THE TOP 10 ALBUMS OF THE MONTH offers an ordered ranking of ten albums that’d resonated most throughout this month. If you’re new to the site, the tendency is heavy and/or surreal music. Choices are selected based on temporal immersion, personal connection, impressive style, point of view, aesthetics and with consideration for the lasting value of each selection. All choices are ultimately personal and come without consideration for populism, nepotism, cronyism, or any outside factors including perceived “relevance”. Writing about music is a passion I afford as much time as is manageable and I am grateful to have so much to choose from. Thank you.

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I. This month on MystificationZine.com was generally excellent, entertaining enough that for the first time in several years I could’ve gotten away with a Top 15 and felt good about every entry. While there were brilliant releases from legends like Kreator and The Ruins of Beverast… even a final LP from friggin’ Megadeth was kinda ok, but I’ve chosen to focus on bands/releases which’d impress even without a too-familiar name up front. For the sake of coving a broader range of metal sub-genre (sorry, no doom this month) I’ve left out runners-up records from Handful of Hate, Nergal, and Gorrch each representing their own unique perspective/niche of black metal.

II. Consider following on YouTube. I’ve started a weekly New Releases series which posts every Friday afternoon and I’ve begun catching up on the best releases of 2025 with the Top 50 of 2025 coming shortly. Thanks for your patience on this as I haven’t had much free time while continuing to repair flood damage in my home.

III. As always I’d like to express my gratitude for the bands, labels and PR firms who choose to work with me for the last eight years. Thank you.

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This solo black metal project from the mind of the fellowe behind Gevurah is unsurprisingly nuanced, weightily detailed in every pocket created. His work is once again rooted in a more aggressive side for Quebecois black metal but also wildly expressive in swathes of riff and ranting passage which transport in every case. While it isn’t the most attention-seeking, loudest choice to make here in January it is a substantive work and an exceptional follow-up to their debut LP.

“In confrontation of the draining abyss of mortality Montréal, Quebec-based solo black metal act SANCTVS seek the spiritual satiation of omnipresent non-being, the union of all entities which transcends what fills the vessel of existence and what persists in a state of emptiness, per this highly evolved sophomore full-length album. ‘De l’Abîme au Plérôme‘ illustrates a step beyond mankind’s measure of all things, petitioning on high via brazen yet fluidly melodic black metal rants and musings which offer a leap beyond their already impassioned starting point ~seven years ago. Rather than succumb to the melodrama of cinematic black metal horizon and landscape these pieces are aggressively detailed, vocally ruptured and thoroughly intense in their at-times long winded gusting which makes for a doubly effective second LP and deeper mark carved by the artist.“

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This Peaceville three and ‘old school’ death/doom inspired Australian band’ve balanced the wandering hand of their earlier work with damning aggression on this sophomore full-length album, making a mountain of their sound in the process. ‘Where All of Worth Comes to Wither‘ is the sort of record I’ll put on and let it take me somewhere else, a writhing and miserable ride that tucks odd details and discord into its most sprawling breaks while still finding room to strengthen their pure death metal heft. If you though their debut was just okay this one might be redemption when given some serious attention.

“With lungs packed with cemeterial soil and smoke billowing from the mound alight Brisbane, Australia-based death/doom metal band MALIGNANT AURA smolder in divining relief beyond despairing wilt on this much-improved sophomore full-length album. Though their previous work was texturally rich and stoically fuming ‘Where All of Worth Comes to Wither‘ amplifies that thought away from purely repetitious wandering towards extended arcs of violent melodrama via equally intensified channeling toward doom and death alike. Not only does this make for a far more evenly distributed course of action, and a sharper full listen as a result, greater variety brings in some additionally adept features to their performances such as exceptional lead guitar placement and a more broadly wretched-loose vocal array.“

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Though they’ve skilled up, brought in sharper production values and such in the years between nothing has fundamentally changed the ‘old school’ thrash metal fueled brutality of this hard-assed Brazilian group. The first song here had me questioning if they’d gone full neo-thrash or whatever but as ‘Forged in Hated‘ buzzes along chopping out riffs I was beyond sold. If you are a fan of Morbid Saint, Num Skull, Hypnosia or even just pre-‘Chaos A.D.‘ Sepultura definitely sit down with this damn record for an afternoon.

