Okay, some musical highlights first...
THE SUN THROUGH A TELESCOPE - I released my 4th full-length album WARM, GREY DAY earlier this year. Almost 12 months later and I'm still pretty happy with it. I also managed to bring TSTAT to the stage not once but TWICE! All thanks to a few friends throwing me some massively supportive bones. The first show was part of the amazing FESTIVAL FANTÓME in Quyon, Quebec - opening for SECRET CHIEFS 3, no less! The second was part of SUSTAIN 2 - an amazing night of drone/noise performances. I was joined by GARY THIBERT (from THEY GRIEVE) on bass and SEB CHOQUETTE (of FUCK THE FACTS and MERDARAHTA) on drums. It was an 18 year itch that finally got scratched! Pretty damn cool.
PALLBEARER INDUSTRY - We released our 4th full-length album CONSTELLATION SCEANCE along with the AFTERLIFE EP. Played a few solid gigs this year as well, including the latest installment of PSYCHFEST! Always an honour and a pleasure to be included. More new music to come in 2026!
GREATHUNTER - We released one new song - DAY OF THE DEAD - from our upcoming album/EP (not sure what it's gonna be yet). Another lineup shakeup as well - we lost our backup vocalist and are currently a 4-piece. Lots of cool gigs played this year and more to come in 2026.
COASTAL PIGS - A quiet year. We will reconvene at some point, I'm sure.
MERDARAHTA - We jammed a bunch of times after a 10-year hiatus. Really fun to lay into this stuff again with the guys. There is a show booked this summer. Stay tuned!
Myself and BLAKE - still jamming, still hoping to bring some other poor souls into our orbit to help out with our knuckle-dragger death metal songs.
And finally, a look back at some of the bands I was fortunate enough to catch in 2025 - SLOWDIVE, MOGWAI, BRAINIAC (I found out weeks before the MOGWAI show that BRAINIAC were the opening band - BONUS!!!!), FABIO FRIZZI, CLUTCH, KURT VILE, THE PIXIES, MEN I TRUST, DARK PLAINS, BIIPIIGWAN, ALASKAN, DEFTONES (this one was especially fun because I went with my daughter as well as my friends - we all rocked out), IDLES, MORISSEY (also super fun - went with my wife AND daughter!), NO JOY, SKYLAB '73, FAMILY MAN, SECRET CHIEFS 3, NEIL HAMBURGER, MAJOR ENTERTAINER, MR. LET'S PAINT, and THEY GRIEVE (saw them on 2 separate occasions - once doing an ambient set and the other was an insanely loud guitar-drone set).
And now, here are the releases from 2025 that I enjoyed the most (in no particular orders):
1) NO JOY - BUGLAND "This album is probably my frontrunner for best album of the year. Highly anticipated and did not disappoint! It's the perfect crossroads between the more electronic vibes of 2020's MOTHERHOOD and the 80s/90s shoegazing alt-rock of MORE FAITHFUL, WAIT TO PLEASURE, etc. The production is vibrant and exploding with every colour of the sonic rainbow. Layers upon layers of sounds. I had the good fortune to share the stage with them earlier in the year (with GREATHUNTER) and they were as good as ever."
2) XEELAND - MASTER BUILDER "An album recommended by a friend who knew exactly who the "target audience" was when he did so. Ambient, cold, atmospheric, monolithic, empiric! Some tracks are on the minimal side with droning synths over simple beats. And other tracks are even MORE on the minimal side with the same droning synths over no beats. It all shines a cold light into the nooks and crannies of my long dead soul! What fun!"
3) THE COSMIC TONES RESEARCH TRIO - S/T "Some absolutely wonderful spiritual jazz with hints of modern classical and ambient. I know nothing about this group and don't remember how they came across my radar (I enjoyed the EP they put out last year), but I do know this - if you're having an absolute shit day, this could help."
4) FAMILY MAN - SO IT GOES "I was lucky enough to catch this band when they played in Ottawa a few months ago. A crushing take on noise-punk and their live show is very confrontational in the most kind-hearted way. There's definitely some 90s noise rock vibes happening here but you're also getting the influence of all the "The Whatevers" bands from the early 2000s. Abrasive meets anthemic."
