Weekly Update #47 – December 28, 2025

PecksMetalPicks’ Top 100 Albums of 2025

As 2025 draws to a close, it’s time to finally reveal my favorite albums of the year. A few notes before we get to that though.

First, I didn’t have a clear front-runner this year. I almost switched my number 1 and 2 at the last minute, but Psychoframe is doing crazy things for deathcore so it felt right to have them at the top. Similarly, my top 10 was very fluid and I was making big changes even at the end.

While I didn’t have a particular album dominate my attention this year, I found myself enjoying many more albums than usual. I typically stop caring about the exact order of my list around album 35. This time, I genuinely liked so many albums that I carefully ordered them up to around the 70 mark (after that, it’s a little more based on vibes and personal hot takes).

I was very happy to see a few newcomers launch themselves into my top 10. Midwinter came out of nowhere and seemingly moved higher up the list every time I revisited them. Thus Spoke Zarathustra got major points for recapturing the magic of early As Blood Runs Black, and Sold Soul’s solid take on deathcore and reliance on mid-range screams was refreshing. Catsclaw also offered an exciting answer to the question “what would thall sound like if it were metalcore?”

Rivers of Nihil and Whitechapel redeemed themselves (as did Architects, although they just missed out on the top 10). Angelmaker and Currents took their familiar positions near the top. Outside of the top 10, some other notable names that I want to highlight include Scowl, Malevolence, Adept, and Aviana.

There were some major disappointments though. After taking the number one spot by a mile in 2022, The Devil Wears Prada fell off a cliff – they are so lost in the sauce it isn’t even funny. Dance Gavin Dance also continued their decline. They were already struggling, and the loss of Tilian has officially marked the end of their most successful era. Kingdom of Giants is also struggling to stay relevant after two somewhat unremarkable EPs that did not live up to their 2020 masterpiece. Unfortunately, I think they’ll only continue to lose market share of the “cyberpunk metalcore” sound that they helped pioneer, especially as Bad Omens continues to go in that direction.

We also saw a few comebacks this year. Woe Is Me, Blessthefall, Adept, Vanna, and Aversions Crown all came back from the ashes.

In terms of genres, most of the exciting stuff is happening in deathcore. This is partly due to the fact that bands like Psychoframe, Lorna Shore, The Acacia Strain, Signs of the Swarm, and many others are branching off and creating entirely new paths for the genre, and it’s also partly due to the fact that most modern metalcore isn’t really metalcore anymore – it’s a bastardized mix of what used to be metalcore and mainstream “Octane-core” which strips out all the personality and replaces it with overly produced, synthetic sounds that cause all the bands to sound the same. As an example, I actually liked the new We Came As Romans album, but instrumentally, it has no defining features. There is nothing that makes it sound like We Came As Romans. If they had a different vocalist, you’d never be able to tell it was a WCAR album. Twenty other bands could have used the exact same instrumentals and it would have fit them just as well.

2026 has some great stuff in store, and although I am still only sending these newsletters out sporadically, I look forward to sharing my thoughts when I can. Thanks for your support.

