I didn’t expect much heading into 2025, what with the state of the world that just seemed to spend the year trying to outdo itself with one insane thing after another (often related to a certain orange douche-canoe.) I made my usual goal list over the last Christmas break, comprised of the wishes and vague goals that I knew I’ll have a few stabs at over January and February before resigning to another year of sports ball-related labour to pay the bills and the occasional trek to Sydney or Newcastle for various gigs.
But then a few things happened.
Early in 2025 I put out a feeler to try and find a band and ended up joining a few local punk rockers and played my first gig (albeit an acoustic show) in at least 20 years to a small crowd at the Link and Pin in Woy Woy. With a regular practice day set in place, it’s looking like a few full band spots might end up happening in 2026 (hopefully!)
In the career department, I hopped on the pots and pans (technical term for audio producer) for Lu and Jarch, a new show on Triple M that’s well worth an afternoon listen, and more recently got bumped up the chain to add The Hot Hits with Nic and Loren to my list, a great little team that has a good focus on supporting Australian music.
And the biggest thing, I took a small punt in June and threw my name into a lottery for Band-Maid’s Osaka show – which, luckily, I was successful. And by the end of that week, I had a plane ticket booked to Tokyo thanks to a sale and was heading overseas for the first time in my life to a place I’ve been meaning to go to since I was an anime-obsessed teen.
Japan was amazing whirlwind that was life changing, I spent way too much money at various record stores and anime hotspots, seen some places I’ve waited for too long to see and ate some great food (weirdly, though, no Sushi.) Highlights included an Evangelion VR experience and watching the 3D billboard in Shinjuku, Tower Records in Shibuya, Dotonbori in Osaka and, of course, seeing Band-Maid in Namba Hatch (although my feet felt like they were falling off after the first three days walking around Tokyo.)
If I could impart one thing to people from this trip, it’s that if you’ve been thinking about going overseas but have been waiting for the right time, enough money, or someone to go with, just go – I did nine days as that was my budget. And the kicker - I did it solo with only basic Japanese.
Musically, we’ve had a steady stream of great releases from all corners of the heavy music world. While I probably didn’t get to quite as many shows this year (to be fair, I was trying to pool as much coin as possible) the ones I did get to were all well worth the time.
Here were my highlights for 2025.
TOP 10 RELEASES OF 2025
10. Zilqy – Vacant Throne
9. Radwimps - Anew
8. Testament - ParaBellum
7. Fake News - DeadSet
6. King Parrot - A Young Persons Guide To
5. Wednesday 13 – Mid Death Crisis
4. Nerdlinger – Growing Up Is Getting Old
3. BabyMetal – Metal Forth
2. Band-Maid – Scooooop!
1. Nemophila – Apple Of My Eye
TOP 10 SONGS OF 2025
10. Coffin Break - ‘Maxine’
9. Trivium - ‘Bury Me With My Screams’
8. King Parrot – ‘Fuck You And The Horse You Rode In On’
7. Mammoth - ‘I Really Wanna’
6. SCANDAL - ‘Terra Boy’
5. BABYMETAL feat. Poppy – 'from me to u'
4. Nemophila – 'Beautiful Days'
3. Hanabie - 'Spicy Queen'
2. Electric Callboy - ‘Elevator Operator’
1. BAND-MAID - ‘Ready To rock’
BEST MUSIC VIDEO OF 2025
Electric Callboy - ‘Elevator Operator’
Electric Callboy put this out all the way back in January, but I still can’t get enough of it. The faces during the chorus make this comedic gold. Can’t wait until they’re here in September.
TOP 3 GIGS OF THE YEAR
1 – Band-Maid @ Namba Hatch, Osaka, Japan - October 24th
Like I mentioned, getting a ticket to this was pure luck (Japan sells their tickets via a lottery system for the more popular bands, rather than just buying a ticket,) and well worth a trip overseas to see a band that I’ve been waiting a long time to witness live. Band-Maid are a tight-knit group who enjoy what they do and absolutely love their fans, and that’s clear from the moment they step on the stage.