5) JONNY NASH - ONCE WAS OURS FOREVER "Not to be confused with local-to-Ottawa rocker and long-timer JOHNNY NASH! That will only register if you're from Ottawa and old. Anyways, this is very far removed from anything that rocks (despite the name - Jonny Nash sounds like a guy who looks exactly like Kenickie from Grease and plays a hollow-body guitar). Rather, this album is several pieces of guitars layered one on top of another to create some truly beautiful ambient soundscapes. Vocals are intermittent, it's mostly instrumental. Gorgeous music to get lost in."
6) SLOW CRUSH - THIRST "This is that brand of shoegaze that is for the rockers (a la WHIRR or the first couple of NOTHING albums). Which is to say it can get pretty heavy a times. But from Belgium! Crushingly beautiful. Hey, the band name is making sense!"
7) TORTOISE - TOUCH "There's not much to say about this album other than TORTOISE released a new TORTOISE album and it sound exactly like TORTOISE! Bless em!"
8) SHINER - BELIEVEYOUME "Well, SHINER decided to keep it going after 2020's SCHADENFREUDE. Me who dwells permanently within the 90s post-hardcore idiom says "thank you!"."
9) CARDIACS - LSD "Now, this is an album with an extensive backstory. CARDIACS are a band with a long and storied history, as far as progressive-punk goes. A few years ago, singer/guitarist TIM SMITH attended a MY BLOODY VALENTINE concert and, that same night, suffered a stroke. He spent many years convalescing but was also afflicted with dystonia which meant he was incapable of playing music at all. All the while, this album was in the works. Well, we lost TIM in 2020 at the age of 59 but the album did not follow him into oblivion. Rather, the extended CARDIACS family rallied to see it come to fruition (almost entirely due to the demands of the FUCKING ALPHABET BUSINESS CONCERN). So, TIM is all over this album but the parts that lacked his contribution are rounded out by a stupendous cast of characters, including one of my favourite musicians (and self-proclaimed CARDIACS superfan) MIKE VENNART. Anyways, backstory aside, this is a jaw-dropping collection of pop songs put through a filter of indescribably dense prog-punk psychedelia. The album ends with that familiar 4 tones familiar to those familiar with CARDIACS lore that only serves to twist the knife even further - that is to say "and so ends the final CARDIACS album - hope you enjoyed it". Well, I did. And yes, I am crying."
10) MIDWIFE / MATT JENCIK - NEVER DIE "A truly mesmerizing collaboration between MIDWIFE (who I've been a huge fan of for a few years now) and MATT JENCIK (with whom I am not familiar - he played on one DON CABALLERO album and in the live version of SLINT, both very cool credits). The much-loved, fuzzed-out, minimal take on shoegaze shines brightly on here (that would be the MIDWIFE contribution). Near as I can tell, the MATT JENCIK side of things involve elements of a dark take on new wave and dream pop with some lo-fi ambient thrown in as well. The overall vibe is bleak and comforting at the same time. Brew a tea, sit in a comfy chair, and put this on."
11) WITCH BOLT - MARIGOLD "Well, the goddamned Youtube algorithm let me know that Dungeon Synth is a thing! After wading through some AI-generated garbage, we find a standout artist in the form of Kentucky's WITCH BOLT. Despite the funny genre tag, this is basically ambient or dark ambient, whichever you like. Very minimal and very soothing. Sad and not sad at the same time. But there is a LOT more going on than just the music. There seems to be a ton of lore behind every release, with this one in particular having an accompanying book available to order with the cassette. I've yet to dive in to the details but I do appreciate the "no-half-measures" approach that is taken here."
12) BLACKWATER HOLYLIGHT - IF YOU ONLY KNEW "An absolute crusher of an EP from this Portland, Oregon based group. A fantastic blend of mellow and heavy, cycling through passages of Psych/Stoner/Doom/Shoegaze, and all very witchy to boot. Sweet RADIOHEAD cover too!"
