Supergroups and team ups are hardly new, even going back to Dio joining Black Sabbath or the formation of Anthrax side project Stormtroopers of Death. The last decade though has seen bands cross paths like never before for both friendship and commercial reasons. There’s a number of frequent collaborators, while the last few years have seen a rise in supergroups. Randy Blythe, Matthew K Heafy and Winston McCall turn up regularly on other people’s records, more bands are bringing in Poppy or Courtney LaPlante and recent albums from Babymetal and Bring Me the Horizon have been defined by their collaborations.
We’ve picked some of the best team ups from 2025. Add the full playlist after the liner notes.
‘End of You’ - Poppy, Amy Lee & Courtney LaPlante (Spiritbox)
Three queens unite with producer Jordan Fish and Spiritbox’s Mike Stringer on riffs. It meets the hype and we want more. Spiritbox and Poppy will be opening for Evenescene on different legs of their 2026 tour.
‘Everything Burns’ - Tom Morello feat. Caleb Shomo (Beartooth)
Recorded for Final Fantasy XIV: Dawntrail, Morello’s guitar histrionics are an excuse for Caleb Shomo to rap the verses and wail the chorus. Magnificent, well suited to the game’s cyber/magical world.
‘Heaven’s Gate’ - 50 Lions & Winston McCall (Parkway Drive)
Bryon Bay hardcore warriors return after a decade and bring frontman Oscar McCall’s brother Winston to roar with them.
‘Monolith’ - Fit for a King (feat. Lochie Keogh of Alpha Wolf)
Texans came out swinging on Lonely God and brought Lochie Keogh of Tasmania’s Alpha Wolf in for added screams.
‘Crossing the Rubicon’ - Sabaton & NOTHINGMORE
Sweden’s military metal legends celebrate Caesar on new album Legends and recruit NOTHINGMORE to add to the single version.
‘Brain Dead’ - Architects & House of Protection
Architects went hard on The Sky, The Earth & All Between, with duo House of Protection spitting fire alongside Brighton’s best. If you saw their recent Aussie tour, then you were blessed to see them perform ‘Brain Dead’ together.
‘bad luck’ - We Came As Romans & Currents feat. Anthony Notarmaso (After The Burial)
A melodic metal masterpiece from three of the best.
‘My Queen’ - Babymetal feat. Courtney LaPlante (Spiritbox)
BABYMETAL's new LP, Metal Forth, is almost entirely collaborative, which makes it feel like more of a compilation than pure Babymetal. Bringing in LaPlante is a master stroke, as she adds both clean and growl vocals to the infectious bop.
‘Clouded Retinas’ - Signs of the Swarm feat. Will Ramos (Lorna Shore)
To Rid Myself of Truth is an absurdly heavy album that hits another gear when Lorna Shore’s Will Ramos stops by.
‘A Line in the Dust’ - Landmvrks feat. Mat Welsh (While She Sleeps)
Swings between melodic nu-metal and harder edge metalcore and the multi-vocalist approach captures our collective malaise. That chuggy riff once Mat steps in is *chef's kiss*
‘In Spite’ - Malevolence feat. Randy Blythe (Lamb Of God)
British hardcore band brings in Virginian hardcore fan and go harder.
‘Dear Suffering’ - Caliban feat. Joe Bad (Fit For An Autopsy)
German metalcore originals delivered a fantastic LP back in April, teaming up with Fit For An Autopsy’s Joe Bad for maximum carnage.
‘SOS’ - PhaseOne feat. Make Them Suffer
PhaseOne has built his reputation by combining hard dubstep with actual hard metal bands. Bringing in the synth friendly Make Them Suffer makes for an EDM/Metalcore warehouse party.
‘I’M THE MAN’ - Stand Atlantic feat. Lauren Sanderson
Alt rockers reissue their 2024 album with fresh guests, including alt-pop star Lauren Sanderson, whose rapping gives the track a different perspective.
‘Bekhauf’ - Bloodywood feat. Babymetal
Asian sensations assemble on a track that combines the power of Bloodywood’s Hindu Nu Metal with Babymetal’s magical kawaii metal style. So good they’d record another track for Babymetal’s LP a few months later.
‘Taniwha’ - Alien Weaponry feat. Randy Blythe (Lamb Of God)
Randy Blythe popped up everywhere this year (he’s on Lacuna Coil’s new album too) but saved a special verse for New Zealand’s tech death sensation.
‘These Scars Won’t Define Us’ - Machine Head, In Flames, Lacuna Coil & Unearth
Machine Head previewed their upcoming album with a single version that included their tour mates (or at least their vocalists) and it’s got their trademark ‘us against the world’ mentality.
Yungblud, Adam Wakeman, Nuno Bettencourt, Frank Bello & ii - 'Changes'
Everyone watching live in the stadium and on the live stream knew that Yungblud had the moment of the Ozzy/Black Sabbath final show. And what a backing band.
‘The Impossible End’ - Better Lovers
They only formed two years ago, born from the demise of Every Time I Die, who joined forces with vocal wizard Greg Puciato (Killer Be Killed, The Dillinger Escape Plan) and super producer Will Putney (Fit For An Autopsy). They’ve recently re-issued their 2024 debut with two new tracks, including this rager.
‘Nihlist’ - Thrown into Exile & Matthew K Heafy (Trivium)
Mr Heafy is always around to support his friends, with blackened death metal beasts Thrown into Exile joining his many collaborators. Brutal.
‘No Pain = No Power’ - Soulfly feat. Dino Cazares, Gabriel Franco & Ben Cook.
Every Soulfly album is a community affair, with this track coming from new LP Chama. Max Cavalera shares the vocal spotlight with Franco (Unto Others) and Cook (No Warning) with Cazares adding his industrial strength rhythm picking. The tribal persuasion in the closing is pure Soulfly.
‘Tränenpalast’ - Kreator & Hiraes
Kreator’s second single from the upcoming LP, Krushers of the World, is a team up with German melodic death metal newcomers Hiraes, who bring their own soloing style.
‘The Wound & The Weapon’ - Still Remains featuring The Red Chord
I dunno which one of them is the wound and which is the weapon but this collab should’ve happened sooner. A perfect metalcore match.
‘Keep You’ - Bloom featuring Patrick Miranda (Movements)
Bloom’s second album in 2 years saw them demonstrate their versatility, with Movement’s Patrick Miranda dueting on this emo rocker.
‘LOOKING GLASS’ - Spite & Boundaries
Two of the best out there leave it all on tape with this bruising team up. The break down is a knuckleball special for the ages.
‘War Pigs (Charity Version)’ - Judas Priest & Ozzy Osbourne
An updated version of Priest’s excellent cover brings in Ozzy’s vocals for the Halford/Osbourne collab we always wanted. A fitting tribute to Ozzy after his passing with proceeds going to charities supporting Parkinson’s Disease.
Words by KJ Draven (@kjdraven). Apple Music Playlist here.
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