Kult-Zilla’s – Essential Summer Metal Albums (2025)

1. // Deftones – Private Music (Warner Records)

Tenth studio album from Sacramento, LA natives Deftones, and released 30 years since their debut Adrenaline (1995). They were a band that landed in the early days of what would come to be known as Nu-Metal. A sub-genre which exploded with the arrival of Korn and the release of their self-titled debut album in 1994, and would go on to become the commercial entity in Heavy Metal through to the new millennium. But Deftones never really fancied being pigeonholed in that bracket, and when Nu-Metal went super-commercial, they maintained a unique-darkness in their music and pretty much went off entirely in their own direction.

They have been stalwarts of their own Alternative-Metal sound built around a solid rhythm and groove, crunching down-tuned distorted riffs from guitarist Stephen Carpenter, and of course the blend of soulful crooning and razor-sharp screams from singer Chino Moreno. And well, Private Music pretty much does everything you expect a Deftones album to do. It is unmistakably them, an older, maturer, more melodic version of the band who exploded back in the mid-nineties, and it is nothing if not a solid addition to their catalogue. From opener ‘My Mind Is A Mountain’ through to ‘Departing The Body,’ Deftones deliver exactly what you want from them. KZ

2. // Abigail Williams – A Void Within Existence (Agonia Records)

Originally hailing from Phoenix, Arizona, Abigail Williams are part of a breed of US Black Metal bands including the likes of Wolves In The Throne Room and Panopticon, who have always given their finest European counterparts a run for their money in terms of quality. Named after a prominent figure in the history of the late seventeenth-century Massachusetts Salem Witch Trials, Abigail Williams released their debut album In The Shadow Of A Thousand Sons in 2008. And this is their sixth record, although vocalist Ken ‘Sorceron’ Bergeron remains their only original member, with Mike Heller (Fear Factory / Ghost Bath) joining on drums this time around.

A Void Within Existence is their first album since 2019, and it really is a masterful composition from start to finish. Far from being a one-note Black Metal record, it journeys through various different styles; opening with the slower Blackened-Doom of ‘Life, Disconnected’ which has a distinct recent Panzerfaust feel. A powerful intro to the album with the rasping vocals of Sorceron sitting perfectly in the mix. Abigail Williams raise the pace with the melodic-Black Metal of ‘Void Within’ with the lyrics morphing into vocal shrieks to match. There is a beautiful off-kilter guitar solo, in a Mastodon type style; and it’s the first of many sumptuous guitar leads – some with a real Bluesey tone – which really stand out on the record. A record which ebbs and flows nicely through to a finalé of epic Alcest-style Blackgaze on ‘No Less Than Death.’ KZ

3. // Daron Malakian & Scars On Broadway – Addicted To The Violence (Virgin Music)

Daron Malakian is of course best known as the guitarist, second vocalist, and one of the principle song-writers of System Of A Down. A unique band whose often bonkers style of Alternative-Metal took them on a wild ride from the release of their self-titled debut in 1998, through to their last staggered double album release; Mezmerize and Hypnotize in 2005. On these releases Malakian took on a much more prominent vocal role, which in part may have been the catalyst in causing a strain in his professional relationship with SOAD lead-singer Serj Tankian – and following their subsequent tour in 2006, SOAD announced they would be taking a hiatus.

As all members went off to dabble in new musical adventures, Malakian would form Scars On Broadway, taking on lead vocals and really continuing on from the style delivered by SOAD on their final two records. It would be ten years before Scars On Broadway would release their follow up Dictator (2018), and now another seven before Malakian has resurrected the band with Addicted To The Violence. The sporadic output is likely largely due to the fact that since 2010, SOAD reformed as a live band. Malakian’s Armenian heritage once again shines through in his songwriting here. Addicted To The Violence is incredibly unique, as is everything he does; with ‘Done Me Wrong,’ ‘The Shame Game’ and the epic final title track all showing that Malakian is still an absolute powerhouse when it comes to writing strong, quirky songs with incredible vocal hooks. KZ

4. // Blackbraid III (Wolf Mountain Productions)

Blackbraid is the Black Metal project of multi-instrumentalist Sgah’gahsowáh, an extraordinarily talented Native American musician who has released two previous highly acclaimed albums within the space of the last few years. In fact Blackbraid II (2023) was our (and many other people’s) album of the year, an intoxicating Black Metal release infused with the indigenous folk-music of his native heritage, which has made Sgah’gahsowáh one of the most revered American artists in the genre right now … and rightly so.