13) BLOOD MONOLITH - THE CALLING OF FIRE "Deathgrind for sure but more grind than death, I'd say. Except for the song lengths, which are epic by grindcore standards (almost all of them are over 3 minutes!!!). Nevertheless, this ticks a lot of my boxes when it comes to extreme metal - the big one being that it's more chaotic than unbelievably tight and precise (an approach which usually puts me to sleep). A plethora of kickass, brutal riffs are the constant shining star here. Interesting pedigree here too, members of NAILS, UNDEATH, and ULTHAR."
14) QUADE - THE FOEL TOWER "An excellent take on post-rock from these Bristol-based young men. Shades of SLINT, BARK PSYCHOSIS, MOGWAI, and the last 2 TALK TALK albums abound. Spacious, pastoral, and dreary. A good description of this album as well as the land from which they hail."
15) SNÖÖPER - WORLDWIDE "At first listen, this sounds like a pretty goofy band. And they are. But there's a whole lot going on here. Speedy hardcore meets new wave meets funk-infused post punk. The vocals keep pace with the frenetic music in such a fun and odd way - almost deadpan and over-enunciating everything. This is a band that found their sound from the get-go and are just drilling down."
16) DEFTONES - private music "Their best album since DIAMOND EYES and maybe even their best album ever. Seriously - WHITE PONY sucks and AROUND THE FUR, I listened to it a million times back in the day and it's got some killer tracks that still hold up but, overall, it just sounds half-baked to me. For some reason, this band just keeps getting better. There's at least 3 songs on here that are right up there with their very best stuff. The screamy vocals are pretty much absent and I'm okay with that. I saw them earlier this year and couldn't believe the amount of young people in attendance. A 90s band that are currently releasing their best stuff and are as relevant as ever."
17) THE BUG vs GHOST DUBS - IMPLOSION "Another beautifully dark and impenetrable slab of ambient dub from long-timer THE BUG, except this time he's going tit for tat with GHOST DUBS who serves it up just as vile and stanky. This is the soundtrack to driving throughout the urban sprawl on a dark, dismal, rainy day. Hoodies up!"
18) MOGWAI - THE BAD FIRE "I've said this before, and I'll keep saying it every time this band makes the list - when it comes to MOGWAI, I am an idiot. Totally missed the boat on them the first time around. Willfully. Like, people were practically thrusting YOUNG TEAM down my throat when it was brand new. My MR. BUNGLE addled brain had different priorities, it would seem. Lucky for me, MOGWAI have decided not to meander into sucky oblivion, as is evidenced on this album which is an amazing collection of tunes - half of which are the kind of slow, cinematic, epic post-rock we've come to expect from the band; the other half being upbeat, poppy, anthemic, and occasionally with lead vocals! A very pleasing variety of sounds."
19) DEAFHEAVEN - LONELY PEOPLE WITH POWER "One of the very few albums that also made the end-of-year lists that people actually read (look, I checked out the GEESE album, it's good and sometimes it's great but let's not lose our heads, okay?). This album basically encapsulates all the things that DEAFHEAVEN dipped their toes into throughout their past releases. It's got longer-form slow burners a la ORDINARY CORRUPT HUMAN LOVE, the ferocity of NEW BERMUDA, a few nods to the shoegaze style of INFINITE GRANITE, and the emotional weight of SUNBATHER. The final 2 songs on the album (WINONA and THE MARVELOUS ORANGE TREE) are up there with all their best stuff. In short, another super solid album from this fantastic band.
20) THE YOUNG GODS - APPEAR DISAPPEAR "Bless these Swiss men for continuing to put out quality music. It's certainly not the (sampled) guitar-forward stuff they were doing in the 80s/90s. Rather, it's deviated over the years into a sweet blend of psychedelic, electronic, ambient, cinematic...hard rock? Is that still a term? Let's bring it back."
21) THE WORLD PROVIDER - THEMES "A fantastic new album from this art-damaged, glam-infused, pop sensation! Never mind the fact that he's a good friend of mine and NEVER MIND the fact that I play guitar on the opening track! This is a stellar collection of THE WORLD PROVIDER's usual brand of catchy pop songs offset with a nice dose of less-than-typical (for him) ponderous numbers. Extroverted and introspective all at once! Ya can't lose!!!"
