If God Only Knew 2025 Was Dead

The past couple of years have been turbulent ones for my musical landscape. In 2023 I started opening myself to be more accepting to some music that I'd previously built up walls against and it was a freeing experience... and then 2024 was a bit of an extension of that as a I grew from accepting a song or two to fully embracing albums from those bands. I hate to use the term "growth" when it comes to reaching out beyond my foundation of hardcore and metal, but it did feel nice to spend some time appreciating stuff that I would have normally ignored... so I'm indebted to friends that helped push me to that point.

For 2025 though, this past year I've felt myself returning a bit to my natural center. Sure, I've still found myself obsessing over bands that are still new to me like The Smiths and The Cure... and even spending periods listening to a lot of Lorde and Lana Del Rey... but where I really spent most of my time was with 90's hardcore. While I'm no stranger to periods of 90's hardcore obsession, this past year had me digging into a bunch of bands that I really didn't appreciate back in the day. Bands like Disembodied, Harvest, Union and Despair fueled my preoccupation with that era of hardcore, and that only ignited my desire to collect records. The past couple of years, this blog has limped along, barely making it to double digit posts each month... but by July this year, and after picking up vinyl for those old 90's bands... suddenly, I was buying a ton of used records and was excited to post about it. While I didn't end up putting up big post numbers for the year, I feel like I'm back on track. So let's get into what I got up to for 2025.

Looking back at records that I blogged about here this past year, there didn't seem to be a lot of big ticket items... not a whole lot that will make serious collectors take notice, but then again, that's not the stuff that I'm usually drawn to. Still, here are some of the highlights that I was excited about buying.

1. Disembodied 'If God Only Knew' and 'Psalms of Sheol' - Checking out Disembodied on a whim at the start of the year set off a chain reaction that had me desperate to discover stuff like this that I didn't pay attention to back in the 90's. This band was huge in setting the pace for what my year would look like and my 2025 would not have been the same had I not uncovered them.

2. The Cure 'Jumping Someone Else's Train' and 'Killing An Arab' - The Cure have become one of my favorite bands, and I really need to quit fucking around and pick up the vinyl for a couple of my favorite records... but when I found a seller with the first two singles from the band available, I didn't hesitate and spent a lot of money.

3. Bloodlet 'self titled' 7 inch on red vinyl - I love those first two Bloodlet 7 inches, and I've been desperate to get the red vinyl for the self titled on Smorgasbord Records for years. As I was obsessing over this kind of 90's metal influenced hardcore from Disembodied, this was the perfect time for me to find an buy a copy.

4. Thought Crusade test pressings - Buying a test press kind of makes me feel like a serious collector, even when it is for bands that no one really gives a shit about anymore. Buying these two Thought Crusade tests and completing my collection was a bit of a flex.

5. Druid 'Vampire Cult' - When my friend Jeff said that I couldn't buy the copy he was selling because it was too expensive, it made me more determined to buy a copy off eBay. Buing out of spite is satisfying.

6. Harvest 'Worn Through The Layer Of Separation' on purple - Look, all I wanted this year was every colored vinyl pressing of every Harvest record. I didn't think that I was asking too much, but apparently that shit isn't easy to come by. This 7 inch on purple vinyl was the only Harvest record I was able to pick up, so it makes the list by default because I fucking loved that band this past year.

7. Mercyful Fate Megaforce and Combat pressings - I've kind of been intimidated to chase the first two Mercyful Fate albums on their respective Megaforce and Combat pressings, but I was excited to be able to grab them in one shot from Tim's collection.

8. Face Reality 'Positive Change' 7 inch with Significant Fest cover - This one was special because it is so limited, with only 15 getting this Significant Fest cover, and I was able to find it in the wild while shopping at Wanna Hear It Records with Mark.

