The Top 10 Punk Albums of 2025

Punk has been in an interesting place. There is no shortage of people claiming to play it, and its sound evolved to a more rock vibe this year, but finding real punk driven by the desire to not conform was a harder aspiration, given the masses' willingness to conform.   These albums captured the true spirit of punk by doing their own thing. It was a competitive year for the genre, and tough choices had to be made.   After I sort through the top 10 albums of all the respective genres, I use those lists to compile the top 10 albums of  2025.The very fact that these bands made it on the list speaks to how great these albums are, so it's not a slight that the number 8 album is above the 9th album; there is something that just gives it an edge that makes me want to listen to it more. After all, we can try to look cool and pick the hippest bands for a list, but at the end of the day, what makes an album the best is that it makes you want more, and you look forward to listening to it again. Perhaps you can find your next favorite on this list, and I have included links to reviews of these albums if you want to check out the audio on these guys. Anyway, here are the top 10 Punk albums of 2025.

10- Militarie Gun-"God Save the Gun." 

When this album kicks in, they are more punk than I remember from the last time I checked them out. It sounds big and dumb, but is fun like some male cheerleaders gone wrong. The multi-tracked vocals are often uniform, making it clear that this is how West Coast punk is changing.

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2025/12/militarie-gun-god-save-gun.html

9-Intercourse- "How I Fell In Love With the Void." 

These guys are on the heavier side of noise rock, but are also smart enough not to just rely on brute force by delving into introspection. The lyrics are hilarious. They are smart and angry.  The vocals howl with less malice the deeper into the album you go to help create tension on the verses. They are raging against the ragers here, and it is lots of fun. Almost like a stand-up set to music. Nobody can accuse them of taking themselves too seriously.

 https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2025/08/intercourse-how-i-fell-in-love-with-void.html

8-PUP- "Who Will Look After the Dogs?" 

The band's 5th album finds them instantly kicking into the noisy brand of pop punk that owes more to Weezer and the Get-Up Kids than Blink-182. Their dense, rough-hewn guitar tone would have still been radio-ready in the '90s. The lyrics are just as clever as ever. They began experimenting with the layers of sound and were not attached to one mix for the entire album, as they let the bass slide up closer to the front and center , as the  Guitars jangle and shimmer in equal measure.. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2025/04/pup-who-will-look-after-dogs.html

7-Staticlone- "Better Living Through Static." 

 A ripping crust punk barrage. The vocals are a gruff Lemmy-like rasp that finds the rest of the band racing behind the vocal, but with a sense of songwriting smarts, as there are guitar melody lines that provide a hook, over the rumble of the bass. In many ways, this is like the crust version of Motorhead, due to not only George's vocal style but the rumble of the fuzzed-out bass-blowing speaker, as it provides the backbone. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2025/03/staticlone-better-living-through-static.html

 6-DAACHT-"Crying Houses." 

This German punk band is way more melodic than I expected going into this album, though this is balanced by a pretty dense wall of guitar banging at your ears in juxtaposition to the croon of the vocals, which almost brings to mind what you might expect from the late 70s. ,

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2025/07/daacht-crying-houses.html

5-Slug Boys - "Listen to Slug Boys"  

Norwegian punkers Slug Boys offer a rowdy rock n roll baked blend of punk rock, that is not unlike some other boys on Viagra. The boisterous beer-swilling attitude and garage rock sensibilities are a little heavier with a bigger, less tongue-in-cheek worldview. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2025/11/slug-boys-listen-to-slug-boys.html

4-Modern Life is War- "Life on the Moon" 

The band's first full-length in over a decade finds them deviating from what you might expect from punk in 2025. Though it might make sense if you were asking about the mid-70s. There is still plenty of aggression in the vocals, and the guitar carry.a frantic jangle rather than a hardcore chug.  It's organic chaos even in the more layered sounds that unfold, reminding me of the Stooges' "Funhouse" album. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2025/08/modern-life-is-war-life-on-moon.html

3-Home Front- "Watch it Die." 

These charming Canadian punkers are back. They play a melodic yet tense style of punk that flirts with post-punk, but even with the synths that crop up time to time, there is more of aggression driving the songs that keeps them with their dominant foot being planted in punk. Sometimes, the subtle ambiance created by the more experimental elements like synths does cast a shadow on the mood and darkens it a bit. If there are any doubter as to the merit of their punk status, just listen to sneet in the guitars and vocals.

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2025/12/home-front-watch-it-die.html

2-Spiritual Cramp -"Rude." 

