HClO₃=>Hydrochloric Romance: TOP2025 of Guitar Dark Music

10. Sympathy Flowers “Dreams of Lurking Fear” (deathrock | USA, Self-Released)

The American four-piece project Sympathy Flowers formed in 2023 in Oakland. Their first EP was released in 2024, followed by their debut full-length album in 2025, which included all the tracks from the EP except for the title track, "Dreams of Lurking Fear." The musicians frequently perform at various punk and dark scene events in the US and have already gained considerable local recognition. The album features 13 short compositions in the style of punk-tinged deathrock with postpunk influences. Gina Maria's female vocals remind similar contemporary projects, alternating dark melancholy with aggressive hysteria, much like the album's musical material. Dark melodicism gives way to anarchic aggression and punk expression. Solid debut and a new name to follow in the future. As is common in the US, these bands may not associate themselves with the dark scene and are considered part of punk culture, but their dark element and the influence of postpunk on a global scale make them part of the deathrock movement anyway.

09. Stygmatia “Vivus Morire” (gothic rock, deathrock | Poland, Self-Released)

The young Polish project Stygmatia formed in the early 2020s, releasing its first demos in 2023. In 2025 the Poles self-released their debut full-length album "Vivus Morire". The DIY-oriented material of the duo Kristoff and Emi, influenced by such gothic music giants as The Sisters of Mercy, Rosetta Stone, and Clan of Xymox, combines gothic rock and deathrock elements with male vocals and lyrics in Polish. The result is quite atmospheric and interesting especially because of the Polish lyrics. A solid debut for a young project, worthy of the attention of gothic music lovers.

08. The Exile “A Lament” (deathrock, postpunk | USA, Self-Released)

The American trio The Exile formed in the early 2020s in Santa Ana. Their first EP was released in 2023 and could be considered a demo, although it was never officially stated. In 2025 the project actively toured the US, where they shared the stage with the aforementioned Sympathy Flowers, filmed a video and self-released their debut full-length album "A Lament". Lex, Lemon, and Rory create classic deathrock with a female-vocalized postpunk sound. The lyrics are primarily in English, but one Spanish track, reworked from the 2023 demo, fits perfectly on the album. This is powerful material from another new name in the US gothic guitar scene.

07. La Sombra De Shalom “Restos” (deathrock, darkwave | Mexico, Self-Released)

La Sombra De Shalom formed in 2016 in Mexico and released a five-track postpunk demo for free download the same year. This demo was largely overlooked and was rather raw in terms of both the material, sound and arrangements. In 2025 the Mexicans released their debut full-length album "Restos", which included songs from the demo, but refined, reimagined and ready to showe it to the music dark scene. The result is a rather atmospheric blend of deathrock and postpunk with lyrics in Spanish and male vocals. The album's production is somewhat dirty and fuzzy, which works to the project's advantage, emphasizing its unique and unconventional approach. A very good debut from La Sombra De Shalom, of whom I believe, we'll hear more in future.

06. David Galas “The Nihilist” (gothic rock, postpunk | USA, These Hands Melt)

American musician David Galas is known primarily for his work with the band Lycia. There was a period in the 1990s when the American left Lycia to start a solo career. His debut album was released in 2006, followed by two more at the turn of the 2000s. After 2011 David put his solo work on hiatus and got back to Lycia, returning to solo releases in 2018. "The Nihilist" is the musician's eighth full-length album. As a solo artist, David creates guitar-driven music at the intersection of gothic rock, post-punk and darkwave. The new work is precisely in this style, although with less darkwave and more postpunk influences. The result is a solid album with melodic compositions and beautiful vocals. The album features 13 original songs and two remastered tracks. Very high-quality music with a unique atmosphere that permeates David's work on all albums, regardless of genre.

05. Mantus “Konflikt” (gothic metal | Germany, Trisol)

Martin founded the project Mantus to realize his ideas in 1997. After writing lyrics and creating musical ideas, the German invited his sister, Thalia, to join the project. Thus, was born the golden lineup, with which Mantus released 11 full-length albums and became recognizable and popular in the gothic scene. The early works of Mantus were described in various articles as "doom without guitars" and in fact, in the 2000s it was one of the few bands, that played pure gothic metal from the gothic scene without the symphonic influences inherent in the same genre in metal. In 2012 Thalia left the project and was replaced by Chiara, with whom Martin continued to create the unique atmosphere of Mantus without losing its sound or charm. The new album "Konflikt" was released on the label Trisol and features the same melodic gothic metal with a dark atmosphere and light guitar riffs, which could be described as light gothic metal or heavy gothic rock. Martin performs sings the most parts on the album with Kiara only actively contributing to a few tracks. This has resulted in a slight loss of the music's femininity, but not its quality or level. Good material from the legendary German project.

