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Contributor
Reviews 38
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Album Edits 112
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Last Active 01-04-23 1:10 am
Joined 06-10-15
Review Comments 1,237
| Platy's 25 Best Releases of 2025
Good morning/afternoon/evening to you all! I figured since I cast my end-of-year ballot, might as well just get the end of year list shenanigans over with. As always, I combine LPs/EPs/Compilations all into one list. 25-1 is in order, whereas the honorable mentions are just in alphabetical order. I can't wait for next year! | | 33 |  | The Acacia Strain
You Are Safe From God Here
* HONORABLE MENTION *
Check Out: eucharist i: BURNT OFFERING, A CALL BEYOND, SWAMP MENTALITY, MOURNING STAR, I DON’T THINK YOU’RE GOING TO MAKE IT, ACOLYTE OF THE ONE, HOLY MOONLIGHT | | 32 |  | Alessia Cara
Love & Hyperbole
* HONORABLE MENTION *
Check Out: Go Outside!, Left Alone, Dead Man, Run Run, Get To You, Nighttime Thing, Slow Motion, Clearly | | 31 |  | Chevelle
Bright as Blasphemy
* HONORABLE MENTION *
Check Out: Pale Horse, Rabbit Hole (Cowards, Pt. 1), Jim Jones (Cowards, Pt. 2), Wolves (Love & Light), Karma Goddess, Al Phobias, Shocked at the end of the world | | 30 |  | Chokecherry
Ripe Fruit Rots and Falls
* HONORABLE MENTION *
Check Out: Porcelain Warrior, Major Threat, Pretty Things, Secrets, Part Of You, Ripe Fruit Rots and Falls | | 29 |  | The Dear Hunter
North American EP
* HONORABLE MENTION *
Check Out: Magic Beans, Four Amigos, Shlammin’ Salmon, Burritokyo | | 28 |  | 5 Seconds of Summer
Everyone's a Star!
* HONORABLE MENTION *
Check Out: Everyone’s A Star!, NOT OK, Boyband, I’m Scared I’ll Never Sleep Again, Ghost, Sick of Myself, Jawbreaker | | 27 |  | Hail the Sun
cut. turn. fade. back.
* HONORABLE MENTION *
Check Out: The Drooling Class, Live Forever, Insensitive Tempo, Blight, Consumed With You, Rightless Destiny, War Crimes | | 26 |  | Testament
Para Bellum
* HONORABLE MENTION *
Check Out: Infanticide A.I., Shadow People, High Noon, Nature of the Beast, Havana Syndrome | | 25 |  | All That Remains
AntiFragile
* NUMBER 25 *
Compared to how the album was received as a whole on this site, you could argue that this is probably the most contentious choice in my top 25. And to be fully transparent, this was my first ATR album and I was (and still kind of am) unaware of why their singer appears to be generally disliked. Be that as it may, I had a fun ass time with this album. It’s not groundbreaking, nor is it at the level of metalcore’s finest, but by the time it ended I realized I liked far more of it than I disliked. Maybe I’ll check out more of their earlier work.
Check Out: Divine, Kerosene, The Piper, AntiFragile, Poison It, Cut Their Tongues Out, Blood & Stone | | 24 |  | vianova
Hit It!
* NUMBER 24 *
“What in the gen z fuck is this. Ew.”
While I understand some of peoples’ reservations with Vianova, I found this to be an exciting and unpredictable debut. To me, there’s a lot of musical talent on display and the way they fuse genres feels effortless. It may not have been my most replayed album of 2025, but I came away from it feeling like the band has very high potential.
Check Out: Squier Talk, Mas Rapido, Wheel of Fortune, Melanchronic, Whatever Alright, Future Nostalgia, Obsolete | | 23 |  | Trivium
Struck Dead
* NUMBER 23 *
“STRUCK. FUCKING. DEAD!”
