Archive for The Armed

The Bad Penny’s Top 50 Best LPs of 2025, Pt. 5: Deafheaven, Orbit Culture, Agriculture, Mclusky, Messa

Posted in Lists with tags , , , , , , , , , on 01/06/2026 by Kurt Orzeck

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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Post-Trash Publishes My List of 2025’s Top 20 Best Records

Posted in Lists with tags , , , , , , , , , on 12/20/2025 by Kurt Orzeck

Thanks to Post-Trash for posting my top 20 favorite records of the year as part of its staff picks roundup.

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

Posted in Album Reviews, Reviews with tags , , , , , on 12/09/2025 by Kurt Orzeck

Within days of No Kings I, The Armed gave us “Kingbreaker,” which could’ve easily served as the head-banging set’s theme song for the day. And then, less than two months later, The Armed unveiled The Future Is Here and Everything Needs to Be Destroyed, a long-form manifesto of the Detroit-based band’s opening salvo that made a spectacular case supporting the name of their latest album. Read my reflection on their LP as part of FLOOD‘s best albums of 2025 feature.

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The Armed’s ‘The Future Is Here and Everything Needs to Be Destroyed’: Two Cent Review

Posted in Album Reviews, Reviews with tags on 08/01/2025 by Kurt Orzeck

The Armed’s sixth album is a consistent, melodic post-hardcore assault, maintaining a relentless pummeling in defiance to the system as much as it is to their recent pop streak. Read my full review of the Detroit punks’ new record on FLOOD.

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Best New Music Videos (July 2025): Spinal Tap, Deftones, Ozzy Osbourne Tribute, Kayo Dot

Posted in Lists, Videos with tags , , , , , on 07/31/2025 by Kurt Orzeck

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”

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The Armed’s ‘Kingbreaker’: Two Cent Review

Posted in Reviews with tags on 07/04/2025 by Kurt Orzeck

Celebrate July 4 by listening to a new song by The Armed that reminds us America is a country with No Kings. And go to Treble to read more of my commentary on the scorching song.

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