This year has been a rough one for me, not gonna lie. Deaths in the family, and less close to home, the generally chaotic state of the world, and the news stirring people into constantly catastrophizing everything (and not without justification, it just gets mentally draining to see it all the time). The 2020s have been a generally crappy decade thus far to put it extremely mildly, and I have no idea what anyone could ever find nostalgic about it in the future (but I’m sure it will happen anyway), besides maybe the music. I’m going to be turning 40 next year, so I have that weighing over my head, as I prepare to perhaps flip the mixtape of my life to Side B, more or less. And what songs have gone on the audiobiography during this very tumultuous year? Glad you asked. These are my favorite songs that came out this year, for those of you who think music hasn’t been good since the 20th century. My tastes haven’t changed much, still mainly into goth genres.
I’ll link to Bandcamp when the band has one, if you want to support them. If there’s a music video I will embed it, but you can check all these songs out on my YouTube playlist, The 2020s in Music, scrolling down past the previous four years on the list (I included a handy table of contents; the best way to get to 2025 would be to scoll all the way to the bottom and go up from there, which isn’t too hard on the YouTube mobile app but neigh-impossible on the TV app, so it’s up to you what you want to do. Sorry I don’t do Spotify, not because Google is any less corrupt, it’s just the devil I know I guess.) The playlist is now 60% finished. I have playlists for the 1970s through the 2020s, and I must say, this decade is the first one of the 21st century that might come close to challenging the 1990s in terms of the amount of what I at least consider good music.
At the end I’ll provide the full list of songs I added to my 2020s playlist for this past year, as my favorite songs of 2025.
The music video is an intrinsic element of this song in almost the same way as Peter Gabriel’s “Sledgehammer” is to its music video, so I’ll go through the trouble of embedding it. Worm Man is a criminally underrated industrial group from Serbia. They have two albums out, this particular song was a single that might be on a forthcoming album. The music video is very Doom-like, as in the gory shooting game from the 1990s. The song kind of reminds me of my conservative little Florida town I’m living in, where there are indeed cops hiding around every corner waiting to ambush you with a $200 ticket for not stopping at a stop sign for three whole seconds. I might be speaking from experience here.
Shonalika is a solo-project by a British-based video essayist who goes by the alias Shonalika, who often on their YouTube channel speaks out about social justice problems within the goth community. They have a lot of interesting content and ideas. This song in particular is about chronic pain getting in the way of trying to have a good time when you’re at the goth club dancing, something I have a lot of experience with due to my spine and tailbone issues. The ravages of time on our bodies shouldn’t get in the way of having fun, but it does. Nice to have a song about it.
It’s always exciting when Lebanon Hanover comes out with a new album. I’ll never forget how well their 2020 album Sci-Fi Sky seemed to just perfectly coincide with the Covid pandemic, becoming part of the soundtrack of that year for me. When this song released back in June, someone in the comments jokingly asked the Millennials listening if they were okay, as it’s a very dark, brooding song. Well, if you want to know more about my mental state in my childhood listen to something like Local H, Oasis, Smashing Pumpkins. If you want to know about my mental state this year, listen to this song. (Okay, I’m just being edgy.)
I waited four years for this album, and it didn’t disappoint. This song is about the stranger in the mirror, or rather, how your perception of your self changes over the years. Perhaps we don’t look the way picture ourselves looking anymore, as we age. It takes on a new meaning if you’ve ever had depersonalization bouts. Then you really see a stranger in the mirror. Creepy stuff, that is.
