July didn’t turn up the heat — it incinerated it. While the UK sun tried its best to melt us into puddles at every festival from Steelhouse to Bloodstock, our beloved bands were busy dropping absolute monster albums.
We got shock-rock comebacks, power-metal operas, cinematic deathcore, nu-metal throwdowns, grindcore filth, and even a bush revival (not that kind, mun…). July 2025 was LOADED, and we’ve got every riff, every scream, and every ridiculous track title ready for your eyeballs and eardrums.
Let’s dive into the madness.
🔥 JULY 4 – Weaponised Epicness
🏰 Warkings – Armageddon
The medieval warriors of metal return! Warkings delivered their fifth album on July 4th, and it’s basically a Dungeons & Dragons campaign with double bass pedals. It’s dramatic, it’s fun, and it’s got more battle cries than a Viking keg party.
✅ FFO: Powerwolf, Sabaton, big swords and bigger choruses
🎧 Must-Listen: Armageddon, Ragnar’s Last Ride, The Crusade Lives On
🎭 JULY 18 – Rage, Riffs & Russian Chaos
🧠 Daron Malakian & Scars on Broadway – Addicted to the Violence
On his 50th birthday, the System of a Down guitarist dropped a new SoB album that’s part psychological breakdown, part nu-metal genius. Daron’s voice is haunting, the riffs punch, and the lyrics drip with social decay. It’s a middle finger to modern nonsense, wrapped in melody and mayhem.
✅ FFO: System of a Down, Deftones, angst with a side of Armenian mysticism
🎧 Must-Listen: Blood Ritual, Wasted Again, Addicted to the Violence
🐻 Slaughter to Prevail – Grizzly
Deathcore absolutely unhinged. Alex Terrible and the boys came swinging with their third album — combining down-tuned chaos, slam grooves, and shout-along nihilism in both English and Russian. Plus: collabs with BABYMETAL and Tom Barber? Mental.
✅ FFO: Lorna Shore, Suicide Silence, the end of the world
🎧 Must-Listen: Viking, Beartrap, Conflict ft. BABYMETAL
⚰️ JULY 25 – Legends, Loneliness & Loudness
🧟♂️ Alice Cooper – The Revenge of Alice Cooper
Yes, the original Alice Cooper band has reunited — after 51 bloody years! And the album? Pure theatrical madness. With Bob Ezrin back behind the boards, this is a horror-rock feast of guillotines, gothic riffs and cheeky sleaze. More shock than your dodgy toaster.
✅ FFO: Classic Alice, early KISS, storytelling in a straitjacket
🎧 Must-Listen: Black Widow’s Return, Noose Juice, The Funeral Party
😢 Bush – I Beat Loneliness
Grunge crooner Gavin Rossdale returns with one of the most heartfelt alt-rock albums of the year. A soft punch to the chest for anyone who’s ever felt adrift, this record is full of moody hooks, rainy-day riffs and emotional weight.
✅ FFO: Staind, late 90s Pearl Jam, crying into a pint
🎧 Must-Listen: Empty Bed Anthem, Safe Word, I Beat Loneliness
💀 Undead & Underground – July’s Rawest Riffs
🔥 Scalp – Not Worthy Of Human Compassion
A nine-minute detonation of grindcore violence. It’s ugly, short, and absolutely savage. Think Napalm Death having a panic attack in a petrol station toilet.
✅ FFO: Nails, Pig Destroyer, pure unrelenting hatred
🎧 Must-Listen: Just… press play and regret it.
🕯️ Abigail Williams – A Void Within Existence
Melodic blackened death from the depths of despair. The orchestrations are lush, the vocals demonic, and the vibe is “lost in the woods, but willingly.”
✅ FFO: Emperor, Behemoth, crying in corpsepaint
🎧 Must-Listen: Blood Lanterns, Where the World Fades
🌌 Axis of Light – To the Great Unbearing North
Post-black metal so atmospheric it could summon frost in July. Grand, lonely, and utterly captivating.
✅ FFO: Wolves in the Throne Room, Alcest, scenic despair
🎧 Must-Listen: Northern Hunger, Frozen Psalm
🏆 The Riff Report’s Top 7 – July 2025
| Rank | Album | Why It Rules |
|---|---|---|
| 🥇 | Addicted to the Violence – Scars on Broadway | Melodic, weird, angry, brilliant |
| 🥈 | Grizzly – Slaughter to Prevail | Deathcore carnage with surprises |
| 🥉 | The Revenge of Alice Cooper – Alice Cooper | The undead never die – they riff harder |
| 4️⃣ | I Beat Loneliness – Bush | Honest, lush, surprisingly heavy |
| 5️⃣ | Armageddon – Warkings | Epic cheese with glorious solos |
| 6️⃣ | Not Worthy… – Scalp | Nine minutes of pure destruction |
| 7️⃣ | To the Great Unbearing North – Axis of Light | Bleak beauty from the blackened fringe |
🎤 Final Thoughts from the Pit
July 2025 reminded us that summer isn’t all sunshine and shorts – sometimes it’s sweat, screams and six-string chaos.
We had:
- ⚔️ Pirates and power metal
- 💀 Grindcore and gloom
- 👑 Shock rock royalty reborn
- 🧠 Alt-metal therapy sessions
- 🐻 A deathcore bear with brass knuckles
Proper wild.
💬 What Say You, Riff Heads?
Which July album took your face off and posted it to the void?
Are you backing the brutal bear (Grizzly)?
Sobbing into your cider to Bush?
Or moshing with corpsepaint and tea lights?
👇 Let us know in the comments or scream at us: @theriffreportuk
Written by: The Riff Report Team
Powered by tinnitus, Vimto, and righteous riffs.
