Beer and Metal: Maplewood Brewing Company | Son of Juice. This IPA is so damn good. Smooth but flavorful. 6.3% and goes down easy. Perfect to go along with a night of listening to death metal. #metalsky #beer

Nightly Listen: 200 Stab Wounds | Manual Manic Procedures. It feels like peak 90’s death metal. Little things like the Entombed gallop in the first song intro evoke OSDM to the max. It’s not imitation. It’s continuation of a killer style of music. #metalsky 200stabwounds.bandcamp.com/album/manual...

Nightly Listen: Cathedral | Cosmic Requiem. A 42 minute EP with three songs that also appeared on the Statik Majik EP. It contains a remake of A Funeral Request, which song, I thought was perfect as it existed on Forest of Equilibrium. Remake is also good tho. #metalsky m.youtube.com/watch?v=5SLv...

Late Nite Listen: High on Fire | Electric Messiah. Listening to Sleep gave me Matt Pike on the brain. When has High on Fire put out a bad album? Electric Messiah (the song) rightfully won a Grammy. Oh, and Kurt Ballou produced it. #metalsky #nowspinning highonfire.bandcamp.com/album/electr...

Nightly Listen: Sleep | Leagues Beneath. Going the opposite way from what I’ve been listening to lately, I went with this single spanning nearly 17 minutes. Slow and deliberate. Simple doom riffs artfully accentuated by the bass. #metalsky #doommetal #nowspinning sleep.bandcamp.com/track/league...

JC, kids have finally gone to bed, so I can crack a beer listen: No Shelter| Remission/Resolve. Do you wish that Entombed had hardcore vocals? Do you like Trap Them? Then, you’ll love this. Not one of my top-10 from last year, but def like it a lot. #metalsky noshelter.bandcamp.com/album/remiss...

Late Nite Listen: Power Trip | Nightmare Logic. An album full of great songs that all sound awesome. Glad to see these guys are continuing on & that there’ll be a new album. TBDM put out a rager after losing an iconic frontman and so can Power Trip. #metalsky powertripsl.bandcamp.com/album/nightm...

Nightly Listen: Nails | Every Bridge Burning. If your gonna kick my ass, do it quick and be on your way. Nails got the memo. An LP just under 18 minutes with grimy vocals, buzzsaw guitars and production by Kurt Ballou. #metalsky #nowspinning m.youtube.com/watch?v=4WKx...

Late Nite Listen: Phantom Lord | Evil Never Sleeps. Looking for stuff that scratches an early 80’s/NWOBHM itch? This is your bag. It’s not Hetfield’s pre-Metallica band of the same name. But, don’t let that deter you. It’s a fun spin, full of up-tempo songs. #metalsky m.youtube.com/watch?v=CYgZ...

Beer and Metal: What pairs well with a metal album? This beer. For anyone in the Chicago area or visiting, Illuminated Brew Works makes some truly great beer. This one is fantastic. Imperial WC IPA clocking in at 9%. Tap room is intimate and just plain awesome. #metalsky #beer

Late Nite Listen: Danzig | Circle of Snakes. I could have put on the first album, Lucifuge or How the Gods Kill, but what fun would that be? Released in ‘04, Tommy Victor (Prong) is on guitar. It is a welcome reprieve from the late 90’s/early 00’s releases. #metalsky m.youtube.com/watch?v=jc-R...

Late-Nite Listen: Testament | Para Bellum. While this didn’t make my top 10 of 2025, it’s nevertheless an excellent album. Chuck Billy, Eric Peterson, Alex Skolnick and Steve DiGiorgio are parts of one of the most lethal thrash metal lineups ever. #metalsky testament.bandcamp.com/album/para-b...

Late-Nite Listen: Entombed | Morning Star. This album is not often talked about in the same way as LHP, Clandestine and Wolverine Blues. But, it is every bit as vital. It’s a masterful piece of death metal, full of songs you won’t soon forget. #metalsky #nowspinning m.youtube.com/watch?v=eOd4...

Post X-Mas Listen: Having a laugh over the recent LOG StubHub snafu, I decided to pull this one out and give it a spin. I like it less than Ashes and Palaces, but it’s still a rager. These guys helped get the genre out of the nu-metal morass of the late 90’s. #metalsky m.youtube.com/playlist?lis...

Wrapping presents listen: Entombed | Clandestine. No LG Petrov, but high school me still played the shit out of this CD. It’s an OSDM classic. Every time I listen to Entombed I end up cranking multiple of their albums - they’re all so damn good. #metalsky entombedband.bandcamp.com/album/clande...

#1 of 2025: Coroner | Dissonance Theory. Probably not a surprise given my effusive praise when it came out. An album that defies convention and still is the most satisfying thrash that’s been released in a long time. Well worth the wait. #metalsky #aoty coronerofficial.bandcamp.com/album/disson...

