21. Halestorm - Title TBC (Expected: TBC)
Halestorm have long been on an upward trajectory, but it feels like things have really taken off in the last few years. With their as-yet-untitled sixth album – plus a support slot on Iron Maiden’s 50th anniversary tour and an appearance at the Sabbath mega-gig – in the pipeline, 2025 is shaping up to be theirs for the taking. Speaking to Hammer, Lzzy Hale revealed one track was sounding "very Motorhead." One time, I was jamming on my baritone guitar, just walking around the house, and Dave [Cobb, producer] swoops in and goes, ‘We need something like that! Run to the studio, right now!’ And the track has made it onto the record – it sounds very Motörhead. Everything has been absolute madness. You’ve got to be careful with what you’re doing, or someone’s gonna think it’s a good idea.”
22. Harper - Title TBC (Expected: TBC)
After making her Download festival debut in 2024, metal wunderkind Harper looks likely to release her debut album in 2025. The single Bird In A Cage hinted at her Spiritbox-inspired metalcore inclinations, while a November post on Instagram confirmed she was “working on new music”.
23. Ice Nine Kills - Title TBC (Expected: TBC)
After suitably OTT Terrifier 3 tie-in A Work Of Art, Ice Nine Kills’ frontman Spencer Charnas confirmed new music was “definitely coming” in 2025. “We’ve got some very violent, exciting and perhaps unexpected turns to take in the Ice Nine Kills universe over the next couple of years,” he told Hammer.
24. Tony Iommi - Title TBC (Expected: TBC)
It’s been more than a decade since Black Sabbath legend Tony Iommi released a new album, but in an interview with Full Metal Jackie he confirmed he was working on things – and that teaming up with Ozzy Osbourne for songs on the latter’s Patient Number 9 had helped kickstart some ideas. “I am writing stuff now for my own album,” he said. “I’ve really enjoyed doing this stuff, as I did [working] with Ozz when I did a couple of tracks for Patient Number 9. It was good to work with Ozz again.”
25. Jinjer - Duel (Out now)
Jinjer have had plenty on their minds for the past couple of years due to the Russian invasion of their homeland of Ukraine. But they’ve processed it by focusing on their fifth album, as previewed by singles Kafka and Someone’s Daughter. Speaking to Hammer, Tatiana Shmayluk shared a bit of background info on the record. "There’s something of a concept to it, shall we say," she said. "I don’t want to say too much, but I worked on the lyrics and artwork and carried in my mind the idea of dual, or Duél. It’s really about two opposing sets of words, of opinions, of ideas and the battle between those things. It’s about conflict; outside conflict, the conflict that lives inside of all of us."
26. Killswitch Engage - This Consequence (Expected: Feb 21)
Six years is a long time between albums, but the follow-up to 2019’s Atonement finally arrives early in 2025. And, as frontman Jesse Leach reveals, This Consequence finds the metalcore vets as raging as ever. "The first eight songs I wrote for this record, the guys were like, ‘This is not your best work’," he admitted to Hammer. "I initially came at this record with words of wisdom and hoping to inject some positivity, but I don’t think it came off genuine. It took me a while to realise that, and it was kind of an ego death. Long story short, I came out the other side with a new perspective. The first song we came out with from that was called Broken Glass and it’s probably one of the most pissed-off songs we’ve written.”
27. King Diamond - The Institute (Expected: Summer)
King Diamond still isn’t done with The Institute – though he’s getting close. New songs Spider Lilly and Electro Therapy popped up in setlists for the King’s recent North America tour, with guitarist Andy LaRocque revealing the album is set for release after the band’s summer dates.
28. Korn - Title TBC (Expected: TBC)
2025’s Download headliners are working on their 15th album. “It’s the best and heaviest Korn stuff in years,” guitarist Head told WSOU 89.5 FM. “I think it’s gonna be raw and more basic.” He also suggested the band were spending more time in the studio. Untouchables take two? We can but hope.
29. Lacuna Coil - Sleepless Empire (Out Now)
Although Lacuna Coil revisited their 2002 breakthrough for Comalies XX, the Italians aren’t returning to their goth metal roots any time soon. Lead single Oxygen showed they were upholding the ferocity of 2019’s Black Anima, the band suggesting they’d found plenty to be pissed off about thematically for their next album. “Sleepless Empire captures, through our eyes, the chaos of a generation trapped in a digital world that never stops,” they wrote. “Where social media consumes identity and every day pushes us one step closer to becoming soulless zombies.”
30. Limp Bizkit - Title TBC (Expected: TBC)
Limp Bizkit are back in the studio working on a follow-up to 2021’s Still Sucks. Or, as Fred Durst put it in an Instagram story in November that showed him in the studio with John Otto: “Let’s get that funky funky.”
