15 Newer DIY Punk Bands from Poland to Check Out and Follow

We are setting off from the north with Amputacja Głowy, who sing in Polish, Russian and English, which is already very intriguing.

A trio of friends playing punk rock that may sound like three different punk rock bands depending on the language used. Language is a collection of sounds and that definitely plays a part in the final outcome.

Three bands in one and a very enjoyable listen!

With a long history of great punk bands in Lublin, Bliss cultivate the tradition and show what is currently the best in the genre.

Founded by the guitarist of the legendary Amen and with members from most of the Lublin bands such as Silence, Antichrist, The Bold and The Beautiful, Poor But Loyal, Julliette and many others, Bliss blend punk, hardcore and metal to create a unique melody and rhythm. If you search for Bliss online or listen to their Bandcamp page, you might be confused by the different vocals, as the band started with a woman on the mic and now continues with a man in front, but that does not matter, I am just a journalist here.

Check out Bliss if you’re into dirty hardcore sound with a splash of metal. And they will come to your town in a lorry full of other great Lublin sound representatives. Their split LP with Urbicyd (scroll down) is on the way.

Quite possibly the youngest band on the list.

Formed not long ago in western Poland, Chójoza play crust punk, but instead of just screaming and shouting insults, they choose to include long spoken words in their songs, which adds a lot of value. And if you ask me, I think this helps the band to get their message across.

Well done young punks. The band to consider if you’re into sincere crust punk without muscles.

A very underrated band. 100% punk rock like they still play in the UK.

Fast and angry, melodic and sing-a-long. The Restarts come to mind and I think that explains a lot about the band. DamNation never slow down in their music and keep the fast tempo throughout the whole set. Active since 2017 with one album released, called By Choice, and ready to play gigs.

One of the best Polish punk albums I have heard recently! Sung in English.

Dépit fills the void for those who miss good old emotional hardcore punk. A relatively new creation from Białystok with a full-length album available on CD from DIY Koło Records.

Look for nothing less than emotion and romance in their music, lyrics and art. Dépit are doing the job that the bands of the ’90s started and then abandoned. While they may still sound very ’90s, they definitely handle their instruments much better and are able to produce their recordings with very high quality.

Look for attention to detail, compassion and warmth, even though this is still pure hardcore punk. At its best!

Analogs guitarist and singer, post-street-punk, stress-release side-project. Now that’s a proper marketing slogan!

Dybuk caused quite a stir when they acknowledged black metal influences in their output, which made everyone bite their nails in anticipation, loads of punks in Poland like their metal black, you know. And kaboom, they didn’t find any. Not me though, because I AM the only black metal expert here, haha, and experts know that when black metal is mentioned we’re talking about dirty sounds and rhythms from the Welcome to Hell black metal era! That’s all I know about black metal. And I can hear it on Dybuk’s debut release.

It’s a great d-beat band with a rough guitar and bass sound, driven by Venom, Motörhead and Siekiera! Proper stuff!

They don’t play crust in the lake district of Poland, says an old Polish proverb (just made it up). And it’s true if you look closely, KMKZ only prove my serious science here.

No crust, no raw guitars, no fucked up disorder and distortion. Instead, KMKZ choose to play a more diverse and changeable hardcore punk with light guitars, light bass, yeah, the drummer is wild, but the vocalist on the other hand, she chooses to teach you things and you listen and learn. It’s still fast, still angry, but you wouldn’t necessarily call it simple or in-your-face. The kind of hardcore punk that some bands like 2 Bad would play in the ’90s. Or Sink. Or Arm.

Diverse, interesting, unpredictable. And they are currently promoting their latest album on Pasażer Records.

Straight outta Warsaw, with an American singer, Red Crap play a mixture of pop, punk and whatever else will get you on the dance floor. Sounds very old school, a bit too rock with all those short guitar solos that seem to be everywhere, but still you dance!

And that’s what you want to do on your night out or in your room when everyone else is out! The Truth Is Still Out There is their debut album out now on Enigmatic Records.

Is this the heaviest band on the bill tonight?

I forgot how brutal they sound.

Their new record is out now and it’s bone-crushing! Brutal is the closest thing to a description. Very fast, very metal, very… brutal.

Serotonin Zero are punks from Belarus, living in Warsaw and playing brutal metal with a message. Brutal and relentless. Zero tolerance!

A trio from the southern part of Poland who debuted with a self-titled release on N.I.C. Records in 2022, which sold out quite fast and I am not surprised.

