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The Year In Review – Top 10 Hard Rock/Heavy Metal Albums of 2025

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“Who the fuck is Justin Bieber?” – Ozzy Osbourne

There’s not much to celebrate in rock and metal music in the same year when we lost the one and only John Michael “Ozzy” Osbourne. Nothing will ever be the same without the Prince of Darkness, the Madman, The Wizard of Ozz. There isn’t a single artist or band reviewed in the history of The Headbanging Moose that wasn’t influenced in several ways by Ozzy and, of course, by Black Sabbath. It is a very sad year indeed. However, Ozzy was always in a great mood, always happy, and I’m sure that, wherever he is now, he wants to see us all smiling and laughing, because that’s what life is all about. He also wants us to keep attending rock and metal concerts to have a good time with our loved ones, with our closest friends, just like Keith Ibbitson of Metal Paparazzi and I did so many times this year, covering incredible bands the likes of Blackbraid, Ne Obliviscaris, Cattle Decapitation, Blind Guardian, and so on. I’ve also had the utmost pleasure of seeing the mighty Judas Priest in Dalhalla, Sweden, a dream come true for this fanboy here, and I can’t wait to “run for my life” in 2026. Having said all that, let’s honor the life of Ozzy with The Headbanging Moose’s Top 10 Hard Rock/Heavy Metal Albums of 2025, excluding EP’s, best of’s and live albums, and keep on rockin’ like the Madman until our very last breath!

1. Blackbraid – Blackbraid III (REVIEW)
Behold the stunning next chapter in the musical and spiritual journey of the witch hawk of Black Metal hailing from the Adirondack Mountains.
Best song of the album: Wardrums At Dawn On The Day Of My Death

2. Werewolves – The Ugliest of All (REVIEW)
The torchbearers of “Caveman Death Metal” continuing to annihilate intellects with an unlistenable barrage of truly hideous music.
Best song of the album: The Ugliest of All

3. Testament – Para Bellum (REVIEW)
Let’s prepare for war to the sound of the breathtaking fourteenth studio album by California’s own masters of old school Thrash Metal.
Best song of the album: Para Bellum

4. Helloween – Giants & Monsters (REVIEW)
These German giants of Heavy Metal and monsters of Rock N’ Roll are back with their ass-kicking seventeenth studio album.
Best song of the album: Majestic

5. An Abstract Illusion – The Sleeping City (REVIEW)
This incredible Swedish Progressive Death and Black Metal entity returns with their heaviest and most atmospheric work to date.
Best song of the album: Like a Geyser Ever Erupting

6. Allegaeon – The Ossuary Lens (REVIEW)
World domination awaits to the sound of the striking new beast by one of the must-see bands of the current tech death scene worldwide.
Best song of the album: The Swarm

7. 1914 – Viribus Unitis (REVIEW)
Trench warfare meets blackened death and doom in 1914’s fourth onslaught of war-torn fury.
Best song of the album: 1918 Pt 3: ADE (A Duty to Escape)

8. Cryptopsy – An Insatiable Violence (REVIEW)
Canada’s own Death Metal machine returns with their ruthless ninth studio album.
Best song of the album: Until There’s Nothing Left

9. Baest – Colossal (REVIEW)
Back from the fires of Denmark, this unstoppable creature will crush you with their fourth studio album.
Best song of the album: Colossus

10. Diabolizer – Murderous Revelations (REVIEW)
The torchbearers of diabolical abomination unite once again to drag us down into the fiery abysses of Turkish Death Metal without warning.
Best song of the album: Deathmarch of the Murderous Tyrant

And here we have the runner-ups, completing the top 20 for the year:

11. Lorna Shore – I Feel The Everblack Festering Within Me (REVIEW)
12. Impureza – Alcázares (REVIEW)
13. Crimson Shadows – Whispers of War (REVIEW)
14. Primal Fear – Domination (REVIEW)
15. Serenity In Murder – Timeless Reverie (REVIEW)
16. Khôra – Ananke (REVIEW)
17. Panzerchrist – Maleficium – Part 2 (REVIEW)
18. Ominous Ruin – Requiem (REVIEW)
19. Wrath of Belial – Embers of Dead Empires (REVIEW)
20. Grima – Nightside (REVIEW)

Not only that, here’s once again our Top 10 EP’s of 2025, proving once and for all that the duration of an album is not that important in the end. As long as the music is great, the whole thing can be only one second long, like the classic “You Suffer” by Napalm Death!