 Lyrically catchy, with enough of a punk attitude to keep it legit, they are as playful as Vigara Boys, but more melodic with a more new wave-like sheen to the melodies, and throw in a duet with Sharon Von Etten. Despite the album's best efforts to keep me from pinning it down to a specific genre, it leans closest to the punk roots. This does not mean they do not frequently jangle their way into a more 90s feel, more often than not split the difference on given the fact that the croon of his vocals this time around flirts with the more arena rocking sounds of "indie" like the Killers. But this still proves effective. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2025/10/spiritual-cramp-rude.html

1-Viagra Boys - "viagr aboys" 

The Swedish punk band wastes no time making this work them up into more of a frenzy despite the more melodic elements in the chaos that touch on a similar avant-garde pop style as Xiu Xiu.  They keep their hooky sarcasm cracking off lyrical observations in sharp humor that fuels the disco beats and punk sneer alike.   The topics that are subject to their lyrical scorn veer from the news to health care, with some country twang, and recalling some of the alt-rock classics of the '90s. Above all, it's all a non-conforming attitude that keeps this old school punk rock with the emphasis on rock. 

tps://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2025/04/viagra-boys-viagr-aboys.html

Thanks for reading. Please "like" and share on social media to give music a voice 

https://www.facebook.com/abysmalhymns

Check out our Podcast here ... https://www.youtube.com/@abysmalhymns666

pst 614

August's Top 10 Albums

It's time for August's top 10 albums. Staying abreast of the month's highlights may help casual readers catch up on what they missed and explore these artists. I am not writing brief summaries of them; I am simply linking to the reviews. Inclusion here does not mean that these albums have been released this month, but it is a list of new or upcoming albums I have enjoyed the most. I have albums in my inbox that are not coming out til October, so I am normally way ahead of the curve in this regard. They are ranked in order of what I have listened to the most. This month it ranges from death metal to surreal indie folk, so you may find your new favorite among them. Here are the Top 10 albums of August

10-CROP-"SSRI" 

Sludge

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2025/08/crop-ssri.html

9-Modern Life is War- "Life on the Moon" 

Punk 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2025/08/modern-life-is-war-life-on-moon.html

 

8-Chevelle- "Bright as Blasphemy"

 

Nu-metal 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2025/08/chevelle-bright-as-blasphemy.html

7-Hooded Menace- "Lachrymose Monuments of Obscuration"

Death Metal 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2025/08/hooded-menace-lachrymose-monuments-of.html

6-Suicide Boys -"Thy Kingdom Come" 

Hip-hop

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2025/08/uicide-boy-count-your-blessing.html

5-Street Sects -"Dry Drunk" 

Industrial/ Hard Core 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2025/08/street-sects-dry-drunk.html

4- Street Sex - "Full Color Eclipse" 

Noise-wave

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2025/08/street-sex-full-color-eclipse.html

3-Crippling Alcoholism- "Camgirl" 

Noise-wave

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2025/08/crippling-alcoholism-camgirl.html

2-Scorpion Milk - "Slime of the Times" 

Post-punk

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2025/08/scorpion-milk-slime-of-times.html

1-Ethel Cain -"Willoughby Tucker, I'll Always Love You"

Post-folk 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2025/08/ethel-cain-willoughby-tucker-ill-always.html

pst424

Modern Life is War : "Life On the Moon"

 

The band's first full-length in over a decade finds them deviating from what you might expect from punk in 2025. Though it might make sense if you were asking what was in the mid-70s. There is still plenty of aggression in the vocals on "First Song on the Moon". Though layers of sung vocals chime in on the chorus. The guitars carry a frantic jangle rather than a hardcore chug. "There is a Telephone That Never Stops Ringing" finds a greater urgency in the mood that the song explodes with. It's organic chaos even in the more layered sounds that unfold, reminding me of the Stooges' "Funhouse" album. 

"Empty Shoes" is more melodic. It is darker and sounds like how you might imagine a collaboration between  Radiohead and  Fugazi would turn out. "Jackie Oh No" strikes a balance between the more punk tension and the melodic brooding of the previous track by allowing it to build into an outburst by the end. "Johnny Gone" is back in a more frantic churning. There is a jagged tempo that recalls bands like Gang of Four, which empowers this song.  There is more of a 90s post-hardcore mood to "Homecoming Queen." 

They return to their punk roots for "You Look Like the Morning Explosion," which is an outburst that is under a minute, energy that is better expended on "In the Shadow of Ingredion," which has a Motorhead-like rock n roll undercurrent. "Bloodsport" is also a legit dive in punk. It also plays it too close to the definition of punk, but it works well enough. This fades into the weird instrumental piece "Kid Hard Dub" that finds a sax taking the spotlight. It almost sounds like a drunk duck. I appreciate any form of experimentation on a punk record. 

