Punk Rock Record Reviews: The Best of 2025, Part Thirteen.

Punk RockCommentaryAlbum Review
Written By Paul Holstein

I listen primarily to punk, with my preferred subgenre being street punk. Speed rock, garage, skate punk, hardcore, pop punk, oi!, ska, grindcore, and even rockabilly fit the bill if done right. If I can catch a live show, it gives the release an edge. Here are a few releases from 2025 that I recommend you check out. These are in no particular order; however, I’m only reviewing releases that are in contention for the best release of the year. If I’m reviewing it, I liked it. When the New Year rolls around, I’ll put them in order and do a final article of the best of the best. Drop a comment at the bottom if there is a 2025 release you think I should check out; I most definitely will.

The Drowns "Live At Rebellion"
Released: August 8, 2025
Format: Digital Download
Label: Pirates Press Records
From: Seattle, WA

"Rebellion, we're The Drowns from Seattle. We're recording a live record right now, so you're all a part of it. Let's make this fucking good." A few words from The Drowns before they rip into my personal favorite, "Black Lung". I've seen The Drowns live more than a few times, both locally in Detroit and at Punk Rock Bowling and Music Festival in Las Vegas, and they always bring the energy. They are in their prime, and it's captured perfectly on this recording. The sound is great, the energy is palpable, and the set list is what they have been playing all tour (which is near perfect). They captured just enough, but not too much, mid-song banter to make this unique and worth multiple listens. A few songs even pick up the speed from the original recordings. We get their new guitar player Christian Martucci who is great, and songs sung by both Andy and The Rev. Just a personal preference, but while I love their cover of "Ballroom Blitz" (The Sweet), they have also done "Nazi Punks Fuck Off" (Dead Kennedys) on this tour and I was hoping that would be on here instead (or in addition to). I'm sure some harsh words for Donald Trump were left out, but saying "the four men on this stage will forever be anti-racist and anti-facist" says it all, and I understand why they left it at that. It looks like Pirates Press Records did a red and blue pinwheel color vinyl version (limited to 100) with a matching cover variation exclusive to festival sales, so record collectors, be on the lookout. Inspired shout-outs to Strung Out, Booze-N-Glory, and Clobber.

Defiance / Hat Trickers "Darkest Hour/ Waltz In The Night"
Released: July 22, 2025
Format:12" Vinyl, digital download
Label: Puke-N-Vomit Records
From: Portland Oregon/ Tokyo Japan

A split 12" from classic street punk band Defiance and Japanese clockwork punk/oi! band Hat Trickers. There are 8 songs total, four from each band, and each band has a side of the cover. It looks like Defiance has top billing (based on cover placement), but both bands ended up being really good. I've been a big fan of Defiance for years, with their song "Terrorist Attack" being one of the best street punk songs ever recorded. They have been around for over 30 years, have at least 5 full albums, and a ton of great songs. If you are not familiar with them and agree with me on the greatness of street punk/Oi!, start with "Out Of The Ashes", but then go through everything. I was only able to spin the three Defiance songs on Bandcamp, but "We Pay" and "Kicking Down The Door" both went directly to my current playlist. According to Discogs, the vinyl also has a fourth song that is a cover of Toxic Reasons "Killing The Future". Shorter and faster would be better, but this is solid, and I'm crossing my fingers that I still may be able to catch them live someday. For the Hat Trickers side, I couldn't find them on Bandcamp, Amazon Music, or iTunes, so I ended up watching various YouTube videos (mostly of songs that they recorded before this split 12"). They have a very similar look to The Adicts, full Clockwork Orange droog costumes, but with more blood. The songs sounded great, and I'm sure this record would be worth spinning both sides. I need to get a record player again.

Bad Idols "Squeak" EP
Released: July 30, 2025
Format: Digital download
Label: Self-released
From: Knoxville, TN

This one opens with a 38-second growling ripper "Pig Shit", which isn't really representative of their sound, but I love it. The following song, "Trash Can," is closer to what I expected, and both songs went directly to my current playlist. "Headcanon" was a little too slow and grunge, but they pick it up again with the 52-second blast "Loose Leaf" and the solid punk rock song "Stevefrenchpocketsand". 5 songs well worth spinning, and it's Name Your Price on Bandcamp with no minimum. I only recently discovered Bad Idols when they remastered their 2015 classic "Changeling" earlier this year, and I'm really glad that they are still putting out new songs as well. Their 44-song retrospective "Legacy Of Audacity" is also well worth tracking down. One of the best new bands that I have discovered this decade.