1. When Plagues Collide – Kingmaker (REVIEW)
2. De Profundis – The Gospel Of Rot (REVIEW)
3. Fimbul Winter – What Once Was (REVIEW)
4. NecroticGoreBeast – Brute (REVIEW)
5. Serpent Corpse – Retaliate (REVIEW)
6. Akouphenom – Connections To The Erebus (REVIEW)
7. Necht – The Inevitable Suffering (REVIEW)
8. Discovery Through Torment – Telesynthetic Rebirth (REVIEW)
9. Der Rote Milan – Verlust (REVIEW)
10. Eleine – We Stand United (REVIEW)

Do you agree with our list? What are your top 10 albums of 2025? Also, don’t forget to tune in every Tuesday at 10pm BRT on Rádio Coringão to enjoy the best of classic and underground metal with Jorge Diaz and his Timão Metal, and every Thursday at 8pm UTC+2 on Midnight Madness Metal e-Radio for the best of underground metal with The Headbanging Moose Show!

Metal Xmas and a Headbanging New Year! See you in 2026!

And of course, as we really don’t like those boring Christmas songs here on The Headbanging Moose, we’ll leave you with what’s perhaps the most emotional and strongest metal hymn of the year, the charity version of “War Pigs”, by Black Sabbath, recorded by Judas Priest and with Ozzy himself sharing the vocal duties with the Metal God Rob Halford! This is the epitome of rock and metal music!

Generals gathered in their masses
Just like witches at black masses…

Album Review – Sanguisugabogg / Hideous Aftermath (2025)

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The ‘Bogg is back in action with an ass-kicking record as gore-obsessed and violence-inclined as their prior works, but with a career-defining command over their ugly art.

Known for being THAT band with the unpronounceable name and unreadable logos, Columbus, Ohio-based Brutal Death Metal/Deathcore entity Sanguisugabogg returns to action with Hideous Aftermath, a record as gore-obsessed and violence-inclined as their prior works Tortured Whole (2021) and Homicidal Ecstasy (2023), but with a career-defining command over their ugly art. Recorded by Zach Weeks, produced by Kurt Ballou at Godcity Recording Studio, and mastered by Mike Kalajian at Rogue Planet Mastering, the newborn beast by frontman Devin Swank, guitarist Drew Arnold, bassist Ced Davis, and drummer Cody Davidson is the work of a band who has already cut a bloody swath into the underground and beyond, leaving any “Caveman Death Metal” tags in the dust while also flexing every muscle they have.

It’s pedal to the metal right from the beginning in Rotted Entanglement, led by the vicious drumming by Cody, almost sounding like old school, primeval Death Metal. In Felony Abuse of a Corpse we face guest vocals by the one and only Damonteal Harris (of Brutal Death Metal beast PeelingFlesh), and of course such an awesome partnership with Devin would result in pure sonic madness, with the riffs by Drew exhaling hatred; followed by Ritual Autophagia, featuring guest vocals by Todd Jones (of Nails), another slamming extravaganza by the quartet with the bass and drums by Ced and Cody, respectively, transpiring heaviness. They show no mercy for our souls in Heinous Testimony, offering an avalanche of unyielding Death Metal, with Devin’s Neanderthal vocals bringing pure hatred to their music; whereas the roars by guest Josh Welshman (of Defeated Sanity) add even more insanity to Abhorrent Contraception, with its lyrics reeking of evil (“Don’t run away, let’s play house, just stay / I’ll send them to their room, just ignore them for one day / And while they’re there, it’s just you and me right here / I’ll do what it takes for us forever”).