No Man Cry - One Pack of Cigarettes
Album: Egoism
From: Yerevan, Armenia
Okay, let’s get the weirdest one out of the way first. No Man Cry, if you remember some of my older music blogs, is a post-punk group from Yerevan, Armenia. They had an album out last January called Egoism. This song in particular is the odd one out, and sounds nothing like the others. But that makes it memorable. It sounds like subliminal messages; we hear a voice giving commands like “You need it. One pack of cigarettes and a cup of coffee.” It goes on like brainwashing. Another voice comes in, and it takes a darker turn. “Let me not be. I don’t want to be here. Let the meteorite hit the Earth. This isn’t me. Make these rain drops acid. I don’t want to be here. I don’t want to be me.” It reminds me of my mental state when I worked at call centers. It’s like someone put PTSD into one song. It’s an experience, listening to this song. I guess I’m into some weird stuff sometimes. Here’s a direct link if you’re not digging through my playlist for these. And another reminder that the rest of No Man Cry’s music is nothing like this. My favorite song by them is “Undead”.
Nürnberg - Black Sabbath
Album: single
From: Minsk, Belarus
Website: https://nurnberg.band/
A pretty solid cover of Black Sabbath’s title track, giving it a goth spin. Interestingly, although the cover came out this year it was before Ozzy Osbourne’s death, so it wasn’t made in tribute to that. Some might criticize it for daring to cover such a classic song, but I can like both. The Type O Negative cover is actually my favorite version, to be quite honest. Heresy, I know.
FEVR - Dark Reflections
Album:
From: Los Angeles, California, United States
Bandcamp: https://fevr.bandcamp.com/
This is one of those songs that I feel like could be my theme song. I’m sure we all have those songs. It starts off with this gripping, psychedelic beat that drives up a kind of existential angst. Very relatable lyrics. I love how he says “Let me out of this place, it was all a lie”. It sounds like he’s suffocating. Perhaps to me the “place” mentioned here is the world, reality itself.
Worm Man - Everyone is a Cop Except Me
Album: N/A
From: Opovo, Serbia
Bandcamp: https://wormmanproject.bandcamp.com/music (note: this song isn’t on Bandcamp)
The music video is an intrinsic element of this song in almost the same way as Peter Gabriel’s “Sledgehammer” is to its music video, so I’ll go through the trouble of embedding it. Worm Man is a criminally underrated industrial group from Serbia. They have two albums out, this particular song was a single that might be on a forthcoming album. The music video is very Doom-like, as in the gory shooting game from the 1990s. The song kind of reminds me of my conservative little Florida town I’m living in, where there are indeed cops hiding around every corner waiting to ambush you with a $200 ticket for not stopping at a stop sign for three whole seconds. I might be speaking from experience here.
The Red Moon Macabre - Tin Man Heart
Album: Dance of Death
From: United States (all I could gather)
Bandcamp: https://theredmoonmacabre.bandcamp.com/
It’s a deathrock song that delves into the deep lore of L. Frank Baum’s Land of Oz books, making it right up my alley. Although in this version the Tin Woodman turns evil. Yet another dark reimagining of the Oz series, way too many of those out there. (If you didn’t know I’m working on getting another published.) The Red Moon Macabre apparently started in 1989, went dormant for decades, and returned in 2021 with a ton of music. My second favorite song of theirs this year was “Hallowe’en 1923”, which I think was released last March, but I remembered it come Halloween this year.
Ministry - Revenge (Squirrely version)
Album: The Squirrely Years Revisited
From: Chicago, United States
Bandcamp: https://ministryband.bandcamp.com/
There were two releases this year that shocked me, and this was one of them. For the longest time, the lead singer of Ministry Al Jourgensen absolutely loathed his early work, to the point where if a fan wanted him to sign a copy of his first album he would either destroy it, or charge them $1000. But he eventually came around, and decided to remake a bunch of his early work from his synthpop days with Ministry’s modern industrial metal style. And the results have been great. “Revenge” is just my favorite, but they’re all good. I don’t understand why he calls his early career the “squirrely years”, but most of my favorite Ministry songs are from the first half of the 1980s.