Trivium as a whole has proven themselves to be some of the most musically gifted bands in metalcore, and this EP just further proves it. It’s sad that Alex Bent has departed the band, because this features some of his best drumwork to date. Similarly to ATR, this is by no means groundbreaking stuff, but it has me very excited to see what Trivium is going to cook up next.
Check Out: Stuck Dead, Six Walls | | 22 |  | Violent Vira
Lover Of A Ghost
* NUMBER 22 *
Boy howdy, if this album had come out 12 years ago, there’s a chance I would’ve 5’d it back then. This is where my bias comes in, but this album scratches that sort of emo/alt rock itch that so few modern bands can satisfy. If you like Flyleaf, but wish they’d do a tad less Loving Jesus©, you may want to give Violent Vira a shot. Not the most versatile debut in the world, but it captures the mood it was going for nearly perfectly.
Check Out: Missing Posters, Burn Me With A Bible, Eat, Lil Crush, Wave In The Monitor, Saccharine, S.E.X. Narcissist | | 21 |  | Coheed and Cambria
Vaxis III: The Father of Make Believe
* NUMBER 21 *
C&C seem to have mastered the formula of making alternative rock that’s just complex enough to satisfy the part of me that likes progressive music, but also features the hooks and catchiness I would expect from a top-tier pop rock album. I fully understand why some fans would much rather prefer their earlier work - but until further notice, C&C is in the category of bands that “just can’t miss” given how consistent they’ve been for so long now.
Check Out: Goodbye Sunshine, Searching For Tomorrow, Meric of Mercy, Play the Poet, Someone Who Can, The Continuum I: Welcome to Forever Mr. Nobody, The Continuum II: The Flood, The Continuum III: Tethered Together | | 20 |  | Tallah
Primeval: Obsession // Detachment
* NUMBER 20 *
.
Real quick, what’s up with the low average for this one?? It’s genuinely been a head-scratcher for me, because while I could see it being argued that this is Tallah’s weakest album, it’s not some dramatic fall-off from where they were with their last release. Anyway, inconsistencies with the album aside, Tallah remains to be at the top of their game. It’s a shame that Bonitz isn’t traumatized enough to sing in the style that he does, but I’ve learned to forgive him overtime (iykyk)
Check Out: What we know, augmented, as fate undoes, A primeval detachment, undone by fate, what we want | | 19 |  | Clipse
Let God Sort Em Out
* NUMBER 19 *
While I’m far from what you’d consider a rap connoisseur, this is pretty much hands-down the best album in the genre in 2025. The beats felt varied and fresh, both rappers played off of each other well, and there was hardly a dull moment. The production was also pretty much perfect.
Check Out: The Birds Don’t Sing, Chains & Whips, So Be It, Ace Trumpets, All Things Considered, M.T.B.T.T.F., F.I.C.O., Inglorious Bastards, By the Grace of God | | 18 |  | David Byrne
Who Is The Sky?
* NUMBER 18 *
David Byrne is one eclectic man - but it’s his zany personality that helped make Talking Heads an iconic group. While it would be a bit ridiculous to claim this album is on par with TH’s finest, it at least features all the same creativity and wackiness that I’ve grown to expect out of Byrne, without ever dragging or dramatically dipping in quality. The Ghost Train Orchestra also does a phenomenal drop providing instrumentals on the album.
Check Out; Everybody Laughs, My Apartment Is My Friend, A Door Called No, What Is The Reason For It?, Don’t Be Like That, The Avant Garde, She Explains Things To Me, The Truth | | 17 |  | Stray From The Path
Clockworked
* NUMBER 17 *
Not that there was much (or any) meaningful competition, but this is easily the best rap-metal album of 2025, and a damn fine way for SFTP to go out on top. It’s sad that they’re breaking up, but this album feels like a terrific swan song for them. Their politics are still as blatantly obvious as ever, and regardless of how you agree/disagree with them, you can’t deny that they’re one of the most politically pissed off groups in the genre since probably RATM.