The second half of the album kicks off in an ominous manner, with a cryptic tune titled Repulsive Demise, led by the rumbling bass by Ced and setting the stage for the band to  kill us all in Erotic Beheading, with Drew setting fire to the atmosphere with his scathing riffage. In other words, its putrid, vile sound will please all fans of the most demented form of Brutal Death Metal, and needless to say, it will work brilliantly live. The quartet keeps hammering their sonic weapons in great fashion in Sanctified Defilement, with the deep, gargantuan vociferations by Devin sending shivers down our spines; and in Semi Automatic Facial Reconstruction we’re treated to the more-than-special guest vocals by Travis Ryan (of the unparalleled metal commando Cattle Decapitation), obviously turning it into one of the top moments of the album, with the instrumental chaos blasted by Drew, Ced and Cody providing such a phenomenal vocal duet with exactly what they need to crack the skies with their visceral roars. Lastly, featuring guest vocals by Dylan Walker (of Full of Hell), Paid in Flesh offers almost eight minutes of the most demonic form of the band’s blend of Death Metal, showcasing lots of break, variations, and of course, endless violence flowing from their riffs, beats, and the gruesome gnarls by Devin.

With Hideous Aftermath, Sanguisugabogg have proven themselves more than just an eccentric death crew on an acid-addled hateroll. They’re both champions of the underground and a musical force unto themselves. “It’s definitely our most death metal record, our most personal record, our most focused and brutal record to date,” commented Devin Swank, who’s waiting for you alongside his bandmates on Facebook and on Instagram with news, tour dates and so on. Don’t forget to also stream their undisputed brutality on Spotify, and of course to grab a copy of their excellent new album from their own BandCamp or webstore, from Century Media Records, or by clicking HERE or HERE. Hideous Aftermath showcases a band that’s not just out for blood, but out for YOUR blood, and once you find yourself in the hands of the ‘Bogg, there’s no escape.

Best moments of the album: Felony Abuse of a Corpse, Semi Automatic Facial Reconstruction and Paid in Flesh.

Worst moments of the album: Repulsive Demise.

Released in 2025 Century Media Records

Track listing
1. Rotted Entanglement 5:37
2. Felony Abuse of a Corpse 5:23
3. Ritual Autophagia 4:48
4. Heinous Testimony 3:20
5. Abhorrent Contraception 5:30
6. Repulsive Demise 4:02
7. Erotic Beheading 2:52
8. Sanctified Defilement 3:32
9. Semi Automatic Facial Reconstruction 4:33
10. Paid in Flesh 7:50

Band members
Devin Swank – vocals
Drew Arnold – guitars
Ced Davis – bass
Cody Davidson – drums

Guest musicians
Josh Welshman – vocals on “Abhorrent Contraception”
Travis Ryan – vocals on “Semi Automatic Facial Reconstruction”
Dylan Walker – vocals on “Paid in Flesh”
Todd Jones – vocals on “Ritual Autophagia”
Damonteal Harris – vocals on “Felony Abuse of a Corpse”

Album Review – Werewolves / The Ugliest of All (2025)

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The torchbearers of “Caveman Death Metal” strike again with album number six, continuing to annihilate intellects with an increasingly unlistenable barrage of truly hideous music.

By now, everyone knows Melbourne, Australia’s own Werewolves and their insane mission of releasing ten Death Metal albums in ten years. Now in 2025 the torchbearers of “Caveman Death Metal” strike again with album number six, The Ugliest of All, continuing to annihilate intellects with an increasingly unlistenable barrage of truly hideous music. Mixed and mastered by Joe Haley at Crawlspace Productions, and once again displaying a visceral artwork by Mitchell Nolte, the beleaguered artist of the previous albums, the sixth blasphemous offering by Sam Bean on vocals and bass, Matt Wilcock on the guitars, and David Haley on drums is not only a worthy follow-up to their 2024 beast Die For Us, but a lesson in primeval, visceral Death Metal by one of the most (if not THE most) demented bands to ever arise from Down Under.