Blackbraid III picks right up where its predecessor left off in terms of pure unadulterated quality, whilst also showcasing an even greater side of experimentation from its composer. The soft acoustic intro of ‘Dusk (Eulogy)’ delivers a calming sensation before ‘Wardrums At Dawn On The Day Of My Death’ hits full throttle – powerful and emotive. The riffs are infectious and have a classic Metal feel about them, not unlike Dödsrit, The acoustic guitar returns on ‘The Dying Breath Of A Sacred Stag’ before dropping into an old-school chugging Thrash riff, while ‘God Of Black Blood’ is dark and brooding. There is so much to enjoy throughout here, as once again Blackbraid combines calming acoustic melodies with ferocious and unique Black Metal of the very highest order, and with some outstanding guitar work throughout. KZ

5. // Lorna shore – I Feel The Everblack Festering Within Me (Century Media)

Since the release of their debut album Psalms (2015), New Jersey’s Lorna Shore have consistently been releasing extreme music of the highest quality – with their most recent albums Immortal (2020) and Pain Remains (2022) solidifying their status as one of the worlds premier Deathcore bands. Lead-guitarist Adam De Micco and drummer Austin Archey are the only two members to have played on all of their records, and since the recruitment of former Monument Of A Memory / A Wake In Providence vocalist Will Ramos for Pain Remains, the band are now enjoying perhaps their most successful period

‘Prison Of Flesh’ opens the record with creaking dark atmospherics before it explodes into a cacophony of technical layered Metal – hard, dark and fast. Ramos is able change his vocal style with regular precision, matching the schizophrenic sounds behind him. ‘Oblivion’ evokes real feelings of emotion, conjured from the depths of the despair Lorna Shore create. The musical contrast they deliver is highlighted as ‘In Darkness’ opens with an orchestral string section, while the complexity in the arrangements of their songs is just incredible; with ‘Death Can Take Me’ an absolute highlight midway through. And this quality and eclecticism just flows through the entire record, as it journeys through to the epic climax of ‘Forevermore.” KZ

6. // Grand Cadaver – The Rot Beneath (Majestic Mountain Records)

Grand Cadaver are a band who embody everything the original Swedish Death Metal scene stood for in terms of both sound and ethos. And it’s no surprise given the personnel involved, as the Gothenberg / Stockholm based outfit are a super-group of sorts, including Dark Tranquility and The Halo Effect vocalist Mikael Stanne alongside various members from bands such as The Grifted, Novarupta, Pagandom and Katatonia. Formed during the pandemic in 2020, their debut EP Madness Comes landed in 2021, preceding their LP ‘Into The Maw Of Death’ which was followed by the excellent Deities Of Deathlike Sleep in 2023.

Grand Cadaver aren’t a band to deviate from the rulebook, and The Rot Beneath is another heavy slab of pure Old-School Swedish Death Metal. The four-track EP opens straight into the menacing noise of ‘Blood Red Banner’ – as buzz-saw guitars collide with phrenetic perfusion and the guttural vocals of Stanne. Just a little respite is offered with a meandering hypnotic break. The title track begins with a gorgeous tremolo guitar riff before exploding into life, whilst ‘The Endless Dead’ is pure Death Metal venom in the verse, before dropping into a big fist pumping chorus. The record ends with a deliciously eerie slow-burn intro on ‘Darkened Apathy,’ which eventually does the business with a powerful finish. KZ

Words by Abstrakt_Soul