Check Out: Kubrik Stare, Fuck Them All To Hell, Shot Caller, Clockworked, Shocker, Bodies in the Dark, A Life In Four Chapters | | 16 |  | Anxious
Bambi
* NUMBER 16 *
Add this album to the list of “albums that don’t do anything new but do what they set out to do damn well.” Fuzzy, emotional alt rock just the way I like it. There’s unfortunately a section of this album in the middle where I feel like the energy stalls a bit, and there may not be any show-stopping WOW songs, but there’s very little I’ll complain about when an album delivers as many consistent high-B/low-A tier songs like this.
Check Out: Never Said, Bambi’s Theme, Some Girls, Counting Sheep, Head & Spine, Next Big Star, Jacy, I’ll Be Around | | 15 |  | Rebecca Black
SALVATION
* NUMBER 15 *
I’ve gone this far without making a real contentious claim that’s bound to get people angry and argumentative, so here goes: I said at the time of this album’s release that I had more fun with it than I did with Charli XCX’s BRAT, and I still stand by that statement all these months later. Really, my only real complaint with this album is that it isn’t longer. Black has completely rehabbed her public image and is now emerging as, in my opinion, one of the most exciting and underlooked pop stars in the genre today.
Check Out: Salvation, TRUST!, American Doll, Do You Even Think About Me?, Twist The Knife | | 14 |  | Sasami
Blood On The Silver Screen
* NUMBER 14 *
Sasami is an artist who I hadn’t heard of until recently, and I’d be lying if I claimed to have been some major fan of hers before this album was released. And I know there are people out there who were disappointed at the softer sound (not that she was ever SUPER heavy, but still). However, this is an improvement over 2022’s ‘Squeeze’ in nearly every way possible, and I would recommend this to anyone who’s a fan of indie pop of all kinds. Sasami is now high on my list of artists to look out for in the next few years; I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised if she has a major breakthrough of some kind.
Check Out: Slugger, Just Be Friends, I’ll Be Gone, In Love With a Memory, Possessed, Figure It Out, For The Weekend, Honeycrash, The Seed | | 13 |  | False Reality (UK)
FADED INTENTIONS
* NUMBER 13 *
Let me ask you something: do you like hardcore music? Do you like breakdowns? Do you like high energy heavy music of any and all kinds? If you’ve answered ‘YES’ to any of these questions, and you are not myself, Hawks, Dancore, or Frank, why haven’t you listened to this album?? False Reality is relatively unknown, but we can all band together to change that. It’s short, sweet, and to the point. Is it a bit one note? Sure. But when you’re being cascaded with beatdown after beatdown, do you really care? I know I don’t.
Check Out: FROZEN, SNAKE EYES, REALITY SLIPS, SONDER, OUT OF TIME, CRANIUM, COST OF SPITE, THE FURTHER, EVERY GAZE | | 12 |  | Laura Stevenson
Late Great
* NUMBER 12 *
I’m not great at putting this genre of music into words that make sense, so I’m going to let iswimfast (who wrote a stellar review for the album) speak for me a bit:
“There’s no doubt that Stevenson’s songwriting has kept its strength through the years, and it’s refreshing to hear her delivering more variety across the course of a full album. Late Great swells, blisters, limps, and glides in equal parts. Earworms abound. There’s cohesiveness that shouts back toward her early days and it’s in the dynamics that the closers here land all the harder.”
It’s an absolutely gorgeous album, and easily her best since ‘Wheel.’