1. Psychoframe – Salvation Laughs In The Face Of A Grieving Mother
2. Great American Ghost – Tragedy Of The Commons
3. Midwinter – Is There Anything You Want To Say?
4. Angelmaker – This Used To Be Heaven
5. Thus Spoke Zarathustra – I’m Done With Self Care, It’s Time For Others’ Harm
6. Whitechapel – Hymns In Dissonance
7. Rivers of Nihil – Rivers of Nihil
8. Catsclaw – Perfect Death
9. Sold Soul – Just Like That, I Disappear Entirely
10. Currents – All That Follows
11. Architects – The Sky, The Earth & All Between
12. Shadow of Intent – Imperium Delirium
13. Scowl – Are We All Angels
14. The Acacia Strain – You Are Safe From God Here
15. Fallujah – Xenotaph
16. Malevolence – Where Only The Truth Is Spoken
17. Lorna Shore – I Feel The Everblack Festering Within Me
18. Adept – Blood Covenant
19. Landmvrks – The Darkest Place I’ve Ever Been
20. Aversions Crown – A Voice From The Outer Dark
21. Invent Animate/Silent Planet – Bloom In Heaven
22. Aviana – Void
23. Livealie – Living In The Static
24. Vildhjarta – + där skogen sjunger under evighetens granar +
25. Silverstein – Antibloom
26. Dal Av – Petrichor
27. Unprocessed – Angel
28. Woe, Is Me – Daybreak
29. King 810 – Rustbelt Numetal
30. Deafheaven – Lonely People With Power
31. blessthefall – Gallows
32. Body Prison – Everything You Never Wanted To See
33. The Unguided – Hellven
34. Signs of the Swarm – To Rid Myself of Truth
35. Cell – I Will Not Be Found Here After
36. Pintglass – Pintglass  
37. Immortal Disfigurement – Hell Is Right In Front Of Us
38. Heavensgate – A Heart Is A Heavy Burden
39. Fox Lake – New World Heat
40. ten56. – IO
41. Memphis May Fire – Shapeshifter
42. Many Eyes – Combust
43. Trivium – Struck Dead
44. Your Spirit Dies – My Gnawing Pains Will Never Rest
45. Church Tongue – You’ll Know It Was Me
46. Bleed From Within – Zenith 
47. Soulkeeper – Join Us In Creating Excellence
48. Darko – Dethmask 3
49. Bleeding Through – Nine
50. Dreamwake – The Lost Years
51. Warspawn – Immaculate Objection
52. Ameonna – The Birth of Death
53. Synestia – Premonitions
54. The Crimson Armada – Ceremony 
55. Spiritbox – Tsunami Sea
56. Bury Tomorrow – Will You Haunt Me, With That Same Patience
57. Knosis – Genknosis
58. Heaven Shall Burn – Heimat
59. Despised Icon – Shadow Work
60. Killing of a Sacred Deer – A Visage of a Mangled Body
61. Fit For A King – Lonely God
62. Balmora – Prologue
63. Stick To Your Guns – Keep Planting Flowers
64. Rev3rent – Decimate
65. Kingdom of Giants – Burning Chrome
66. Spite – New World Killer
67. Darknet – TSP Vol-2: Symbiosis
68. Between The Buried And Me – The Blue Nowhere
69. Impending Doom – Towards The Light
70. Enterprise Earth – Descent Into Madness
71. Mugshot – All The Devils Are Here
72. I Prevail – Violent Nature
73. Justice For The Damned – Stay Relentless
74. Born of Osiris – Through Shadows
75. Dance Gavin Dance – Pantheon
76. We Came As Romans – All Is Beautiful…Because We’re Doomed
77. Bloom – The Light We Chase
78. Orthodox – A Door Left Open
79. withpaperwings – Six Thousand Days
80. Allegaeon – The Ossuary Lens
81. Killing Me Softly – To Forever Fall Through God’s Safety Net
82. Gutrectomy – Angst
83. Nicolas Cage Fighter – I Watched You Burn
84. Of Mice & Men – Another Miracle
85. Sanguisugabogg – Hideous Aftermath
86. Kardashev – Alunea
87. Wolves At The Gate – Wasteland
88. The Callous Daoboys – I Don’t Want To See You In Hell
89. Ends In Tragedy – Beauty In Death
90. Larcenia Roe – Extraction
91. The Devil Wears Prada – Flowers
92. Within Destruction – Animetal 
93. With Blood Comes Cleansing – With Blood Comes Cleansing
94. Peelingflesh – PF Radio 2Rolo
95. Tomassi – In The Echoes Of All Dreams
96. Conjurer – Unself
97. Underoath – The Place After This One
98. Nasty – Black My Heart
99. Molotov Solution – Void
100. Crown Magnetar – Punishment

Favorite Songs of 2025

1. Johnny Booth – Get Well Soon
After releasing my favorite album of 2023, Johnny Booth returned with one of my favorite songs in 2025. Mixing chaos with an experimental jazz interlude sees them teetering on the edge, but as long as they don’t fall too far into the deep end, they’ll be golden. They’re a favorite among newcomers. Everything they’ve done since 2019 has been incredible.

2. Psychoframe – Blueprints For Idol Genocide
I mean, this is just insane. Psychoframe has moved past the “revival deathcore” sound that first catapulted them to fame. This track has bass bombs on the same level as Extermination Dismemberment, but the real highlight is the Emmure inspiration from 2:38 to 3:00.