"Over the Road" is darker, with the vocals yelling from a distance. But it feels more like an intro for the last song, which has the album's best riff. It's pretty impressive, despite an odd mix that finds the drums sitting further back than what we heard on the more punk moments. Overall, I really like their sense of adventure and refusing to conform to the expectations of punk, which is what punk is about, so I will give this one a 9.5. Drops September 5th on Death Wish Inc. 

Thanks for reading, give a listen to the song below and  please "like" and share on social media to give music a voice 

https://www.facebook.com/abysmalhymns

Check out our Podcast here ... https://www.youtube.com/@abysmalhymns666

pst410

The Top 10 Punk Albums of 2024

Punk has been in an interesting place. There is no shortage of people claiming to play it, but to find real punk driven by the desire to not conform is a harder aspiration, given the masses' willingness to conform.   These albums captured the true spirit of punk, by doing their own thing. It was a competitive year for the genre, and tough choices had to be made.   After I sort through the top 10 albums of all the respective genres, I use those lists to compile the top 10 albums of the year. 2024The very fact that these bands made it on the list speaks to how great these albums are, so it's not a slight that the number 8 album is above the 9th album, there is something that just gives it an edge that makes me want to listen to it more. After all, we can try to look cool and pick the hippest bands for a list, but at the end of the day what makes an album the best is that it makes you want more, you look forward to listening to it again. Perhaps you can find your next favorite on this list; and have included links to reviews of these albums if you want to check out the audio on these guys. Anyway here are the top 10 Punk albums of 2024

10 -Modern Life is War -"Tribulation Worksongs" 

This compilation of their three most recent 7"s makes it clear they know what they are doing, making them one of the most solid punk bands going today.  Despite screaming their way through the  Stooges cover,  here they prove themselves, and at least they know who the Stooges are making them real punk. 

 https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/01/modern-life-is-war-tribulation-worksongs.html

 9-Seeyouspacecowboy- "Coup de Grace" 

This album finds them in a more kinetic grooving take on hardcore that is not unlike Callous Doaboys sonically, though leaning in a more Myspace-influenced era of sound. There is an equal balance of sass and substance. The breakdowns are not delivered predictably, though the hooks are poppy enough to conform to expectations in this regard. 

 https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/07/seeyouspacecowboy-coup-de-grace.html

9-Amyl and the Sniffers- "Cartoon Darkness" 

At times this Australian band indulges in pop-infected bliss thanks to the pla7ful attitude of their frontwoman Amy Taylor. She must have listened to The Spice Girls and the Runaways in equal measure as a kid., and typically carries the album with her charisma. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/10/amyl-and-sniffers-cartoon-darkness.html

                 

7-Chain Cult -"Harm Reduction" 

This band from Greece has a punk energy to them though the guitar tone rings out with a darker nuance. The ocals stay firmly on the punk side, against the creepy bass lines and the guitar's spectral tension. All factoring in to sound that is more interesting than your average punk band. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/10/gothtober-chain-cult-harm-reduction.html

6-Drug Church -"PRUDE" 

 These guys came out blazing in all the right ways on their new album. It has a hard-core drive, but still some hooks and melody, though the vocals are more roared. This is a moodier album that t makes me think of Bob Mould, but pumped up on modern hardcore production values.  Yet this is not as in-your-face as a hard-core album is, but enough to earn its place here. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/10/drug-church-prude.html

5-Rotten UK - "Agent of Chaos" 

Remember when punk was fun? It cared about songs and thrashed with a darker mood lurking under it. Yeah, I am talking about bands like the Exploited and GBH. Bands that obviously influenced this band, take the angry fire and make their own sound with it. Not only did they capture the sound, but they also wrote song catchy songs while not compromising the aggression getting there. They know the finer points of riffs and dynamics. Perfect music for the current state of things.

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/04/rotten-uk-age-of-chaos.html

 

4- High Vis -"Guided Tour '

This time around things are not as tense or dark, in fact, the guitar jangles and rings out with a tone that owes more to "Joshua Tree" era U2. I don't need them to be post-punk so the more upbeat songs work for me as they are well written and sound great. The London-based band leans more toward a punk thing for the second song, though it is more nuanced than most punk. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/10/high-vis-guided-tour.html

3-Whores- "WAR" 

 After an 8 year wait, the Atlanta band is back with their biggest most polished album yet. This more refined, could even be thought of as more accessible.  The Spinal Tap-like cycling out of drummers finds them with drummer number five Douglas Barrett behind the kit. A great deal of the punk sound has been shed, for hooky syncopation that feels more anthemic.