Check Out: #1, I Want to Remember It All, Honey, I Couldn’t Sleep, Short and Sweet, Can I Fly For Free?, Domino, Instant Comfort, Late Great | | 11 |  | Greyhaven
Keep It Quiet
* NUMBER 11 *
I feel like Greyhaven is a band that has flirted with releasing a classic album a couple times now, but for one reason or another can’t quite reach the point that I know they’re capable of. ‘Keep It Quiet’ is another example of this, but it’s of course by no means a bad album (obviously not, look at the placement). Usually when metalcore bands heavily rely on clean vocals (particularly for choruses) they run the risk of being labeled as ‘butt rock.’ However, Greyhaven pulls it off in a way that just WORKS. The softer, clean parts mesh perfectly with the album’s heavier, more chaotic moments. And for a band that seems to stick to a similar formula for most of their songs, the album still does a great job keeping you on your toes.
Check Out: Show Me Where You Are, Burn A Miracle, Where The Light Leaves Us, Night In October, Satellite In Love, From the Backseat Of A Moving Car, Diamond To Diamond, Cemetery Sun | | 10 |  | Magdalena Bay
Nice Day
* NUMBER 10 *
Here come the real heavy-hitters of 2025! As a release, I feel like this has been widely slept on, but that has more to do with it being a collection of singles that were only recently released, and the compilation itself hasn’t been very widely advertised aside from a (rather pricey) vinyl collection for sale on MB’s website. As it stands though, this is MB doing MB things: which just so happens to mean “releasing consistently high-quality, envelope-pushing pop songs.” What impresses me most of all about ‘Nice Day’ however is its cohesiveness; this may technically be a compilation but it seems to have been crafted with all the same care and attention to detail as an LP.
Check Out: Second Sleep, Human Happens, Paint Me a Picture, Unoriginal, Black-Eyed Susan Climb, This Is the World (I Made It For You) | | 9 |  | Sleigh Bells
Bunky Becky Birthday Boy
* NUMBER 9 *
“Bunky becky birthday girl, bucky becky bet”
When ‘Texis’ was released back in 2021, it was met with widespread acclaim on this site and was touted as the duo’s best work, and an immensely improved version of the noisy pop they’ve been making since their inception. Ironically enough, that’s exactly how I felt about this album. The lyrics are often nonsensical, but the hooks…oh man, the HOOKS. It is beyond easy to get any of this album’s 11 songs stuck in my head at any given time. It’s not often that bands reach their creative peak 15+ years into their career, but Sleigh Bells has pulled it off.
Check Out: Bunky Pop, Wanna Start a Band?, Life Was Real, Roxette Ric, This Summer, Badly, Real Special Cool Thing, Hi Someday, Pulse Drips Quiet | | 8 |  | Not for Radio
Melt
* NUMBER 8 *
Bedroom pop usually takes a lot to be considered impressive, at least for me, but holy hell this album is something else. Maria Zardoya is a remarkable talent, both in her vocal performance as well as lyricism. This is a slow, melancholic album that primarily features themes of romance and heartbreak. On paper, this is something I should hate, or at the very least not have anything special to say about. This simply struck an emotional chord with me that is hard to explain in writing - similar to Wolf Alice’s 2022 release, ‘Blue Weekend.’ It’s the rare album where the lyrics could double as impressive poetry, and the fact that the album is immaculately and beautifully produced is just the icing on the cake.
Check Out: Puddles, My Turn, Moment, Not the Only One, Vueltas, Water On Your Nose, Slip | | 7 |  | Ninajirachi
I Love My Computer
* NUMBER 7 *
Lets go ahead and do a complete 180 from the last entry, because this album is 40 minutes of (mostly) non-stop, highly danceable, club bangers. The album flows like an absolute dream from start to finish, and Ninajirachi’s compositional talent is impressive the entire time. It’s a near-masterful blend of EDM and hyperpop that I find myself coming back to time-and-time again. Much like what I said about Clipse, I would hardly consider myself to be a connoisseur of electronic/club music, but this easily takes the cake as my favorite release in the genre all year.