22) BLACK MOTH SUPER RAINBOW - SOFT NEW MAGIC DREAM "For me, there are certain bands where to get more of the same is a gift. BLACK MOTH SUPER RAINBOW would fall under that distinction. They've basically been releasing the same album for years and I can't get enough. I'm sure the brains behind the band (I think it's actually just one person - TOBACCO) would be totally insulted by that statement - me boiling down the blood, sweat, and tears that no doubt went into this latest release to "Oh cool, more of the same!". And for that, I do apologize. Just because these songs are interchangeable with anything off their previous 5 albums, it doesn't lessen their validity whatsoever. Gimme more of that cracked, hallucinogenic, synthesizer and vocoder worship!"
23) PROJECTOR - CONTEMPT "No idea how this band came across my radar. Probably a case of listening to an album on Spotify, said album ending, and Spotify keeping the party going by playing something similar. Which is probably a practice I should be highly critical of since I've heard tell that Spotify in particular prioritizes certain artists who pony up the required dough to jump to the front of the queue. Being that I am an active practitioner of SELECTIVE NIHILISM - I don't give a fucking shit (the same applies to why I haven't jumped ship to Tidal or whatever). So......what are we...oh right, PROJECTOR. This album is super cool. A particularly jagged take on post-punk or whatever. Some songs are total gut-punchers and others are quite laid back and beautiful. A nice variety of sounds on here. Sounds like all 3 members provide lead vocals, which provides even more variety. Just when you think it's all blah-blah-blah tuneless spoken vocals, they hit you with a super catchy chorus. I love a super catchy chorus!"
24) NINE INCH NAILS - TRON: ARES "On one hand, this album is a bit of a step backwards when considering the last 3 major NIN releases (NOT THE ACTUAL EVENTS, ADD VIOLENCE, and BAD WITCH), all 3 of which (2 EPs and a full-length) blew me away. BAD WITCH in particular had a completely scummy and broken (not BROKEN) sound that had not been heard on any previous NIN release and scratched a certain itch for me. This album sounds a lot more like the NIN we know and have whatever feelings about them that we have. That said, I do enjoy it quite a bit. It's basically a few proper tracks with vocals and lyrics surrounded by instrumental, film-score type ditties. There is a distinct difference between this and the stuff that TRENT REZNOR and ATTICUS ROSS have been doing over the years which makes the decision to label it as a NINE INCH NAILS production make a lot of sense. It's basically your garden variety industrial, EBM type stuff which is a-okay by me. Also, the song WHO WANTS TO LIVE FOREVER is probably one of the best things T REZNOR has ever done."
25) FACS - WISH DEFENSE "A fun and enthralling amalgamation of post-punk, new wave, and noise rock. The bass plays a constant lead role with the chorus pedal almost always on. The guitar shimmers overtop, soaked in reverb. The band name is apparently a reference to the FACTORY RECORDS numbering system. This is very appropriate."
26) THE BLACK DOG - LOUD AMBIENT "An IDM collective from the UK who have been at it since the early 90s. And I only just became aware. CLASSIC Leigh Newton! Anyways, the album title pretty much says it all - it's ambient electronic over driving beats. Everything I love and want from the genre is basically contained within this album. Now to familiarize myself with the rest of their discography. * I just learned that KEN DOWNIE, the main man behind this project, passed away on December 20th of this year. What a shame."
27) MARK MOLNAR - EXO "An incredible collection of contemporary classical pieces from my super/multi-talented friend MARK MOLNAR. We played a lot of music together in the 90s, lots of it pretty goofy. This album...is nothing like that stuff. This is dark, haunting, beautiful; sometimes minimal in arrangement but always lush and dense in instrumentation. And a vinyl release on CONSTELLATION RECORDS! Way to go, MARK!"
28) VARIOUS ARTISTS - 2015-2025 LES DISQUES BONGO JOE: 10 YEARS OF SONIC EXPLORATIONS "I checked this out based on a list on Discogs. I know nothing about this record label or any of the artists contained within. This album is an extremely eclectic compilation of sounds from around the globe - funk, electro, afrobeat, jazz, fusion, and more (I may delve into the individual artists' respective catalogues at some point - a project for another day)! Anyways, it's a lot of fun and it makes you feel like a high-minded individual for having such varied taste in music. And then you can put MASTER OF PUPPETS back on, guilt-free."
