Before 2025 fully wrapped up, we polled our readers to vote for their favorite metal single from a handful of our nominations.
The winner of The Best Metal Single of the Year is…
“Spiders” by Apocryphal
Fronted by dual vocalists – Kiran & Riddhi, this Indian modern metalcore act clarified that the aforementioned duo write their own lyrics and melodies, which are “based on the feelings that the instrumental track evokes,” crafted mostly by Karan, but also with bassist Mitish and their new drummer Tanish.
Personally, I hear a lot of Spiritbox influence in this “Spiders” single, but there’s certainly other inspirations present. Apocryphal shared that Bleed from Within, Whitechapel, and Shadow of Intent are at the top of the list for Kiran’s vocal influence, while Riddhi is more melodically on the path of Lacuna Coil and Evanescence as well as Portishead and Melissa Kaplan. They also mentioned being huge fans of Lamb of God, and naturally, Spiritbox.
Additionally, Apocryphal wanted to shout-out the other nominations in the Best Single category, noting Japanese act Coldrain‘s collaboration with former Crystal Lake vocalist Ryo Kinoshita on “Mayday,” or the recent bangers by Czech group Abbie Falls including “Purge,” “Hellbound” and “Victim.”
The Mumbai-based band recently played at Dirtfest in Pune alongside Obliterating Vortex, Kasck, and Runway Historia, which they shared “it was our best show till date… from the first song to the last, people went crazy, and that was honestly the most rewarding feeling.”
Apocryphal were excited to admit that they are halfway through production of their upcoming EP: “It will have four tracks coming together to form a common theme.”