy – but put together with a distinctive ambiance and strong transitions.” New strain or merely straining?
Wretched – Decay Review
“Wretched has always been a strange beast, incorporating the heft of deathcore with the technicality and atmosphere of more progressive acts. While breakout album (and my introduction to the band) Beyond the Gate was an elegantly elegiac deathcore album, swaying between the patient sprawls of “Birthing Sloth” and the bouncy chugs of “My Carrion,” follow-ups Sons of Perdition and Cannibal reflected the changing of the guard at vocals, as Glass Casket frontman Adam Cody injected an unhinged frenetic energy that had the band flirting with grind and thrash. Decay is an important album, released eleven years after its predecessor and existing as a return to form for a band that never had a slump.” Time, decay, and wretchedness.