I wasn’t the only one to make the trek either – while in line I spoke to a bloke from Europe who made the effort, and an American couple were also in attendance (I didn’t speak to them – but you knew they were there and where they were from. Trust me.)
Band-Maid recently announced a world tour for North America, Europe and Asia in 2026 – hopefully they’ll finally get around to visiting Australia.
2 – Metallica @Accor Stadium, Sydney - November 15th
Just like I left Pearl Jam in 2024 to the last minute, last month I picked up a Metallica ticket the day before on the cheap, which put me in literally the nosebleed section of Accor Stadium – if I was slightly taller, I could have touched the roof.
At least I was there, because Metallica’s return to Australia after over a decade absence was worth the climb. Backed with stellar support performances from Suicidal Tendencies and Evanescence, Metallica tore through a two-hour set of classics that left everyone in attendance smiling from ear to ear. While nowadays I’m probably not a diehard Metallica fan (I know a bloke who sunk some serious coin into the meet and greet) it was without question the must-see concert out of the trifecta of supergroups that graced our shores across November.
3 – Lookout Festival @ Lake Macquarie - March 8th
Opting for my third BabyMetal experience at their sideshow instead of this year’s Knotfest meant I had that Saturday open. So I decided to head the opposite direction up the M1 to the tranquil Speers Point in Lake Macquarie for Lookout Festival, with a lineup resembling that of the legendary Homebake of the 90’s.
Rain didn’t deter the crowd, who lapped up glorious sets from Magic Dirt, Jebidiah, Spiderbait, The Veronicas, Grinspoon and Jet. The nostalgia for the 90’s was overflowing, as was the Voltaren for our knees. At least we got home at a reasonable time, and hopefully we see another Aussie 90’s rock lineup in 2026 that we can bring our camping chairs to.
Honorable mention – The Hard-Ons ‘Harder and Harder’ Screening and Q&A (also an Acoustic set from Blackie) @Avoca Beach Theatre - November 27th
Early this year I was lucky to catch a Q&A Screening of ‘The Most Australian Band Ever,’ a documentary on the legendary Sydney punk outfit The Hard-Ons. This was followed up at the tail end of this year with a sequel (for which there was another screening and Q&A,) ‘Harder and Harder’, which continues the story of the band over the last decade.
Both documentaries are a must see if you’re any sort of fan of Australian music – the first film tells the band’s tale of developing as a punk band in the Australian scene, while the second film is particularly inspirational if you’re involved in any sort of way in the local music scene. Go seek the films out, if you can.
FAV NEW MUSICIAN DISCOVERED IN 2025?
Zilqy is a upcoming J-Rock supergroup comprising previous members of Lovebites and Aldious and have hit the ground running with the EP Vacant Throne, featuring the infectious ‘Carry On.’ This will be a band to keep an eye on in the new year – and also has a small Australian connection, with the legendary Lance Perc on mixing and mastering duties.
FAVOURITE AUSTRALIAN MUSIC MOMENT IN 2025
Tim Rogers ARIA Hall Of Fame Speech
A great moment in an otherwise dull ARIA awards was Tim Rogers of You Am I encouraging people to get out to the local venues and ‘taking a punt.’ Something we all need to do if we’re going to ever see our music industry thrive once again.
WHAT ARE YOU MOST LOOKING FORWARD TO IN2 026?
I hope to throw my hat in the ring a bit more for WoS coverage in the new year, along with putting a bit of effort into a band department with some of my own tunes. I would also love to do something around a podcast or a bit of video content if I can, we’ll see how the day job pans out.
Taking Tim Rogers’ advice onboard a bit – I’m going to aim to get out and see some local acts a little more, rather than stick to mostly festivals or more headline internationals. There’s plenty of local stuff in the works around my area, I’m sure.
Also, I think a return trip to Japan is in order – with Band-Maid now crossed off the list, would love to see if I can catch Nemophila live.
Words by Simon Valentine @simonvalentineau