04. Hasswut “Sauerstoff” (neue deutsche härte | Spain, Negative Gain Productions)

The Spanish band Hasswut appeared on the dark scene map in 2013 and a year later their debut full-length album was released on the Spanish label Mutant-E Records, which later released another album and a remixed supplement. From the very beginning the musicians skillfully combined electronic post-industrial elements with metal and thanks to their German-language lyrics Hasswut immediately attracted the attention of fans of the neue deutsche härte genre. "Sauerstoff" is the Spanish band's fourth full-length album and offers listeners the same masterful blend of post-industrial electronics and metal, resulting in a very high-quality neue deutsche härte without deviating into standard alternative metal, as is increasingly the case with German bands. With their classy hits, danceable rhythms and German-language lyrics Hasswut displaced all German acts from the top 10 of the dark scene in 2025. The album, released on Negative Gain Productions, features seven tracks, and the vinyl edition contains also some songs from the 2022 EP "Mund Zu!".

03. H.Ä.L.T. “II” (postpunk | Canada, Self-Released)

The Canadian band H.Ä.L.T. was formed in 2019 and in 2022 they released their self-produced debut album. According to the description on the project's Bandcamp page, the debut album featured three members (Tasha, Larissa, and Robin). However, for the second album, titled "II", the trio became a quartet and underwent some personnel changes. Larissa apparently left the project and was replaced by two Sophies. Musically the group continued its passion for classic sounds in oldschool postpunk with occasional use of deathrock elements, which were a popular combination at certain points in the history of these genres. This Canadians released very strong solid material with a late '80s/early '90s vibe.

02. UZU “A qui la liberté?” (deathrock, postpunk | Canada, Symphony of Destruction)

In 2022 the project UZU surprised the scene with interesting material on their debut on the border between punk and gothic guitar genres album. In 2025 the Canadians continued their journey in the music industry with their second full-length album "A qui la liberté?", which, unlike the debut, was released via Symphony of Destruction and not independently. The project combines deathrock and postpunk, but its peculiar feature lies not in its genre preferences, but in its lyrics. All the compositions on the new album, like the debut, are performed in Arabic with male vocals, which is, let's say, a kind of phenomenon in the gothic music scene in general. The vocal performance itself is imbued with Eastern motifs, which also adds charm and emphasizes its uniqueness. Like the debut, the new album sounds clear and confident with a strong sense of self-sufficiency. This is very good material from an interesting project, that maintains the level it raised so high in 2022.

01. Cataphiles “Shadow Self” (deathrock, postpunk | Germany, Sabotage Records)

The German band Cataphiles was formed during the COVID-19 pandemic, although the idea of creating such a project had been on the members’ minds for quite some time. All four members come from the punk scene and its various iterations, but share a passion for postpunk sounds. During the COVID-19 pandemic with no gigs, festivals or other events and people largely staying home to wait out the pandemic, they found just the right amount of time to flesh out their ideas and form the band. Cataphiles' debut album was released in 2022 on the German punk label Sabotage Records and in 2023 the band performed at the known festival Return to the Batcave in Poland. Their second album "Shadow Self" was released in 2025. The Germans continued to express their ideas in deathrock and postpunk genres with intertwined female and male vocals, which benefits the overall sound. The new work is even more cohesive and well-produced than its predecessor, reflecting on the human personality and the influence of society on it. While the debut album still had notes of the band members' punk essence at the forefront, on the new album this punk heritage has become an addition and a dilution of the main sound, rather than its primary focus. Excellent work from a young and, in fact, still developing project, which has already achieved such harmony in its sound. Bravo.

Other honorable mentions: Autumn's Descent, Blood Dance, Corpus Delicti, Corte di Lunas, Dead Invi Eye, Der Bote, Distant Stares, Eisbrecher, Morwan, Nox Arcana, Nyx Division, Olvido, Raskolnikov, Schimmel Über Berlin, Undertheskin