Leading industrial and electronic music authority I Die: You Die has officially unveiled its definitive “Best Albums of 2025” list, signaling a banner year for the dark electronic scene. Taking the #1 spot is Ottawa’s own Encephalon with their fifth studio masterpiece, Automaton All Along. Encephalon, Seeming, and Bootblacks each took spots in the top 4:
#1: Encephalon – Automaton All Along: Released in February via Artoffact Records, the album has been hailed as a landmark in electro-industrial. Praised for its exploration of artificial intelligence and determinism, noting that the duo of Matt Gifford and Alis Alias has created a work that is both “machinelike and orderly” yet “tangibly emotional.”
#2: Seeming – The World: Alex Reed’s latest project took the runner-up spot. Described as a “handbook for weathering 2025,” The World was lauded for its ambitious narrative of collapsing time and its ability to blend “impetuous riot” with “ambiguous synthtopia.”
#4: Bootblacks – Paradise: Brooklyn’s Bootblacks secured the #4 position with an album that many consider their most accessible and “effortlessly entertaining” to date. Paradise marks a departure from their angular post-punk roots toward a lush, 80s-inspired electronic soundscape, featuring standout tracks like “Forbidden Flames.”
