As 2025 gets underway, the year has begun with some solid new releases. Here are our picks for January 2025’s best heavy metal albums.
1. The Great Old Ones – Kadath (Season Of Mist)
The beauty of The Great Old Ones‘ story lies in their evolution. With each step, they paint more vibrant, more diverse strokes on Lovecraft’s eerie and enigmatic world, as if crafting a score for its ever-expanding cinematic universe. Kadath, their fifth studio album, is the culmination of this journey. It is haunting and cinematic.
While still following The Great Old Ones’ familiar composition pattern, Kadath is a complex, intricate work. It’s not their masterpiece, but it’s undeniably their most complete work to date, weaving labyrinthine corridors of sounds and instruments and a bewildering orchestration of black metal with progressive metal, sludge metal, and post-metal elements. Kadath is a god born on the peak of the mountain of Kadath, among the dream-gods of the earth, in the arms of the Great Ones. It’s our pick for January’s best album.
2. The Halo Effect – March Of The Unheard (Nuclear Blast)
On their debut full-length Days Of The Lost, melo-death all-stars The Halo Effect lived up to the considerable hype. Now the follow-up March Of The Unheard arrives, and this collective of former In Flames personnel has crafted another batch of brutal yet melodic gems that will be difficult to shift from your cerebral cortex. This is Gothenburg metal writ large; there are few if any better qualified to craft a record of this ilk, bustling with melancholic melodies and catchy riffs.
There are moments when the group references past glories; “Detonate” possesses more than a whiff of In Flames’ “Pinball Map,” while the memorable title track’s riffage could’ve been lifted from the Whoracle album. But it’s a spirited affair, a celebration of this strain of metal without solely being a nostalgia act, as the proggier moments attest. Acoustic flourishes and strings help create a grander feel. Mikael Stanne, among heavy music’s busiest vocalists, isn’t phoning it in here, instead giving his all on hook-laden cuts like harmony-drenched “Cruel Perception” and “Conspire to Deceive.” Meanwhile, his sparingly used clean singing shines on “Forever Astray” and symphonic-infused “Between Directions.”
3. Harakiri For The Sky – Scorched Earth (AOP)
In 2021 the Austrian post black metal duo Harakiri For The Sky released the double album Mære. Their latest effort Scorched Earth isn’t quite that lengthy, but they still give fans their money’s worth on Scorched Earth, which clocks in at about 72 minutes including the two bonus tracks.
As with previous records, HFTS’s compositions are expansive, allowing plenty of time and space for musical twists and turns. Tempo and intensity changes keep things interesting throughout. Opener “Heal Me” that features Austere’s Tim Yatras is downright catchy at times, while songs like “No Graves But The Sea” are more complex but no less engaging. There are several other guests on the album as well. Svalbard’s Serena Cherry appears on “Too Late For Goodbyes,” and Groza’s P.G. appears on the Radiohead cover “Street Spirit (Fade Out).” With Scorched Earth, Harakiri For The Sky have delivered another immersive and memorable album.
4. Century – Sign Of The Storm (Dying Victims)
One of my favorite albums from 2023 was Century’s debut The Conquest Of Time so my expectations for their sophomore effort Sign Of The Storm are unusually high. Couple that with consistent quality from their label, Dying Victims and this should be a no-brainer.
Century waste no time getting into their heavy metal attack, not always having to be the fastest but the simple melodies and charging riffs would make a great entry point for fans of bands like Tribulation; having a bit of a darker and ominous edge to some of the riffs on “Children of the Past.” Century continue to impress with blasts from “Necromancer” and “Fly Away,” songs that don’t overstay their welcome but provide ample bombast to keep the energy consistent throughout the album. Sign Of The Storm is the first great traditional heavy metal album of 2025, showing that the sky’s the limit for this dynamic duo.
5. Häxkapell – Om Jordens Blod Och Urgravens Grepp (Nordvis)
The stronger pull into folk and classical music is the right move for Häxkapell’s contentious black metal on their sophomore album, Om Jordens Blod Och Urgravens Grepp. Lead songwriter Oraklet takes in his experience outside of metal, including singing for classical choir Erik Westberg Vocal Ensemble, to instill gravitas to these songs. His deep bass tones bring an earthly flavor to “Hem,” with acoustic guitars, flute and hand drum being the only accompaniment.
Violinist IPU (returning after contributing to Häxkapell’s debut record, Eldhymner) acts at times as a lead source of melody that the guitars follow from. “Vindar från förr” does this during its enlightening middle section, as does the pairing of acoustics and violin harmonizing on “Urgravens grepp är hårt och kallt.” Häxkapell are rising high with their excellent second album.
6. Danefae – Trøst (Self)
The greatest surprise of the month, at least for this reviewer, is the sophomore album Trøst from Danish prog-rockers Danefae. I missed their debut, 2022’s Tro, but am making up for it by playing Trøst a lot this month. The band has a rather unique style, mixing some folk elements with modern metal in very well-arranged fashion.
Holding it all together is the absolutely stunning vocal performance by leader Anne Olesen, who imbues every song with life beyond what the (also strong) music conveys. Each song is so interesting that one can’t help but pause any other activities and simply listen to the album.
