2025 was, for me, as both a fan and journalist, another very positive year for the Extreme/underground Metal scene, with some great gigs, tours and releases happening. This was all the more impressive given the difficulty for bands from that side of Metal to make any headway.
Often it’s a financial headache for them, with albums and tours largely self-funded and heavily reliant on sales of merchandise and hard copy music to recoup any costs incurred. It is a level of dedication that must be acknowledged, applauded and most importantly financially supported by those who call themselves fans.
Gig Of The Year: Bus Station Loonies
My most memorable gig this year has to be firstly the Bus Station Loonies Final Cheerio all-dayer at Leadworks in Plymouth. Witnessing the final performance of such an iconic homegrown punk outfit who have not just graced the stages of venues across the length and breadth of the UK over twelve hundred times for the last thirty years, but inspired and supported young punk musicians to get out there and do it.
Wheelie has helped many of them produce their own albums via his DIY label, Ruptured Ambitions, something he will no doubt continue to do. It was an emotional event for the whole Plymouth punk family.
Secondly, the Doomsday Festival in Brighton in August, a compact underground festival at the Green Door Store beneath the railway station. The highlight for me was catching a live performance by Belgian Brutal Death Metal/Goregrind legends Brutal Sphincter in support of their Sphinct-Earth Society album, which I reviewed back in May.
Their performance was hugely engaging, their delivery first rate and one of the aspects I liked the most was their women-only circle pit for one of the tracks.
Other highlights for me were the German Black Metal band Vorga and a brutally crushing and hugely entertaining performance by London’s Death/Black Metal outfit Adorior, fronted by Jaded Lungs. Probably the most terrifyingly brilliant female vocalist to ever grace a stage, her huge stage presence and no-holds-barred approach were captivating and unnerving in equal measures. This was Metal done the right way!
Thirdly was Cosmic Void, which was held solely at the O2 Academy Islington this year. I and many others had strong concerns about the use of this venue, but none of my concerns manifested into reality, and it was a huge success. The only minor issue was getting into the smaller room for some of the bands.
The highlights for me were Swedish Death/Black Metallers Necrophobic, who are always great live and long overdue for a revisit from me. With Proscriptor McGovern’s weirdly wonderful Black/Thrash Metal outfit Absu, his hugely visual and engaging performance had me enthralled from start to finish. The superb Necro Ritual returned for the second year and opened the final days’ proceedings, getting the day off to a blistering start.
Another highlight was the hugely engaging performance from ambient Post-Black Metal outfit Ellende, whose album Todbringerin was reviewed by me, and featured largely in their set and was delivered superbly. Other performances of merit were international outfit Darvaza, Brighton’s visually engaging Horror Metallers Lavinia Whateley and Belgian Black Metal outfit Varathron.
Album Of The Year: Narrenwind – Gorzkie Plony
There was one clear winner as album of the year, Narrenwind’s Gorzkie Plony. This is a blackened Heavy Metal masterpiece that, three months later, still captivates me and demands my attention on a weekly basis. Filled with huge swathes of engaging leadwork, showy riff patterns and balanced by a distinctively Polish Extreme Metal style, harsh vocal delivery, this combines into a sound that is dark and brutal yet compellingly engaging.
Four other close contenders are the previously mentioned brutally engaging and entertaining Brutal Sphincter’s Sphinct-Earth Society My most recent review, the Dødsferd compilation, covers a release consisting of rare old and new Dødsferd tracks, along with some very interesting cover songs by artists admired by band mastermind Wrath.
The other two, not surprisingly, feature Death Metal’s most prolific creator, Rogga Johannson. Firstly, his Dead Sun project with their ninth offering, This Life Is A Grave, is a dark, melodic Death Metal album full of eerie riffs and horror themes. His other melodic project, Furnace, with the legendary guitarist and lyricist Peter Svensson and drummer Lars Demoké, is all the more impressive as it’s their sixth album (one of which was a triple release) in six years. Again, a concept release, this time with a high fantasy narrative, is about an immortal king trapped on his throne, Eternally Enthroned.
Looking Ahead to 2026, I’ve already got nine exciting live events lined up, including Cosmic Void again, which returns to Camden’s Electric Ballroom, The Underworld and The Black Heart, and Incineration Festival also in Camden, happening across five venues: Roundhouse, Electric Ballroom, Underworld, Black Heart and The Dev.
So it already looks like it’s going to be a busy live year for me. The albums for review are starting to stack up nicely, too, including yet another from Rogga and his Death Metal project, Paganizer.
Overall, I think it’s going to be another exciting year in the world of Extreme/underground Metal.