3. Midwinter – Red Phantom
These guys came out of left field with an incredible album and EP this year. This song reminds me a bit of Sleep Waker’s early material. Lots of darkness with a sharp tone. The singing also adds a surprisingly catchy element to songs that would otherwise be on the verge of scary heaviness for a metalcore band.

4. Silverstein – Skin & Bones
This is actually the song that made me want to make this list. It probably has my favorite chorus of the entire year. Silverstein’s two-part album had some massive hits, and it’s wild that they’ve stayed relevant for so long. The softer stuff kind of loses me, but I’m locked in when they add in some heavy notes.

5. Varials – I’ll Find The Dark
This song represents the most incredible turn around I’ve ever seen a band make. If Varials puts out an album that sounds like this next year, it will place high on my 2026 list. I was devastated when Travis left the band, especially because their 2019 album was so good, and I can’t believe they thought Mitchell Rodgers could replace him. He failed miserably, and after their embarrassingly bad album in 2022 (that I thought had ended their careers), I didn’t think we’d hear from them again. Well, they recruited the vocalist of Cell, and he has the potential to take them to new heights.

6. Delilah – Memory of a Memory
I’ll be impressed if anyone else has even heard of this band. I miss this classic metalcore sound so much. The modern era has some good stuff, but it’s just like…this is what metalcore is supposed to sound like. “Hold still. I’m hurting you because I love you.” Gets me every time.

7. Currents – It Only Gets Darker
I love heavy Currents. Why can’t they sound like this all the time? I guess it’s the “big metalcore band” tax that forces them to mix in mainstream stuff, but it’s nice to see that they still have a bite when they want to. Unfortunately, solid cover-to-cover material from them only comes in the form of EPs these days. I can’t believe ‘I Let The Devil In’ came out seven years ago. That was one of the best EPs of the last decade.

8. Disembodied Tyrant – 8.6 Blackout
One of the most intense deathcore songs of the year. The music video is absolutely stunning. Without a doubt, the most impactful piece of visual media accompanying music that I saw this year. A lot of people know about these guys from the split EP that they did with Synestia last year which was phenomenal. There are a few bands that fit in the “colossal deathcore” category, and Disembodied Tyrant is one of them.

9. Catsclaw – Perfect Death
I’ve been hyping these guys, and it’s no surprise to see them here. This is the best I’ve seen a metalcore band adopt the “thall” sound pioneered by Vildhjarta and Humanity’s Last Breath. And it’s no wonder, Catsclaw worked with Buster Odeholm and Calle Thomer (critical members of those bands) on their debut EP. Super bright future for these guys.

10. 156/Silence – Our Parting Ways
After placing in my top 10 last year, I’m stoked to see an exceptional return from 156/Silence. This one has more singing than expected, and the instrumentals are slightly subdued, but I like the atmosphere. I think their next album will have the perfect mix of soft/heavy. After that, we’ll have to keep an eye on whether they get pulled too far into mainstream metalcore.

11. Malevolence – If It’s All The Same To You
I came back to Malevolence’s album surprisingly often and this was a standout. It’s not flashy or heavy, it’s just a fun, solid metal track. The chorus has an old school feel, and gives me cowboy vibes. The guitarwork has nice variety too.

12. Above, Below – Soothsayer
This was a late addition, but I’ve enjoyed this band for a long time and I hope this is the start of something bigger. Heavy vocals, thick grooves, and awesome cleans that remind me a bit of Invent Animate. 

13. Lorna Shore – Unbreakable
As much as I tried, I couldn’t make myself care about the new Lorna Shore album, but this song was the highlight by a million miles. I like that the symphonic elements feel more triumphant and uplifting. Being able to understand more of the vocals is also helpful – that was something I really liked about ‘Immortal’ with CJ McCreery before Lorna Shore started dominating the deathcore “vocal olympics” category.

14. Dance Gavin Dance – All The Way Down
I hated this song so much when I first heard it, but what can I say, it grew on me. It’s the perfect mix of catchy and annoying. As much as I wanted to, I didn’t love Andrew Wells as the clean vocalist, but his efforts are decent here. I just feel like DGD has strayed from their swancore sound and Andrew Wells (as good as he is in Eidola) just isn’t built to fill Tilian’s shoes.

