Best of 2025

[Minus1]

Grunt - Kiveen Ikuistettu

Yet another killer live release by Grunt, following last years (I think?) Vieraat Aivot. First gig with that classic Grunt of heavy and ripping sound, and those strong vocals we all love. And so well recorded, it's a pure enjoyment to listen to. Second gig is different, slowly crafting minimalistic sounds, in a minimalistic environment. Even though I used word "minimalistic", the sounds are intense! Very interesting and clever choice to have two different live settings, sets and atmosphere. Works really well, and delivers the variety of what Grunt is capable. Packaging is a photobook, basically. Accompanies various images, having very harsh tones, even when speaking in visual terms. I think Mikko posted this about at lenght in the Grunt topic, go see it!

Great post, thanks. I'm especially thankful for the Grunt details. (I don't want to bug the man with too many questions.) 😂

[xdementia]

As usual mine is genre agnostic and listed here: http://existest.org/ee_v3/?p=10797

From that - and a few additional - are the noise/industrial specific albums:

Frederikke Hoffmeier (Puce Mary) – The Girl with the Needle OST
Desolation Colony – Impossibility of a Barren World
Empusae feat. Deutsch Nepal & Lamia Vox – Empusae's Dystopian Partycollection
Temple of Clear Light – Communion
Yemen Civil Servant – Hush Bribes

Honorable Mentions:

The Vomit Arsonist - To What End
Infirme Infini - Mycoplasma
Empty Vessel - Ruin Value

[Moran]

Anne Gillis' Eyry].

[Tribe Tapes]

Anne Gillis' Eyry].

This! I'll copy and paste the review I wrote for S&W forum:

Anne Gillis - Eyry] LP (Art Into Life)
A series of revelations over a 12" platter, Gillis seamlessly blends sound art techniques with coldwave miniatures. Viewing this as a separate entity from her accomplished body of work, it feels as adventurous as an entry in the Slowscan catalog while remaining distant from anything resembling academia. The use of turntables particularly on Side B harkens to Philip Jeck but without any of the hauntological pratfalls associated. Undeniably a record for the winter season, frigid yet loving. Bringing it all back in, it's astonishing how this arrives more than forty years after her earliest releases but still fits perfectly into the repertoire. An artist continually building her mythos with nary an odd detour.

[UnsophisticatedSorehead]

I will be honest I have been lagging behind a little when it comes to new music but here's a list of stuff that really stood out to me in 2025.

DN. AIDEATH - Snake Pit
Agonal Lust - Unabridged Suffering
H.Ö.H. - Pimeä Alue
Keiji Haino + Reinhold Friedl - Truly, Slightly, Overflowing, Whereabout Of Good Will
Heat Signature – Trench Trapped