#2 of 2025: Gruesome | Silent Echoes. I know it’s music in the style of Death. This is more than homage, tho. The vibe is immaculate and it sounds like something Chuck could have released. This album stands on its own merits and is excellent. #metalsky gruesomedeathmetal.bandcamp.com/album/silent...

#3 of 2025: Deafheaven | Lonely People with Power. The band reversed course after Infinite Granite, but still managed to give us something that sounds new. This takes some of the best elements of Sunbather and OCHL and creates another must-have album. #metalsky m.youtube.com/playlist?lis...

#4 of 2025: Pelican | Flickering Resonance. You listen to Pelican to be taken on a sonic journey, immersed in the immediacy of each riff w/ no vocals to obscure the path. This album’s 51 minutes literally fly by. Glad I live in a timeline to enjoy this. #metalsky pelican.bandcamp.com/album/flicke...

Way too late listen: Metallica | The $5.98 EP Garage Days Re-Revisited. Back when Metallica was a thrash band, they released this EP, with covers of bands like Killing Joke and The Misfits. Interesting how some bands from that era aged differently than others. #metalsky m.youtube.com/watch?v=TUs4...

Cleaning the Basement Listen: Maruta | In Narcosis. A nice slice of grind from 2008. It would be cool to see these guys get back together and put out something new. Until then, we have albums like this to give us a sonic punch in the face. #metalsky #nowspinning maruta.bandcamp.com/album/in-nar...

#5 of 2025: Town Portal | Grindwork. Someone on here told me about this band. I am glad they did. This album is an instrumental, post-metal work of art. Bass and guitar symbiotically create masterful riffs using tone and texture to create heaviness. #metalsky townportal.bandcamp.com/album/grindw...

Late Nite Listen: Vader | Solitude in Madness. 2020 was crappy year, dealing with a global pandemic. But, it was great for record releases. Case in point. Clocking in at just under 30 mins, this album doesn’t fuck around. Heavy, fast and proficient. #metalsky vader-band.bandcamp.com/album/solitu...

#6 of 2025: Deadguy | Near Death Travel Services. So, thirty years after their last album, Deadguy just dropped this hardcore tour-de-force. It’s an amazing feat for such a long lapse in material. It’s an awesome album regardless. #metalsky #hardcore deadguy666.bandcamp.com/album/near-d...

Late Nite Listen: Paradise Lost | As I Die (EP). Listening to Ascension again made me want more Paradise Lost. This is an EP from 1993 with a live track of Eternal off of Gothic. Their greatness is sometimes understated. Give em a listen if you haven’t yet. #metalsky m.youtube.com/watch?v=zGZt...

#7 of 2025: Paradise Lost | Ascension. Paradise Lost returned with a display of what they do best - blending the dark and heavy seamlessly with beautiful and melodic elements. Reminds me of Icon but it’s definitely not a re-tread. #metalsky #aoty paradiselostofficial.bandcamp.com/album/ascens...

Late Nite Listen: Pelican | What we all Come to Need. I’m nearing the point of knowing I’m on too much of an instrumental post-metal kick. But I’m gonna listen to this album first. It is captivating and immerses you in the moment of each song. #metalsky pelicansl.bandcamp.com/album/what-w...

#8 of 2025: VoidCeremony | Abditum. The overly serene intro is kind of comical, because much of what comes after feels like controlled chaos. The chaos works beautifully though, and casts occasional vibes of Death and old Morbid Angel. #metalsky #aoty 20buckspin.bandcamp.com/album/abditum

Late Nite Listen: Danzig | Danzig 4. While not on the same level as the first or Lucifuge, it still has some great tracks. It’d be cool to see a good new Danzig album. Call Rick Rubin. He was able to squeeze a decent album out of Metallica at their nadir. #metalsky m.youtube.com/watch?v=6dLr...

#9 of 2025: Revocation | New Gods, New Masters. This album fucking rips. It was hard to rank. In terms of sheer musical prowess it’s tops. But, in a year full of really unique and some long-awaited releases, it landed here. #metalsky #nowspinning revocationband.bandcamp.com/album/new-go...

#10 of 2025: Pentagram | Lightning in a Bottle. This was comfort food for my doom metal soul. Bobby sounds surprisingly good given everything. The songs are well written and demand more than one listen. This all made me happy. #metalsky #AOTY heavypsychsoundsrecords.bandcamp.com/album/pentag...

AOTY: I’m posting the albums I liked best from 2025 (key being “I liked best”) which does not = they’re the best by every metric. I’m gonna do one per day and talk about each. If I liked em enough for a top-10, I want to say why. Plus i can relisten to them again as i do this. \m/ #metalsky #AOTY

Late Night Listen: Death | Spiritual Healing. The cover always freaked me out. My mom died of cancer - and creepy evangelists - well, nuff said. Despite giving me reasons to recoil, it’s a masterpiece - and the last “traditional” death metal album by Death. #metalsky m.youtube.com/watch?v=-__V...

