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

CommentaryPunk RockAlbum 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, crust punk, mincecore, 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.

Fashion Crime "Trash Anthems" + "Good Luck Humanity"
Released: August 30, 2025 / September 23, 2025
Format: Digital download
Label: Shakin' Hips Records
From: Lancaster, PA

Photo of the album cover that is being reviewed.

Photo of the album cover that is being reviewed.

This is energetic punk rock from PA (so maybe I can catch them at Camp Punksylvania some day). Their first release in 2025 was "Trash Anthems," a three-song collection from a split with The Stivs. They quickly followed that up with a 14-song full-length release of their own. They did a really slick video for "Irrational," which is worth checking out. There are a lot of really great songs on these releases, but I chose "Fucked Again," "Fight Alright," and "Saving You" for my current playlist. As with a lot of releases these days, it seems like bands aren't loading the front end with their best songs, which is true here, so I'm glad that I stuck with this for a couple of plays. I love that none of the songs are over 2 minutes, and at times they really bring the speed. I can see this making my list of top albums of the year.

Stabber - S/T
Released: September 29, 2025
Format: Vinyl EP, digital download
Label: Kickrock Records
From: Oslo, Norway
Photo of the album cover that is being reviewed.

Doing some research on this band, I learned a new word, "Osloite," meaning a person from Oslo, Norway. Norwegians are serious about their music, and it comes through in this Stabber EP. I wasn't able to find much on the band; however, I did notice that their label, Kickrock Records, is from France and also released some records by my favorite French band, Bombardement. This is old-school-sounding hardcore, and while I wasn't exactly screaming along, I couldn't stop playing it. "Shut Up," "Die," and "Repeat Offender" made my current playlist for even more plays, and I'm going to continue to watch them. Fans of recent releases (from my prior reviews) by Asspatch, Mitralle, Plastic Meat, S.M.I.L.E., and Disco Assault or just old-school fast screaming hardcore will want to check this out.

C4 "Payback's A Bitch"
Released: September 17, 2025
Format: Vinyl LP, CD, digital download
Label: Triple B Records
From: Aloma, Florida
Photo of the album cover that is being reviewed.

Triple B Records puts out some extremely heavy music, and this is no exception. If it's on Triple B, I will almost always give it a listen, and this is an example of when that was a good decision. From the obscene cover art to the opening "Bashing Intro," this hits you like a ton of bricks. Hardcore with metal influence and deep growling vocals. One of my pet peeves is albums with all of the songs over 2 minutes, so this one was looking good before I even spun it with several songs under a minute and at least 5 more under 2. "Fuck It All" and "Stay Away From Me" were my favorites, but if you like those songs, you will like the entire record. They had previous releases in 2019 ("Goes To War" demo), 2021 ("Chaos Streaks" LP), and a split in 2023 with Worn if you are looking to check out their older stuff. There are also some decent limited edition color vinyl versions of this one for you record collectors out there. Fans of old-school bands like Stormtroopers of Death and Method of Destruction, right up to the Triple B roster of beat-down hardcore bands, will want to check this out.

>
Pridebowl "Convergence"
Released: September 19, 2025
Format: Digital download
Label: People Of Punk Rock
From: California/Sweden
Photo of the album cover that is being reviewed.

I've been familiar with Pridebowl for a while; their first release was all the way back in 1996. It looks like they recently reformed and that this is their first new music since 2014 (although they did also release a live album, from Red Bridge Fest 2024, that I reviewed earlier this year). Pridebowl is an incredibly talented band, playing melodic/skate punk similar to what you would expect from bands like Pennywise, NOFX, Lagwagon, or Bad Religion. "Memories (Of Her)" and "Convergence" were my picks for my current playlist, and I seem to like this more and more each time I spin it. Kudos to People of Punk Rock Records for another stellar release and helping to bring back another classic band. Hopefully they continue, and there is even more new material on the horizon.

Plan III "Rip" EP
Released: October 8, 2025
Format: Digital download
Label: Self-released
From: Detroit, MI
Photo of the album cover that is being reviewed.

Yes, this is the same three-piece hardcore band that put out the "Wood Alcohol is Not For Drinking" EP back in 1998 on Transparent Records. They haven't changed much over the years, still cranking out an old-school hardcore sound—loud, fast, and screaming. Vocalist Johnny Bourbon was also in The Hard Liquors on the same label and currently plays in the punk rock cover band Newmatix, but Plan III is the band of his to see. It looks like they "ripped" off the logo from Rip Magazine for their cover art. I still remember buying issue #1 back in 1986 when it premiered because of the cover photo (Ozzy Osbourne staring down a punk rocker with a foot-tall mohawk) and also the stories that included The Ramones, Motörhead, and Black Flag. I think the magazine went on to be more metal than punk, unlike this band. This is 10 songs of blazing fast punk rock (several under one minute, and the shortest at just 8 seconds), for fans of Disco Assault, Negative Approach, Zeke, and The Hookers. It's "name your price" on Bandcamp with no minimum, so donate if you can, but there is no excuse not to at least grab it for free. If you are in the Detroit area, you can catch Plan III live shows at your local dive bar; their next one returns them to The Old Miami for the first time since the late 90's.

Crippled Fox/ Biting Sox Split EP
Released: October 1, 2025
Format: Digital download
Label: Drinkin' Beer In Bandana Records / Here and Now Records
From: Budapest, Hungary
Photo of the album cover that is being reviewed.

