Outlaws Of The Sun - Top 50 Albums Of The Year For 2025

Here are my favourite Top 50 Albums Of The Year For 2025.

This was another outstanding year for some amazing and epic records that were released. Hope you like the albums that I've chosen here as it was really quite a hard list to put together which they always are. 

I want to thank you all for reading the blog on a daily basis and letting me air my views on releases within the world of Doom, Sludge and Stoner Metal.

Huge Thanks to Frazer Jones at Desert Psychlist for his never-ending support and words of encouragement. Enjoy Your Retirement Frazer. You've earned it. Special thanks should also goto S Patrick Brooks, Marty Harvey and Gizmo for having my back throughout the year.

Thanks to the awesome contributions from Håkan Nyman and Jon McGough for their superb reviews and contributions to the blog this year.

Honourable mentions and thanks to Edd JR Saylor, Matthew Thomas, Todd Stealey, Steve Rodger, Mel Lie, Doomcakes, Stevie Reek, James Marshall and Bill Goodman for their support as well.

I must also give a shout out to the Bands, Labels and PR Reps who helped me be aware of albums or bands that I may have missed.

Check my list out for the best sounds I've heard all year.

1 - Slomatics - Atomicult

2 - Beastwars - The Ship // The Sea

3 - Howling Giant - Crucible And Ruin

4 - Modder - Destroying Ourselves For A Place In The Sun

5 - Pelican - Flickering Resonance

6 - Space Witch - Mountians Of Neptune

7 - Alphawhores - You Can Come Out Now

8 - Breath - Brahman

9 - Fuzznaut - Resistant Spirit

10 - Moon Destroys - She Walks By Moonlight

11 - Museum Of Light - Diviner

12 - Sisters - Wings Of Deliverance

13 - Insomniac - Om Moksha Ritam

14 - Burning Sister - Ghosts

15 - Slow Crush - Thirst

16 - Goya - In The Dawn Of November

17 - Kal-El - Astral Voyager Vol 1

18 - U.S. Christmas - Cannibals Of Unaka

19 - Conan - Violence Dimension

20 - Borracho - Ouroboros

21 - Torso - Annihilation Day

22 - SOM - Let The Light In

23 - Dozer - Rewind to Return: Rarities, Singles and B-Sides

24 - Margarita Witch Cult - Strung Out In Hell

25 - Bloodwood - Dark Simulator

26 - Bloodhorse - A Malign Star

27 - Demonic Death Judge - Absolutely Launched

28 - Bogwife - From Ashes

29 - Holy Roller - Rat King

30 - Grin - Acid Gods

31 - Maniard - Fragments Of Time

32 - Mountain Of Misery - Shades Of The Ashes

33 - HÅNDGEMENG - Satanic Panic Attack

34 - PIECE - Ramblers Axe

35 - Komatsu - A Breakfast For Champions

36 - Anamouth - Distant Skies And The Ocean Flies

37 - Melvins - Thunderball

38 - Yawning Man - Pavvement Ends

39 - Pigs x7 - Death Hilarious

40 - AAWKS - On Through The Sky Maze

41 - Miss Lava - Under A Black Sun

42 - Pyres - Yun

43 - Red Eye - III

44 - Bronco - Bronco

45 - Kaiser - 2nd Sound

46 - Icarus Burns - Icarus Burns

47 - Vape Warlök - ...And His Skull Shall Make My Bong

48 - Yawning Balch - Volume Three

49 - SoftSun - Eternal Sunrise

50 - SKOGSKULT - SKOGSKULT

FAT RHINO - Escape From a Smoldering Planet (Album Review)

Release Date: November 08th 2025. Record Label: Self Released. Formats: DD

Escape From a Smoldering Planet  - Tracklisting

1.Nashörn 05:16

2.Fables 08:16

3.Battles 04:38

4.Crows And Ravens 05:16

5.Water 10:16

6Treadmill 04:42

7.Revolve 05:19

8.Red Sabbath 05:25

9.Rider 04:08

10.Apocalypse 03:56

11.Commander 07:43

Members

Jan D. - Guitar

André - Drums

Dennis - Bass

Jan B. - Vocals

Review

Escape From A Smouldering Planet is the debut album from Psych/Doom/Stoner Metallers FAT RHINO and the band play an action packed style of music with influences ranging from Black Sabbath, KYUSS, FU MANCHU and KYUSS. The band specialise in a superb style of modern day psychedelic surroundings which perhaps draws upon the likes of Monster Magnet and Orange Goblin at the best of times. The record lasts for over an hour spread across ten tracks with FAT RHINO exploring a wealth of superb FUZZED up passages with a slight sense of Heavy Metal exposure appearing within Jan B’s dynamic vocals.

