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Hello and thanks for reading. This week I will write about the recent LEGION OF PARASITES reissue on General Speech. This record was released forty years ago, and this is the first time it has ever been reissued! It was originally released by Fight Back in 1984. If you don’t know, Fight Back was a side label of Mortarhate Records. I’m not sure what the intention behind the sub-label was, but I know Mortarhate was operated by members of CONFLICT. Somewhere along the way, Cherry Red picked up the rights to this record, cos I can see this pressing is licensed from them. I think the actual record sounds excellent, and the packaging is nice and proper. The photos were printed perfectly on the back, and often photos print fucked up unless the person doing the formatting/layout knows exactly what they are doing. This pressing was slightly enhanced by including an insert, as the original did not come with on (...at least that is what I thought until I just checked Discogs, fuck.) Someone recently uploaded a picture of an insert and they said you could get it by writing the band. I have never seen a copy with one, damn. While the insert inside this reissue is a bit different than the one I saw in Discogs, it does still include lyrics. When listening to political bands I think it’s especially important to get a lyrics insert. I feel a bit silly saying political bands, but you know what I mean? I mean those bands who really take the time to write thought provoking lyrics and use their music as a weapon. Not like those bands whose lyrics are about petty things like social ridicule. Don’t get me wrong, there is a time and place for criticizing your peers, but more often than not, I don’t find those lyrics very entertaining. (The perfect exception to what I’ve just said is SHAVED APE.)

Anyway, LEGION OF PARASITES certainly has elements of that early anarcho sound, but there is a bit more to it than the traditional Crass Records formula. On this EP specifically, they kind of remind me of SUBHUMANS actually, but overall they have more of an aggressive sound. They really lean into that on their LP that followed the year after. Overall, they really remind of ANTI-SYSTEM (one of my favorite English bands.) Funny enough, ANTI-SYSTEM also started out with more of a traditional anarcho sound and evolved into a pummeling monster on their LP.

Alongside General Speech’s recent reissues, we also got some other releases he is handling distribution for in the US. I didn’t know this band existed until I saw these LPs. DEAD ENDS was from the Philippines, and it’s safe to say this is the first band I have ever heard from there. They pumped out three cassettes from 1985 to 1987 and this is the first time they have ever been reissued. Naturally, this really increased my interest, and after checking them each out just once, I grabbed a copy of them all for myself. I haven’t spent much time at all with them outside of work, so I have only been able to take the music in. After a brief look at them, the packaging seems nice. Each includes a sticker and double-sided insert filled with text. I will have to spend some time outside work to really explore the releases, but I think I already favor their third LP the most, Damned Nation. Coming from an uncultured noob, I am guessing the opinion is probably not common, haha. That one stuck out to me the most though, but probably cos it sounds the most hardcore.

I can’t leave without mentioning that the KRIEGSHOG LP is back in print! I realize that there are probably a whole crop of younger kids who may not be familiar with the band since they disappeared for a long time. I know they had peppered out those EPs way after the first few 7"s and LP, and I remember one being a posthumous release? Maybe I am totally mistaken. LVEUM has put the LP back in print, and it’s coming alongside a brand new LP I have a lot of anticipation for. If you haven’t heard them before, immediately check out their debut LP that is now back in print. I think it is safe to say this is a modern masterpiece, and a copy belongs in every single record collection. Alright that’s all I got for today. Thanks for reading and thanks to everyone for your support.

Hello and thanks for reading.

Remember last week when I mentioned the PayPal debacle in association with ABSOLUT? I explained that I had asked Daniel to try and buy a copy of the tape after I changed the product title on my website and had still no luck. Well, now PayPal has "limited" Sorry State's account, which has resulted in transactions being rejected since Saturday. Since Sorry State is such an in-depth operation, this is a million levels more of frustration than what it was like for me to personally deal with. I know there are a ton of people who use PayPal to pay for Sorry State orders, especially international customers. I'm sorry to anyone who has not been able to order as a result, and I hope PayPal can resolve this issue ASAP so we can get on with things as usual.

This week I will be writing about this killer reissue of the 1977 hit single Mucky Pup. General Speech has brought us this reissue alongside LEGION OF PARASITES. While I am equally (if not more) excited about the LEGION OF PARASITES reissue, I haven't checked it out yet, so I will focus on PUNCTURE this week. PUNCTURE technically first came onto my radar in my early teens via THE EXPLOITED. On their 1981 debut LP Punk's Not Dead, they cover Mucky Pup. The cover is actually the second track on the record. I used the word "technically" a moment ago cos while I knew THE EXPLOITED so well for so many years, I had absolutely no idea this was a cover song! I think it especially threw me off cos the track appears at the beginning of the record, rather than where I would expect a cover to be at the end of a record. It was only just a few years ago that I discovered the song I loved and knew by THE EXPLOITED was in fact originally done by PUNCTURE. We were up in Philly for Something To Talk About and ICD10 busted out a cover of Mucky Pup. I was so stoked and rocking out to what I thought was EXPLOITED, to only (somewhat) embarrassingly discover I didn't even know who the song was by, haha. When I learned the song was originally by PUNCTURE, I checked it out first thing upon my arrival home.