There’s not a single second of peace in the bludgeoning opener Fools of the Trade, with David already doing what he does best, which is crushing our damned bodies with his inhumane technique; and we gotta love all of their song titles such as I Want to be Offended, with the music being a lecture in ruthless Death Metal led by the scorching riffs by Matt. Skullbattering keeps the level of animosity absurdly high, with Sam barking the song’s violent lyrics nonstop in another lesson in brutality from the stunning Australia. Sam roars like a rabid beast in Unoriginal Sin, offering an overdose of blasphemy flowing from all instruments for our total and depraved delight, whereas more of David’s unstoppable, thunderous beats and fills will shake the foundations of the earth in the demolishing The Enshittification, inviting us all for some quality time inside the pit.

Logorrea sounds like some of their darkest creations from From the Cave to the Grave and My Enemies Look and Sound like Me, which obviously means it’s an awesome onrush of brutality, gore and rage, ending in a truly insane mode and connecting instantly with Rats Versus Snakes, one of the first singles released, showcasing the trio’s trademark fury spearheaded by the deep guttural by Sam. Then adding hints of Punk Rock and Hardcore to their undisputed Death Metal sound, it’s time for a no shenanigans, fast and furious aria titled Slaves to the Blast, again with Matt delivering pure electricity from his maniacal riffage. And last but most definitely not least, ending the album we have the demonic title-track The Ugliest of All, one of their strongest songs to date, sounding simply infuriated form start to finish, with David yet again hammering our cranial skulls mercilessly until our very last drop of blood leaves our frail bodies.

“Why did we call the album The Ugliest Of All?” Sam asks himself, seeing as though there’s no-one actually asking him any questions. “On the one hand, we are turning into a fearsomely hideous old-man band. We’re all grey, I’ve got a gut, it’s like if The Hills Had Amps. Also, I read an interview with Malevolent Creation where Phil Fasciana was bragging about how they were the ugliest band alive, and I thought that was the coolest thing ever. Hi-top sneakers are cool. Denim shorts are cool.” In the end, it doesn’t really matter if you follow those headbanging bastards on Facebook or on Instagram, if you stream their pulverizing, no shenanigans music on YouTube or on Spotify, or if you purchase the indomitable The Ugliest of All from their own website or BandCamp page, from Direct Merch, from Nightshift, or from Plastic Head. Even if no one cares at all about The Ugliest of All, 2026 will see the band returning in full force with album number seven, because that’s what Werewolves are all about. They’re bringing to us this year the ugliest of all albums, aiming at becoming the heaviest of all bands.

Best moments of the album: I Want to be Offended, Skullbattering, Logorrea, Slaves to the Blast and The Ugliest of All.

Worst moments of the album: None.

Released in 2025 Back On Black Records

Track listing
1. Fools of the Trade 4:08
2. I Want to be Offended 3:36
3. Skullbattering 3:15
4. Unoriginal Sin 4:13
5. The Enshittification 3:40
6. Logorrea 3:21
7. Rats Versus Snakes 3:43
8. Slaves to the Blast 3:01
9. The Ugliest of All 3:28

Band members
Sam Bean – vocals, bass
Matt Wilcock – guitars
David Haley – drums

Album Review – Werewolves / Die For Us (2024)

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Australia’s most savage beast is back with their fifth studio opus, a lecture in Death Metal perfect for beating anyone back to life.

