Esteemed music publication Rolling Stone have published their list of ‘The 15 Best Metal Albums Of 2025’. In a year where downsizing and shrinkflation has become the norm, this list is down some additional 5 choices from their 2024 list, but still manages to cover numerous bases.
When it came to metal as a whole, only two records from the heavier genres made the publication’s list of The 100 Best Albums Of 2025, with alternative metal favs Deftones landing at #76 with their tenth studio album “private music“. Melodic hardcore stars Turnstile meanwhile took home #31 for their latest acclaimed offering, “NEVER ENOUGH“.
Focusing solely on metal though, a team of staff at Rolling Stone distilled the best metal offerings of 2025 down to the following choices:
- 15. Coroner – “Dissonance Theory“
- 14. Deafheaven – “Lonely People With Power“
- 13. Runemagick – “Cycle Of The Dying Sun (Dawn Of Ashen Remains)“
- 12. Chepang – “Jhyappa“
- 11. Castle Rat – “The Beastiary“
- 10. Rwake – “The Return Of Magick“
- 09. Whitechapel – “Hymns In Dissonance“
- 08. Deadguy – “Near-Death Travel Services“
- 07. Blut Aus Nord – “Ethereal Horizons“
- 06. Halestorm – “Everest“
- 05. Primitive Man – “Observance“
- 04. Dream Theater – “Parasomnia“
- 03. Ghost – “Skeletá“
- 02. Agriculture – “The Spiritual Sound“
- 0.1 Deftones – “private music“
You can read their explanations for each pick over at rollingstone.com.