The lyrics are standard Doom/Stoner Metal fare but FAT RHINO add a sense of aggressive and street level attitude that fully sells their creative vision. FAT RHINO like exploring the Psychedelic and Spaced Out themes of their music which comes across superbly well within the opening tracks of Nashörn, Fables and Battles. The music is catchy and very fast-paced with FAT RHINO even adapting a Progressive flavour into the music on the more lengthier compositions that are contained within the album. 

The album does move back and forth from classic Nineties based Fuzz and Stoner Metal passages to the modern day Post-Whatever attitude. The vocals do feel over the top and quite theatrical but this allows FAT RHINO to stand out from the crowd with highly  original vocals being performed with the right emotional intensity to them.

There’s also a NWOBHM context developing behind the scenes which perhaps allows FAT RHINO every opportunity to play areas of Eighties Hard Rock and Heavy Metal on the more outlandish aspects of the record. FAT RHINO experiments with Sludge, Fuzz and Grunge based landscapes on the longest tracks of the record with Fables, Waters and Commander being the most technically impressive on the album.

Escape From A Smouldering Planet is a great sounding record from start to finish where FAT RHINO play a wide assortment of different grooves and melodies with thrilling instrumental solos being delivered by Jan D (Guitars), André (Drums) and Dennis (Bass) proving their musical worth especially on tracks such as Crows And Ravens, Treadmill, Red Sabbath and Rider. These tracks see FAT RHINO deliver the heaviest and catchiest sounds on the whole album with the atmosphere flirting between HARD ROCK and HEAVY METAL with supreme confidence. 

When everything is said and done, FAT RHINO have done their homework with this great album as it features all the best sounding aspects of the Doom, Psych and Stoner Metal scene over the last forty years or so. However, they still put their own great creative spin into this record which could see the guys build a loyal and dedicated following within the underground scene.

Excellent and Highly Recommended.

Words by Steve Howe

Links 

Official | Facebook | BandCamp | Instagram

WHITE TUNDRA Announce Their New Single “Healer”. They Will Perform at DesertFest Oslo in May

Argonauta Records is thrilled to present “Healer”, the brand new single from Norwegian heavy voyagers White Tundra and the first preview of their upcoming album “Stories from the Dark”, set for release in spring 2026.

White Tundra emerge from the northern marshes with a sound that combines heavy atmospheric melodies, powerful grooves and a deep sense of Scandinavian mystique. Their music drifts across dusty tundras and into shadowed woodlands, balancing the raw energy of 70s hard rock with the grit of the 90s stoner scene and the darker moods of doom and blackened rock. The band has often been compared to Red Fang, Witchcraft and Skraeckoedlan, yet their identity remains unmistakably their own.

Following their acclaimed self titled debut album in 2023 which secured a place on the Doom Charts and introduced their unique blend of riffs and folklore-inspired heaviness, White Tundra spent 2024 rebuilding and strengthening their creative core. With the arrival of lead guitarist Kjell Andres Nilsen early in the year and bassist Øyvind Persvik shortly after, the band began shaping what would become “Stories from the Dark”. Recording took place in the summer of 2025 at AutumnSongs Recording Studio with Rhys Marsh producing.

“Healer” serves as the opening track of “Stories from the Dark” and marks a renewed chapter for the band.

White Tundra share: “Healer is the opening track of the album that we started working on early 2024 when Kjell Andres joined on lead guitars. He had been piling up ideas for a while and came into the band with fresh blood and energy. After a while, Øyvind joined on bass and we really started to focus on writing in the summer of 2024.”

“Healer” captures the essence of the band’s evolution with melodies that rise with intensity, hypnotic riffs and a sense of narrative tension that sets the tone for the journey within “Stories from the Dark”.

White Tundra will also perform at DesertFest Oslo 2026, an unmissable event for all fans of the genre, featuring a stellar line-up with names like Russian Circles, Primitive Man, Earthless, The Sword and many more.

Listen to “Healer” here: https://song.link/whitetundra_hr

White Tundra

Steven Kresin guitar and vocals
Kjell Andres Nilsen lead guitar and vocals
Øyvind Persvik bass
Ola Fuglevaag drums

More news about “Stories from the Dark” will follow soon.