Slavenkunst play Swedish stuff and they do it very well. Short, to the point, with melody (for lack of a better word) and energy. All very well produced, sung in English and it’s very danceable (for lack of a better word). Anyway, I’m out of words here, so I’d better stop.

Get Slavenkunst and mosh till you drop.

Those of you who thought that stench has evaporated from metal—good news!

It has not.

The trick is to be able to do it live and in the studio.

And this trio from Poznań can do just that. More good news—if you miss your Bolt Thrower, mourn no more. This is pure death metal on a punk engine with a generous dash of patchouli.

With an LP on account with Sanctus Propaganda, Sorrow will soon enter the studio to record another one, so get ready for more filth and death!

Those of you who are familiar with Infekcja, Flux and Zatrata will be happy to know that some of the members have formed Urbicyd, which will probably be playing venues around the country and abroad any minute now.

Their promo track is now available on Bandcamp and it clearly shows that we’re talking about some serious d-beat raw crusty stuff. So if you’re a fan of crust, speed and varied growls and arrgghhs, Urbicyd will definitely deliver what you need.

The promo track is taken from their upcoming split LP with the aforementioned Bliss from Lublin, so you’re about to get two very promising new bands from Poland on Trująca Fala.

Wirus may have started as Virus, but don’t quote me on that. Whatever the spelling, we’re talking about pandemic creation here.

Hailing from Olsztyn in northern Poland, they are more than happy to tour any corner of the globe. Full of talented musicians from bands like Produkt or El Banda you must have heard of, they definitely know their stuff. If you remember Life… But How To Live It? you already know what kind of punk we’re talking about.

Well, at least I am, because that is my immediate association when I listen to their debut album Psychoza, released in a DIY collaboration between Trująca Fala, DIY Koło and Tranzophobia. Add a poetic approach to the lyrics written and sung by Marta and you have the full picture of Wirus: melody, panache and power.

Lublin represent.

Again!

I could devote an entire article to the sound of Lublin, they have so much to offer at the moment, but let’s stick to two recent formations.

After Bliss it is time for Yell.

Dystopian, heavy, dark and crushing hardcore that will leave you hopeless and ready for more! I am not sure what is going on with the recording of Yell, but if you keep pestering them, they might get inspired and go into the studio. Their live set is not very long but believe me it is enough and it will drain you of energy and hope and push you into despair and panic. I may not be the best reviewer, but I cannot help it.

Worth mentioning is the fact that Olga, the singer, is a great artist who might do some artwork for your project and/or ink it into your skin!

We finish the list with a bang. If the name Post Regiment sounds familiar, and I bet it does, Ye.stem should be your frequent choice from this list.

Formed by three musicians from Post Regiment and a singer from ska band Dubska, Ye.stem is taking the scene by storm, playing gigs all over the place. The connotations are obvious—lots of Post Regiment references, but can they help it? Don’t think so. It’s tattooed into their DNA and I don’t mind. Their solid rhythm section and the omnipresent, unmistakable guitar sound is one of the best things to happen to Polish punk. The original vocals only add to the experience. Ye.stem is brisk punk with very sharp lyrics written from either a personal or historical perspective.

Check out their debut LP on Sanctus Propaganda (already reviewed by DIY Conspiracy here), some say it gonna be in your TOP 10 albums of 2023.

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And this is it.

Thanx for making it to the end.

I hope you discovered some good tunes and will come back for more. Look for other bands from the area and do not hesitate to write and ask for more.

Appendix: Rozbrat Stays!

And while I am at it… I would like to draw your attention to the oldest squat in Poland called Rozbrat, situated in Poznań.

Home for thousands of gigs, performances, meetings, sport, library and resistance. Home for hundreds of squatters for the past 29 years.

Rozbrat has risked eviction number of times and since it got more and more difficult and unpredictable, the squatters have decided to borrow loads of money and buy shares in the land the squat is on. This gives the squatters piece of mind as they cannot be evicted just like that, they are co-owners and their say needs to be respected. The money the squatters borrowed needs to be paid back and so they are raising funds now to pay their debts.

I ask you to follow this link and donate to Rozbrat. Save Rozbrat, preserve the squatter movement we all grew up with.

Thank you.

One tribe!

Record labels that I mentioned:

• DIY Koło Records
• Enigmatic Records
• N.I.C Records
• Pasażer Records
• Sanctus Propaganda
• Trująca Fala Records