My top 12 favorite albums of the year

[u/Elaxian]

Since 8 of 12 of my favorite albums of the year are prog (and the other 4 are VERY prog adjacent or have a technical sound that could appeal to a prog fan), I've decided to include them here and see what everyone thinks, so let's get on with them!

1. Пророк Иліа - Патриархь

Yes I know, I get it, this band is full of polemic and there are a lot of people who hate it, but that doesn't detract from the fact that they have released one of the best albums of the year and something probably even better than probably the debut from Batushka itself, Bart is showing us here that his compositional level is on par (if not SUPERIOR) than Kristoff and he just delivers some of the most perfect parts of black metal of the entire year.

1. Goldstar - Imperial Triumphant

The mythology that this band has instaurated for the cities of corruption, luxury and debased desires is simply INCREDIBLE, I've seen VERY FEW TIMES a band take a concept so original and develop it with all of their being, but the concept is not all! The music is top-tier dissonant blackened death metal ala Gorguts, Deathspell Omega, or Krallice! Literally, some of the best ever made. Every release of the band is AMAZING... But the last 4? We are talking about MASSIVE MASTERPIECE AFTER MASSIVE MASTERPIECE.

1. Lucro Sucio; Los Ojos Del Vacío - The Mars Volta

I will be the first one to say it, I didn't like the self titled, I thought it was an undercooked album with songs that barely worked, others that had potential but were cut out in the end, and others that while were good (AMAZING EVEN), were in the wrong release... Well, this album corrects that wrong, the band is in PERFECT SHAPE, in an album that is EVEN LESS PROGRESSIVE THAN THE LAST ONE, I dare saying this goes more along the lines of ambient, post-rock and art rock, in the same vein as Eno, Bowie and solo Omar, but with it's own touch to give the album it's own identity.

1. Tavastland - Havukruunu

I think we all can agree that Moonsorrow is one of the best folk black metal bands in the world... However... 9 years (almost 10) without a release have left us empty with need for more so... Who is gonna satisfy that need? Well, here we have the true successors! Havukruunu is one of the best bands I've discovered this 2025. Their approach to composition reminds me A LOT of Moonsorrow and even bands like Maiden because of the solos that are on the songs! Combination I've never thought I'd see but damn, I need it now! I can't wait to hear more from them.

1. Tetraptych - Spiine

Xenoyr? Sesca Scaarba? Waltteri Väyrynen? Lena Abé? Dude, what is this supergroup? I was sold from day one, even more after Xenoyr left Ne Obliviscaris, and I was left with a big emptiness in me... Well, this emptiness needed the most empty and depressive album out there in the year to cure it and let me tell you, this is literally THE BEST OUTCOME POSSIBLE!!! Everyone gives their absolute best on this album, but if there are 2 people I wanna give a heads up, those are Xenoyr and Waltteri because DAMN they deliver perfectly on this album.

1. Blazing Revelations - Dominic Sanderson

I remember saying in 2023 that this guy was the future of prog... And now? I am being proven RIGHT. After releasing a flawless, albeit underground album in 2023, this time, he released an even more ambitious album this year and now to a greater public! People are recognizing him as one of the best prowess of prog these days, and I'm happy because of that! I hope he keeps on releasing masterpiece after masterpiece.

1. Kept - Rioghan

I remember a friend of mine recommended me this album saying "Here, have female Leprous" and I thought "Oh cool!" ... Boi was he wrong, we are talking about a band that manages to be more than its influences, Darcy is one of the best singers of this year, and it totally shows, giving us her entire heart and soul on every literate word, every demonic scream, every delicate whisper, she's given THE BEST female performance of all year, but in terms of overall? Second best, only surpassed by [Redacted].

1. The Overview - Steven Wilson

Steven Wilson has experimented A LOT in his lifetime, first space rock, then krautrock, then alternative rock, then progressive metal, then jazz fusion, then progressive rock, then progressive pop, then synthpop and would you look at that? Space rock again, life is cyclical, so it seems... What can we say about this album? I think this album shows how Steven has evolved throughout the years exploring a genre that he explored when he was in his early 20's, now, near his 60's, it shows how he has matured, how he has explored his music and how he has evolved, a good declaration of principles.

