In the new issue of Metal Hammer, we sit down with Trivium singer/guitarist Matt Heafy and Bullet For My Valentine frontman Matt Tuck as the two bands gear up for a co-headlining world tour. They’ll be playing their respective landmark albums, 2005’s Ascendancy and The Poison, in full – but those are far from the only classics celebrating their platinum anniversary this year. From Avenged Sevenfold’s City Of Evil to Opeth’s Ghost Reveries, here are the legendary efforts turning 20 in 2025.
Trivium – Ascendancy (Roadrunner)
The album that introduced the world to a blazing new talent. Ascendancy was laser-focused in its ambition and surgical in its delivery. Powered equally by aggro and melody, every track on Trivium’s second album is essential. 20 years on, it still sounds world-beating.
Bullet For My Valentine – The Poison (Visible Noise)
The year’s other great breakthrough album. Bullet For My Valentine’s debut The Poison delivered a shot of melody, heaviness and dexterity straight through the cranium and out the other side. The Welsh band piled on the riffs, delivered singalong sentimentality, and mixed radio rock with steel-plated metal to killer effect.
Avenged Sevenfold – City Of Evil (Warner Bros)
The point at which Avenged Sevenfold fully transformed from Orange County hardcore kids into genuine metal contenders. Taking metalcore heaviness, hard rock anthemics and old-school soloing, City Of Evil forged metal's recent and distant past into something new. They haven’t looked back since.
![Avenged Sevenfold - Beast And The Harlot [Official Music Video] - YouTube](https://img.youtube.com/vi/7bDg7n-chhU/maxresdefault.jpg)
Children Of Bodom – Are You Dead Yet? (Spinefarm)
After the Finns hit their stride on predecessor Hate Crew Deathroll, Are You Dead Yet? cemented Children Of Bodom’s place at the centre of the mid-2000s metal scene. Simple, effective, aggressive – the perfect combination.
Gojira – From Mars To Sirius (Listenable)
The point at which the Frenchmen reshaped their earlier deathly brutality into something huge and powerful. It was a tsunami of noise, sure, but there was melody and ethereal beauty in From Mars To Sirius that marked Gojira out as an utterly unique proposition.
The Black Dahlia Murder – Miasma (Metal Blade)
Led by the irrepressible Trevor Strnad, The Black Dahlia Murder hoisted the flag high for death metal during the barren years of the mid-oos. Their second album mined the jagged depths of the genre, but presented it in a distinctly modern way. The underground had a new set of heroes.
Devildriver – The Fury Of Our Maker’s Hand (Roadrunner)
Putting clear water between themselves and Dez Fafara’s nu metal past, Devildriver’s neck-wrecking second album sealed their status as the self-proclaimed California Groove Machine. Pure, pummelling, pit-inducing brilliance.
Opeth – Ghost Reveries (Roadrunner)
Opeth were seven albums deep into their career by 2005, but they still found ways of reinventing their own personal wheel. Ghost Reveries, the Swedes’ eighth, was their most ambitious album yet, mixing heavy prog metal with melancholy atmospheres and 60s psych.
Disturbed – Ten Thousand Fists (Reprise)
One of the few nu metal era bands to emerge from that scene’s wreckage largely unscathed. Ten Thousand Fists still possessed some of their old sound, but presented Disturbed equally as a classic, no-bullshit arena band.
Job For A Cowboy – Doom (King Of The Monsters)
Even by the standards of 2005’s return-to-heavy ethos, Job For A Cowboy’s debut EP was something else. Relentless aggression and pig-squeal vocals ushered in a new strand of noise that would soon be christened deathcore.
Taken from the new issue of Metal Hammer. Order your copy now and get it delivered directly to your door.
