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The Apparition: Verbrauch cassette (Total Peace Records) Originally released in the UK on Brainrotter Records (Bobby from Total Con / the Annihilated’s label), Arizona’s Total Peace Records brings us a US pressing of the excellent debut cassette from this band out of Leeds, England. While Total Peace describes the Apparition’s music as “angular,” this doesn’t have the stark rhythmic shifts and dramatic, precisely-executed changes I associate with that adjective. Instead, I hear the Apparition’s music as a gnarled roar that’s kind of blurry around the edges. That’s not a slight at all; while the basement-level performance and recording quality you hear on the Apparition’s debut can make a lot of bands sound half-baked and generic, in this case it creates an intriguing space where their vibes can percolate. Total Peace’s description also references 80s Yugoslavian punk, and there’s something similar happening with a lot of those bands… a foreboding atmosphere, like there’s something strange and frightening—but intriguing—lurking just out of sight, imbuing the listening experience with a kind of electric charge. Fans of raw 80s European hardcore with a touch of death rock to it (Nog Watt, Tožibabe, etc.) will be stoked to blast this late at night by candlelight.
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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.