1. Combust - Belly Of The Beast

2. Speedway - A Life's Refrain

3. Spite House - Desertion

4. Berthold City - No Brotherhood

5. Scowl - Are We All Angels

6. Spiritual Cramp - Rude

7. Drain - ... Is Your Friend

8. AFI - Silver Bleeds The Black Sun

It is kind of hard to judge the state of the hardcore nation for this past year. I feel like I didn't really listen to a lot of new records until the second half of the year, and some of these I didn't start checking them out until the last couple of months. So any ranking that I attempt to do here, is subject to be wildly inaccurate six weeks from now. Still, there was some really good hardcore records released this year, including Never Again, Dynamite and Higher Power that all got bumped off the list at the last minute. This makes it seem like it was a good year, since I actually had to think about what I needed to trim off my list of Top 8. The Combust record is such a solid hardcore release that it was an obvious choice for me at number one, but who knows, I really like that Speedway record as well, and as I get more familiar with it, maybe it jumps to the top. I also had some variety here, as Spite House, Spiritual Cramp, Scowl and AFI are all a bit different than the standard hardcore and punk offerings. They are all unique and interesting, and it was really tough figuring out where to place them here. Interesting year for sure.

1. Gruesome - Silent Echoes

2. Zig Zags - Deadbeat At Dawn

3. Savage Master - Dark & Dangerous

4. Testament - Para Bellum

5. Seven Sisters - Shadow Of A Fallen Star, Pt 2

6. Sanhedrin - Heat Lightning

7. Coroner - Dissonance Theory

8. Midnight - Steel, Rust and Disgust

These days I have a strange relationship with new metal records. I really enjoy them when I first get the record and listen to it, and I'll spin it throughout the year, but then once the calendar changes to the new year, I rarely look back and those records largely get ignored. Sure there are some expections, I still really love to listen to any Savage Master record, but for the most part, I'll look back at previous lists and be like, oh yeah I forgot about that album. But still, there is some great stuff here... the new Gruesome album surprised me with how much I liked it, and Zig Zags was a fun find with their brand of punk influenced metal... Savage Master wasn't as great as their past stuff, but it was still some great metal that sounded like it came straight out of the 80's. So yeah, some great stuff here... I just hope that I don't lose track of it with 2026 starts tomorrow.

Since I wasn't listening to a lot of new releases, I guess it is good to cover where I was spending most of my time. Some of this I've already covered as rediscovering bands like Disembodied and Harvest were a big part of my year, but I also spent a lot of time with Union thanks to a tip from Marcus. The Cure released Songs Of A Lost World in 2024, but I loved that record so much that I kept obsessing over it this year as well. Same with Karate... they were on this list last year, but I kept slowly checking out their back catalog and loving everything that I've heard. I never expected to see Kingpin live again, so when they reunited for a show this past summer, I listened to their songs a lot. Discharge was basically a new discovery for me this past year... and while I'm not sure which early record of theirs I listened to the most, I did pick up the Why LP from Tim's collection, so I guess that that one gets the nod here. Yeah, Marilyn Manson was a bit of a surprise. My friend Sarah started off the year asking me if I wanted to listen to Manson's "worst" record, Born Villain, with her... we would dedicate some time to it and then report back with our thoughts. I ended up having such a good time with it, that I dove into some other Manson albums and ended up spending a lot of time with The Golden Age Of Grotesque. Shockingly fun. And then finally, Gypsy. Damn this record never gets old for me, and after introducing my friend Alex to one of their songs, I spent a lot of time spinning the record as it sunk its hooks into me again.

So yeah, there is my wrap up for the year. Like I said, I'm feeling good again about writing this blog, and I'm excited to be back at chasing records that mean a lot to me. To think that I'm coming up on my 20th anniversary in February of doing this silly record collecting blog, it kind of blows my mind. This blog has always been for myself first and foremost, but if you hang out and read the nonsense that I put down here, thanks for checking it out. I don't think that I have anything really important to say, but I have a good time with it.

Berthold Brotherhood

I'm squeezing in one more 2025 release before we flip the calendar over to 2026.

It's always good to see a new Berthold City record released... and by "see" I mean that figuratively because hands down, War Records has some of the worst looking vinyl. Man, this purple and green with black splatter just looks bad... and there really weren't any good options, so I figured that I might as well grab the ugliest one.

Still, this four song 7 inch is a great listen. Berthold City have always delivered great straight forward hardcore, so there was no way that I was going to let this No Brotherhood EP pass me by... no matter how bad the vinyl looks... and once again the band delivers. Six minutes of pure hardcore that leaves you wanting more.

Fugazi Medicine

I've been concentrating on getting all of the new 2025 releases up on the blog before the year's end, but after seeing the Fugazi post from Marcus the other day, I figured that I'd pull one of their records from the pile and work that into the mix.