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/04/whores-war.html

 

2-Alakine Trio-""Blood, Hair and Eyeballs" 

Everything seems dialed in tighter for this album. Their melodic sensibility sometimes reminds me of Bad Religion if they were into the Addams Family instead of politics. It might not be the most rebellious or rowdy punk album you will hear this year, but it is going to be hard to beat the kind of presentation they have dialed in here. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/01/alkaline-trio-blood-hair-and-eyeballs.html

1-Gouge Away -"Deep Sage"

 Been six years since the Flordia punk band released their last album. They return with the kind of angular dissonant hardcore-tinged rock you expect from them.  Christina Michelle is crying out with the same level of abrasive edge she had last time around. The album gains more nuance with each song, and it is more of a sonic tapestry than the raw outpouring of emotion they initially hit you with. They have matured to perfection here. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/03/gouge-away-deep-sage.html

The Top 10 Rock Albums of 2024 ... so far

That time of year again. These lists serve as a decent snapshot of where the year is heading in terms of music. I have already received promos for albums dropping as far out as August in my inbox, so they are really going to need to bring it to compete with the top five albums on this list. There are links to full reviews if you want to check these out, and with all that said, here are the top 10 rock albums of 2024 so far 

10-Ride - "Interplay"

I really liked the first album of their comeback"Weather Diaries", and this album is both more surreal and more optimistic. I am sure with the last album I mentioned these guys occupying a similar sonic zip code as Stone Roses. Though it sounds like they are smoking more pot than Stone Roses on this album as it carries an alluring swirl. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/04/ride-interplay.html

 

9--Modern  Life is War - "Tribulation Worksongs" 

They work off of a very high in-your-face energy. From what I can make out of the lyrics I can appreciate the sentiment. these guys are solid and what I look for from punk even if they did just scream their way through the Stooges cover, I can live with it, at least they know who the Stooges are making them real punk. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/01/modern-life-is-war-tribulation-worksongs.html

 

8-Pallbearer- 'Mind Burns Alive" 

The fifth album by a band that was at one time one of my favorite doom bands. Each album has served as a gradual progression away from doom into what has culminated into what we hear on this album. Campbell is using a great deal of restraint and taking a more vulnerable approach to his singing. If you are waiting around for them to bring the metal back you might want to take a seat .  It took a couple of listens to this album before it finally clicked with me, as the first listen found me having to adjust to the change. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/04/pallbearer-mind-burns-alive.html

 

7-Alkaline Trio - "Blood , Hair and Eyeballs"

They are making very catchy pop-punk with dark underpinnings. I have enjoyed everything I have heard from these guys in the past. but everything seems dialed in tighter for this album. Their melodic sensibility sometimes reminds me of Bad Religion if they were into the Addams Family instead of politics. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/01/alkaline-trio-blood-hair-and-eyeballs.html

 

6-Modern Witchcraft -"s/t" 

These guys play an ethereal style of atmospheric doom that owes more to The Cure than Black Sabbath. At times this puts them closer to Deftones, as the melody is given more emphasis. The emotions of these songs wash over you. Sounds swirl around you. It is heavier in feel than it is heavy metal. The groove is an undercurrent. Though considering the Lander sisters of Kittie fame appear on this album, there is some nu-metal in this band's DNA. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/02/modern-witchcraft-st.html

5-REZN- "Burden"

The new album from Chicago's Sonic Sorcerors finds them expanding their minds and sound by buckling in with a dark grooving drive that might not be metal, but it is aggressive enough to get the point across. They continue to explore new realms of ambiance as the plea of the vocals echoes out into the expansive place they have created here. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/05/rezn-burden.html

4 -Whores- "War"

After an 8 year wait, the Atlanta band is back with their biggest most polished album yet. This more refined, could even be thought of as more accessible.  The Spinal Tap-like cycling out of drummers finds them with drummer number five Douglas Barrett behind the kit. A great deal of the punk sound has been shed, for hooky syncopation that feels more anthemic.  Their best album yet. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/04/whores-war.html

3-O Zorn!- "Vermillion Haze" 

This band sounds like they could have crawled from the period of the 90s  when Kyuss and Monster Magnet emerged, both of whom are not far removed from the sonic zip code from which these guys rock. There is an expansive drone to the riffs that carry a hypnotic pulse as the baritone croon muses amid the grunge-tinged passages.

 https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/03/o-zorn-vermillion-haze.html

 2-Gouge Away - "Deep Sage" 

 Been six years since the Flordia punk band released their last album. They return with the kind of angular dissonant hardcore-tinged rock you expect from them with Christina Michelle crying out with the same level of abrasive edge she had last time around. The album gains more nuance with each song, and it is more of a sonic tapestry than the raw outpouring of emotion they initially hit you with.

