The Top 30 Album Covers of 2025
- Heaviest of Art
- 17 hours ago
- 7 min read
Better late than never, our yearly feature presents a comprehensive rewind of the best in music illustration.
Words by Luis (@HeaviestOfArt):
At last, our signature year-end list is here! While yes, this is past due, we didn't feel right holding back for the second consecutive year, especially with 2025's contenders being as great as they are. It's only right these works of art get more shine and bring many new listeners back to the equally great records they represent, so, here we are.
Whether it be the established acts or can't miss newcomers, 2025 hit HARD when it came to audiovisual spectacle. The modern legends you're used to seeing, such as Eliran Kantor, Marald van Haasteren, Frank Maddocks, and Dan Seagrave among others, are all here, but that's not at all. Strong "newcomers" in the heavy arts made memorable entries that solidify the contemporary strengths of the cover illustration arena. Burney, James Bousema, Caelan Stokkermans, and José Gabriel Alegría Sabogal are among those flying the flag for the modern era, all while strongly delivering alongside their predecessors, or colleagues, I should say. Ghost expanded upon their masterful partnership with Zbigniew M. Bielak, as did Rivers of Nihil with Seagrave, respectively. George R. R. Martin's reliable artist, Ted Nasmith, fronted one of last year's best black metal records, 1914 took on the horrors of war alongside Vladimir ‘Smerdulak’ Chebakov, and Paolo Girardi brought a dystopian society reliant on automated procedures to life through Revocation. One can go on and on about what stood above the rest, but with so much here to indulge in, we prefer for your mind (and eyes) to wander.
Here are the Top 30 Album Covers of 2025:
Hooded Menace — Lachrymose Monuments Of Obscuration (Artwork by Wes Benscoter) | Listen
Allegaeon — The Ossuary Lens (Artwork by Seth Siro Anton) | Listen
Bleed — Bleed (Artwork by Frank Maddocks) | Listen
Cryptopsy — An Insatiable Violence (Artwork by Martin Lacroix) | Listen
Martin Lacroix passed away early in 2024, but not before leaving metal a lasting impact during his time as a frontman for Cryptopsy, tattoo artist, and cover artist extraordinaire, as seen on An Insatiable Violence. The band couldn't have had a better tribute for this posthumous work than with an explosive record that finds the band in top shape.
Angelmaker — This Used To Be Heaven (Artwork by Caelan Stokkermans) | Listen
Nailed To Obscurity — Generation of the Void (Artwork by Giannis Nakos) | Listen
Bell Witch & Aerial Ruin — Stygian Bough: Volume II (Artwork by Denis Forkas) | Listen
Combust — Belly of the Beast (Artwork by vilesore) | Listen
Hardcore delivered BIG last year, and among those at the top, Combust stood tall with a downright punishing listen that knocks you on your ass from one track to the next. The same could be said about Belly of the Beast's cover with its gruesomely detailed, black and white treasure trove of skulls to gloss through. Some are ripping their flesh off, others are kindly demonstrating their eyeballs, and others grin with malice as a seated protagonist sits vulnerably underneath. This is but one of the several designs the talented vilesore put together for New York's own, and it excels at garnering interest from wandering eyes.
Gates To Hell — Death Comes To All (Artwork by Wyrmwalk) | Listen
Contrary to its harrowing subject matter, Wyrmwalk's Death Comes To All cover is a real joy to sit through. Filled with easter eggs, like Neil Peart's grave and a tombstone for the late Brad Raub (Eternal Champion, Sumerlands), there's plenty unpack in this immersive piece that fits well with the band's turbulent death metal, aka one of the best death metal records last year.
Malthusian — The Summoning Bell (Artwork by Mitchell Nolte) | Listen
Proscription — Desolate Divine (Artwork by Artem Grigoryev) | Listen
Devolver — Non Compos Mentis (Artwork by Travis Smith) | Listen
The Chain — Blind The World (Artwork by Thomas Sweetman) | Listen
Master of hardcore punk layouts and design, Thomas Sweetman has a niche for knowing what works. The Chain's Blind The World could've been pulled out of a 90s hardcore bin and you wouldn't have known it dropped this year via Triple B. It's that good and nostalgic of yesterday's golden era, which was of course driven by Sean Taggart (Agnostic Front) among others. Much like Cause For Alarm (1986), the playful political commentary finds New York in flames and The Chain drive home the message the best way they know how — madness.
Esoctrilihum – Ghostigmatah - Spiritual Rites of the Psychopomp Abxulöm (Artwork by Alan Brown) | Listen
1914 — Viribus Unitis (Artwork by Vladimir ‘Smerdulak’ Chebakov) | Listen
Lorna Shore — I Feel The Everblack Festering Within Me (Artwork by Zac Shiffer) | Listen
I can't be the only one thinking this was Nicola Samori at first, right? Shiffer captured the emotional depth of Lorna Shore's latest with absolute precision, nailing the weight of one's thoughts through a blurring protagonist succumbing to the pain.
