2025 in rock music
This article summarizes the events related to rock music for the year of 2025.
Notable events
January
- Scottish rock band Franz Ferdinand releases their sixth studio album, The Human Fear, their first in seven years, following Always Ascending. It charts in the top 10 of 5 national album charts, including topping the Scottish albums chart.
- Many rock bands perform at FireAid, a two day benefit concert to help raise funds for those affected by the January 2025 Southern California wildfires. Performers include Green Day, Red Hot Chili Peppers, No Doubt and Alanis Morissette.
- Nirvana also reforms for a surprise brief performance at FireAid. The lineup included bassist Krist Novoselic, drummer Dave Grohl, rhythm guitarist Pat Smear, and four separate female vocalists in place of frontman Kurt Cobain. St. Vincent performed the song "Breed", Kim Gordon of Sonic Youth performed on "School", Joan Jett performed on "Territorial Pissings", and Grohl's daughter Violet Grohl on "All Apologies". The performance is one of only a handful of reformations of the band after their breakup in 1994, following the death of Kurt Cobain.
February
- The 67th Annual Grammy Awards are held. Classic rock acts perform well; The Beatles win Best Rock Performance for one of their final recordings to be released - "Now and Then", while The Rolling Stones win Best Rock Album for their first album in 18 years, Hackney Diamonds.
- St. Vincent wins three Grammy Awards - "Broken Man" wins Best Rock Song, "Flea" wins Best Alternative Music Performance, and All Born Screaming wins Best Alternative Music Album.
- Dream Theater releases their 16th studio album, Parasomnia. It is their first studio album with original drummer Mike Portnoy since Black Clouds & Silver Linings. It debuts in the top 10 of 13 separate national album charts.
- Welsh rock band Manic Street Preachers releases their 15th studio album, Critical Thinking. It debuts in the top 2 of the UK and Scottish album charts.
- Japanese rock band One Ok Rock releases their eleventh studio album, Detox. It debuts at number 2 of the Japanese national albums chart.
- English metalcore band Architects releases their eleventh studio album, The Sky, the Earth & All Between. It was produced by former Bring Me the Horizon keyboardist Jordan Fish. It debuts in the top 10 of 6 separate national album charts.
March
- English rock band Jethro Tull releases their 24th studio album, Curious Ruminant. It debuts in the top 5 of 3 separate national album charts.
- English rock musician Steven Wilson releases his eighth solo studio album, The Overview. It is a concept album themed around the idea of the overview effect, consisting of two approximately 20 minute songs. It debuts in the top 3 of 5 separate national album charts.
- English hard rock band The Darkness releases their eighth studio album, Dreams on Toast. It is their first studio album since Motorheart. It debuts at number 2 on the UK and Scottish album charts.
April
- Australian heavy metal band Thornhill releases their third studio album, Bodies. It is their first studio album without guitarist Matt van Duppen, who switched his role from the band's guitarist to the band's manager. It debuts at number 4 on the Australian national albums chart.
- Dutch symphonic metal band Epica releases their ninth studio album, Aspiral. They started working on it in March 2024. It debuts in the top 5 of 3 separate national album charts, including at number 2 on the Dutch national albums chart.
- Swedish post-punk band Viagra Boys releases their fourth studio album, Viagr Aboys, their first since Cave World. It debuts in the top 10 of 2 separate national album charts, including at number 7 on the Swedish national albums chart.
- Machine Head releases their eleventh studio album, Unatoned. It is their first studio album with new guitarist Reece Scruggs, who replaced the band's previous guitarist Wacław Kiełtyka in 2024. It debuts in the top 10 of 3 separate national album charts.
- Swedish rock band Ghost release their sixth studio album, Skeletá. It became their first album to top the US all-format Billboard 200 albums chart, the first rock album to top the chart in 2025, the first rock album to top the chart since October 2024's Moon Music by Coldplay, and the first hard rock album to top the chart since 2020's Power Up by AC/DC.