Valisia Odell - My Sin
Album: Shadow of a Dream
From: Athens, Greece
Hard to choose a favorite from this debut album, “An Arabian Tale” and “The Light Shines Through “ are near-ties. Valisia Odell is a synthpop duo from Greece. I would compare them to bands like SYZYGYX (who we’ll get to in a bit), Kalte Nacht and Selofan among others. I look forward to hearing more out of this band soon.
Shonalika - Maggot
Album: N/A
From: United Kingdom
Bandcamp: https://shonalika.bandcamp.com/
Shonalika is a solo-project by a British-based video essayist who goes by the alias Shonalika, who often on their YouTube channel speaks out about social justice problems within the goth community. They have a lot of interesting content and ideas. This song in particular is about chronic pain getting in the way of trying to have a good time when you’re at the goth club dancing, something I have a lot of experience with due to my spine and tailbone issues. The ravages of time on our bodies shouldn’t get in the way of having fun, but it does. Nice to have a song about it.
Cold Union - Drown Me
Album: Black on the Other Side
From: Poland
Cold Union is a promising new post-punk band from Poland. This is off their second release. It’s the sort of song I would show someone if they had never heard post-punk before. A very good presentation of modern post-punk. In 2024 they released their first album, Deep in my Memory, which I didn’t discover until a few months ago. “Neverending Grey” is my favorite off that album. Definitely check them out.
Lebanon Hanover - Torture Rack
Album: Asylum Lullabies
From: Berlin, Germany
It’s always exciting when Lebanon Hanover comes out with a new album. I’ll never forget how well their 2020 album Sci-Fi Sky seemed to just perfectly coincide with the Covid pandemic, becoming part of the soundtrack of that year for me. When this song released back in June, someone in the comments jokingly asked the Millennials listening if they were okay, as it’s a very dark, brooding song. Well, if you want to know more about my mental state in my childhood listen to something like Local H, Oasis, Smashing Pumpkins. If you want to know about my mental state this year, listen to this song. (Okay, I’m just being edgy.)
SYZYGYX - Stranger
Album: SINNER
From: Washington DC, United States
I waited four years for this album, and it didn’t disappoint. This song is about the stranger in the mirror, or rather, how your perception of your self changes over the years. Perhaps we don’t look the way picture ourselves looking anymore, as we age. It takes on a new meaning if you’ve ever had depersonalization bouts. Then you really see a stranger in the mirror. Creepy stuff, that is.
Lawn & Garden Department - [c o s m i c b o d y]
Album: I Can’t Keep Losing You Forever
From: United States
I’m addicted to Lawn & Garden Department, probably my favorite band that I discovered in 2025. It has dominated my playlists and mixtapes since the summer. I’m not sure why the solo project is called Lawn & Garden Department, maybe it’s the singer’s day job. Not every song sounds the same but if I were to place it in a genre, it’s kind of synthwave and vaporwave with occasional post-punk, shoegaze and darkwave influences. The project is extremely prolific, coming out with a new song on YouTube almost every day. Some songs are over twenty minutes long too. And all the titles are [w r i t t e n l i k e t h i s] for some reason, I think it’s a vaporwave thing. Not every song is my cup of tea, mind you, but there’s over 500 songs now so you can take your pick. Even if you only like 5% of them that’s still 25 songs (I think, admittedly I suck at math). I don’t know how he is so prolific. The lyrics are often short, simple, yet impactful. And a great example of that is the song I chose for this list, [c o s m i c b o d y]. “Have you ever been outside your body?”, it asks. It’s both trippy and existential. This was the first song I heard from the band, and while I have more recent favorites (right now it’s [b e k i n d r e w i n d]) this is still overall the best song I’ve heard from them in terms of both lyrical content, the vocals and the music.