29) MILKWEED - REMSCÉLA "No clue how this came across my radar. This band or act or duo or whatever it is are totally weird. Seems like there's 2 of them, from the UK, self-released cassettes...fuckin A! Lo-fi, psychedelic, folky, kind of an eastern tinge at times. Lots of traditional songs set within a larger framework of messed-up sound collage type stuff. Kind of reminiscent of SUN CITY GIRLS. There can be no motivation whatsoever to make this kind of music other than the simple desire to do it. Kind of reinforces my thought that music can never be fully ruined by idiotic AI garbage."
30) DEAF CLUB - WE DEMAND A PERMANENT STATE OF HAPPINESS "A fine and dandy substitute for THE LOCUST who are still sorely missed. This stuff actually has a lot more in common with some of the other JUSTIN PEARSON / THREE ONE G stuff (SOME GIRLS, HOLY MOLAR, RETOX). If that's your jam then this is more of the same blistering shit."
31) BRANDON WARS - WALMARTYR "The once bassist/lead-vocalist for the sorely missed bass/drums, VENOM/MOTORHEAD worshipping duo FLYING FORTRESS has proven himself to be an adept at the cold-wave/new wave thing over the past few years. With his band CHOIRZ or as a solo artist like we see here on his second full-length. Synthesizer worshipping pop songs that are steeped in gratuitous effects and haunting (and sometimes detuned) vocals. Ambient explorations sandwiched between some serious bangers."
32) IMPERIAL TRIUMPHANT - GOLDSTAR (NINE CLASS A TUNES) "You wouldn't expect a band playing blackened death metal to be so zany but here we are. It starts with the album title and goes from there! In and of themselves, the music and riffs are super dark and brutal. But there are also more twists and turns on here than a MR. BUNGLE album. There's also horns, deviations into some pretty unlikely genres, and some neat guest spots, including vocals from YOSHIKO OHARA of BLOODY PANDA - remember them!? They (IMPERIAL TRIUMPHANT, not BLOODY PANDA) also released another full-length this year consisting entirely of piano pieces. Admittedly, I prefer this stuff but I love that they did that. It's funny, I normally don't seek this kind of super proggy metal stuff out. I generally prefer my heavy music to be one-minded to the knuckle-dragging extreme. But when it works, it WORKS! 5 gold stars!"
33) PAINKILLER - THE GREAT GOD PAN / THE EQUINOX "Time has not watered down the magic that happens when BILL LASWELL, JOHN ZORN, and MICK HARRIS join forces. 2 full-length albums released this year. The former features 2 long form pieces and is comparable to the quieter moments heard on the almighty EXECUTION GROUND. The latter contains several shorter songs driven by programmed beats, actually reminding me a little more of some of LASWELL's DIVINATION releases. That is to say, there is not a trace of the style heard on BURIED SECRETS or GUTS OF A VIRGIN - the beats are all programmed except for a brief, 10-second burst on the second track of THE GREAT GOD PAN (the only real callback to the heavier PAINKILLER moments of yore)."
34) BIG|BRAVE - OST "An extreme left-turn from this band who normally fall under the drone-doom/post-metal umbrella. This album would find them filed under the "experimental" section of the record store, or possibly "film score" since, as the album title suggests, this is basically a series of soundtrack pieces to a movie that doesn't exist. A very cool deviation and one which proves that this Montreal trio does indeed have the sensibilities for this particular musical approach. Very dark, very abstract, and toeing a perfect line between ambient and abrasive."
35) ZANE ALEXANDER - MIDREALM "Through my fondness for the synthwave thing, certain artists stuck out amongst the crowd as being ones to investigate further. This would be the case with ZANE ALEXANDER who seems to know how to inject a little emotional depth and distinctiveness into his take on the 80s synthpop worshipping thing (nothing in the 80s sounded remotely like any of this stuff). There's very little in the way of 'upbeat' going on here. This, much like the previous album discussed, sounds more like a soundtrack to a movie (or video game, more like it) that does not exist. Maybe this guy's Youtube algorithm brought him to the dungeon synth thing too!"
