2025 proved to be a great year for Indian metal, from acts across the nation putting their best foot forward. From independent artists like Sutej Singh to Agam making a return, we’re looking at new acts putting out their full albums as well.
We’re going to dive right into some of 2025’s best Indian metal album releases.
The Down Troddence-AYAKTIHIS
The metal heavyweights from Kannur returned after 10 years for an expansive, folktale-spanning collection in AYAKTIHIS. An acronym of As You All Know, This Is How It Is, the band seem to have a sense of humour about their collections having long names. A worthy successor of their debut LP How Are You, We Are Fine, Thank You. Featuring classical legends like T.M Krishna on Maharani and the folk infusion with the utter domination of Monsoon in Kannur, the band has evolved beyond anything we’ve heard in the Indian metal scene. Themes include political resistance, social commentary, and anti-caste, as the band shows no signs of backing down.
These are epic tracks, each ranging in themes that balance tense ambiences with the breakout, energetic vocals of Munz. The band has come together to understand what made The Down Troddence such a sensation, and retain it. Sushin Shyam’s immersion in Mollywood has elevated production to an intense, cinematic climax. A repeat listen for anyone who wants to explore Indian metal’s genuine thrill:
Aswekeepsearching-kyun?
Though this is a post-rock album, kyun? shows how Aswekeepsearching have sought and found a sound as expansive as their ambition. Every track has an incredible visual aspect to it that unfolds as you keep listening. Production is incredible, some of their best in years – with compositions matching it with intensity, ambience and overall storytelling. The dynamism that the Urdu and Hindi vocals merge with the natural poetry of their melodies is worth studying. Immersive, this deserves your best headphones and your attention.
The trio from Ahmedabad prove that the fire within them is well worth diversifying your taste to a sound that leads you to an emotional crux, the same way it led them. Though not metal exactly, this collection does remind you what a 3-piece band with great vision can achieve. Standout numbers include:you left something andhappiness>god, with nature of life. As quoted perfectly by guitarist-vocalist Uddipan Sarmah, “… it’s about the emotional landscape we have navigated and continue to navigate.” Have a listen to the collection here:
Fallen Letters-Mindfractures
This band from Bengaluru broke into the metal landscape with an EP as exciting as a Netflix series called Forlorn Pages. Fallen Letters infused the best of what makes their musical idols special and added their own creative signature into it. The result has led them to make Mindfractures, an album that proves to be one of the best releases of 2025 – just because of their attention to detail and range in the collection. If they teased a Netflix show before, this is the limited series you get to rave about.
Soft ballads break into black metal explosions, while themes of the swirling, neuropathic mind and the places it goes to are observed. Led by Vishal Naidu, the band promises to break into your psyche and make you think without your compromise to headbang. Standout numbers include The Farthest Window, Drenched and Monochrome Visions. Mastered by Johan Martin in Sweden, there has been an understanding of metal here through complexity in compositions and production that shifts the tides for the Indian metal scene:
Agam- Arrival of the Ethereal
Agam returned after their series of singles from 2020-21 to give us a heavier, more polished and ambient collection in Arrival of the Ethereal. The folk metal masters seem to have enveloped a wider collection of their metal renderings, voiced by the versatile virtuoso, Harish Sivaramakrishnan. Praveen Kumar excels in his guitar work, encompassing everything from djent chugging to expressive folk motifs through his trusty Magic Man. Yadhunandan, Seetharaman, Sivakumar Nagarajan and Aditya Kasyap have now become a formidable rhythm section, supporting some of the best vocal runs and instrumentally complex sections you’ll hear from 2025.
There are sections where, dare I say, they sound like India’s very own Dream Theatre. Along with choir sections that elevate Harish’s vocals, there are rhythm parts in these songs that will leave you awestruck. Standout tracks include Walk of the Bride- Sita Kalyana Vaibhogame, Flight to the Summer Sky and The Silence That Remains-Mokshamu Galada. I think it’s safe to say there’s no one quite like them introducing culture back to a community that appreciates it as well:
Bloodywood-Nu Delhi
I would be held at gunpoint if I’d missed India’s metal breakout act returning with a devastating album. They return to their roots stronger, heavier and more energetic than ever on Nu Delhi. Including tracks featuring BABYMETAL, the band has had two successful international runs, along with their own headlining shows all across Europe. Katiyar and Ko. bring electrifying choruses, hard-hitting riffs and a rhythm section that screamstadka! From their debut album Rakshak, you can see them chopping rhythms even harder and truly showing a level of mania that the world hasn’t seen before.