Check Out: London Song, iPod Touch, Fuck My Computer, Delete, Infohazard, Battery Death, It’s You, All At Once | | 6 |  | Lady Gaga
Mayhem
* NUMBER 6 *
I really like to think of myself as not too much of a music snob, but I can admit that I tend to be hesitant to embrace things from mainstream pop. I used to have (and still do a little) a very cynical view that mainstream pop was “slop” and rarely worth my time and attention. With all that said, ‘Mayhem’ is easily my favorite mainstream pop album of the last few years, maybe even of the decade so far. Each and every song is an absolute earworm, and they all feel very distinct from one other. For example, ‘Killah’ in particular is unlike anything I’ve heard from a Gaga track. She has a certain David Bowie-esque feel to her (which is a comparison I don’t make lightly) both with her stage presence as well as with how she constantly evolves with her music. Don’t be like young me and turn your nose up at this, it’s WELL worth your time.
Check Out: Disease, Abracadabra, Garden of Eden, Perfect Celebrity, Killah, Zombieboy, LoveDrug, How Bad Do U Want Me, Blade of Grass, Die | | 5 |  | Deftones
private music
* NUMBER 5 *
It’s almost a stereotype that when Deftones releases an album, Sputnik (and its users) inevitably will place it in their top 10 of the year. The thing is, however, Deftones is truly one of the most consistent bands out there today, and possibly ever. I won’t make any grand claims that ‘private music’ is their best work considering the other classics they’ve released, but it’s at least in the same conversation as their finest releases. There’s a reason why so many modern bands try to do what Deftones does - they’re practically the definition of trend-setters. The day that Deftones releases a shitty album (and no, I don’t consider ‘Gore’ to be shitty) is the day that hell freezes over. They just can’t miss.
Check Out: my mind is a mountain, locked club, ecdysis, infinite source, souvenir, cXz, milk of the madonna, cut hands, ~metal dream | | 4 |  | Deafheaven
Lonely People With Power
* NUMBER 4 *
My opinion on Deafheaven has fluctuated a LOT in recent years. They (and black metal as a whole) are relatively new to me, but across all their releases, this album feels like my big Danny DeVito “Oh my God, I get it” moment with this band. Much like my Laura Stevenson entry, I’ll let Odal’s excellent review for the album speak for itself for a moment:
“This backdrop is more or less the namesake for Deafheaven’s Lonely People With Power, a dazzling triumph that finds the band not only escaping their own shadow to deliver the best work of their career, but will surely stand alongside the decade’s best with a vital and timely examination on the nature of power and empathy."
Even for non-fans of black metal, this is an unmissable album, and it wouldn’t shock me one bit if this goes down as a metal classic for the 2020’s.
Check Out: Doberman, Magnolia, Heathen, Amethyst, Revelator, Body Behavior, Winona, The Marvelous Orange Tree | | 3 |  | Hayley Williams
Ego Death at a Bachelorette Party
* NUMBER 3 *
Boy, if ‘Brand New Eyes’ didn’t exist, this would be very easy to label as Hayley Williams’ magnum opus. Despite this album having a gargantuan run-time, not a minute feels wasted. The album is easily Williams’ most personal to-date, and also proves that Williams doesn’t need Paramore’s help to showcase her musical talents. It’s incredibly impressive how this album feels like it could’ve come out in the 90’s or early 2000’s while still having a very modern feel to it. Although I’d hate to see Williams abandon Paramore in favor of her solo work (Paramore is and has always been a very important band to me) I’m at least far more confident after this release that Williams can and will continue to produce at a high level of quality, regardless of the help around her.
