“Abstracted have been a band since 2013, and their long-gestating debut record, 2022’s Atma Conflux, was an effective and varied slab of djenty progressive death metal, marred by tepid production and less-than-stellar clean vocals. More than anything, though, it showed potential as a record brimming with ideas that was so close to being great. With Hiraeth, can the Brazilian group finally unify their influences into something more than the sum of their parts?” Add and Abstract.
You read all the lists, but nothing prepared you for THIS! Behold AngryMetalGuy.com’s Aggregated Top 20 Albums o’ 2025 and despair!
“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.
Kenstrosity’s 2025 was a crazy year! He’s here to reflect, write Oscar-length thank you lists, and regale you with a list that’s devious in its intricacies!
Tyme and Killjoy bring their Top ten(ish) lists to the public without fear or shame. Was that wise?
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.
The AMG Staff Lists are ready for review, examination, and ultimately, rejection.
The October Record(s) o’ the Month arrive just in time to take to your office holiday party! It’s a power move.
“When a group strikes gold, I imagine that there might be a temptation to continue mining the same vein. In 2022, Sweden’s An Abstract Illusion seized the metalverse by the collective throat and shook it with forceful pathos. Woe was a start-to-finish progressive death metal masterpiece which edged out some stiff competition to take the number one spot on my personal Top Ten(ish) list that year. The same was true for Carcharodon, whose mighty shoes—flippers?—I humbly struggle to fill. Now, with the release of The Sleeping City, An Abstract Illusion boldly declares that they are not content to repeat themselves.” Illusion and concrete.
“Over the past three years, I’ve come to appreciate Tómarúm’s surprising, mature debut Ash in Realms of Stone Icons at a deeper level than I had hoped to reach in the mere two weeks provided at the time. While I stand by my overall score—and by my critiques—my relationship with that record grew more meaningful and rewarding with time. Tómarúm’s spiritually charged, introspective point of view speaks volumes of suffering and strife, while the complexity of their musical compositions reflects in uncompromising clarity the fluid order that governs a turbulent chaos of the soul and of the heart. With this fresh in mind, I approach follow-up Beyond Obsidian Euphoria with great curiosity and equal anticipation.” Euphoriacs.
