Dolphin Whisper and Thus Spoke get their time to shine with their Top Ten(ish) of 2025. Brace for weirdness!
Der Weg einer Freiheit
Who Are These Clowns and Where Did They Put My Flesh Stapler? The AMG Staff Pick Their Top Ten(ish) of 2025
The AMG Staff Lists are ready for review, examination, and ultimately, rejection.
![Der Weg Einer Freiheit – Innern [Things You Might Have Missed 2025]](https://www.angrymetalguy.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/Der-Weg-Einer-Freiheit-Innern-01.jpg.webp)
Der Weg Einer Freiheit – Innern [Things You Might Have Missed 2025]
“My experience with Der Weg Einer Freiheit differs quite substantially from our resident Eldritch reviewer. Perhaps because my first taste was 2017’s Finisterre, I never saw it, nor later Noktvrn (2021) as disappointing steps down from previous Stellar heights. In my eyes, the path that Der Weg Einer Freiheit followed in the last decade is not only a natural extension of their introspective, emotionally-charged black metal, but it has also enabled them to expand and enhance this consistently potent core to new levels.” Freiheit 451.
Solbrud – IIII Review
“IIII, the aptly titled fourth album from Denmark’s Solbrud, comprises ninety-four minutes of atmospheric black metal and HOLY SHIT WHERE ARE YOU GOING HOW ARE YOU RUNNING THAT FAST?? Well, anyway. For the die-hards who didn’t immediately flee at the concept of a double LP of atmoblack, I can guarantee a valid reason for why I’m endeavoring to cover this thing at all. I’ve made it no secret that this meandering, often forceless subgenre has not so much a home in my heart as a lean-to fashioned from three sticks and a handful of dental floss.” Three times the atmoblast.
Der Weg einer Freiheit – Noktvrn Review
“I have a tendency to expect too much from my favorite artists. For many, an attachment sparked by a particularly excellent record leads many to lifelong devotion. For me, it results in mounting expectations, which are all too easily extinguished. And extinguished they were by Der Weg einer Freiheit’s Finisterre, at least at first. The band’s stellar Stellar was already a black metal all-timer for me, and the fact that Finisterre dared dampen that album’s epic scope in any way felt like sacrilege. Of course, that feeling changed with time and acceptance; in fact, if I ever get around to writing a Contrite Metal Guy piece, it will be first up to bat for a promotion. Lessons were thus learned, and I dove into Noktvrn with zero expectations and an open heart.” Open heart, frozen veins.
Ellende – Triebe Review
“Can art be updated? Once released, is a piece of art fixed forever, like chiseled stone? Or fluid, like the hobo wine in the AMG office dispenser? If an artist or musician takes an existing work, and makes changes, have they created an entirely separate piece, or merely created their preferred version? Austrian black metal band, Ellende, raises these questions with its latest (shhhhh) EP, Triebe.” Disastrous moments in filtration.
Hohenstein – Weißer Hirsch Review
It was said of the author, Michael Crichton, that he was unusually cursed. By some Faustian bargain, he was able to come up with exceptionally good ideas for his novels, but then cruelly denied the ability to see any of them through to satisfying conclusions. It’s why most movies of his works (Jurassic Park, The […]
Murdryck – Födelsen Review
“’The first draft of almost everything you produce is shit. And the second draft is usually also shit. But you never wind up with anything worthwhile without producing those early drafts.’ A wise supervisor once told me these words, and she was right. Whether a terrified n00b trying to avoid the perils of the AMG Skull Pit, or attempting a complicated academic research paper, the early stages of anything worthwhile are often about finding your identity and your voice. That process can be messy and unglamorous, but it’s how anything great gets made.” Revise, Mutherf_ _ _ _ _!
Infera Bruo – Cerement Review
“I had barely glanced at the cover art for Cerement, the third LP from American progressive black metal act Infera Bruo, before writing this review. This is only due to my media player failing to automatically import the art from the album’s file folder, but as I began my drafting process and truly examined the art for the first time, I’m honestly stunned at how well it encapsulates the music I’ve been scrutinizing over the past week. The image is at odds with itself; it is at once a perfect representation of the scale and abstract nature of Lovecraft’s cosmic gods, and a restriction of those same ideas within a literal box.” Cosmos in a box.
Ewig.Endlich. – Auf Grund Review
“I love last year’s Ghost Bath release. I say this not to stir up yet another round of fruitless discussion debating the validity of the band, but rather to place this review in context. As much of a fan as I am of traditional black metal, I’m by no means a purist, and I see value in the genre’s post-rock inspired incarnation as a means of borrowing and remixing traditional blackened tropes in an unexpectedly serene context. Ewig.Endlich. displays an acute understanding of how this formula works; their debut LP, Auf Grund, runs the gamut from melancholic post-rock to traditional black metal and does so with a respectable level of competence.” Competence is its own reward.