May
- English band Sleep Token releases their fourth studio album, Even in Arcadia. It debuts at the top of 9 separate national album charts. In the US, it tops the Billboard 200, moving 127,000 album equivalent units. It marks the highest debut for a rock band in almost a year, the biggest debut for a hard rock band in 2 years, and has the highest single week streams for a hard rock band ever. Additionally, all 10 of the album's songs chart on the Hot 100, an extremely rare feat for a rock or heavy metal band.
- Linkin Park headlines the opening ceremony of the 2025 UEFA Champions League final at the Allianz Arena in Munich, Germany.
June
- Danish rock band Volbeat releases their ninth studio album, God of Angels Trust. They started working on it after their 2023 summer tour. Frontman Michael Poulsen underwent a throat surgery in October 2023, which prevented the band from performing live shows in 2024. It debuts in the top 5 of 9 separate national album charts.
- Turnstile releases their fourth studio album, Never Enough. It is their first studio album without founding lead guitarist Brady Ebert, who left the band in 2022. It debuts in the top 10 of 5 separate national album charts.
July
- Alice Cooper releases their eighth studio album, The Revenge of Alice Cooper. It is their first studio album in over 50 years, and features all the original members. It debuts in the top 10 of 7 separate national album charts.
August
- Deftones releases their tenth studio album, Private Music. Work on the album began in early 2023, and is their third album working with music producer Nick Raskulinecz. It debuts in the top 5 of 12 separate national album charts.
- Swedish garage rock band The Hives releases their seventh studio album, The Hives Forever Forever the Hives. It debuts in the top 5 of 3 separate national album charts, including at number 5 on the Swedish national album charts.
September
- Twenty One Pilots releases their eighth studio album, Breach. It concluded the conceptual series, which also consists of the band's previous four studio albums. It debuts in the top 5 of 17 separate national album charts, and achieves the feat of being the biggest sales week for a rock album since Tool's Fear Inoculum in 2019, and consequently the biggest debut for a rock album in the 2020's.
- Scottish rock band Biffy Clyro releases their tenth studio album, Futique. It debuts at the top of the Scottish, and the UK national album charts.
- Nine Inch Nails releases the Tron: Ares soundtrack to the 2025 film of the same name. It is the band's first music released since Ghosts V and Ghosts VI. It tops the US Billboard Top Soundtrack albums chart, and peaks at number 5 on the all-format Billboard 200 albums chart.
Albums released
August
Tours and festivals
- Sonic Temple festival was held May 8-11, 2025. It was headlined by Linkin Park, Metallica, and Korn, and featured many other bands including Alice in Chains, Bullet for My Valentine, Bad Omens, and more.
- Welcome to Rockville was held May 15-18, 2025. It was headlined by Green Day, Linkin Park, Korn, and Shinedown, and featured many other bands including Bowling for Soup, Taking Back Sunday, Real Friends, Three Days Grace, and more.
- Slam Dunk festival was held on 24-25 May. It was headlined by Neck Deep, Electric Callboy, and A Day to Remember, and featured many other bands including Alkaline Trio, Hot Milk, Zebrahead, and more.
- Punk Rock Bowling Music Festival was held May 24-26, 2025. It was headlined by Social Distortion, Cock Sparrer, and Peter Hook & the Light, and featured many other bands including Fidlar, The Damned, Power Trip, The Interrupters, and more.
- Download Festival was held 13-15 June 2025. It was headlined by Green Day, Korn, and Sleep Token, and featured many other bands including Within Temptation, Sex Pistols, Steel Panther, Jimmy Eat World, and more.
- Warped Tour returned for the first time in six years to celebrate its 30th anniversary. Three festivals are set to take place in June, July, and November.
- English rock band Oasis reforms for the first time in 15 years for their Oasis Live '25 Tour. The announcement ends 15 years of bitter feuds between brothers Noel Gallagher and Liam Gallagher, who previously denied that any reunion would take effect.
- English heavy metal band Black Sabbath announces a reunion with all four original members for one final concert. It took place at Villa Park in Birmingham, England, on 5 July 2025.
- Louder Than Life festival took place September 18-21, 2025. It was headlined by Deftones, Slayer, Avenged Sevenfold, and Bring Me the Horizon.