Nightly Listen: Pro-Pain | The Truth Hurts. Whatever line existed between crossover and pure hardcore is even more blurred by these guys. A worthy follow up to Foul Taste of Freedom. Band name makes me think of Hank Hill every time, LOL. #metalsky #nowspinning m.youtube.com/watch?v=yUF-...

Nightly Listen: Napalm Death | Order of the Leech. Regardless of times, trends or band members, Napalm Death just continues to shred our collective face off. This album is no different. In terms of metal history, they are an absolute treasure. #metalsky #nowspinning m.youtube.com/watch?v=bgah...

Late Night Listen: King Diamond | No Presents for Christmas (picture disc). I’m counting on King Diamond albums to get me through the holiday season. It’s worked in prior years (with an assist by copious amounts of beer). Happy holidays! #metalsky #nowspinning m.youtube.com/watch?v=AlYf...

Nightly Listen: Bolt Thrower | For Victory. Their formula is simple, yet so rarely pulled off by others. They write straightforward, riff-driven songs with thick, real sounding instrumentation. They’ve created a near-perfect discography doing this. #metalsky bolt-thrower.bandcamp.com/album/for-vi...

Late Night Listen: Mordred | Vision. I remember this band being kinda divisive. They were alt/funk-metal before Faith No More opened doors. A lot of thrash fans didn’t get it. They didn’t have enough mainstream appeal either. Who cares? They’re awesome. #metalsky m.youtube.com/watch?v=VcJU...

Nightly Listen: D.I. | Team Goon. 1987 re-release of their eponymous EP. Many know the song, Richard Hung Himself bc Slayer covered it. But, D.I.’s discography is a treasure trove of punk classics, many of which appeal to metal sensibilities. #metalsky #nowspinning m.youtube.com/watch?v=KIu1...

Late Night Listen: Dead Kennedys | Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables. These guys were a force. They were both irreverent and prescient. Kill the Poor immediately rings true as a harbinger of what’s happening now in the US. #metalsky #punk #nowspinning m.youtube.com/playlist?lis...

Sorta Short Listen: Miserate | Weaver of Witchery. I have no idea how these guys are not signed. This is a 24 minute EP loaded full of spectacular death/doom. They released a different EP, A Ritual of Doom in 2024 which is similarly excellent. #metalsky m.youtube.com/playlist?lis...

Short Listen: Coalesce | Ox (EP). Nothing new since this was released, 2009. Before that, they hadn’t released anything since the 90’s. While not a prolific band, this album hits with hardcore energy, occasionally dialing it back with musical interludes. #metalsky coalesce.bandcamp.com/album/oxep

Short Listen: Macabre | Behind the wall of Sleep. EP with a cover of BTWOS by Black Sabbath. To me, Macabre represents an interesting time in death metal - where everything was still new and it seemed like there were endless potential variations of the genre. #metalsky m.youtube.com/watch?v=zE4G...

Nightly Listen: Strapping Young Lad | Alien. Chances are, a band with Devin Townsend and Gene Hoglan in it is gonna be worth listening to. Dark, heavy AF and sometimes off the wall. This album is really well executed. #metalsky #nowspinning centurymedia.bandcamp.com/album/alien

Nightly Listen: Hatchet | Awaiting Evil. This album has OS thrash influences throughout, but in addition to the Bay Area leanings they have, I hear shades of Nasty Savage and Meliah Rage, which is pretty cool. Fun band and album. #metalsky #nowspinning hatchetmt.bandcamp.com/album/awaiti...

Nightly Listen: Obituary | Cause of Death. There was a big sonic leap from Slowly We Rot to this one. James Murphy’s virtuosic leads mesh seamlessly with the filthy riffs, face-smashing drums and snarling vocals Obituary had already cultivated. #metalsky #nowspinning m.youtube.com/watch?v=EYxd...

Short Listen: Pelican | Ataraxia/Taraxis. Long day. I’m ready for records and a beer. Pelican is one of those bands where I can just immerse myself in the songs. They don’t overcomplicate things yet still give the listener plenty to sink into. #metalsky #nowspinning m.youtube.com/watch?v=QD7a...

Late Night Listen: Entombed | Left Hand Path. A true death metal classic. Entombed is another band that has a plethora of classic albums: LHP, Clandestine, Wolverine Blues, To Ride, Morningstar. It sucks we’ll never see them again with LG Petrov. #metalsky #nowspinning m.youtube.com/playlist?lis...

Nightly Listen: Trouble | Psalm 9. This may be a weird thing to say about a doom metal album - but this record feels electric to me. Maybe the interplay between Bruce Franklin and Rick Wartell. Two guitars seamlessly trading licks and harmonizing. #metalsky troubleofficial.bandcamp.com/album/psalm-9

Nightly Listen: Death | Individual Thought Patterns. Is this the best Death album? It has a dream lineup of Chuck, DiGiorgio, LaRocque and Hoglan. Or, is naming the best Death album is an exercise in futility with their spotless discography? 🤔 #metalsky #nowspinning m.youtube.com/watch?v=yjLI...