Best New Releases November 2025

 

How in the world did we get here? 

By some devilish magic, the days are suddenly mercilessly short, a sharp winter chill is beginning to permeate the nights, holiday preparations are in full swing, and in less than a month, I'll be ranking my Top 25 Albums of the Year. I'm not ready. 

Until then, you'll be pleased to know that November was far from a  disappointing month in the heavy underground. Impressive in both number and variety, there were many noteworthy albums that caught the ears of eager listeners this month. Here are my personal favorites that I submitted to the Doom Charts in November, ranked in descending order: 

(Side note: I'm just going to throw it out there that the albums were VERY hard to rank this month, but as always, there was a clear-cut #1). 

8.) Beastwars - The Ship//The Sea

The emotions expressed on Beastwars' sixth album The Ship//The Sea are some of their most intense ever, on par with their crushing riffs. Naturally, the band's use of sharply contrasting vulnerability and brutality fashions the perfect spyglass through which to view the album's nautical theme. With "the ship" representing the body and "the sea" symbolizing life, each song on the album explores a different motif such as survival, wisdom, purification, and healing. You'll hear inspiring messages of optimism, relatable anecdotes of struggle, and encouraging glimmers of hope. Not only does Beastwars very successfully execute the concept of the volatile sea on their album, but they do it in an admirably unguarded and genuine manner, making it very apparent to the listener that The Ship//The Sea could be the band's most personal yet. 

You can read my quick review of the album here.

Favorite track: Guardian of Fire

7.) The Birch - Vicious Mind 

Based upon the vibrant first impressions I'd formed of The Birch when they released their single Free Your Head back in October, I was expecting their new album Vicious Mind to be brimming with more of the same high energy, legitimate '70s rock tones. What I got from the album was that and so much more...in a nutshell, the perfect balance of bubbling grooves and steady, hazy soul. Whether a song takes on a fun and lively or more pensive mood, The Birch always creates an authentic sound, inspired by the heavy rock of decades past but infused with a modern outlook that's sure to resonate with a wide variety of listeners.

Favorite Track: Downpour 

6.) Black Magic Tree - Terra 

The bluesy psychedelic tones of Black Magic Tree's sound get an HD makeover on their sophomore album Terra. While their music has always been crisp, energetic, and colorful, there are even sharper edges, additional shades and hues, and infinitely more depth throughout this album that signal heightened attention to detail. Also dialed up to eleven is the emotive intensity - both vocals and instrumentals feel even more expressive and more honest than ever before. This results in a bold and genuine sound, allowing the band to be straightforward but vulnerable with their listeners. With all of this growth in both self-assuredness and sound, Black Magic Tree makes it clear on Terra that they're quickly becoming pillars of the underground heavy psych scene on a global scale. 

You can read my review of the album here.

Favorite Track: Págos 

5.) Burning Sister - Ghosts 

Ghosts, the sophomore album from Denver-based downer rock duo Burning Sister, marks their first work as a two-piece since 2019. Nevertheless, the band proves that a massive sound can still emanate from a drum and bass duo as they churn out a hypnotic blend of doom, stoner rock, heavy psych, noise rock, and shoegaze. On a deeper level, Ghosts symbolizes tenacity and evolution for Burning Sister as they ambitiously took the opportunity to experiment with gear, amps, and effects. Relying less on a traditional Sabbathian doom/classic stoner sound than in the past, the band leans heavily into their heavy psych and noise rock influences on this album, producing a buzzing, immersive, lysergic tone that fills your entire body and mind with its echoing reverberations, a sensation that's utterly addictive.

Favorite Track: Brokedick Icarus

 

4.) AcidSitter - Escape From Egoland

AcidSitter specializes in an energetic but thought-provoking brand of psychedelic rock. While this appropriately named group infuses their music with plenty of hallucinogenic grooves inspired by the sounds of the 60s, the message behind their songs is always crystal clear. The band's sophomore release Escape From Egoland bursts right out of the gate with even more bubbling energy than their debut album Make Acid Great Again. The edges are sharper, the emotions are higher, and the contrasts are starker. However, there's an underlying urgency present within the colorful acidic grooves, a nod to the album's theme that beseeches us to save ourselves from ourselves. More than anything, AcidSitter proves on this album that they're a band that's always thinking, growing, and evolving - adding even more clever layers to their kaleidoscopic sound while keeping a pulse on the times, ensuring that their sound grows with their listeners.

You can read my quick review of the album here.

Favorite track: Psychopomp

3.) Winds of Neptune - (self-titled) 

Michigan-based trio Winds of Neptune stands out among the flood of heavy rock releases this month for bringing the grit and sweat to the party, along with a more progressive style. While their full-length self-titled debut certainly includes some hypnotic psychedelic respites in the mix, it's the high-octane freeway jams, leather-and-bellbottoms vibes, wailing guitar, and liberating grooves that more distinctly represent American pop culture during the "Anything Goes Decade" of the 70s. One of my favorite things about the album, however, is the underlying spacey feel it carries throughout, framing the imagery of Winds of Neptune's songs with a lysergic sci-fi aura that pairs incredibly well with the band's overall sound. This is a killer, no-skip album from start to finish. 

Favorite track: The Faun's Rhyme

2.) Astralplane - Out of the Void

Astralplane is a trio of brothers from Oslo who prove themselves to be purveyors of both vast atmospheres and rumbling riffs on their album Out of the Void. Here, spaced-out psychedelic rock and gritty stoner groove give way to whispers of 70s heavy rock, providing a warm glow within frigid interstellar expanses. Best of all, Astralplane does a phenomenal job of keeping the energy up throughout Out of the Void while providing engaging vocals and lyricism, ensuring the vibe never gets lost in space. This is truly a hidden gem in the heavy underground that you won't regret unearthing! 

Favorite track: Ascension

1.) You Guitarprayer - I Am The Light/The Light I Am

I always picture You Guitarprayer's sound as a live wire, snaking about on the stage, going where the mood draws it, hot and glowing, always threatening to spark. I think this visual speaks not only to the unparalleled energy behind the band's style, but also to the organic flow of each and every song they compose. On their sophomore release I Am The Light/The Light I Am, the avant garde trio holds true to their signature sound, characterized by delightfully unpredictable bursts of energy and chaos that flow gracefully into dreamlike reveries. However, You Guitarprayer continues to add even more layers, colors, and facets to their sound, indicating sustained creative growth while drawing their listener in even deeper on an emotional level.

You can read my full review of the album here.

Favorite track: Ace of Wands

That's it for November! I hope that you enjoy these albums as much as I did. 

Don't forget to check out this month's Doom Chart where there are forty albums waiting for you to discover, and as always, be sure to show your favorite heavy underground artists some much-deserved love! 

Check out Screaming from the Heavy Underground on YouTube!

Best New Releases November 2025, Video Version