“Idiocratic greed sustained through the chaos created by brutally mediocre men and their regimes the world over serves as the exact right catalyst for Leopoldina, Brazil-based thrash metal quartet DEATHRAISER to return with a sophomore full-length album nearly a decade and a half beyond their last act of violent aggression. Once more piling into the fray for the sake of their righteous, brutal command of the riff ‘Forged in Hatred‘ reflects a combination of sub-genre obsessed classicism and timely reactivity as these folks grind through ~34 minutes of sublimely chainsawed-out thrash metal built on the still-reeking corpse of the late 80’s. No gimmickry, no out of touch politico, and no real melodic intent serve to interrupt their corrosive thread here making this a real head-down ripper worth diving into if so inclined.“

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This latest album from Ectovoid does a fine job of crossing over between the more gloom-ridden cavernous spectrum of death metal and the quicker snapping n’ thrashing late 80’s/early 90’s style making for an abundance of high-rate riffcraft, plenty of tempo shifting finesse and does so in a cohesive manner. It makes for a well-rounded listen, an abysmal tunnel of trampling riffs that I’d found engaging in review and easy to return to beyond that process.

“After gnawing through the membranes of time and space for untold ages Birmingham, Alabama-based death metal quartet ECTOVOID return with a surreal yet familiar concoct on this accomplished third full-length album. ‘In Unreality’s Coffin‘ retains the signature of the band’s releases from the prior decade, carrying a distinctly United States-built ‘old school’ death metal sound and modus while expanding their reach unto bursts of quicker ripping classicism. Though this evolution eases away some of their bleak, cacophonous edge and looms differently it yet makes for an appreciably flowing pour of surrealistic torment.“

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Any real-ass fan of ‘old school’ death metal will recognize the peaking saturation and resulting competitive fire that’d come from the ’92-’94 escalation of the (puritanical) sub-genre’s death knell beyond mainstream attention and the cusp of that higher standard of attack, development of heavier grooves, and more technical muse is expressed within this sophomore full-length album from Japanese band Invictus. That is to say that they’re beyond capable musicians whose songs are meticulously writ and studied off the greats. There is an appreciable balance of brutality, technicality, and even some melodic ideas all of which are wrapped tightly in classicist tonality and fronted by rhythmically obsessed action.

“Rather than continue to tunnel inwards in pursuit of appropriately eldritch rhythmus Nagano, Japan-based death metal trio INVICTUS have instead chosen to expand outward, blooming their sharply cut and percussive form of classicist fare into a well-rounded sophomore full-length album experience. Though said experience is built from familiar parameters, throttled as often as it is weighted down by ten tons of groove, ‘Nocturnal Visions‘ yet appears as a product of holistic evolutionary sight beyond plainest self-revisionism, a feat which expands and blankets atop past development. The result is believably spawned from a passion for the peaking designs of death metal in the early-to-mid 90’s yet tempered for the last couple of decades of all-access tradition, a feat which holds one foot in better days and another in the grime-polished dead eyed stare of the present.“

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After a surprising but no less glorious return back in 2024 with ‘Tassel of Ares‘ we are once again suddenly gripped by daimonian hand and cast into Serpent Column‘s tornadic wiles with ‘Aion of Strife‘, a force of avant-black flow states, ‘verge core frustration and brain-wriggling movement that only seems more unreal with each contribution. At this point it seems they’ve split once more but the hope is that he’ll be compelled toward more Theophonos material at some point. The whole discography is class and their complete evolutionary gape is insane to spin through in a sitting.

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Sub-genre is maybe the first talking point here out of necessity as we dial in what exactly Shadowmass do in terms of blackening a traditional form of heavy/thrash metal, it isn’t so complicated but they are definitely unique in this regard. Where they stand out otherwise is enforcing those ‘old school’ heavy metal ideals while finding a darker angle that doesn’t sap their melodic gusto. I’ve found this album only grew on me over time and I’d been stoked even just revisiting it for this quick blurb.