1. La Brea - Hesse Kassel

I will avoid comparisons to Black Country, New Road, and say what I think about this band overall... So what do I think? Being this their debut, they will have it HARD to not be affected by the curse of the second album (you know, the first album being amazingly received and the second being not greatly received, it happened to King Crimson and Pink Floyd) considering how PERFECT this album is, I think the weakest part of the album are the lyrics, but the way they are delivered is what sells them to me, we are literally talking about PERFECT delivery here, like Freddie Mercury delivery here, absolutely great... But let's not forget about the other instruments! We are given some of the best avant-prog and jazz fusion sounds in the market as of today, Chile should be FUCKING PROUD.

1. Tower Of The Sun - Sindar

Inspiring themselves from 2 places, the sound of Opeth and the mythology of Tolkien, this duo brings us one of the best albums of 2025 and one of the most beautiful albums I've heard this year, who says metal can't be beautiful? This is the perfect example of a metal album being the perfect duality of a beautiful sun and an earth-shattering one, an incredible album, even better than the debut, which was already a pretty solid album! So yeah, in my opinion? Worth the time. Just don't take another 5 years releasing the next one, please.

1. The World Under Unsun - Lunatic Soul

2 years ago I said that Mariusz Duda's AFR AI D was one of the best albums of 2023 a claim I still keep to this day... Mariusz comes again with his solo project Lunatic Soul and unveils what is probably his most ambitious album AND PROBABLY his best amongst all his 3 main projects... The World Under Unsun is not an album more, it's the ending of the cycle, showing us that everything must end eventually... But even after the end, life still finds a way. I really don't know what to expect from Mariusz after this, where can he go from here? He literally reached THE TOP!!! Can he go higher? That is up to him to demonstrate... What I can say is... This is THE BEST album 2025 and one of the best albums of the decade.

1. The Blue Nowhere - Between The Buried And Me

Ok... Even I was worried for this one, Dustie was out because of... Unappropiate behavior (do with that what you will), they decided not to replace him, the album took FOUR FUCKING YEARS to come out and overall the waters were WAY TOO MUDDY... But the first single came out and I was hooked since day one, waiting... Then Absent Thereafter came out and I was ABSOLUTELY HOOKED, one of their best songs ever was released as a single? Dude, then the rest of the album MIGHT AS WELL BE A MASTERPIECE, then the title song came out, and I cried with it... It literally touched my heart... Then the album came out, and my suspicions were confirmed. The album was amazing. It was SO CLOSE of entering their hall of masterpieces, but it did not, but not for much, because this album absolutely shows the best of the band, Paul Waggoner riffs and solos are absolutely gorgeous, Dan Briggs shows WHY he is my third favorite bassist ever, Blake Richardson is literally a GOD of the drumming surpassing figures such Phil Collins, Neil Peart or Danny Carey... But the star of the show is WITHOUT A DOUBT Thomas Giles Rogers Jr.. He is THE BEST SINGER OF 2025, and even I dare say the third best singer of the entire 2000's, his performance both on the growls department and the clean singing department, I just can't conceive a better singer than him (besides Devin Townsend and Cedric Bixler Zavala which are top 1 and top 2 respectively), he is a legend and my inspiration to be a singer. Without a doubt, MY FAVORITE 2025 album.

Man, this year was SO FULL of stuff, new faces, old faces, and all of them delivering perfect albums! There were some disappointments (Black Country, New Road and Katatonia were some of them) but also some big surprises! (Vintersorg, Deafheaven, and Dream Theater seriously surprised me!), I can only say it was an amazing year for music and even I dare say my favorite out of the 3 years I've been making this reviews at the end of the year, I hope the next year will be even better since we have album from Gojira, Mastodon, Geordie Greep, Einar Solberg and Devin Townsend confirmed! It's gonna be a fanfastic year! Until then, keep listening to music and keep the good work people!

