The essential guitar albums of 2025 that you (probably) missed
It’s only July, but 2025 has already been a banner year for guitar music. The likes of Black Country New Road, Spiritbox, Sleep Token, Lambrini Girls and more have put out hit releases in the last six months and thrust themselves to new levels of popularity. But, for every album that’s received its righteous goodwill, there have been 10 to unjustly fly under the radar.
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So, with this year now just over 50 per cent done with (I know), now seemed like an opportune time to take stock and give a leg up to some of the artists who haven’t received their deserved flowers yet. From all-out metal attacks to absorbing blues outings, these are the essential guitar albums of 2025 that you probably missed.
Spellling – Portrait of My Heart
Spelling ‘Portrait of My Heart’ album artwork. Image: Press
A restless genre-hopper, Christia “Spellling” Cabral’s back-catalogue includes experiments with synth music, psychedelia, soul and more. On album number four, the Oakland singer/songwriter zeroes in on rock but explores plenty of the style’s different corners, especially with the guitar work. Where the title track invokes such alt-rockers as The Smashing Pumpkins with its emotional melodies and arpeggios, Satisfaction unloads some boisterous hardcore riffs. Cabral’s always-beautiful vocals keeps everything tied together, however, cementing her status as one of the most underrated solo acts in the modern music industry.
Pothamus – Abur
Pothamus ‘Abur’ album artwork. Image: Press
The second album by Belgian post-rockers Pothamus is dense with guitars, but don’t expect riffs in the conventional sense. Comparable to such pioneers as Godspeed You! Black Emperor and labelmates Year of No Light, the three-piece pile texture after texture of string-based noise on top of each other, until their songs feel apocalyptically oppressive. The thudding bass and ominous drums only cement Abur as a potential soundtrack to the end times, while the fleeting, distant, choral vocals make this band sound like a cult actively chanting for a cataclysm.
Imperial Triumphant – Goldstar
Imperial Triumphant ‘Goldstar’ album artwork. Image: Press
“We’re the sound of New York,” Imperial Triumphant singer/guitarist Zachary Ezrin told Guitar.com earlier this year, and Goldstar is the most direct embodiment of that spirit to date. Through their ferocious metal riffs, spasming jazz rhythms and rusted Art Deco imagery, the trio capture the essence of 1920s decadence rotting under the weight of hideous noise and confusion – a perfect metaphor for the modern-day Big Apple. With more episodic songs than they’d written for previous efforts, the band’s symbolism shines through more powerfully here than ever before.
Mdou Moctar – Tears of Injustice
Mdou Moctar ‘Tears of Injustice’ album artwork. Image: Press
Tears of Injustice is the companion piece to Mdou Moctar’s album, 2024’s Funeral for Justice, rearranging the Nigerian guitarist’s tracks into acoustic forms. As the man himself says, “If Funeral for Justice was the sound of outrage, Tears of Injustice is the sound of grief,” as the tracks retain the same political focus yet inherently sound more downtrodden and defeated over the state of the world. The reworks also highlight Moctar’s adaptability as a player, going from twirling and bluesy to quiet and folky, but no less dextrous.
Avkrvst – Waving at the Sky
Avkrvst ‘Waving at the Sky’ album artwork. Image: Press
Fans of dark prog luminaries Steven Wilson and Opeth will be spoiled by Avkrvst. Pronounced “aw-crust”, the Norwegian unit were formed by two lifelong friends when they started jamming together in a remote cabin. Waving at the Sky, their second album, brings the despondent edges of their 2023 debut The Approbation front and centre, accompanying a narrative about abuse with lashings of sullen melody. With Ross Jennings of Haken getting a guest spot and Sony imprint Inside Out behind them, this outfit already seem destined for big things.
Art d’Ecco – Serene Demon
Art d’Ecco ‘Serene Demon’ album artwork. Image: Press
The guitar isn’t the defining instrument on Canadian solo act Art D’Ecco’s fourth album, with the instrument instead being used as part of a bigger, wonderful tapestry. This is a 10-song goth/glam winner with hallmarks of lounge, jazz, funk and ’40s film noir, with everything coalescing into a bouncy and seductive whole. The riffier moments include acoustic folk stomper Honeycomb and post-punk anthem The Traveller, the latter of which has been longlisted for a Polaris Music Prize. But, truthfully, if you skip even one track across this uber-catchy platter, you’re doing yourself a disservice.
Havukruunu – Tavastland
Havukruunu ‘Tavastland’ album artwork. Image: Press
It’s black metal with Iron Maiden riffs. Do you really need to read more than that? Havukruunu have been broadcasting sophisticated extremity from the wilds of Finland for 20 years now, yet it still seems that only the most devout metalheads know of their existence. Tavastland reiterates how great an injustice that is, combining stampeding percussion and twirling guitar leads to offer 50 minutes of unfettered adrenaline. Add in a fascinating lyrical concept about generational trauma and you get one of the most essential metal releases of 2025 altogether.
Waldo’s Gift – Malcolm’s Law
Waldo’s Gift ‘Malcolm’s Law’ album artwork. Image: Press
Calling an artist ‘avant-garde’ feels like a cop-out half the time, but when it comes to Waldo’s Gift… what the hell else can anyone say?! Equal parts jazz, rock and prog, the Bristol instrumentalists are pure technicality, from the callus-shredding guitar athletics to the breakneck drum performances. Yet, there’s a constant sense of bounce and playfulness that stops debut album Malcolm’s Law from feeling like a soulless collection of exercises. The improvisations and bittersweet finale Last on the Plane only add further heart, cementing this band as ones to watch.
Slung – In Ways
Slung ‘In Ways’ album artwork. Image: Press
From Loathe to Bleed, it seems that every young metal band nowadays has to have at least some hallmark of Deftones influence in their music. Though Brighton up-and-comers Slung are no exception, debut album In Ways shakes up the formula. For all the waves of dreamy nu metal heard on the songs Come Apart and Collider, there are vicious extreme metal and hardcore punk deviations. Opener Laughter kickstarts the record with a venomous snarl and a thrashing riff, before Class A Cherry channels some of the sludge metal density of Mastodon.
Danefae – Trøst
Danefae ‘Trøst’ album artwork. Image: Press
From Heilung to Kalandra, Nordic folk is back in vogue, and Denmark’s Danefae proved themselves worthy of a seat at the table with their second album. The rockers mixed hypnotic, lullaby-like vocal harmonies with an array of instrumentation, from bold, hard chords to serene arpeggios. The highlight of Trøst, though, is midpoint P.S. Far Er Død: a 12-minute, progressive giant that rose from gentleness and spoken-word to pulse-pounding metal. With more of that kind of unpredictability, this four-piece could become big names in one of the trendiest subgenres right now.
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