If you weren’t there in 1992, your taste in music’s shit. This is the exact message that Melbourne, Australia’s most savage horde, the ruthless Technical Death/Black Metal beast Werewolves, in sending out with their amazing new album, simply titled Die For Us, the follow-up to their also insane 2023 album My Enemies Look and Sound like Me. Recorded by Matt Wilcock and Adam Calaitzis at Toyland Recording Studio (guitars), by Sam Bean (bass), by Jack Hartley at Jack Hartley Audio (vocals), and by Joe Haley at AAA Studios (drums), mixed and mastered by Joe Haley at Crawlspace Productions, and once again displaying a visceral artwork by Mitchell Nolte, the new opus by the aforementioned Sam Bean on vocals and bass, Matt Wilcock on the guitars, and David Haley on drums is a lesson in violence recommended for fans of Hate Eternal, Deicide, Krisiun and so on, ticking every box for modern Death Metal with excruciatingly violent blasting straight out the gates and very little let-up until the bitter end, being the perfect depiction of what the band likes to call “Caveman Death Metal.”

The album already starts in full force as one of their traditional sick intros explodes into the most brutal form of Death Metal in the title-track Die for Us, with David showcasing already all his dexterity, violence and passion for heavy music behind his drums; whereas a demented laugh by Sam kicks off the fulminating Beaten Back to Life, where Matt sounds ruthless armed with his scorching riffs while David continues to hammer our cranial skulls mercilessly. Furthermore, it’s indeed a beautiful song about the glory of 90’s Death Metal (“If you weren’t there in 1992 / Your taste in music’s shit / Fuck you / If you never tape traded / Or raided corner stores for vinyl / You’re lacking something spinal / Fuck you”). The trio keeps delivering sheer animosity and rage in Fuck You Got Mine, another awesome tune that will certainly ignite some wild mosh pits whenever played live, and featuring guest vocals by Australian veteran Rok (of Sadistik Exekution) we have My Hate Is Strong, even more infernal and brutal than its predecessors, carrying the perfect name for its sonority with Sam roaring and barking like a rabid creature.

If you think they’re going to slow down or sell off, you’re absolutely wrong; quite the contrary, it’s pedal to the metal in an infernal Death Metal attack by those demented Aussie wolves titled The Company Wolves, followed by Spittle-Flecked Rant, another fantastic Death Metal onrush by the trio with its riffs sounding inspired by Cannibal Corpse while David once again blasts his drums nonstop in a lecture in savagery and rage. We All Deserve to Be Slaves, the second single of the album, is as acid, visceral and brutal as it can be, with Sam barking the song’s rebellious lyrics like a beast, flowing into Under a Urinal Moon, the darkest of all songs, with Matt extracting Stygian, cryptic sounds form his axe, being therefore perfect for some neck-breaking activity. And their violence keeps going strong in the closing tune Stay Down, where once again Sam and Matt slash their axes in the name of pure old school Death Metal.

Having already expressed the purpose of releasing ten albums in ten years after their inception back in 2019, Werewolves are hitting the halfway mark with Die For Us, and let’s say they’re just getting better and better with each one of their demonic, austere albums. Hence, go check what those middle-aged bastards are up to on Facebook and on Instagram, and grab a copy of the infuriated Die For Us from their own website or BandCamp page, as well as from Direct Merch in Australia and New Zealand, Night Shift in the United States, and Plastic Head Distribution (CD or LP) in the UK and Europe. Just to make things clear to you all, they will beat you back to life to the sound of their newborn beast, because their hate is strong and you all deserve to be slaves, until you die again in the name of ruthless Death Metal. I think you got the idea now, right?

Best moments of the album: Die for Us, Beaten Back to Life, My Hate Is Strong and Spittle-Flecked Rant.

Worst moments of the album: Absolutely none.

Released in 2024 Independent

Track listing
1. Die for Us 4:48
2. Beaten Back to Life 3:22
3. Fuck You Got Mine 4:16
4. My Hate Is Strong 4:07
5. The Company Wolves 3:30
6. Spittle-Flecked Rant 2:51
7. We All Deserve to Be Slaves 3:21
8. Under a Urinal Moon 4:46
9. Stay Down 4:25

Band members
Sam Bean – vocals, bass
Matt Wilcock – guitars
David Haley – drums

Guest musician
Rok – vocals on “My Hate Is Strong”