10 Great Hardcore Punk 7-Inches of 2025, Part 2

This was a great year for Scandinavian-inspired hardcore punk. Between Tramadol, Sistema Obsoleto, and this Nuclear Fear EP, the Mob 47 / Totalitär itch was scratched thoroughly in 2025. Featuring a stellar lineup of UK-based hardcore players, Nuclear Fear push everything to the red on Pantomime Of Power, delivering a heavyweight exercise of the genre that is absolutely blistering.

I guess 2025 was no slouch for nasty d-beat records either, with Nova Scotia’s Black Dog having one of the best with their Sewn Into Confusion EP. Each of the five tracks here is wound tight and explodes in a whirlwind of fuzz and breakneck drumming, falling somewhere between legacy bands like Frigöra and contemporaries Physique, who also had excellent output on Iron Lung this year.

NYC’s Who Pays had a huge year which, among other things, included dropping Hard Times, an abrasive collection of songs that has Poison Idea running through its veins. Each of the six tracks here are crushers, but “Theme From Who Pays / American Man” was on repeat for me. Extra credit for the excellent cover of Baby Huey’s “Hard Times”. More unconventional covers in 2026, please.

There were a handful of notable splits this year, but Deletär and Skizophrenia!’s sits amongst the best. I’ve been a big fan of Deletär’s brand of d-beat for some time now and they sound better than ever here. On the flip side is Tsuyama’s Skizophrenia!, a band I was less familiar with, but whose unique, especially vocal-driven, take on hardcore I was instantly drawn to.

Speaking of splits, I had to pick my jaw up off the floor after hearing this one. Released via the Bunker Punks–adjacent Prescription and the newer imprint Children Of The Grave, both bands sound huge here. Each offers two new originals and one cover of the other. Wrap that in one of the year’s best-designed sleeves and you’re left with a slab of brutal Käng fury that stands as one of the genre’s best, not just of 2025.

Notorious d-beaters No Fucker kicked off a run of shows in Japan with two new 7-inches this year, one being the insane Are You Really So Afraid. It features four Discharge songs with new lyrics by No Fucker. Not covers per se, but definitely Discharge worship of the highest order. I still haven’t fully figured out how such a repetitive style always sounds fresh, but No Fucker prove once again that it’s a winning formula regardless of how you attack it.

(Not streaming)

The ever-reliable Toxic State had another great year, including Abism’s worthy follow-up to their killer 2023 full-length. Their take on hardcore punk is fast and furious here, but unlike many peers, they leave just enough room for the riffs and vocals to breathe. The end result hits harder and sets them apart in the best way possible.

There was no shortage of ’80s US hardcore-indebted releases this year, but Washington’s Laughing Corpse completely blew me away with their debut. Featuring members of Brain Tourniquet and Genocide Pact, their pedigree is obvious. These six tracks are grimy, pissed, and they really fucking rock, especially on the frantic “Nothing”.

Baltimore’s No Idols dropped this EP late in the year and honestly, I wish it were a full-length. Featuring members of Angel Du$t, Bib, and the now-defunct Truth Cult, it’s packed with hooks and a brutal rhythm section matched only by the aggro vocals. Iron Lung compared it to the Feel The Darkness era of Poison Idea, and that feels dead on.

What a note to end the year on. I’d been patiently awaiting this EP from NYC’s Arson and it was more than worth it. Drenched in caustic feedback and featuring some of the year’s most desperate vocals, Burning Future is “noise not music” pushed to its logical extreme. Influences like Extreme Noise Terror and Gloom, whom they cover here, come through loud and clear. Emphasis on loud.