(Editor’s note: Looking back on 2025, there were so many good albums released that we decided to reach out to some of today’s artists and get them to weigh in on their favorites. What follows is doom metal duo Frayle and their Top Albums of 2025.)
2025 was an incredible year for us. We released our record Heretics & Lullabies on Napalm Records, which received overwhelmingly positive reviews. We played a number of “bucket list” festivals while touring Europe, and then came home to tour the USA. Needless to say, we had a lot of time on the road the listen to music. Here are our top heavy picks from 2025!
Health — Conflict DLC
Sean: Health is my current favorite band. We really like the contrast of the mellow vocals over super aggressive instrumentation. The lyrics are incredible. My favorite songs are the mellow jammers though. Their song “Thought Leader” is probably my favorite song of the year.
Turnstile — Never Enough
Sean: Turnstile is one of those few bands that sounds both nostalgic and current at the same time. I like how their arrangements are sometimes really abrupt. It’s also interesting how their riffs are very identifiable… This isn’t an easy thing to do.
Author & Punisher — Nocturnal Birding
Sean: We’ve been Author & Punisher fans for a while now. It’s always interesting to see what new form his instruments will take. This new record sounds amazing and super heavy.
Deftones — Private Music
Gwyn: Deftones is a forever musical crush for me. Chino’s voice has such a soothing quality, and easily drifts between breathy intimacy and “cathartic release.” As always, this Deftones album holds a special place during late night drives and special solitary moments.
Frayle — Heretics & Lullabies
Gwyn & Sean: Obviously, we have to include our own album here since we are extremely proud of it. We took a lot of time to ensure that we expanded on our idea of building a musical landscape, and hope that we take you on a journey to the darkest corners of your psyche, knowing that no matter how dark it gets, there is light and release on the other side.