These albums didn’t just soundtrack my 2025, they absorbed it. Mostly forged in rock and metal, they offered release, resistance and reflection in equal measure, while one soundtrack slipped in sideways and refused to leave.
RØRY – RESTORATION
RØRY’s debut album RESTORATION was a sure fire record to make this list.
The album is an inspirational journey of self-love and transformation, which leaves me feeling motivated to do something to better myself each time I listen.
The hip hop vocal delivery that mixes with melodic lines works really well as it shows the transformation in RØRY’s mind during the points in time of each song.
TheCityIsOurs – Will You Still Love Me
Will You Still Love Me by TheCityIsOurs is a piece of musical heaven.
The lyrics are well written and perfectly delivered, with varying vocal styles throughout the album. Each song is a stand out but the highlight is Hush! Hush! with its sax and mix of dancey vibes and heavy breakdowns.
Hands Like Houses – A T M O S P H E R I C S
I became a fan of Hands Like Houses years ago and I’m also a fan of The Faim, so a chance to hear The Faim’s Josh Raven as frontman for Hands Like Houses was a dream.
And A T M O S P H E R I C S made that dream come true. There are soaring vocals and atmospheric instrumentation through the album which grows further into the band’s new sound across each of the four sections.
Storm – Join the Storm
Storm’s debut album Join the Storm shows that it doesn’t matter how old you are, you can always create some amazing music with lyrical maturity beyond his teenage years.
The eclectic album was nice to listen through as it kept me gripped at all times, with some dance, R&B, rock and metal delighting the ears.
Blessthefall – Gallows
Gallows was one of the albums I was most excited for in 2025 as it had been years since we had a new record from Blessthefall. I was not disappointed.
The album is full of brutal verses and silky smooth choruses, a perfect blend of metalcore.
It never lets up with huge hooks, sick breakdowns and a lush mix of clean and scream vocals in every song.
The guest appearances on the album work really well too. The vocals on Somebody Else with Caskets were a delight and Alpha Wolf’s appearance on Drag Me Under just added that extra element to the brutality.
Hazbin Hotel Season 2 Soundtrack
The music in season 1 of Hazbin Hotel really gave season 2 a lot to live up to and it really didn’t disappoint.
Every track on the soundtrack really highlights the moment and feeling of the relevant characters in the show and blends well for the episodes.
From the chaotic opening of Hazbin Guarantee showing Charlie’s struggles to cope to setting the scene for the Vees’ involvement, it’s a fun opener, to the pop rock love ballad Piss (A Love Song), all the way through to the emotional closer of Hear My Hope (which features the dulcet tones of Patrick Stump giving us a heavenly version of 2005 Fall Out Boy), it’s a masterclass in musical theatre.
With a cast that features the aforementioned Stump and a whole host of Broadway stars, each track is suited to the vocal abilities of the stars perfectly, whether it’s the insane rock opening for the anthem that is Vox Populi to let Age of Madness frontman Jeremy Jordan run wild in his rock era which expands on his Broadway-inspired sound in season 1, to the calming tones of Liz Callaway in Sera’s Confession. The callbacks through the record to earlier tracks or season 1 are fantastic too.
It’s been on repeat for me since its release.