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/03/gouge-away-deep-sage.html

 

1-Sleepytime Gorilla Museum " Of the Last Human Being"  

This band returned after I spent the last 17 years thinking their last album was the final chapter, so I went into this hoping for the best album ever.  Sleepytime Gorilla Museum has reopened to attempt to make their best album yet. 2007's "In Glorious Times" is a perfect album, so they are not trying to take it head on but in a more mature step forward, emphasizing more of the chamber music side, while employing all the creepy dissonance they are known for. 

 https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/02/sleepytime-gorilla-museum-of-last-human.html

pst311

January's Top 10 Albums

Here is something I decided to do this year. Granted we do not know if we are going to make it to the end of the year, and 2025 will surely be our last, but staying abreast on the month's highlights might help casual readers see what they missed, and give this the option to check these artists out. I am not doing little blurbs on them, just linking the reviews. I think it will help me organize my lists for the end of the year, by listing the genre of music the album falls under. This does not mean that these albums have been released this month, but it is a list of new or upcoming albums I have enjoyed the most, I have albums in my in-box that are not coming out til June, so I am normally way ahead of the curve in this regard. They are ranked in order of what I have listened to the most. This month there is a wide variety from indie pop to punk to black metal, so perhaps you will find your new favorite among them. Here are the Top 10 albums for January of 2024.

10-Slower- "s/t" 

Doom

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/01/slower-st.html

9-Inquisition- " Veneration of Medieval Mysticism and Cosmological Violence"

Black Metal 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/01/inquisition-veneration-of-medieval.html

8-New Model Army - "Unbroken" 

 Rock/ Post-punk

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/01/new-model-army-unbroken.html

7-KMFDM- "Let Go" 

Electronic 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/01/kmfdm-let-go.html

6-Rejoice-"All of Heaven's Luck" 

 Hard Core

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/01/rejoice-all-of-heavens-luck.html

5-Modern Life is War -"Tribulation Worksongs"

Punk

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/01/modern-life-is-war-tribulation-worksongs.html

4-Alkaline Trio-"Blood, Hair, and Eyeballs" 

Pop Punk 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/01/alkaline-trio-blood-hair-and-eyeballs.html

3-Infant Island -"Obsidian Wreath"

 Screamo / Black Metal

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/01/infant-island-obsidian-wreath.html

2-Middle Kids -"Faith Crisis" 

Indie Pop

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/01/middle-kids-faith-crisis.html

1-Cold in Berlin -"the Body is the Wound" 

Doom /Post Punk

 https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/01/cold-in-berlin-body-is-wound.html

pst45

Modern Life is War : "Tribulation Worksongs"

 

This is an album of 3 7inch releases that have been compiled, but I am counting this as an actual album since the way they are presented here flows sensibly. Things kick off with a more punk rock feel. The guitar that keeps "Feels Like End Times" in motion has a great deal of the rock side of the punk rock equation. The vocals that are shouted with a great deal of anger are the most hardcore thing about this song. It is however a great song so it does not matter if they are hardcore or not. It sounds like this is how these guys are if they just picked up their instruments and took the stage. 

They work off of a very high in-your-face energy. From what I can make out of the lyrics I can appreciate the sentiment. The bass drives the second song, though the guitars join in with frantic rock n roll fervor. Things get a little more serious with  "Survival". They are still more on the side of punk, but attacking it with renewed intensity. "Lonesome Valley Ammunitions" finds the intensity dialed up and I think the sonic heaviness of it along with the hyper-aggressive delivery of the vocals crosses the line over into hardcore. It works off a building tension. Two minutes in and the drummer is really earning his cut of the door. 

"Indianapolis Talking Blues" is a spoken word piece where they are taking on more of a Western flair. This ambling Americana is appreciated, as the lyrics keep things abstract to give a wider panoramic view of the dumpster fire world. Then comes their cover of the Stooges "I Wanna Be Your Dog" Rather than try to follow the vocal cues of Iggy which would require actual singing, he screams his way through it. "End Times Dub" is a remix that works pretty well. I will give this one a 9.5, these guys are solid and what I look for from punk even if they did just scream their way through the Stooges cover, I can live with it, at least they know who the Stooges are making them real punk. 

pst32