Links

https://www.facebook.com/WhiteTundraBand
https://www.facebook.com/ArgonautaRecords

https://whitetundra.bandcamp.com/

Thanks to Grand Sounds Promotion for the details.

DESERTFEST LONDON ANNOUNCES DAY SPLITS, DAY TICKETS, AND NINE NEW ARTISTS FOR ITS 2026 EDITION

Desertfest London has released Day Tickets for its 2026 edition as well as revealing day splits and stage splits for their annual gathering of the finest in stoner rock and underground heavy music.

Completing its diverse line up, this latest announcement confirms Desertfest 2026 as one for the ages. Friday night sees a classic evening of stoner heaviness culminating in Electric Ballroom headliners Hermano (helmed by desert rock legend, John Garcia), while Saturday champions local heroes as Green Lung headline the Roundhouse. The festival closes out with a second stint at the Roundhouse on Sunday with none other than Clutch, a band who has been on the wish lists of Desertfest attendees since its inception.

New additions include prog-psych sensations Church of the Cosmic Skull, Lancastrian rock apostles Wytch Hazel, and London crossover kings Inhuman Nature, who join Pigs Pigs PigsPigs Pigs Pigs Pigs & Green Lung for a celebration of the Best of British-shining the spotlight on homegrown talent that we feel really deserve time on the big stage.

This final announcement sees the reunion of Florida sludge pioneers Cavity, who will headline Friday’s Black Heart stage. As a defining presence in underground heavy music, Desertfest is honoured to host these unsung heroes of raw power. They join a number of historic reunion staking place over the weekend, including stoner legends The Sword, and underground doom icons Capricorns - all taking place deep in the scene that worships them. Not to mention note worthy Desertfest debuts from the likes of -16- and Solace and first trips to UK soil for many bands, including Causa Sui, Komodor, Moundrag, and Midhaven.

And with that Desertfest 2026 completes an astounding line up for its fourteenth year of pure rock fury, compelled as ever by the power of the riff.

New additions to Desertfest 2026:

CHURCH OF THE COSMIC SKULL
WYTCH HAZEL
INHUMAN NATURE
CAVITY
MOLOCH
DAUFODT
KUSHTHULU
IRON SLUG
TROLL MOTHER

Weekend and Day Tickets are available now at https://www.desertfest.co.uk

Facebook: @DesertfestLondon
Instagram: @desertfest_london
Website: www.desertfest.co.uk

Thanks to Gardenia Publicity for all of the details.

Verminthrone - Feast Of The Serpent (EP Review)

Release Date: December 19th 2025. Record Label: Self Released. Formats: DD

Feast Of The Serpent  - Tracklisting

Pallor

Swab

When It Rains, It Pours

Bloodletting

Event Horizon

Review

Crossover/Groove/Thrash Metallers Verminthrone return with their latest EP - Feast Of The Serpent. The EP offers five tracks running for around twenty six minutes in length. This is a similar vibe to their celebrated 2024 debut album The Cull with its great mix of fast-paced and brutally filthy sounds. The music is once again very fast-paced with a certain modern day Sludge/Stoner Metal pedigree shining through with Verminthrone keeping true to their core Thrash/Groove based melodies. The vocals are quite intense with a vicious Death Growl being used for the most part.

The opening song of Pallor leaves you gasping for breath with the multitude of different beatdowns and breakdowns Verminthrone delivers with supreme confidence. The sound is uplifted or amplified by a sudden rush of Crust Punk and Hardcore metallic elements which is used quite sparingly at first before the band decides to throw a TON of muscular weight for that particular sound being one of the most dominant themes on the whole EP.

The next batch of tracks of Swab and When It Rains, It Pours continues with the Crossover movement with an epic sideline of HIGH ON FIRE, METALLICA and MOTORHEAD delivered musical moments that allows Verminthrone to operate with a clearer and riff-driven mandate. The mood is still BLEAK and aggressively violent but at least there’s some demented THRASH paced fun to be had along the way. You can hear shades of Classic Heavy Metal guitar shredding being delivered with both tracks that’s played at breakneck speed. 

Feast Of The Serpent never loses its monumental style of extreme heaviness with Verminthrone perhaps delivering darker and heavier moments of Sludge Metal grooves with great vocals and some epic lyrics selling the whole package right through to the very end. The final two songs of Bloodletting and Event Horizon both offer a more daring and violent creative theme with Verminthrone playing the heaviest and gloomiest sounds on the whole EP.

