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
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
Continue reading
Thanks to Post-Trash for posting my top 20 favorite records of the year as part of its staff picks roundup.
Reading is such a bummer, man. Supposedly it leads to blurred vision and other maladies. Rock videos, on the other hand, are so much more fun – and, according to America’s beloved and revered Secretary of Health and Human Services, actually regenerate eyesight instead of damaging it. With that in mind, here’s a test-pilot of a potentially recurring series on The Bad Penny: The 10 most entertaining, hilarious and depraved videos of the month. Here are the ones that captivated us most in July:
1. Spinal Tap’s “Stonehenge” (feat. Elton John)
2. Orbit Culture’s “Hydra”
In light of Orbit Culture’s astronomical rise (pun most definitely intended), we break out the transcript of our February conversation with the Swedish band’s frontman. Go to New Noise for a closer look at the Swedish melodic death metal band that everyone—well, OK, the majority of people who have actually heard of the subgenre—are dying to know more about.
The Swedish metal band is eager to proving they aren’t just another melodic death-metal band from the country that brought legendary status to the subgenre. Read more of my interview with them courtesy of Music Connection.
The Bad Penny (beta) 