Back in the day, I guess I considered Red Medicine to be the end of Fugazi's run of great albums. I enjoyed it at the time, but there were songs where the band was pushing themselves out of my comfort zone. I could hang with the album, but by the time End Hits came around it was too much for me and I bailed on the band. Over the years, I kind of lumped Red Medicine in with End Hits, often times confusing the two, and I've spent the last 20+ years largely ignoring it.

Earlier this year I was influenced to check out The Argument, and I loved it so much that I started to think that maybe I should revisit some of those Fugazi records that I didn't really care for the first time around.

I dug out Red Medicine to check out the songs and while I can definitely hear what turned me off back in 1995, after spending a lot of time with bands like Karate and Modest Mouse the last couple of years, I can appreciate the different textures that Fugazi was playing with on this record. I listened to it quite a bit at the end of summer and through the Fall, and obviously needed to add it to the collection. These colored vinyl pressings look so nice, and it makes me want to replace all of my black vinyl versions.

Dissonance Coroner

Earlier this year, I picked up the Coroner album R.I.P. from Tim's collection. I didn't really expect much from that record, but surprisingly I really got into it. As I was writting up the blog post for that record, I discovered that Coroner had just released a new album... and caught up in my own hype over the band I decided to check it out.

I'd seen some praise for the new Coroner album, Dissonance Theory, so I approached it with a bit of hope and it did not disappoint. The band has not released an album in 32 years, and the last that I heard from them was No More Color from 1989, and yet this new record feels like Coroner have not missed a step with their brand of technical thrash. I love it when bands from the 80's can still deliver something that is still so heavy and urgent sounding.

When I was ready to buy the vinyl, it seemed that it was a hot commodity and I rushed to buy this colored vinyl version on coke bottle clear from Discogs. There weren't many options at the time, and I probably paid too much for it because now there seem to be plenty of copies available. Oh well, I needed to get this shit in my collection before the end of the year and I was desperate.

Rude

I was late getting into Spiritual Cramp. I did not care for them at all when I checked out their first 7 inch on React Records back in 2017, but I happened to hear a song from the band at the end of 2023 as their new album was about to drop, and I quickly became obsessed with them. That new record blew me away and Spriritual Cramp became my favorite band of 2024.

Having falling so hard for Spiritual Cramp, there was no doubt that I was going to preorder their newest album. I was so excited. I didn't need to hear preview song or anything... no questions asked... take my money.

When the album arrived, I couldn't wait to give it a spin... and then was promptly disappointed. Rude did not have that same driving energy that I heard with the self titled debut album. This record was missing that urgency that I loved with the earlier Spiritual Cramp stuff, and it felt a little tame and watered down. It took me a long time to finally come around with Rude, but eventually the songs began to click with me in a big way. I love this record, but it did take a handful of listens for me to get there. Honestly, the more I listen to it, the higher it climbs on my favorites of the year list.

Blue, red and black marble vinyl is limited to 250.

Drain Is Your Friend

With the latest Drain album, ... Is Your Friend it feels like they missed an opportunity by releasing this in November, because Drain definitely bring a summer vibe. Dude, the tunes, the album cover and photo... this would have been THE RECORD to thrash around to over those hot summer months. Instead, I have to play these songs through my earbuds as I'm out shoveling snow. Shit doesn't seem right.

Once again Drain deliver their blend of hardcore/crossover and this shit is so much fun. For me, nothing tops their last record, Living Proof, and I'm assuming that one will fall in behind the Drain debut if I'm ranking them, but this is still a solid release for a hardcore band that is three albums in.

Bands love a gimmick name for colored vinyl, and Drain have a number of them for this album. Chum bucket swirl... frosted coke bottle... kewpie blue dream splash... but I picked up Santa Cruz sunburst because I thought it might pair best with the album cover.

Restraining The Future

The second Restraining Order album never reached the heights of the first one. I liked it well enough, but Locked In Time didn't give me anywhere near the amount of excitement that I get when I play This World Is Too Much. When I heard that there was a new Restraining Order album on the way this year, there was no doubt that I was going to have to order it, but I expected that I'd listen to it and then shelve it without giving it much thought.

I'm not sure what it is, but for me Future Fortune hooked me straight out of the gate. Maybe I'm just in a better mindset for this kind of hardcore right now, but this shit gets me moving. I haven't really spend much time with this record, but I'm already appreciating it more than their last one... so that is a nice surprise.

The hype sticker for this says the vinyl is an orchid, sky blue and magenta colorway. Limited to 100.