36) DISEMBODIMENT - SPIRAL CRYPTS "So, here's the thing - Quebec LOVES death metal. And any kind of metal. And prog too. But death metal for sure! I came across this Sherbrooke quartet by happenstance and am so glad that I did because the serve it up just the way I like it! Old school, brutal death metal, just like momma used to make! On her Charvel guitar through a Peavy Bandit! No. But yeah, this is DM for the old dads, including the cartoony cover art and knuckle-dragger riffs. And some keyboard parts to boot which sound like they were played on a Casio. Can I borrow it?"
37) SWANS - BIRTHING "A continuation of the musical explorations SWANS have been delving into ever since their "comeback" in 2010. That being a melting pot of all the drastically different musical approaches they've taken over the years. The apocalyptic sounds of COP or PUBLIC CASTRASTION IS A GOOD IDEA are absent, but the intensity of those albums is very much present, albeit in a much different cadence. Likewise, the pop/folk sounds of THE BURNING WORLD are not featured but traces of them can be heard (if you squint...with your ears). In short, this is art-rock to the extreme. And, in not short at all, this album is 2 hours long. So be sure to block out an afternoon before throwing this on."
38) FULL OF HELL - BROKEN SWORD, ROTTEN SHIELD "A compact EP featuring 7 songs in 15 minutes. This release encompasses what makes FULL OF HELL such a special band within the grindcore genre. Much of their diversity is captured here - hyperspeed grindcore, mid-tempo metal, sludgy doom, industrial noise. It's not their best offering by any stretch. Rather, it's a solid selection of tunes to tide us over until the next major release. These guys do not let much time go by between releases - they are consistently putting out some seriously solid work into the extreme metal world."
39) RITCHOT TEXTILES - ii "A super cool EP from a band about whom I know nothing. They are from Vancouver and the 3 members also play in a band called BLESSED who are pretty cool. Anyways, this is a saucy mix of synthesizer-heavy post-punk with driving beats and distorted bass pushing everything along. The requisite dissonant guitar lines are here too. The vocals are haunting and reverb-soaked which blends well with the aggressive music. I enjoy this."
40) DEAD HAND - NERO "Another release from a band I know nothing about (and not for lack of trying either). This came to my attention via a paid ad on Instagram, of all places. Through a bit of detective work, I can confidently say that they are...German. All that to say, who cares. This stuff is super sludgey doom metal with some nice clean(ish) vocals overtop. Very reminiscent of ELECTRIC WIZARD circa DOPETHRONE. Nothing wrong with that!"
41) HELL - SUBMERSUS "A one-man doom metal project? You bet I can get on board with that! And when I say doom, I mean DOOOOOOOOM! This stuff is steeped in grim. Slow, sludgey, abyssal, glacial, all the stupid words. There's some nice, quiet moments of introspection to give the listener a break from being crushed into a fine powder. The production value definitely has a lo-fi/DIY quality and yet there is still a ton of weight behind it. The man behind HELL also releases drastically different sounding stuff (ambient, classical) under different monikers. A very intriguing artist!"
42) XIAO - CONTROL "Swedish hardcore that is brutal, ugly, and pissed off. A fine and dandy replacement for that band GEL who took a great big poop this year."
HONOURABLE MENTIONS - YOUNG WIDOWS, MEN I TRUST, BURIAL WAVES, AGRICULTURE, SACRIFICE, rROXYMORE, OKKYUNG LEE, PANOPTICON, MODEL/ACTRIZ, SLEEPYHEAD, IRON LUNG, METH LEPPARD, MIEN, MELVINS, FILMMAKER, RWAKE, BOB MOULD
SHUDDER TO THINK released a banger of a 2-song single this year, looking forward to the full-length! I have a ticket to see NIN in February. That should be fun. Here's some bands I checked out in 2025 that did not release new music but were relatively new to me - OCEANSIZE (my new favourite band, basically), RESTORATIONS, HALA STRANA, THE BUDOS BAND, UNCOMMON NASA, FLOATING POINTS, BOHREN & DER CLUB OF GORE, PAUL HORN, THE BLUE NILE, PART CHIMP, SIERSC, SLIM AND POPULAR, SCIENTIST, NICK CAVE AND THE BAD SEEDS (yes, finally, shut up). Happy new year!
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