“In defiance of the shit burger we’re all eating every day while we wait for the AI drone war to start, 2025 was my best year in a while.” An oddly optimist AMG Himself has written a list.
…and Oceans
Heavy Moves Heavy 2025 – AMG’s Ultimate Workout Playlist
The gym-dwelling AMG staffers curated a new playlist for your efforts to get back into shape in 2026. We cannot be held liable for any resulting injuries of deaths.
Alekhines Gun’s, ClarkKent’s and Owlswald’s Top Ten(ish) of 2025
Alekhines Gun, ClarkKent and Owlswald came out of the deep freeze to have a busy 2025. Now they get Big Boy Top Ten(ish) lists and things are getting real.
Morbikon – Lost Within the Astral Crypts
“When he’s not dealing in the Slime and Punishment of Municipal Waste or pissing off the neighbors with Iron Reagan, axe-wielder Phil “Landphil” Hall channels his focus into Morbikon. Formed in 2020, Hall’s black metal side-project earned recognition from AMG Industries when FeroxFerox highlighted the supergroup’s debut, Ov Mournful Twilight, as his surprise record of 2022. Rooted in all things kvlt and trve, the album’s second wave frostbitten anthems plunged into the remnants of burned churches and stale corpse paint, resulting in “eight meloblack rippers calibrated to bring winter to your soul and whiplash to your neck.”” Gaze into the Morb.
In Mourning – The Immortal Review
“Swedish sadboi staples In Mourning have had quite the journey over the 25 years since their founding. From the early days of doom-laden, gothic-tinged pall to the current era of dramatic, crooning melodic death, In Mourning’s trajectory arcs over one of the more unsung careers in a world filled with Insomniums, Be’lakors, and Omnium Gatherums. Yet, theirs is the one that stuck with me.” The smell of melodeath in the mourning.
Record(s) o’ the Month – May 2025
There are months when the Record(s) o’ the Month feels like a sacred duty. It is the noble, worthwhile culmination of rigorous listening and passionate discourse. And then there’s May. May, a month in which Dr. A.N. Grier tried to vote for a band called… SEXCAVE or some shit 4 or 5 different times with different pseudonyms, and where Dolphin Whisperer almost made me rage quit by making a single joke about “sky-tearing tonalities,” which, like… what kind of pretentious fucking bullshit is that? Do you people even listen to music or do you just sit around all day making up stupid poetic ways of saying absolutely nothing?
Walg – V Review
“As I have mentioned before, I’m focusing primarily on contact form promos this year. But every now and then, I will make exceptions, mostly to cover bands I have seniority over. Fortuitous, then, that twice-listing meloblack mavericks Walg sent their fifth opus V in through our back door, allowing me to keep my streak and eat it too!” Walg cake for all!
…and Oceans – The Regeneration Itinerary
“My history with Finland’s …and Oceans runs as deep as the Mariana Trench. As a burgeoning metalhead, the eclectic symphonic black metal of 1998’s The Dynamic Gallery of Thoughts immediately sank its hooks into me. Its successor, The Symmetry of I – The Circle of O, solidified their place with its atmospherically intense and innovative brutality. The two albums remain all-time favorites of mine to this day. Conversely, the group’s industrial era of A.M.G.O.D.(2001) and Cypher (2002)—preceding the group’s hiatus—split my interest until 2020’s Cosmic World Mother and the subsequent As in Gardens, So in Tombs marked …and Oceans’ triumphant return to form.” Return of the …
![Walg – IV [Things You Might Have Missed 2024]](https://www.angrymetalguy.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/a1800477041_10-768x768.jpg)
Walg – IV [Things You Might Have Missed 2024]
“I tend to be wary of bands that release a new record year after year. Usually, this means the output is rushed and under-edited. But Walg is intent on bucking that trend, and their third record managed to worm its way onto my list last year. A duo from the northern Netherlands, Walg (meaning ‘disgust’) started off during the pandemic when multi-instrumentalist Robert Koning and vocalist Yorick Keijzer reconnected after playing together in metalcore band None Shall Pass. Instead of figuring out a sound first and recording music after, their philosophy seems more akin to ‘fuck it, we ball.’ But instead of the expected messy overblown demo, they started pumping out high-quality melodic black metal, and as IV demonstrates, this is not even their final form.” Prolific Walgtastic.
![Labyrinthus Stellarum – Vortex of the Worlds [Things You Might Have Missed 2024]](https://www.angrymetalguy.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/a3893337588_10.jpg.webp)
Labyrinthus Stellarum – Vortex of the Worlds [Things You Might Have Missed 2024]
“Black metal and outer space are an excellent match, playing off the cold, cruel, and distant properties they both share. Bands like Arcturus, Mesarthim and Mare Cognitum have explored the reaches of the galaxy in their own ways. But the newest forerunners of this particular niche come from an unlikely background. Brothers Alexander and Misha Andronati, 24 and 17 years old respectively, launched Labyrinthus Stellarum back in 2021 and have persisted through the rain of bombs and shrapnel that’s since descended on their hometown of Odesa, Ukraine. Vortex of the Worlds is their second album, and it has made weekly returns to my spaceship comms ever since I first heard it back in April.” WARtex!