Das Ich - Lazarus
Album: Fanal
From: Potsdam, Germany
Bandcamp: https://das-ich.bandcamp.com/album/fanal
I might have done a fanboy squeal when I heard that Das Ich was releasing their first full length album since 2006. Das Ich is the band that got me into goth music, when in 2004 I found them misplaced in the metal section at the record store I frequented. I put it on expecting metal but got darkwave, instead, and I fell in love with the sound. The release has been kept off streaming services, and astounding feat these days, save for the two singles “Lazarus” and “Brutus”. You can listen to it for free on Bandcamp though. After listening to the album, which is pretty strong throughout, I do think these are still the best two songs on it. There are different remixes of them too. My favorite for “Lazarus” is the “Extended Himmelfahrt Mix”, and don’t laugh. (Himmel fart, heh heh).
Scary Black - Drunk Angel Sanctuary
Album: N/A
From: Louisville, Kentucky, United States
Bandcamp: https://scaryblack.bandcamp.com/
This song isn’t on Bandcamp, but will presumably be on an upcoming album next year. In fact I pretty much only know of it through this one YouTube video, posted by the channel Guitars and Sound. It just has a really awesome sounding beat in the intro that draws you in, it sounds diabolical. I love it. I can’t wait for the next Scary Black album. Hopefully we’ll get some lyrics to this song soon too.
The Midnight - Summer is Ending Soon
Album: Syndicate
From: Los Angeles, California, United States
Bandcamp: https://themidnight.bandcamp.com/
I think I had dismissed The Midnight for a while as being “like, so 2017”. I had a synthwave phase in the late 2010s that kind of ended around the time of the pandemic when things got darker and I moved to post-punk instead. But I happened upon this song, right around the time summer was ending. And I ended up liking it. It was soothing. It set itself in my mind as the song of September 2025. It makes me mourn the loss of simpler times, this song. I mean I’m usually the first one to dance on the grave when summer dies, especially since coming to live in Florida where the humidity is just awful. But that doesn’t mean I don’t have good memories from the summer. Some people were still alive last summer that aren’t now. Sigh. I have a hard time listening to this song now, come to think of it. Winter has taken hold now. 2026 is looking very uncertain, potentially grim, I don’t know. I’ll try not to be pessimistic, and march forward. I’ll continue to be strong for my loved ones, and I will get that book published.
My Favorite Songs of 2025
2025 (44 Songs)
- No Man Cry - One Pack of Cigarettes
- Nürnberg - Black Sabbath
- FEVR - Dark Reflections
- Ratpajama - Deadbeat
- Worm Man - Everyone is a Cop Except Me
- The Red Moon Macabre - Tin Man Heart
- Ghost Cop - Shot in the Dark
- Noche Miseria - Awake
- This is Not Music - The Perfect End (The Kovenant cover)
- Ministry - Revenge (Squirrely version)
- Vilisia Odell - My Sin
- Soft Vein - Through Blinds
- Doist - Alone in This Room
- Routine - Rescue Fire
- False Flowers - Dorothea Puente’s Ghost
- Genetic Error - Fake World
- Silver Tears - No Retribution
- Total Trist - Visitas
- Claudia Kane - Villainess
- GØRS - Nahual
- Grandson - Brainrot
- High Tech Trash Punk - Too Poor to Die
- Shonalika - Maggot
- Casket Cassette - The End of the Whole FKN World
- Cold Union - Drown Me
- Lila Ehjä - Vague
- Lebanon Hanover - Torture Rack
- SYZYGYX - Stranger
- Vampir Éternelle - Panic & Leather
- Forgotten Graves - Left Hand Path
- Lawn & Garden Department - Cosmicbody
- The Long Losts - Never Land
- The Midnight - Summer’s Ending Soon
- Dancing Plague - Turn To Dust
- Das Ich - Lazarus
- Scary Black - Drunk Angel Sanctuary
- Diary of Dreams - The Chemistry of Pain
- Divina Blasfemia - Decansa
- The Occasion - A Shame That Shouldn’t Be Mine
- Post-Punk’er - My Realm
- Diva Destruction - All I Want (Das Ich Remix)
- Heimberg - Vow
- Fun Fun Fiebertraum - UTOMA
- Cuspid - Flyaway
