Top 5 On Friday – My 5 Favorite Debut Albums from the 1st Quarter: January/ February/ March (2025)
The start of 2025 has ushered in a great number of album releases thus far. I have posted over 35 reviews since the start of the new year and have a slew of others right behind them. Earlier this week, I was on The Heavy Desert Podcast with Dan Sierras, where we ranked our top ten favorite albums from the first quarter. Check it out on Spotify or Apple. Today I will be ranking my favorite debut albums from the first quarter. Most of these were mentioned on the podcast episode. I am really amazed on how many exceptional debut albums there have been in this first quarter alone. So I decided to narrow it down to my five favorite ones that I have listened to repeatedly. Thank you for reading and please support the heavy underground music scene.
5. MOUTH – GLOBAL WARNING
Möuth is a three piece band from Stockholm, Sweden. Global Warning (review here) came out on February 14th and really impressed me with how varied their songs are with their blend of stoner, doom, grunge, progressive, and even some new wave sounds on a couple of tracks. The nine songs flow great together and some of my favorites are: “Holy Ground”, “Speed Of Life”, “Sheep”, “Alike”, and “In My City”.
https://mouthsweden.bandcamp.com/album/global-warning
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4. ICARUS BURNS – SELF TITLED
Icarus Burns is a heavy instrumental band from Berlin, Germany. Their sound is a mix of heavy psych, stoner, metal, atmospheric, and some hard edged riff rock. The six tracks on their Self Titled (review here) album are adventurous and captivating. The album came out on February 12th. The recording is an excellent journey into the minds of interesting and elaborate song crafters. Some standouts include: “Minotaur”, “Melancholia”, “A Distant Light/ In The Darkness”, and “100 Days”. It’s best to listen to this album in its entirety without any distractions.
https://icarusburns.bandcamp.com/album/icarus-burns
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3. JESSE STILETTO – SELF TITLED
The dynamic duo from Minneapolis, Minnesota play a great mix of seventies rock, stoner, heavy psych, and grunge. The music is very dynamic and the vocals are top notch too. The Self Titled (review here) album was released on March 14th and really blew me away with how good and catchy it is. Some of my favorite tracks include: “As The Portal Opens”, “The Plaid Man”, “Devil’s Lunch”, “Feed The Moon”, and “Spectre”.
https://jessestiletto.bandcamp.com/album/jesse-stilett
2. SWEETBEAST – ILLUSIONS
SweetBeast was another big surprise when I first listened to it. The band is from British Columbia, Canada, and they have a fantastic sound. Illusions (review here) was released on February 21st and has six tracks of heavy psych, stoner, fuzz, and a good blend of melodies too. The music is varied and creative and the vocals sound great. Some of my favorites include: “70/30”, “Thunder”, “Midnight”, and “Illusions”. This is definitely a band to watch out for in the future because they are terrific!
https://sweetbeastrock.bandcamp.com
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1. 10 SLIP – TENSE LIP
10 Slip is a three piece band from Sydney, Nova Scotia, Canada. They play a blend of fuzzed out rocking grooves dialed in with the heavy blues, and some interesting progressive elements. This band really got into my soul, the more I listened to this album. Tense Lip (review here) was released on February 7th and contains eight tracks total. The band really dazzled me with their creativity and excellent songwriting. They are very talented musicians and the recording is filled with amazing twists and turns. Some of my favorites include: “Dead Ain’t Gonna Cry”, “Cult”, “10 Split”, “The Wall”, “Shallow Waters”, “Mirrors” and the closer “Spore”. Every song is amazing and the tracks flow perfectly into each other.