- Riot Fest took place September 19-21, 2025. It was headlined by blink-182, Green Day, and Weezer.
- Shaky Knees Music Festival took place September 19-21, 2025. It was headlined by blink-182, Deftones, and My Chemical Romance, and will feature many other bands including Soft Play, Devo, Franz Ferdinand, Pixies, and more.
- Aftershock Festival took place October 2-5, 2025. It was headlined by blink-182, Deftones, Korn, and Bring Me the Horizon.
- When We Were Young festival took place on October 18, 2025. It was headlined by blink-182, and Panic! at the Disco, and featured many other bands including The Story So Far, Holding Absence, Sleeping with Sirens, Weezer, and more.
Band breakups
- Australian metalcore band Void of Vision broke up following a final headline tour in Australia in February 2025.
- Canadian rock band Sum 41 broke up following the release of their eighth and final studio album Heaven :x: Hell, and a final worldwide headlining tour that ended in January 2025. The band officially disbanded after their induction in the Canadian Music Hall of Fame, and performed one final live performance at the 54th annual Juno Awards in March 2025.
- English rock band You Me at Six broke up after over 20 years of performing following a final tour that ended in April 2025.
- Stray from the Path disbanded following a surprise release of their eleventh and final studio album, Clockworked, and a final tour that ended in November 2025.
- Swedish hardcore punk band Refused disbanded following the release of a final tribute album for their third studio album The Shape of Punk to Come, and a farewell tour that ended in December 2025.
Deaths
- January 6 - Fredrik Lindgren, 53, Swedish death metal guitarist
- January 13 - Peter "P. Fluid" Forrest, 64, American rock musician
- January 21 - Garth Hudson, 87, Canadian rock multi-instrumentalist
- January 29 - Bruce Howe, 77, Australian progressive rock bassist and singer
- February 1 - Sal Maida, 76, American rock bassist
- February 17 - Rick Buckler, 69, English rock drummer
- February 19 - Snowy Fleet, 79, English-born Australian rock drummer
- February 28 - David Johansen, 75, American progressive rock singer
- March 15 - Les Binks, 73, Northern Irish heavy metal drummer
- April 6 - Clem Burke, 70, American rock drummer
- April 28 - Mike Peters, 66, Welsh rock singer
- May 5 - James Baker, 71, Australian rock drummer
- May 19 - Adam Ramey, 32, American rap metal singer
- June 9 - Sly Stone, 82, American funk and rock musician
- June 11 - Brian Wilson, 82, American rock musician
- June 11 - Mick Ralphs, 81, English rock guitarist
- June 27 - Derek A. E. Fuhrmann, 44, American rock singer-songwriter
- 22 July
- * George Kooymans, 77, Dutch rock singer and guitarist
- * Ozzy Osbourne, 76, English heavy metal/rock singer-songwriter
- July 29 – Paul Mario Day, 69, English heavy metal singer
- August 4 – Terry Reid, 75, English rock singer-songwriter and guitarist
- August 10 – Bobby Whitlock, 77, American rock singer-songwriter and keyboardist
- August 20 – Brent Hinds, 51, American heavy metal guitarist
- September 6 – Rick Davies, 81, English rock singer-songwriter and keyboardist
- 16 September – Tomas "Tompa" Lindberg, 52, Swedish melodic death metal singer
- 25 September – Chris Dreja, 78, English rock bass guitarist
- 10 October
- * John Lodge, 82, English rock bassist and singer
- * Thommy Price, 68, American rock drummer
- 11 October – Ian Watkins, 48, Welsh rock singer
- October 16 – Ace Frehley, 74, American rock guitarist and singer
- 18 October – Sam Rivers, 48, American nu metal bassist
- 20 November – Gary "Mani" Mounfield, 63, English rock bassist
- 3 December – Steve Cropper, 84, American R&B guitarist
- 22 December – Chris Rea, 74, English soft rock and blues singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 26 December – Perry Bamonte, 65, English rock guitarist and keyboardist