This year, I thought I would do something a little different compared to a standard ‘end-of-year list’. There have been plenty of awesome albums, EPs and songs released this year – so for the 24 days of advent, I will be sharing some of my favourite cuts of 2025 along with a short review of each.
Silverstein – Antibloom/Pink Moon
So where do we go from yesterday, where I spoke about my favourite album of 2025? Well, how about taking some time to acknowledge the fact that one of my all-time favourite bands, Silverstein, released not one but two albums this year!
Silverstein are just consistently so good. You can always rely on them to release banger after banger, so I went into the first of the two albums, Antibloom, with very high hopes. Starting strong with Mercy Mercy, Silverstein grip your attention right away with a straightforward and no-nonsense opener – and power on from there. Other highlights include one of the lead singles Confession, which is a very heartfelt track, and my personal favourite Stress, which resonates with me in both a musical and lyrical way.
When Pink Moon was released, I was equally as eager to hear this one as its predecessor – and yet Silverstein still managed to exceed my expectations because I found this album to be the stronger of the two! A lot of the songs really took my breath away, from the in-your-face Drain The Blood to the powerful The Fatalist (which I was actually drawn to initially based on the fact it shares a name with one of my favourite Plythe tracks) it really hits hard.
For me, Death Hold has to be the absolute highlight of both albums. The track is almost hypnotic; it has one of those choruses destined to be stuck in your head for days, and the emotion in both the instrumentation and vocals is something to behold – you can really feel the performance and it gives me goosebumps every time I hear it.
What I particularly like is how the last track of Antibloom, Cherry Coke, leads very nicely into the opener of Pink Moon, I Love You But I Have To Let You Go – it almost feels like two softer interludes that gel together to form a bigger picture, and I found it to be clever songwriting and song positioning.
Silverstein have really delivered this year with not one, but two incredible albums – now this is how you do an album release!
Songs to check out: Confession & Stress (AB), Death Hold & Drain The Blood (PM)
Purchase here: https://silverstein.bandcamp.com/album/antibloom / https://silverstein.bandcamp.com/album/pink-moon
Day 01: Orbit Culture – Death Above Life
Day 02: You Win Again Gravity – Don’t Leave Me Here, Part 1
Day 03: Pithy – Agonizing Plexus
Day 04: Septicflesh – Amphibians
Day 05: Karl Casey – White Bat EPs
Day 06: Paradise Lost – Ascension
Day 07: Metamalice – Symphony of the Knife
Day 08: I Prevail – Violent Nature
Day 09: Sheep – Forbidden Fields
Day 10: Dance With The Dead – Psycho Disco
Day 11: Bleed From Within – Zenith
Day 12: Cyberpriest – Cliff The Headhunter (Remixed)
Day 13: Kelluvat Ikkunat – Kelluvat Ikkunat
Day 14: Memoremains – Toxic Devotion
Day 15: Rootbrain – Mothertomb
Day 16: Project Silence – Rotten
Day 17: Labyrinthus Stellarum – Rift in Reality
Day 18: The Villains Have Wings – Not Enough
Day 19: Feuerschwanz – Knightclub
Day 20: Vast Slug – Driving Music
Day 21: Lik – Necro
Day 22: Windwaker – Hyperviolence (Expansion Pack)
Day 23: Paul Bartolome – Fake Hollywood