Verminthrone never waiver from delivering an action packed and violent style of filth driven Sludge Metal sounds. There are brief moments of Post-Doom and Psych Stoner Metal surroundings appearing on the later stages but the band still true to their HEAVY METAL beliefs that results in another standout release from Verminthrone to enhance their reputation with. 

Words by Steve Howe

Links 

Linktree | BandCamp

Mos Eisley Spaceport - Live On Crow Hill (Album Review)

Release Date: December 11th 2025. Record Label: Self Released. Formats: DD

Live On Crow Hill  - Tracklisting

1.Drop Out 05:57

2.Space Shift 07:45

3.Raised By A Lioness 07:21

4.Cocaine Blues 05:38

5.Ashes To Ashes 09:33

6.Scattle Cat 04:05

7.Interstellar Mantis 12:04

8.In Your Mind 05:13

Members

Sebastian Reimann - Guitar, Synthesizer and Vocals

Guido Hanslik - Drums and Vocals

Jasper Röthemeyer - Bass and Vocals

Björn Groos - Organ and Vocals.

Review

Live On Crow Hill is the live album from Psych Stoner Rockers Mos Eisley Spaceport and with their name inspired by Star Wars, the band play a highly stylish take on all things Space Rock which can be downright Jazzy and Freaky. It’s not the most modern sounding style of music with the band being more Krautrock based for major parts of the record. 

The presence of trippy Prog Rock elements make this record quite a long drawn out trip in places but that’s a good thing with the band exploring a different style of Spaced Out extended instrumental jams. There’s a multitude of different sounds being drawn up from the very start within the opening track of Drop Out. The mood is downright ELECTRIC with Mos Eisley Spaceport offering a Classic Rock experience where the music fully goes into OVERDRIVE with echoes of Blues Rock and Stoner Rock combining with the vocals having a slight Garage Rock style.

The mood is quite boisterous and punk rock based with the band members all providing vocals at different parts of the record with second track Space Shift using a certain speech from Star Wars to set up the scene. The music is quite fast-paced with a highly energetic attitude that becomes more heavier with each passing moment. The sound is most definitely obsessed with the Seventies Heavy Psych scene with the grizzled melodies becoming dominated by waves of sludgy distortion and psychedelic sound effects which was quite a cool surprise. 

Mos Eisley Spaceport experimented with other areas of Instrumental passages, soundscapes and melodies with that freakish Blues Rock attitude allowing the KRAUTROCK element to become ever more present where the record becomes one of more of SONIC exploration and downright outrageous fun. The band blast their way through a great assortment of tracks such as Raised By A Lioness, Cocaine Blues, Ashes To Ashes and Interstellar Mantis being the most action packed, trippiest and sometimes quite surreal parts of the whole album.

The band keep generating first rate Heavy Psych and Space Rock melodies with great vocal insight along the way which allows the listener to become part of the action. Live On Crow Hill is a great LIVE album which allows Mos Eisley Spaceport to play a collection of their “hits” to a highly appreciative audience in attendance. The band even found the time to play a new song “Interstellar Mantis” which is most definitely the standout track of this album and showcases a different style of music from the band compared to their previous releases.

Live On Crow Hill offers great entertainment throughout and should find a loyal following within the scene.

Words by Steve Howe

Links 

BandCamp | Instagram

Doom Metallers AZKEN AUZI return with new single “Deep Hell”. The first taste of their upcoming album “Infernua”

Argonauta Records proudly announces the return of French occult doom sludge act Azken Auzi, back with their brand new and first single “Deep Hell”, taken from the band’s upcoming album “Infernua”, due for release in CD, Vinyl and Digital formats in early 2026.

Three years after their critically praised self titled debut, Azken Auzi have shaped their vision into a darker, heavier and far more personal form. Their new album “Infernua” is the result of intense live activity and a continuous push toward defining a sound that merges occult and dark doom sludge with technical depth, atmospheric shades and a newfound maturity. The band explores the shadows of the human soul, moving through oppressive heaviness, hypnotic grooves and emotional contrasts. From the very first notes that set the tone for this new chapter to the closing track that opens a subtle window of hope, “Infernua” stands as Azken Auzi’s most accomplished and uncompromising work to date.

Listen to the new single “Deep Hell” here: https://song.link/azkenauzi_dh

“Infernua” will be released in early 2026 on CD, Vinyl and Digital via Argonauta Records. More details will be revealed soon.

INFO:

https://www.facebook.com/ArgonautaRecords
https://www.facebook.com/azkenauzi

https://azkenauzi.bandcamp.com/

Thanks to Grand Sounds Promotion for the details.