Best New Releases December 2025

 

I'm going to be completely honest with you guys: there will be some albums that I missed this month. 

2025, which was generally a year for the birds in my opinion, is fizzling out...along with my energy levels. A busy schedule and a moderate amount of burnout have been the main culprits keeping me from digging as deeply into the December new releases as is typical for me, but I have every intention of catching up (slowly but surely). 

All is not lost, however: I did find five noteworthy new releases that got my enthusiastic seal of approval for the Doom Charts...here they are in descending order: 

5.) Conductor - Spirits Rise!

Canadian heavy rock quintet Conductor warms up the winter chill with a massive dose of swagger and proto metal spirit on their sophomore album Spirits Rise! With tones that alternate between gritty and grooving and soaring and soulful, Conductor captures the essence of vintage rock while infusing it with a bright modern energy that's all their own. 

Favorite Track: Spirits Rise 

4.) Vandhali - The Fall of Evil 

Denver-based duo Vandhali returns with The Fall of Evil, the final installment in "The Evil Trilogy". Via their trademark blend of doom, NWOBHM, and rich storytelling, the band relays the victory of Vandhali, "an army of resistors" who closes the book on the evil uprising for good. The Fall of Evil thunders by at a much more rollicking pace than the previous two chapters, correlating directly to the heightened intensity of the adventure at hand. It's safe to say that this release is the most captivating portion of the trilogy and, while it marks an end to this particular tale, it simultaneously begs the question: What other monumental narratives might Vandhali have in store for the future? Only time will tell! 

Favorite Track: Nightbreaker

3.) Skogskult - (self-titled)

Skogskult (meaning "forest cult" in English) has released a self-titled debut that is filled from start to finish with crushing metal bite, raw and unfettered expressiveness, spooky interludes, and vivid imagery...a combination that draws the listener in and hooks them instantaneously. You'll hear elements of stoner metal, doom, and even a nod or two to black metal, but the icing on the cake for me is the vocals - powerfully expressive and able to go from melodic and serene to blood curdling screams at the drop of a hat. The album utilizes "imagery of Skinwalkers, Norse burial rituals, and occult gatherings" and, as the band's name implies, smacks of something supernatural and deliciously wicked going down in the dark recesses of the forest. 

Favorite Track: Pakten

2.) Palm Desert - Rays of the Gold and Grays

To say that Palm Desert "still has it" on Rays of the Gold and Grays, their first album in nearly a decade, would be a gross understatement. In fact, the band is stronger than ever, delivering their soaring stoner/desert riffs, gritty bursts of energy, hypnotic breakdowns, and ultra expressive vocals like absolutely no time has passed. Overall, this release has a noticeably more optimistic atmosphere than some of Palm Desert's previous albums, on which there were some discernible storm clouds lurking behind the sunny grooves. The energy and emotive expressiveness the band historically brought to the table are still very much there, but in a lighter and airier format that makes it even easier to jet off on a captivating mind flight as these eight songs wash over you. 

Favorite Track: Son of the Wind and Dust

1.) Giant Lungs - Praise the Laze

On their impressive debut album, German stoner rock quartet Giant Lungs established their signature sound as a solid representation of soaring stoner/desert tones filled with turbulent breakdowns and a poetic, alternative rock soul. For their sophomore release Praise the Laze, the band not only let the darkness in and embraced it, but ambitiously began experimenting with other genres such as psychedelic rock, heavy blues, and even a bit of doom. This was ultimately a very successful undertaking, resulting in a much more varied and even more emotionally expressive album than the band's first. However, Giant Lungs' trademark essence is undeniably still present, mainly by way of cyclones of stoner/desert rock that storm through the songs at opportune moments. The engaging figurative lyricism is stronger than ever, with lines that hypnotically vacillate between dimensions of fantasy and stark reality. In a nutshell, this is an album that digs deeper and pushes harder, simultaneously challenging and captivating the listener in a meaningful, memorable way. 

You can read my full (novel of a) review here.

Favorite Track: Resonora 

           

That's it for December...and for 2025! But don't fret...there are already some killer new releases in store for January, so stay tuned! 

Be sure to check out this month's Doom Chart where there are 40 albums waiting for you to discover and be sure to show your favorite heavy underground artists some much-deserved love! 

Check Out Screaming from the Heavy Underground on YouTube!