15. Great American Ghost – Lost In The Outline
I could have picked a couple different songs from this album, that’s why it was one of my favorites. I love their screaming style so I wanted to highlight this one because it also has impressive cleans – it just feels like he’s really belting the lines. There are a lot of similarities to Fit For An Autopsy (which you should know), but also Half Me (which you should check out).

16. Upon A Burning Body – Another Ghost
I actually liked UABB’s new album a lot more than I expected to. There are a lot of different sounds/styles and the variety serves them well. The biggest shock was how good they sound on this track. It’s kind of introspective and moody, which is not something I would expect UABB to be able to pull off.  The chorus is legitimately solid and they tastefully weave heavy notes in and out. 

17. Vildhjarta – + Sargasso +
The lords of thall have returned. There’s so much going on here, especially with the uneasy pauses and unsettling lurches. The singles were super impactful, and Calle Thomer and Buster Odeholm are legends that have certainly been involved with some of your other favorite bands. If I’m being honest though, I miss the relative straightforwardness (and English lyrics) of their first album.

18. After The Burial – Hum From The Hollow
It’s been six years since the last After The Burial album. The intermittent singles have been great, but it’s time for more. Here’s to hoping ATB comes back strong in 2026. If they continue down this path, they’ll crush it.

19. Rivers of Nihil – Criminals
After kicking out their longtime vocalist (who helped found the band in 2009), I didn’t have high expectations for new Rivers of Nihil, especially off the back of their 2021 album which was a huge downgrade from their 2018 one. However, there are definitely some gems in the new material. This track really stuck with me because it’s the best example of their new cleans and I like how they sound next to the rough screams.

20. King 810 – Rustbelt Nu Metal
I don’t normally pay a ton of attention to King 810 but they had a huge year. Great flow with their classic strained vocals and jumpy energy. 

21. Architects – Black Hole
Is it gimmicky? Yes. Is it embarrassingly cringey? Yes. Was it one of my most listened to songs this year? Yes. What can I say, as much as I hated on Architects’ new album, and even though I still stand by everything I wrote in my review, I actually ended up enjoying it quite a bit. 

22. Erra – Gore of Being
What a return to form! I felt like their 2024 album was so bland, especially compared to their 2021 album (which was my favorite album that year). It just felt like Jesse Cash was phoning it in with his cleans in 2024 and now he’s back to going full force on the last two singles. Idk if they’re working on a new album or EP, but if they keep this up, they could reclaim the number one spot next year.

23. The Acacia Strain – A Call Beyond
Quick and to the point. Emblematic of the current era of The Acacia Strain. Dark, gritty, and fast. 

24. Thus Spoke Zarathustra – I Can’t Save You
This whole album was killer. One of the only albums that reminds me of early As Blood Runs Black. A perfect balance between metalcore and deathcore. Plus, that Boundaries feature is next level.

25. Aversions Crown – A Voice From The Outer Dark
I’m stoked that Aversions Crown is back, and the icing on the cake is that they have Alex Teyen (from Black Tongue) as their new vocalist. They’ve moved a bit towards death metal and I’m pumped to hear what else they have in store. 

26. Scowl – Special
Probably the most unique inclusion on this list – I couldn’t get enough of Scowl this year. I really appreciate that the vocalist embraces her feminine cleans and doesn’t try to sound like a man with her screams. It seems basic, but it helps them stand out. Lots of energy and you can tell they’re having fun.

27. Woe Is Me – Devil In My Mind
This one got stuck in my head for a week when it came out. Do I love the idea of country-infused metalcore? Not really. But I’m happy to see Woe Is Me back on the horse, and I openly embrace my guilty pleasures.

28. Invent Animate / Silent Planet – Armageddon Eyes
Crazy collaboration between two powerhouses. I especially have a new appreciation for Invent Animate after seeing them live a few months ago. Absolutely unreal. Marcus Vik is one of the best metalcore vocalists I’ve ever seen. 

29. Unprocessed – Beyond Heaven’s Gate
It’s almost hypnotic. The beginning is peaceful yet captivating. The heavy moments fit in perfectly and remind me a bit of Dayseeker. 