Check Out: Glum, Kill Me, Whim, Mirtazapine, Disappearing Man, Love Me Different, Ego Death At a Bachelorette Party, Hard, Discovery Channel, True Believer, Dearm Girl in Shibuya, Blood Bros, Parachute | | 2 |  | Post Heaven
The Space That's In Between
* NUMBER 2 *
Let me get on my soapbox real quick for this one and declare: I have drank the Post Heaven Kool-Aid and think they are one of the most promising post-hardcore bands I’ve seen in years - right up there with Static Dress. This little-known Australian band’s EP has everything I could possibly love in a PHC release: it’s fiery, passionate, heavy, and expertly-crafted. While I think their first EP was still noteworthy, it felt like their influences were a little too obvious. That’s not to say that ‘The Space That’s In Between’ has a sound that is 100% entirely original, but rather that they’ve refined and improved their talents in a way that feels organic while still feeling like a worthy homage to the genre’s heavy-hitters. I know I might be alone in my complete adoration for this release, but in my opinion, it’s entirely deserving of its ranking on this list.
Check Out: The whole thing, it’s only 16 minutes lol | | 1 |  | The Callous Daoboys
I Don't Want to See You in Heaven
* NUMBER 1 *
“AGAGA BOO AGA BOO BOO AGA”
The Daoboys as a whole needed time to grow on me; when I first discovered them, I thought they were just an average wanna-be Dillinger Escape Plan. And yes, they clearly take quite a bit of influence from TDEP, but with this album, they no longer feel like copycats or wanna-be’s, they feel like the real thing. Everything about this album is worth admiring - from the atmosphere it expertly establishes from the beginning, to its masterful pacing, to how effortlessly it weaves between softer melodies and chaos - it’s all worth gushing over. To top it all off, the crazy SOB’s put a THIRTEEN MINUTE song as their closer, and they fucking stuck the landing. I can’t praise this album enough, and it’s by far my favorite LP of 2025.
Check Out: Schizophrenia Legacy, Full Moon Guidance, Two-Headed Trout, Tears on Lambo Leather, Lemon, Body Horror for Birds, Idiot Temptation Force, Distracted By the Mona Lisa, III: Country Song in Reverse | |
JoyfulPlatypus
12.03.25 | Never wound up doing a recap list for last year so I put extra effort into this one. In all my time at Sput, this is the first time I've ever had to slim down my entry descriptions lmao I didn't even realize there was a character limit. I had more to say about all of them, primarily #1-5, but I kept what I felt was most important.
I know some people will be annoyed at how early I'm doing this but A) hardly anything good ever comes out in Dec and B) IF something worthy of the list comes out in Dec, I will edit the list appropriately. | Hawks
12.03.25 | Fuck yeah bro!!! Love how you did a description for each one. Getting my list together now as well!! | JoyfulPlatypus
12.03.25 | Thank you sir! Looking forward to seeing everyone's lists come in. Always enjoy seeing the variety between them all. | JoyfulPlatypus
12.03.25 | LMAO didn't realize the Lady Gaga entry got cut off. There's no song that's just called "Die" | jrlikestodance
12.03.25 | Awesome list dawg. I had the exact same experience with the Daoboys and it would also be my number 1 album this year | Emim
12.03.25 | Nice list man, def surprised to see 25 on here. For sure check out This Darkened Heart and The Fall of Ideals. They blow their newer stuff out of the water.
Vianova and Daoboys will definitely make my list this year. | Emim
12.03.25 | Haven't heard #2 but that description has certainly piqued my interest.
I just discovered Rosasharin which is another promising new phc band | AffableMartyr
12.03.25 | 1,4 and 11 were great, haven't heard some of these | JoyfulPlatypus
12.03.25 | @Emim - I'd highly recommend it! I seem to be one of the only people really floored with it but it's been getting a mostly positive reception on this site still.
@Affable - If you like those three, you should check out Tallah's newest! Maybe you'll like it. | Emim
12.04.25 | Post Heaven is dope | Thibs
12.04.25 | solid list (though very surprised to see all that remains on one of these!). I listened to that gaga a ton | izlez
12.04.25 | Damn, such a hater... what do you got against Demon of Unreality and Douchebag Safari?? | JoyfulPlatypus
12.04.25 | LMAO of course when I put most of the damn album as my favorites I get called out for the two songs I don't put.
No hate, just character limits! |
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