No Consent - "Waste Your Life Away"
Released: August 2, 2025
Format: Digital Download
Label: Self-Released
From: Big Bear Lake, CA

I got to see No Consent live at Small's Bar in Hamtramck, MI, on their tour with Sham 69, and they definitely made an impression. I've been waiting for a release to review, and this was worth the wait. The cover art shows a passed-out punk with a 40oz spilling on his jeans (Olde English 800 on the cover, but Mickey's Malt Liquor is featured in the video). There are nods to M.D.C., Minor Threat, and Sham 69 as well. The cover is a good sign that the music will be punk as fuck. It is. According to their demo, the idea behind No Consent is "No Consent to Injustice", which I'm sure is reflected in their lyrics (and I'm guessing they are also anti-drugs), but I was too busy moshing around my basement. "Waste Your Life Away" was the stand-out, but "Our Time Is Now" and "See You In Hell" also made my current playlist, and the entire release is great. Fans of The Casualties, The Unseen, Acidez, or street punk in general will want to give this a listen.

Home Invasion - "S/T"
Released: August 8, 2025
Format: 7" Vinyl, cassette, digital Download
Label: War Records
From: Chicago, IL

Straight edge, beatdown hardcore from Chicago. It looks like they are relatively new, but they put out a 12-song LP titled "Enemy" in 2024 before this. If you are into hardcore, you should be familiar with the videos done by hate5six, the Home Invasion show from January 2025 is definitely worth a watch, and props for shouting out my favorite hardcore band, Bad Beat! All four songs from this one are currently on my playlist, and they all rip. Fans of Bad Beat, CMI, Negative Approach, Terror.

Cold Stress - "Realistic"
Released: July 29, 2025
Format: Digital Download
Label: Self-released
From: Hossegor, France

More crazy hardcore, this time from France. It's not for everyone, but if you love fast screaming hardcore that you can two step to you will love these guys. I had to give the entire release a few spins before I could start picking out a couple of favorites for my master playlist. "Always Pretend", "No Hands" and "Satisfaction" made the cut but there are quite a few bangers on here. They have one prior release from 2023, a similar 5-song EP. Both are name your own price, with no minimum, on bandcamp so you should at least check it out (or watch the video of "Always Pretend"). A cut above a lot of recent hardcore releases.

Tear Up "Repeat Offenders"
Released: August 7, 2025
Format: Vinyl LP, CD, Digital Download
Label: Randale Records
From: Watford, UK

When I saw this, I immediately remembered their EP from 2023, "They Can Lock The Locks, But They Can't Stop The Clocks," which was one of the best Oi! releases that year. I still spin "Fighting Down The Boozer" once in a while. They also played Rebellion Festival this year, so hopefully Dick Slaughter got some photos and a story is coming. This one wasn't on Bandcamp, but I found it on YouTube, Amazon, and Apple Music, so I assume it's widely available, just not on Bandcamp (yet). This is a step up from their prior release, and highly recommended if you are a fan of Potato Skins, Violent Way, Oil!, Templars, or Bullshit Detector.

Broken Yolks "The View of the Bystander"
Released: August 8, 2025
Format: Vinyl LP, digital download
Label: High End Denim Records
From: Edmonton, AB Canada

I almost didn't get through the 1:12 intro, which is not representative of what's on this record (the next song breaks into fast skate punk). I also initially thought the photo on the cover was a match to The Feederz "Teachers In Space" LP, but on closer inspection, it's not. I'm glad that I stuck it out, as this is really good. I guess I fall into the group that has hats (no plaids or tats). Quick shout out to High End Denim Records, they have a great track record of putting out music that I like - if it's on High End Denim, I usually give it a listen. Fans of Chaser, Pennywise, Face to Face, Ten Foot Pole, MxPx, or just really good, fast, technical skate punk should like this.

Chopping Block "Phony/ Eyes Fall"
Released: July 30, 2025
Format: Digital download
Label: Self-released
From: Seattle, WA
Photo of the album cover that is being reviewed.

There are a lot of hardcore bands coming up lately, and it takes something a bit special to really make them stand out. This is one of the bands that has that. The sound is overall clean and loud, but still screaming and angry with enough speed and catchiness to make it memorable. This is just two songs ("Phony" and "Eyes Fall"), both under a minute and a half. "Eyes Fall" was the stand-out, but they were both good. It looks like they released a 6-song EP in 2024, as well as a 4-song demo before that. You can find it all on Bandcamp, name your price with no minimum. Every song is worth getting. This is another band to be on the lookout for, both live shows and an eventual full-length release.

Eliminators "S.F.H.C."
Released: July 24, 2025
Format: Digital download
Label: Rebirth Records
From: San Francisco, CA
Photo of the album cover that is being reviewed.

Four songs, all right around a minute and a half. This follows their 3-song "B.A.S.E." demo from earlier this year, and is more of the same (not a bad thing) if not a little better. San Francisco Hardcore, and this truly is hardcore. These guys could hold their own at any hardcore festival with bands like Sunami, Pain of Truth, Bad Beat, End It, Judge, D-BLOC, Whispers, Escalation of Force, Never Ending Game, etc. (and probably have). "Reds" was my favorite, but all four songs are killer and will all make my current playlist. Hopefully, they keep cranking them out and eventually make their way to Detroit (either as part of a hardcore show at Edgemen Printing, or the annual Tied Down Detroit or Black Christmas festival).

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Paul Holstein
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