The Bad Penny (beta)

A lot of fucked-up up shit happened in the U.S. this year. Way, way too much of it. For many of us Americans who actually carry values in our hearts instead of bloviating about them or slapping bumper stickers on our monster trucks, it was almost too much to bear.

Fortunately, 2025 also saw the release of a staggering number of stellar records, which made the year a little more … well, bearable. Hence, for the first time ever, The Bad Penny is deviating from its usual annual tradition of limiting out favorite listens to just 10 and breaking them into a five-part series containing 10 records per installment.

What follows is the fifth and final batch. (Go here for The Bad Penny‘s favorite albums, #11 through #20; here for  #21 through #30; here for #31 through #40; and here for #41 through #50.)

1. Deafheaven – Lonely People With Power (Roadrunner)

• Deafheaven Frontman Dives Deep Into Each Song on New LP
• From the Vault: Deafheaven’s 2017 Tour Setlists and First-Ever Show in Boise – An Analysis

2. Orbit Culture – Death Above Life (Century Media)

• Orbit Culture Try To Keep Momentum Going With Next LP

3. Agriculture – Spiritual Sound (Flenser)

• Agriculture’s ‘The Spiritual Sound’: Two Cent Review for FLOOD’s Best Albums of 2025
• Agriculture’s ‘Bodhidharma’: Two Cent Review

4. Mclusky – World Is Still Here and So Are We (Ipecac)

• Mclusky Says They ‘Didn’t Have a Plan’ for Zany New Album
• Mclusky’s ‘World Is Still Here and So Are We’: Two Cent Review

5. Messa – Spin (Metal Blade)

• Messa’s ‘The Spin’: Two Cent Review

6. Ossuary – Requiem for the Sun (Supreme Chaos)

• Ossuary’s ‘Abhorrent Worship’: Two Cent Review

7. Halo Effect – March of the Unheard (Nuclear Blast)

• An Epic Conversation With Mikael Stanne of the Halo Effect, Dark Tranquillity

8. For Your Health – This Bitter Garden (3DOT)

• For Your Health Gives the Straight Diagnosis

9. Armed – Future Is Here and Everything Needs to Be Destroyed (Sergeant House)

• The Armed’s ‘The Future Is Here and Everything Needs to Be Destroyed’: Two Cent Review for FLOOD’s Best Albums of 2025
• The Armed’s ‘The Future Is Here and Everything Needs to Be Destroyed’: Two Cent Review
• The Armed’s ‘Kingbreaker’: Two Cent Review

10. Vildhjarta – Där Skogen Sjunger Under Evighetens Granar (Century Media)

This entry was posted on 01/06/2026 at 12:35 pm and is filed under Lists with tags Agriculture, Deafheaven, For Your Health, Halo Effect, Mclusky, Messa, Orbit Culture, Ossuary, The Armed, Vildhjarta. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.