They’re here to clear the air about Delhi, something the state struggles to do by itself. Forget your stereotypes at home and enjoy the lively spirit and heart the capital of the country has to offer. Nu Delhi is the kind of album that retains the fact that you’re known across the globe, and absolutely nothing is a stroke of luck for the dynamic band. Bekhauf, Nu Delhi and Tadka are standout songs from this power album:
Special Mention: Peekay-Bleed | Hyperspace
Though this is not an album, their double release in 2025 deserves a mention. The hardcore act from Hyderabad has been able to give a Jinjer-kind of intensity-offering melody traded with heavy, explosive riffs and rhythm sections. Bleed and Hyperspace have very different bubbles and themes. From performing in the Viper Room to Music Matters in Singapore, they have gone global with their compositions and production. Performances are always intense; check out their YT videos and IG to know how they can rile up an audience.
The pace of their hardcore tracks is on another level – Pranati Khanna knows how to shift between ethereal melodic parts and the most unforgiving vocal sections with an intense ease. Bleed and Hyperspace. They also just released a number called Justice Miscarried which shows incredible evolution from the act they were to where they’re going now. As for the mosh pit essentials:
Godless-Genesis of Decay
After their incredibly thrashy and brutal States of Chaos in 2021, eyes were on Godless to bring more blasphemy and morbidity to their new music. Genesis of Decay shows the death metal scene in India being spearheaded by the likes of extreme metal titans like Godless. Having supported some of the biggest acts in the world coming to India, it is obvious that the members have been more than inspired to bludgeon with more force.
On Genesis of Decay, even the shortest tracks open a portal to the nether and create a ruckus you will not be able to resist. Not for the faint-hearted, this is music that metal purists stand by for its dedication to keeping pushing the envelope with tech-death mastery. Silent Opression, Echoes of Collapse are some standout numbers in this, and it’s quite the ride to be a part of. Can’t wait for what Godless is going to bring in 2026-27, it’s going to be a masterclass in fury:
Sutej Singh-Restless | Relentless
Within just 8 songs, Sutej Singh is able to take flight, soar and let you gently land in a field of green. The metal guitarist has increased and improved the layers in which he performs. Flaunting his black gown and incredible pag, Sutej flickers between shreds and emotive licks that have fans singing the same now from the crowd. Starting with opening for Indian metal acts, he is one of the most requested opening acts for international artists coming to India as well.
There are powerful songs like Kaadambari that share its instrumental versions having ethereal vocals adding to the sharp, intense guitar work. Every song builds organically, taking you from a place of balance to imbibing the rage and intensity of nature. He is able to capture the metaphysical with the spiritual, channeling monsters of instrumental rock like Vai, Petrucci and Satriani. No wonder he’s been able to perform with them when they have come to India:
Acrid Semblance-Land of Cowards
This is the first melodic metal band from India. Imagine the kind of collection they have and the experience they carry. After a really long sabbatical, they returned to make headlines with their EP, Land of Cowards. It has everything you’d expect from a legacy metal act, their own sound, melodic yet brutal. They are easily recognisable, and it is insane how many acts they have inspired in India itself. Anubhav Misra and Vikas Dharamsattu power through an album that reminds you of the glory days of melodic metal while securing a place in our hearts. The solos and motifs are unlike anything else you’ll hear from the scene, creating a niche of melodic atrocity. You have to hear this comeback, for you’ll never see anything of its kind again:
Eternal Returns – Let there Be Sin
The band from Thane that shook up the scene when they started are back. Formed in 2010, everyone in the scene has a story of how their live shows are worth attending. The metalcore sound they have established grows bigger without losing nuance in Let There Be Sin. The kind of detail and energy they have built up is unlike any other band you’ll hear from the region, being able to overlap melodies with intense guitar sections. Songs like Greed focus on solid atmospheres, giving intense djent and symphonic shuffles with the running background. They too have returned with some intense zeal after Hunchback Hatred. They are amping up the range with which they perform, and Eternal Returns is definitely on the way to being the first of their kind with how they can shift mid-genres. The guitar duo sets a unique tone their music:
thevoidwecreate-Outer Rings of Heaven
Give this band’s production manager a raise. Out of all the newer bands you hear, there is a refreshing, crisp energy in the output thevoidwecreate give. Outer Rings of Heaven gives some metalcore mafia energy, almost a band that can replicate their recorded energy live without a problem. From the vocals to ambient energies collating to become parts of their vocals, this is incredible metal music at its best. Releasing mid-March, their collection showcased some of the best steps of Indian metal and how it is going to grow. A young collective, they are already taking big steps in this arena as India’s concert economy grows. Alt projects like this give a sound that are international to every degree, while entertaining a signature in their sound very few will ever be able to create:
Which collection did you love the most? Let us know your top picks!
Check out our playlists here!
Check out our YouTube channel for music reviews, playlists, podcasts, and more!
