Record of the Week: Unidad Ideológica: Choque Asimétrico 12"

Unidad Ideológica: Choque Asimétrico 12" (La Vida Es Un Mus) La Vida Es Un Mus brings us this scorching new full-length from Bogota, Colombia’s Unidad Ideológica. Maybe you heard Unidad Ideológica’s first album from four years ago, maybe you’ve seen them live (I was lucky enough to catch them at the K-Town hardcore fest a couple years ago), or maybe you’re familiar with the recent spate of great hardcore punk releases pouring out of Colombia. Regardless, you aren’t ready for how hard Choque Asimétrico (“Asymmetric Shock”) rips. Trevor (in his inaugural Sorry State staff pick!) compared them to New York’s Salvaje Punk, and I think that’s a great point of reference… I remember Salvaje referenced Colombia’s “ultra metal” scene as one of their key inspirations, and there’s something similar at the core of Unidad Ideológica’s sound, a from-the-heart sense of wildness, the intensity spilling over beats and measures and bleeding together into a frightening tidal wave of intensity. But while Choque Asimétrico makes you feel like the pedal is constantly on the floor, if you listen closely, you realize how adept Unidad Ideológica is at changing things up so the energy never lags (sort of like how Gauze said they wanted to create the impression of speed rather than simply play super fast). They have a deep bag of tricks for this (“Asymmetric Shock” is an apt title for the album!)… sometimes the drummer lays off the cymbals for a moment, sometimes the band will depart from the relentless d-beat and recharge with a staccato buildup part, sometimes the whole band might just pause for a fraction of a breath, and sometimes a lead guitar overdub will crash into the mix and turn everything up to eleven. The result of all this masterful hardcore execution is not only a more effective pummeling but also a record with depth and variety that will reveal itself to you gradually over many listens. I know everyone is talking “Best of 2025” lists right now, and while the fact that Choque Asimétrico landed at the end of the year may have prevented them from appearing on many of those lists, the true hardcore faithful won’t want to miss out on this crusher.