At a time when the memoir market is oversaturated, Faith No More member Roddy Bottum’s brazenness strips the word “transparency” of its trendy veneer and restores its original meaning. He’s done as much work on himself, and it shines through. Read my full review on Treble.
Interviews with Steve Albini, Neko Case and Thurston Moore shed some light on how an enigma of a band found such favor with artists who were actively trying to alienate their audiences simultaneously as Die Kreuzen attempted to woo and expand theirs. Read my review on Treble.
“I don’t have doubts about something I’ve committed to.”
-Garrett Bussanick
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Garrett Bussanick is arguably the consummate metonymy for experimental black/ death metal, in that he breathes an inextinguishable fire. It’s all-consuming, too; his flames of fury have fired up projects like the active Sire Languish and Aeviterne; as well as his past bands Tombs, Flourishing, Arson, Cardiovascular Sub-Hypothermia and El-Ahrairah.
Pull to God EP is Bussanick’s first solo record, on which he performs all instruments and – thus – presumably bares his soul in full (if he believes there’s such a thing as a soul). Spring Effete issued the four-song release roughly a month ago, and The Bad Penny caught up with Bussanick soon after that.
Below is our conversation, conducted via email.
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Lonely People with Power delivers a punch that will leave listeners reeling deliriously. Deafheaven’s new record restores Clarke’s black-metal screeches—sometimes at their most ear-shattering yet—while also producing the punchiest hard-rock riffs proliferating the band’s arsenal. Read my new review at Knotfest.com–and also don’t miss my FLOOD interview with frontman George Clarke about Lonely People with Power, as well as my analysis of Deafheaven’s 2017 tour set lists and first-ever show in Boise.
Don’t miss these two other roundups either:
• Friends of The Bad Penny Share Their Top 10 Lists of 2025 Best Albums
• Boise Friends of The Bad Penny Share Their 2025 Top 10 Lists
After signing with Century Media, Orbit Culture lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Niklas Karlsson told me that the Swedish melodic death-metal band “now really have to show our worth”–despite having been around for a dozen years. But boy do they ever on Death Above Life. Read my review at Knotfest.com
Don’t miss these two other roundups either:
• Friends of The Bad Penny Share Their Top 10 Lists of 2025 Best Albums
• Boise Friends of The Bad Penny Share Their 2025 Top 10 Lists
With nary a stinker among the Spiritual Sound‘s 10 tracks, Agriculture proved their decision was right to wipe the slate clean with this new chapter in the band’s career and be reborn with seemingly the most massive, loudest sound possible in all of heavy metal. Read my new review at Knotfest.com, another take on the record that I wrote for FLOOD and my review of one of the album tracks for Treble.
Don’t miss these two other roundups either:
• Friends of The Bad Penny Share Their Top 10 Lists of 2025 Best Albums
• Boise Friends of The Bad Penny Share Their 2025 Top 10 Lists
Mclusky didn’t have a concept for The World Is Still Here and So Are We, but the message is clear, with Falco sending up British politicians and commoners in general for their corrupt and lazy approaches to governance and engagement, respectively. Read my new review at Knotfest.com, my original take on Mclusky’s The World Is Still Here and So Are We from earlier this year on Treble and my interview with Mclusky for FLOOD surrounding their album release.
Don’t miss these two other roundups either:
• Friends of The Bad Penny Share Their Top 10 Lists of 2025 Best Albums
• Boise Friends of The Bad Penny Share Their 2025 Top 10 Lists
Messa hit the bullseye with fourth record and first studio effort in three years. The Italian quartet ditch their Pallbearer-esque slow, heavy, chunk guitar sound from their previous full-lengths. And the results are illuminating. Read my new review at Knotfest.com and my original take on Messa’s The Spin earlier this year on Treble.
Don’t miss these two other roundups either:
• Friends of The Bad Penny Share Their Top 10 Lists of 2025 Best Albums
• Boise Friends of The Bad Penny Share Their 2025 Top 10 Lists
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
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