Revocation — New Gods, New Masters (Artwork by Paolo Girardi) | Listen
Arch Enemy — Blood Dynasty (Artwork by Alexander Reisfar) | Listen
In case you missed it, we brought legendary guitarist Michael Amott and Alexander Reisfar together to dive into their wicked audiovisual trifecta through our Behind the Cover series. There's so much to take and so much to see from the process of putting it all together.
Månegarm — Edsvuren (Artwork by Kris Verwimp) | Listen
Kris Verwimp, known for his iconic black metal landscapes, did everything but that for Månegarm, who brought forth one of the most glorious metal covers you'll see in recent years. The Viking leader stands firm at the forefront of his army, surrounded by flames and a sky begging for war while the ancestors watch up above. Amon Amarth need to make some calls.
...And Oceans — The Regeneration Itinerary (Artwork by Adrien Bousson) | Listen
Described in its press materials as a "cosmic descent into duality, distortion and transformation", The Regeneration Itinerary is as expansive as the cover illustration at the forefront, again illustrated by Season of Mist's own Adrien Bousson. Together with Bousson, the Finnish black metal band have developed a distinct visual identity for their contemporary discography, characterized for its many moving parts and excruciating detail. The Regeneration Itinerary completes the trifecta in astounding form and intrigues a wandering eye that is sure to be enraptured by the moving instrumentation within.
LVNDMARKS — The Darkest Place I’ve Ever Been (Artwork by Guy Mishima) | Listen
Blackbraid — Blackbraid III (Artwork by Adam Burke and Adrian Baxter) | Listen
-16- — Guides For The Misguided (Artwork by Marald van Haasteren) | Listen
Beetles are among the strongest animals in the world, at least relative to size. Depending on the kind, they can carry anywhere between 850 to 1,141 times its body weight. I bring up this insect fact not only because a beetle is at the forefront of Marald's latest masterpiece carrying a rotting head, but because it perfectly represents the strength and absolute heaviness of Guides For The Misguided.
Helloween — Giants & Monsters (Artwork by Eliran Kantor) | Listen
Spiritworld — Helldorado (Artwork by James Bousema) | Listen
Few times has the wild west looked (and sounded) this grand. James Bousema's second cover for the Vegas natives is a spectacle that catapults an already excellent record to new heights. Here we have a dead cowboy lighting up a cigarette atop a plateau, on an apocalyptic-esque horse, with a crow flying up above, all underneath a starry sky and a rising sunset. What a sight! Helldorado is simply the complete package, which is a difficult feat in and of itself given the strong foundation the two built with Deathwestern (2022). Take a look back at our Behind the Cover series to learn more about how it all came to be.
Ghost — Skeletá (Artwork by Zbigniew M. Bielak) | Listen
It's no exaggeration to say that Ghost and Zbigniew M. Bielak have brought together a phenomena equivalent to that of say Iron Maiden and Derek Riggs or Megadeth and Ed Repka. Many may call it blasphemous, but the band and Bielak are synonymous and globally recognized much like the legends mentioned here. Skeletá continues the legacy beautifully, taking a multi-dimensional route still contained within the architectural intricacies of Bielak's craft, leaving much to the realm of interpretation.
One of Nine — Dawn of the Iron Shadow (Artwork by Ted Nasmith) | Listen
Enthroned — Ashspawn (Artwork by José Gabriel Alegría Sabogal) | Listen
Lamp of Murmuur — The Dreaming Prince in Ecstasy (Artwork by Burney) | Listen
There are truly few like Burney who are capable of bringing viewers centuries back into the height of historic art movements. For one of this year's best black metal records, Burney ditched the specialty black and white for a muted color palette that intrigues with its detail. The literal eye of the storm watches over an anguished protagonist.
Rivers of Nihil — self-titled (Artwork by Dan Seagrave) | Listen
Are we surprised to see Seagrave on another one of our lists? Not at all, although this time, the cover in question is one that many will find unique among his signature hellish landscapes, and rightfully so. Devised while listening to early album recordings, the latest from Seagrave depicts a "biblically accurate" angel and continues a longstanding partnership between the band and the artist. Grand like its musical companion, the angel in question towers over viewers with radiance amidst a golden sky and makes the physical release a "must-own" on vinyl. Rivers of Nihil are known to bring Seagrave out of deadly environments and into more vivid ones (see 2021's The Work), and this year's self-titled stands tall amongst the worlds they've crafted together.
Congratulations to all of these magnificent selections that introduced us to experiences beyond that of the music embodied within. Lose yourself to the arts, purchase and stream the records, and check out the artists responsible for the selections for their portfolios are as grand as the works shown here.
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