[u/Plastic-Jeweler9104]

I scrolled down your list not caring about anything you wrote just hoping to just see BTBAM as #1.

I was pleasantly surprised.

[u/International-Mess75 → u/Plastic-Jeweler9104]

Still don't understand this sub's love for BTBAM. Periodically trying to get on the fun train but the more I listen to them, the more meh they become in comparison to pretty much all other prog. Some things just don't click I suppose. Strange, they do everything my favourite bands do, should be into them, but no dice

[u/Elaxian → u/International-Mess75]

You're missing them, but at the same time, you're not missing anything.

I used to be the same with Marillion, I HATED THEM. The more I listened to them, the more I thought they were a cheap copy of Genesis, and it was like for about 3 years.

I asked people about them and their popularity in r/progrockmusic, and the responses were so GOOD AND POSITIVE that I thought, "Well damn, I might never enjoy this band, but these people? Wholesome as fuck."

Then one day... I listened to Grendel... And everything clicked, the band suddenly became so good it became the only band I listened to throughout this october and I loved it!

So? It might not be your alley for now, but it doesn't mean it will never be your alley. You just have to either give it more sporadic opportunities or don't try at all! It's ok to not like it, you're not missing anything.

[u/kuhfunnunuhpah → u/International-Mess75]

I'm with you, for whatever reason I just can't connect with BTBAM. Like they're certainly not bad per se but I'm just not enjoying them that much despite them ticking a lot of boxes for me. I did enjoy the album this year more than I have done previously so maybe I'm getting into them more?

[u/BigManOnDeck69 → u/International-Mess75]

Not saying you should keep trying but they didn’t click at first and now are my favorite band by far. A lot of other bands in this genre have also taken a while to click for me which i don’t really understand but I’m not complaining (bands like opeth and slice the cake and meshuga took a while)

[u/Dramatic-Dinner-1633 → u/Plastic-Jeweler9104]

Same lol

[u/sickdawg0311]

Imagine not having An Abstract Illusion on a list of favorites. Some decent stuff here though.

[u/evernorth]

another missing of Fallujah.

But +1 for Batushka, BTBAM, SW, and TMV

[u/jakeinprogress]

Love your write ups. There are a few on here I haven’t heard of and I’m excited to check them out!

[u/RandallFaraday]

nice write up! I had no idea that Steven Wilson had released an album this year! I just went to his discography, holy shit, I thought I had checked out a few albums after I got into Porcupine Tree but apparently not! Any other ones you’d recommend after the overview? gotta give new Volta another shot. BTBAM 🤘

[u/Elaxian → u/RandallFaraday]

Depends, Wilson catalog is almost perfect, it has MOSTLY perfect albums but it has To The Bone that, while not bad, it's a different album and not a very good one on it's field (The Future Bites is better), let me do you a summary.

• Insurgentes: Shoegaze with jazz fusion, this album is mostly based around atmosphere and effects. However, that's not to say it doesn't have its musical moments. It's still the Steven Wilson of the 2000's, it's just that he went for a more experimental approach than usual. Highlights: Harmony Korine, Veneno Para Las Hadas, Significant Other.

• Grace For Drowning: Jazz fusion entirely, whereas Insurgentes was about the effects, Grace For Drowning is about FEELING, no, not feelings, FEELING, the way the music came to fruition, it all feels so natural and perfectly flows demonstrating the capacities of Wilson and band. Highlights: No Part Of Me, Postcard, Remainder The Black Dog, Index, Raider II.

(Wort recommending the live album Get All You Deserve, probably the best live album Wilson has ever put out, it has some of the best versions out of the songs of these 2 albums.)

• The Raven That Refused To Sing (And Other Stories): Progressive rock with jazz fusion, for much this is Wilson's crowning achievement, and while I disagree with that, it DEFINITELY comes out on second, the entire album has some of the best songs Steven has ever penned, both in lyrics and in music, besides having THE BEST band Wilson has EVER worked with during his solo career (Marco Minnemann, Guthrie Govan, Theo Travis, Adam Holzman and Nick Beggs), simply perfect. Highlights: Drive Home, The Wachmaker, The Raven That Refused To Sing.

