Tag Archives: 2025 Top 10

Jade – Mysteries of a Flowery Dream (2025) – Review

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Jade - Mysteries of a Flowery Dream - Album Cover

Something doesn’t make sense here. The title of Jade‘s latest piece – Mysteries of a Flowery Dream – just doesn’t sync with the primeval monster roaming a dystopian landscape on display. There ain’t nothing flowery here, no sense of relief. Instead, it talks about tribulation and fear. A tale akin to Lovecraftian nightmares and hints of Bloch’s De Vermis Mysteriis. Of proto-plasmic horrors still to come to this earth and harrow mankind.

Well, doesn’t that just sound like the present-day times on full display? A period full of uncertainties driven by dark forces, with a dead compass leading … [...] Click to raid more!

Alukta – Merok (2025) – Review

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Alukta - Merok - Album Cover

Ah, yes. French Black Metal is on the menu again. And frankly, the RMR crew has a sweet spot for these folks. Bands like Seth or Corpus Diavolis dazzled us to no end and garnered raving reviews with access to our latest Top 10 to boot. Looks like the French unconsecrated grounds are fertile soil for those devilish shenanigans.

Then, someone opined that Alukta here move down the ritualistic lane. And that stopped the old geezers of the review desk cold in their tracks. French Black Metal with a ritualistic twist? Something like the terrible Darkend? No, it’s something … [...] Click to raid more!

Khôra – Ananke (2025) – Review

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The RMR crew just sat transfixed as Timaeus, Khôra‘s 2020 debut album, roared out of our music machine some 5 years ago. The find was some heavy-duty Extreme Metal prone to shoving its gritty dissonance straight down your gullet. And that, combined with a certain weird cheekiness, made our metal day back in time.

So, Oleg I., or Ole as he calls himself these days, is back with more Khôra fare. Yet, the new piece comes with a totally new lineup, apart from the old master. And that makes us pose the age-old question. Will they be able … [...] Click to raid more!

Epica – Aspiral (2025) – Review

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Epica - Aspiral - Album Cover

Over time, a whopping six of Epica‘s extensive arsenal of full-length releases, plus a handful of clips and other shorties, made it onto the RMR zine. And as our internal pecking order goes, this puts them on par with big players such as Within Temptation1 and – behold – Rotting Christ, no less. Meaning, this band is at the top of the RMR food chain as albums covered go. And no wonder, Epica constantly churned out good to great albums over the years with only few disappointments.

Staying true on a carefully charted Symphonic Metal course while … [...] Click to raid more!