"Today we are going to talk about the many uses of a bandana." I'm on track to spin over 500 new releases in 2025, and I can see clear choices for the best pop punk, Oi!, hardcore, skate punk, and beatdown hardcore releases of the year. A subgenre that was not so clear until this release came up was Thrash. Crippled Fox is one of the best to do it; this brings me back to the heyday of Dirty Rotten Imbeciles in their prime (check out their "22 Song EP" from 1983). If you love short, fast, screaming hardcore with hilarious lyrics, you are going to love Crippled Fox. It looks like they have been around since 2009 and have a long list of releases, including a ton of split releases. Their Crippled Fox/Lickspit split EP may have technically come out in 2024, but it shows 2025 on Bandcamp—I spun this as well, and both "Very Serious Headband" and "Sad Little Man" ended up on my current playlist. Outstanding. Fans of Dirty Rotten Imbeciles, M.O.D., Iron Reagan, or thrash in general.

The Mansters "Snapshots from a Shitshow"
Released: October 1, 2025
Format: Digital download
Label: Self-released
From: Tønsberg, Norway
Photo of the album cover that is being reviewed.

Self-described Norwegian idiots playing instruments. Well, not complete idiots, as this smokes. Norway takes their music very seriously, and this is just another example of that. "The World Is My Ulcer," "Home Till I Die," and "Johnny Is Single Again" were my early favorites (with "Home Till I Die" giving a nod to Youth Brigade's "Young Till I Die"), mainly because I like faster songs, but this is simply great all of the way through. A perfect mix between hardcore and skate punk, with a little pop punk thrown in. Looking at their discography, they have been around a while even though this is my first listen. Definitely worth checking out.

Supersuckers "Liquor, Women, Drugs and Killing"
Released: October 3, 2025
Format: CD, LP. digital download
Label: Hardcharger Records / Blue Elan Records
From: Tucson, AZ
Photo of the album cover that is being reviewed.

"Would you say that your songs are about liquor, women, drugs, and killing for the most part?" "Yep!" That's an excerpt from an interview that starts off my personal favorite Supersuckers song, "I Want The Drugs," from their 1999 album "Evil Powers of Rock 'n' Roll." Originally known as The Black Supersuckers, they formed in 1988, which means they have been around 35+ years. In that time they have produced countless punk rock classics (check out "She's My Bitch," "Born With A Tail," "Luck," "I Say Fuck," and of course "I Want The Drugs"). They are self-described as the greatest rock-n-roll band in the world, and they are not wrong. Considering that they named their new album from the opening to their fastest, punkest song, I was sort of hoping that this would be closer to early Dwarves than it is. It's still great, and if you have been a Supersuckers fan over the years, you will remain so. Singer Eddie Spaghetti is known to wear a cowboy hat at shows, and I've even seen them live when they played an all-country set—this is somewhere in between what I was hoping for and what I was actually expecting. The opening song, "Maybe I'm Just Messin' With You," was my favorite (one of two pre-release singles along with "Volunteer") and will be added to both my current playlist and my list of favorite Supersuckers songs. Great songwriting and musicianship throughout, catchy songs that are hard to get out of your head, amazing artwork, and sporadic expletives are all positives... and this is just me (as a hardcore punk rocker), but I wish there were a few more songs under 2 minutes that we could mosh to. If you gave "Tried To Write A Song" to one of today's top country artists, it'd be a top 10 hit, so for some this will be a top album of the year, I'm sure. Fans of Motörhead, Throw Rag, Turbonegro, Lords of Altamont, Hellacopters, and The Turbo A.C.'s.

Haggus "Destination Extinction"
Released: June 20, 2025
Format: Digital Download
Label: Tank Crimes
From: Oakland, CA
Photo of the album cover that is being reviewed.

Grind, Crust, Fuzz, Goregrind, and Mincecore. The first are usually just a little too heavy and noisy for me, and I'd never heard of Mincecore. Normally I wouldn't have even gotten through the first song on this one, but it was a recommendation from a friend that knows what I like, so I gave it a proper listen. I started with the videos ("Rotting Off," "Do You Love Mincecore?," "What's Fucking Left," and "As The Hammer Drops"), which are killer and include plenty of ski masks, growling, spikes, moshing, headbanging, tattoos, and killer bass lines. Well shoot, it turns out that I DO love Mincecore. "Do You Love Mincecore?" and "What's Fucking Left?" made my current playlist, and if I get a chance to see these guys live, I might just have to. I'm even looking into flying out to C.Y. Fest to check them out (I wanted an excuse to get out to that anyway). I just wish all of the videos had lyrics like "Do You Love Mincecore?" does. I don't have bands to compare them to, but I'm going to start checking out bands that are similar (are there even any other mincecore bands)?

Slang Poor Kids "Zero Sum Game"
Released: October 3, 2025
Format: Digital download
Label: Self-released
From: Brescia, Italy
Photo of the album cover that is being reviewed.

The band needs to be careful with a 2:17 unnecessary intro that sounds nothing like the music on the rest of the release. I'm going to break 500 releases spun this year, and a lot of them I barely make it 2 minutes in before I move on. The cover art on this one didn't really grab me either, but fortunately I didn't give up because this is exceptional. If there was such a thing as NOFX-core (I forget which other bands I have placed in this category, but this isn't the first), this would be a candidate. That's a compliment, of course, given that NOFX is my all-time favorite band. "Nothing," "Far Away," and "No Time To Waste" all made my current playlist and have me singing along every time. Slang Poor Kids started in 2018, and although I haven't heard their prior releases, I will be checking them out (their first EP is Name Your Price on Bandcamp with no minimum, so you may want to start there). Fans of NOFX, Heartwells, Frenzal Rhomb, Teenage Bottlerocket, Diesel Boy, MxPx, Second Self, Sick Move, and the like might find that this is their new favorite band.

Please support the bands, the scene, and In-Spite Magazine by sharing this article with a friend.

Paul Holstein
Previous

Peter Hook & The Light UK Tour 2025—Joy Division Lives On
Next

BlackPoo and Hot Pink Sewage: a Glorious Toilet Affair