30. Body Prison – Body Bag
Another band that rides the line between metalcore and deathcore. High tempo and unrelenting. Nice vocal variety that definitely tips the ending into deathcore territory.

31. Pintglass – Stella F.C.
You have to watch the music videos to fully appreciate Pintglass. They sound scary, but it’s literally a bunch of lads that work construction, drink beer, watch soccer, and get into shenanigans. What a fun time. The Matt Honeycutt feature is the cherry on top.

32. Many Eyes – The Clock Behind All Other Clocks
This had to make the list because I couldn’t stop saying “staring at the void with my sunglasses on” for a week. I miss Every Time I Die.

33. Despised Icon – Over My Dead Body
Despised Icon’s vocals have always been a little obnoxious to me, but they are OG deathcore kings and I like them in small doses. Funnily enough, this track also features Matt Honeycutt.

34. Shrine of Malice – Angel of Hatred
If these guys could consistently release material, they would be absolutely massive. Their vocalist is a beast and I love the power of his mid screams. He also has some of the most ridiculous highs in the genre. 

35. August Burns Red – Barbarian
A classic with a twist. The re-recorded version of Thrill Seeker for its 20th anniversary was so good, and this track was a highlight. It’s also super cool that it features Josh McManness (the original vocalist on this album from 20 years ago). It’s crazy that this album came out so long ago and is still better than 99% of modern metalcore.

36. Angelmaker – Silken Hands
I couldn’t be happier that Angelmaker picked up Ian Bearer (former vocalist of Rings of Saturn) as their second vocalist. He’s a monster and he fits in perfectly. Love the rolling breakdowns and utilization of the dual-vocalist approach.

Subscribers’ Top 25 Albums of 2025

This year, 14 newsletter recipients voted on their favorite albums. Thank you to those of you who took the time. I enjoy seeing your thoughts and appreciate that you keep this tradition alive. I chose to highlight the top 25 albums because even after the top 10, it was a tight race from 11-25th place. I have a summary below and you can see the full table with each individual person’s votes at the bottom (sorry it’s blurry, not sure why it’s doing that).

This year’s results are especially interesting because I also received 14 submissions in 2024, but the results are quite different this time.

In 2024, 12 of the 14 submissions included Knocked Loose, which gave them the number one spot with an overwhelming 1148 points. Second place (Boundaries with 679 points) and third place (Bring Me The Horizon with 677 points) also received votes from a majority of submissions.

This year, no single album received a majority vote. Architects won with only 480 points (which would have placed them in fourth place in 2024). Lorna Shore was a close second with 477 points. Sleep Token secured the number three spot with 388 points.

Why is this interesting? Mainly because it means there wasn’t a dominant album that you all rallied around. Instead of voting for the same few albums, you spread your votes around lots of artists and genres. The 14 submissions included 75 different bands. That’s a lot of variety.

Looking at your actual results, your top 5 make a lot of sense – they are big names that typically float to the top, especially considering the absence of major breakthroughs from younger bands (like Boundaries, 156/Silence, and Thrown in 2024). The biggest surprise (to me) about your results is that The Callous Daoboys came in 6th place and Orthodox came in 8th.

One final observation: our lists are pretty different this year. Only two of my top 10 appear in your top 10. But like I said before, without many landmark albums to rally around, we all wandered our own paths, and it’s kind of cool that our tastes led us to different places.

1. Architects – 480 points
2. Lorna Shore – 477 points
3. Sleep Token – 388 points
4. The Acacia Strain – 295 points
5. Whitechapel – 295 points
6. The Callous Daoboys – 290 points
7. Spiritbox – 285 points
8. Orthodox – 285 points
9. Psycho Frame – 284 points
10. Thornhill – 199 points
11. Stick To Your Guns – 198 points
12. Currents – 197 points
13. Eidola – 196 points
14. Deftones – 195 points
15. Impending Doom – 195 points
16. Invent Animate / Silent Planet – 194 points
17. Greyhaven – 193 points
18. Deafheaven – 192 points
19. Sanguisugabogg – 192 points
20. Landmrks – 191 points
21. Shadow of Intent – 191 points
22. Angelmaker – 190 points
23. Between the Buried and Me – 190 points
24. Dying Wish – 190 points
25. Church Tongue – 189 points