“Skeletá“, the sixth studio album from Swedish occult rockers Ghost, has been christened the top metal album of 2025 by British metal/hard rock publication Metal Hammer. That record arrived with much fanfare, opening at #1 on the Billboard 200 with an impressive 86,000 album-equivalent units being shifted in the United States alone during is first week of chart reporting eligibility.
Speaking with Metal Hammer about the honor, the band’s mastermind Tobias Forge stated:
“What a humbling thing.That’s fantastic. I think it’s a solid record. My impression of a record is also connected with its campaign and the tour, and this is definitely the best we’ve ever been. I think that this tour is the best we’ve ever done.
My favourite songs have always been ‘Satanized‘ and ‘Lachryma‘. They seem to stick as favourites where I always like playing them. And they sound good! The really cool thing about ‘Satanized‘ is that it’s one of the songs in the live set that really tears the house down. So all in all, I feel very accomplished. I think we have accomplished something really good.”
As for Metal Hammer‘s entire list of the top albums of this year, you can find it in their latest issue with all the bells & whistles. That list has also been republished below.
- 50. Slomatics – “Atomicult“
- 49. Lacuna Coil – “Sleepless Empire“
- 48. Katatonia – “Nightmares As Extensions Of The Waking State“
- 47. Testament – “Para Bellum“
- 46. Beyond Extinction – “Where They Gather“
- 45. Paleface Swiss – “Cursed“
- 44. Wytch Hazel – “V: Lamentations“
- 43. Vukovi – “My God Has Got A Gun“
- 42. SpiritWorld – “Helldorado“
- 41. Machine Head – “Unatoned“
- 40. Der Weg Einer Freiheit – “Innern“
- 39. Margarita Witch Cult – “Strung Out In Hell“
- 38. Hexvessel – “Nocturne“
- 37. Jonathan Hultén – “Eyes Of The Living Night“
- 36. Orbit Culture – “Death Above Life“
- 35. Deadguy – “Near-Death Travel Services“
- 34. Calva Louise – “Edge Of The Abyss“
- 33. Gaahls Wyrd – “Braiding The Stories“
- 32. Propagandhi – “At Peace“
- 31. Malevolence – “Where Only The Truth Is Spoken“
- 30. Cwfen – “Sorrows“
- 29. Sleep Token – “Even In Arcadia“
- 28. Backxwash – “Only Dust Remains“
- 27. Agriculture – “The Spiritual Sound“
- 26. Blood Vulture – “Die Close“
- 25. Halestorm – “Everest“
- 24. Rwake – “The Return Of Magik“
- 23. Rivers Of Nihil – “Rivers Of Nihil“
- 22. Bloodywood – “Nu Dehli“
- 21. Havukruunu – “Tavastland“
- 20. Blackbraid – “Blackbraid III“
- 19. Coroner – “Dissonance Theory“
- 18. Bleed From Within – “Zenith“
- 17. Architects – “The Sky, The Earth & All Between“
- 16. AFI – “Silver Bleeds The Black Sun…“
- 15. The Callous Daoboys – “I Don’t Want To See You In Heaven“
- 14. Employed To Serve – “Fallen Star“
- 13. Imperial Triumphant – “Goldstar“
- 12. Paradise Lost – “Ascension“
- 11. Conjurer – “Unself“
- 10. Wardruna – “Birna“
- 09. Lorna Shore – “I Feel The Everblack Festering Within Me“
- 08. Turnstile – “NEVER ENOUGH“
- 07. Creeper – “Sanguivoire II: Mistress Of Death“
- 06. Deafheaven – “Lonely People With Power“
- 05. Messa – “The Spin“
- 04. Spiritbox – “Tsunami Sea“
- 03. Castle Rat – “The Bestiary“
- 02. Deftones – “private music“
- 01. Ghost – “Skeletá“