“Under the suffocating cloak of the black umbra descending upon the wastes the tiring light of humanity fades quick as the eye can trace the horizon as Athens, Greece-based blackened heavy/thrash metal trio SHADOWMASS depict the inevitable collapse from order into chaotic dispersal on this exceptional sophomore full-length album. Still righteously indebted to the classic mid-to-late 80’s thrash metal rhythmic ideal yet made whole by black, death and power metal’s suitable inspiration ‘Wastelands‘ is a fresh point of evolution for these fellowes and one which howls with dark-yet-tuneful inspiration throughout. Though it’d make perfect sense to endlessly praise their work as a hybridized old-meets-new formae in brilliant evolutionary headspace I’d endeavor to recommend this one as a memorable heavy/thrash metal album first and foremost.“

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This month was so stacked with quality death metal putting this debut LP from Void Monuments at number three can’t help but hit wrong but these Russian folks slaughtered their way through ‘Posthumous Imprecation‘. This one is (again) all about the riffs and a sound which gloms its core reference from the severe, murderous grime found on a few bigger-named classics. Some of their stuff is pretty obvious in its reference or inspiration but the album as a whole ends up a serious punisher, almost obnoxiously so.

“Hiking all shoulders and muscling downward in their efforts to crack apart the jaw of the deathshead Saint Petersburg, Russia-based death metal band VOID MONUMENTS allow for louder unhinged mockery of the martyr’s passion as they arrive upon their debut full-length with notable readiness. That is to say that ‘Posthumous Imprecation‘ is an exceptional study of 90’s death metal and its holistic generational evolve where the work shows, allowing patiently cut forms to serve deliberate destructive acts where the riff is key feature but only becomes truly illuminated by the atmospheric friction granted between performance and render. Though the homogeny of the ‘old school’ death metal zeitgeist distilled into simplified formae entertains multitudes of artists today here their exception grants this severe character, a trampling foment of a death metal album which manages personae and ouevre in service to the (death metal apropos) song rather than quick-shot moshable vignette.“

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Belarusian duo Eximperituserqethhzebibšiptugakkathšulweliarzaxułum have expanded the already mind-altering work done on their second LP back in 2021 into something even more unique on ‘Meritoriousness of Equanimity‘. The result is an appreciably dense sledge with brutally struck technical death as its hammer-head while some progressive and melodic ideas create exceptional peaks through its ~half hour run. The lyrics, theme, artwork and such send this one over the top in some regard but the main draw here for my own taste is the juxtaposition between aggressive death metal and more spaced, or, contemplative positioning. Also cool to learn the members are the same folks involved in bands like Ominous Scriptures and Relics of Humanity, all great bands.

“As the rotting head of a craven new world rears its maw-level grin above the horizon in snide mockery Minsk, Belarus-based technical death metal trio EXIMPERITUS can be found channeling despair inward in due procession, enduring the passage of the coarse grit of existential dread while digesting all into self-preserving resolve on this exceptional third full-length album. Though it allows air enough to gasp out relief in between its most ruthless motioning ‘Meritoriousness of Equanimity‘ characteristically sports a succinct, high-density tunneling force from an otherworldly troupe, an alien entity hailing down meditations on resilience and the composure of a sound mind. In more practical terms we are afforded a third-level evolution of the band’s own vision on this third album, a feat which upholds their knack for technical and brutally hauled death metal given to an ever-expanding, deeper personalized ouevre.“

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The number one record of the month is without fail the album I’m most likely to keep listening to, to buy a physical copy of, and recommend outright as these serve as is the final gate to surmount, the tie-breaker in an ordered endeavor. ‘Hybris Divina‘ is a clear winner on my part as it is the one I’ve kept coming back to the most for the sake of it being somewhat unassuming to start and then monumental as it strikes its last note. Though all appears to flow downhill from an ‘old school’ death metal heart Oraculum find their own palette on this album where South American death metal’s bestial summoning finds equal footing in early 90’s tradition and early 2010’s abstraction. It is incredibly rare that a death metal album reveals such a vast underworld beneath its general first impression.

“Slapping away all lotus, crozier and blade-like quill thrust into view serves as the first act of liberation against the hubris of false divinity from the hands of Rancagua, Chile-based death metal trio ORACULUM who’d usher in a new age of carnage via this war-starter of a debut full-length album. ‘Hybris Divina‘ exalts those who’d disturb the natural order throughout its diabolic course, expertly conveying the band’s long-running vision for ancient ‘old school’ black/death metal inspired sounds. As a first sizable monument in their pursuit thus far this work impresses per its sophisticated authorship, proven hands which spare no blood-shed in pursuit of the mayhemic vibrancies of the eternal underground.“

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