Para Bellum

Testament have been on the four year cycle with albums since they stormed back in 2008 with The Formation Of Damnation... and every one of them has been fucking solid. It has been five years since their last one, Titans Of Creation, but I figure that with covid in the mix, I'll allow them the additional year between records. Still, with Testament's excellent streak of records, when preorders were announced for their new record, I quickly got my preorder in.

With Para Bellum, Testament keep doing what they do best, although there are times here when they thrash so hard and heavy that it reminds me of The Gathering when they leaned into a bit of the death metal sound. Some of these songs really have Chuck growling those vocals and I love it.

It feels like this past year has been fairly low key when it comes to new metal records, but a new Testament album is certainly a highlight.

Black and orange swirl colored vinyl (which looks more like camo) is limited to 750.

Ritual On A Chain

Another year, another Planet On A Chain record. Honestly, I'm surprised at how much this band has released. Three albums over three years, plus a couple of 7 inches before that. It's impressive for a hardcore band.

Ritual Routine keeps doing what POAC does best... unrelenting fast hardcore. I don't think that they really do anything new here, and that's cool with me. While all of their records kind of feel the same and interchangable, there was something about their last one, Culture Of Death, that I really enjoyed more than others... and for me, this new one falls a bit short. Maybe I just need to sit with it a bit more... or maybe there was just something with Culture Of Death that clicked with me more. Who knows... but either way POAC keeps doing what you'd expect POAC to do, and that album cover art is rad as fuck.

330 pressed on yellow colored vinyl.

100% Never Again

I really need a system to keep track of records that I've ordered. A few years ago I used to keep a notebook that I would use to capture info on when I would place an order for a record... writing down the date plus any any info about it that was kicking around in my head at the time, including what put it on my radar in the first place. This was useful when months later I would finally get around to the blog post. My 2026 resolution is to start that back up, because sitting here now and looking at this Never Again record, I have no fucking idea what prompted me to buy it. This kind of thing happens to me more than I'd care to admit. My memory really is shit.

My email records show that I ordered this 7 inch back in February from Cash Only Records, but I'm not sure where I heard about it. I mean I assume that I saw it on the 'gram somewhere, but I'm not sure who would have shared it that it made enough of an impression that I would have to immediately search it out, listen to the songs, and buy it within a 10 minute span... but that's exactly what happened. So whatever it was that made me check it out, I'm glad that I did because this record is that good. Pure straight forward hardcore, and that is exactly what I wanted.

Red/black smash (or more commonly known, dark red) colored vinyl that is limited to 200.

Meantime

I hadn't heard of Meantime until I saw Marcus post about this record a couple of months ago. I don't really follow what Indecision Records is releasing, so I wasn't surprised to find that this came out a couple of years ago and that it had passed me by undetected, but once Marcus dropped comparisons to Go It Alone and Champion, I sat up and took notice.

That isn't to say that Meantime exactly sound like either of those bands, but their sound does bring me back to those mid-2000 hardcore days. Man, those were special times for me with so many good bands, so Living In The Meantime clicked with me immediately and I had to rush over to Indecision to pick up a copy.

150 pressed on this splatter pattern vinyl, and while I'm not really looking to collect multiple copies of this, it would be really nice if one of those record release versions managed to become available to pick up at some point.

Spite And Desertion

I took a chance on the first Spite House record back in 2022, and while I didn't really listen to it a whole lot at the time, it was a really solid album that reminded me of some of the melodic post-punk stuff of the early 90's. I've come to really appreciate that record over the past couple of years, but I was still a bit hesitant when I discovered that they had a new album on the way this year. I'm aware that skepticism is my default reaction, especially when it comes to new music from band that play this kind of style... like, okay your band was good enough to pull off one record, but surely you will fuck up the next attempt and go too soft and melodic... but most of the time bands prove me wrong, and I'm happy that is the case with the new Spite House album, Desertion.

While it took me some time to ease into the self-titled Spite House album, with Desertion, I was immediately hooked. I'm not sure if the songs are better here, or if it was my state of mind, but right from the start I was into it. I'm kind of at a loss as how to describe this... on the one hand they remind me of that 90's melodic style that bands like Garden Variety were doing, but I also hear some Title Fight here... I don't know but it is really good.

Violet a-side and blue b-side with glitter colored vinyl. Limited to 150.