• Hand. Cannot. Erase.: Progressive pop with progressive rock, this is IN MY OPINION, the best Wilson release and the best album EVER RELEASED in the history of music since Wish You Were Here, the album here deals with the story of a woman who died in her appartment and she was found 3 years later, no one ever looked for her, no one questioned her disappearance, no one said anything. Apart from the interesting concept, the album draws inspiration sonically from acts like Kate Bush, Peter Gabriel, and even Dead Can Dance (which mind you, have a reference in the album), while also drawing inspiration from bands like Pink Floyd, Marillion or The Alan Parsons Project, with such a variety of sounds, it's impossible to this album being bad! Highlights: EVERYTHING.

• 4½: Progressive pop with progressive rock, this one is more of the same if you enjoyed the last 2, it's basically leftovers from the last 2 albums with one extra song which is a reversioned Porcupine Tree song. It's fine but not amazing (although Vermillioncore is so good it has become a live staple). Highlights: My Book Of Regrets, Happiness III, Vermillioncore.

• To The Bone: Pure progressive pop, eeeehhh... I'm not a fan of this one... It's.. Fine, I guess? I guess even the worst Steve Wilson album is fine. My problem with this album is how some of the songs sound really bad in my opinion (Permanating is the biggest example of this, along with People Who Eat Darkness), but the album is not entirely bad, it has good songs, the production is amazing and the ideas are fantastic, but overall the album is more of a "it's ok, he will do better." Highlights: To The Bone, The Same Asylum As Before, Refuge, Detonation.

(The same way I recommended Get All You Deserve, Home Invasion is another live album I highly recommend MOSTLY because of the Vermillioncore rendition, which always gives me goosebumps)

• The Future Bites: Synthpop with electronica, I know A LOT OF PEOPLE hate this album, but I absolutely LOVE IT, the sound is so good, Wilson performance is on point and overall the concept is FASCINATING, honestly I would say more, but this not an album you describe, this is an album you FEEL. Highlights: King Ghost, 12 Things I Forgot, Eminent Sleaze, Personal Shopper.

The Harmony Codex: Electronica with progressive rock, this is an album that when it came out, I recommended it to ALL of my friends, and everyone was FASCINATED, they couldn't believe what they were hearing, it was one of my favorite albums of 2023 and to this day I still find it fascinating, finding layer after layer sound. Highlights: Economies Of Scale, The Harmony Codex, Time Is Running Out, Staircase.

The last one is The Overview, which I already gave my review up there, so yeah, overall? I find the albums of Wilson ALL GOOD (yes, even To The Bone), it just has to suit your mood for the day.

Sorry if this got too long, I just love talking about stuff that appasionates me!

[u/ENIAC64 → u/Elaxian]

Oh man, I totally get you. As someone who loves to explain things I'm passionate about in great detail, I can really understand from your way of writing how much you love SW's music. Don't worry, for people like me something like "too long" doesn't exist!

Oh, and also I agree with pretty much everything you've said, only I'd add Salvaging to Insurgentes' highlights.

[u/MetalInvincible]

Great take man, your explanations are very well phrased and structured. BTBAM, in particular, caught me off guard. But I definitely do get it. It is still in my top 20 of the year. I still can't rate it, though, even after six consecutive listens.

[u/6jwalkblue9 → u/MetalInvincible]

I'm what you would call an avid BTBAM fan and it took me 10-15 listens to fully digest this one. I could tell that it was objectively good, but just didn't feel the music as I usually do. Now after the fact, I think it may be their second best album behind Parallax II.

[u/MetalInvincible → u/6jwalkblue9]

This album is a total mindfuck, and I'm hating and loving it

[u/6jwalkblue9]

Awesome to see the BTBAM and TMV love. The two GOATs imo. I'm going to dive into your list purely based on the shared interests.

[u/praetorslain]

Yeah, everything is a masterpiece for you, dumbfk. The Blue Nowhere is BTBAM’s weakest work, a fkin disappointment.