While I loved EXPLOITED's take on it, man nothing beats the original recording by PUNCTURE. It's like kinda janky and sort of jangling sounding. It reminds me of anarcho a bit, actually. The B side track is quite a bit different, sounding much more like a '77 band. This single was the only release from PUNCTURE, and it was also the debut release for Small Wonder Records. There is a lot of great stuff on Small Wonder, but the two bands that stick out most to me in their catalogue are CRASS and ANTHRAX. I feel like most records on this label are not super expensive or hard to come by, but I have not managed to secure myself a copy of Mucky Pup. It was reissued once before actually in 2011, by a US label. Obviously, I didn't know who PUNCTURE was in 2011, and by the time I did learn, those reissues were all bought up and pretty much non-existent on the second hand market. When I saw General Speech had this one in the pipeline, I got very excited to finally land a copy of this classic! Sorry State just got our copies in, and as I write this we are working to get them available on our site. If you check back soon we will have 'em ready for ya. I think that about sums it up for me this week. Thanks for reading, and thanks to everyone for your support!

Hello and thanks for reading. This week I will write briefly about this new ABSOLUT cassette that was released to coincide with their upcoming tour dates in USA. It’s kinda crazy to think this band has been around for over a decade now. They really caught my attention with their demo, and I have been a huge ABSOLUT fan ever since. Their 2013 debut certainly had a heavy metal edge to it. And while there are serious metal influences on ABSOLUT, their sound has always come off to me as firmly rooted in hardcore punk. Their recordings typically sound raw as fuck, and the artwork more or less stays in line with what you’d expect to see on a punk record. Yeah, they definitely lean towards the Scandinavian Jawbreaker side of things when it comes to art, but never some insanely epic metal looking shit. While they kept the cover punk as fuck on this new cassette with an homage to MODERAT LIKVIDATION, it’s hard to say the music easily fits into this aesthetic. Yes, they cover GANG GREEN on the B side of the tape, but holy fucking shit this tape is metal as fuck. Their last proper release in 2019 certainly had a new vibe with double-kicking parts, but it was not like THIS. Anyone that knows me knows that I am truly not a fan of metal, but man I can’t get enough of this new ABSOLUT käng munk! It just sounds so extreme. Joel delivers absolute fucking madness on guitar.

When I dissect this release, I really treat the A side as the focus here. I know there are more songs on the B side, but those tracks were just thrown onto the tape for the hell of it, since they were never properly released. The A side also has like ten minutes of blank tape after the music ends, haha, so that really takes attention away from the B side. While I enjoy the B side, I find the master is much better on side A. On the A side, there are three totally new songs recorded last year as a promo for an LP coming later down the line. On the B side, there are two other new songs, two old songs, and a cover that were all recorded April 2022. While some people may not like the mashing up of different sessions on one release, I love when bands do this. It just comes off as so punk and DIY. I really love the packaging on the tape. It is also super punk, in the way that the tape case can barely close cos there are so many folds! While they credited me for the art/layout, I really did not do that much. I just suggested doing a huge double-side jcard that folds out from eight panels. I guess I did the mock-up for each panel, but I didn’t make the actual design. To finish off the release, an absolutely hilarious (and offensive) “homage” to Eric Clapton is featured on the back side. I think tape packaging is typically pretty fucking boring, so spicing this shit up with more folds than one can handle seemed like a good idea (...until it came time to actually folding every single one). I actually released this cassette, so all the folding was done by yours truly.

I bought Victims of a Bombraid and Absolut Country of Sweden from a guy on the internet years ago. I felt bad that he was only selling em due to pressure from his wife and care expenses, but man I was unbelievably excited to cross those two bangers off the list at the same time. To pay him, I sent PayPal over and wrote the record names in the notes. After I sent it over, the payment was flagged and it said it was under review by PayPal. Of course, the guy was nervous cos he had already sent the records, and we were both really confused as to what was going on. I had never experienced this before, but his PayPal account was new, so I assumed that’s all it was. After some time, PayPal asked me to fill out a form explaining what exactly I was purchasing. And then after I got the stuff, they wanted me to confirm all was good before they would let the money clear into the dude’s account. That sucked, especially for the dude. When this was happening, my friend Chris (what up mofo!) explained that he has often has problems with ANTI-CIMEX stuff sold through PayPal. He told me he’s not sure why the stuff is flagged, but to avoid the trouble he changes the title slightly, so it doesn’t straight up say ANTI-CIMEX. I take the time to explain this, cos when I first launched ABSOLUT: Käng Munk 2024, every single order on the BPDT site that contained this cassette was flagged and then denied. That was brutal. I called PayPal and they just explained it was a security issue and it was automatically denied, but the person on the phone could not tell me why exactly. Instantly I remembered buying Absolut Country of Sweden, and the difficulties that came with it. I wondered if that previous issue was with “ABSOLUT” cos of the liquor brand, and not actually “ANTI-CIMEX.” So, I changed the name of the tape and asked Daniel to buy a copy online. Still no luck. At this point, I gave up and decided people would have to wait for SSR and a few other distros to get copies. But, a few days later, PayPal emailed Daniel an explanation and asked him to answer one question to resolve the issue. They asked him to provide a date of birth for Käng Munk. I can’t tell you how funny I think that is. Since I finally understood why PayPal was flagging them, I removed the title from the cassette, and all that followed was business as usual.

My staff pick is stretching away from brief now, but before I go, I want to break down “käng” and “munk” cos I’ve seen a lot of comments and questions, haha. I’ll start with the simple one. Munk is simply a combination of metal and punk, but from my understanding the band must actually be good otherwise it’s not considered munk and probably just butt-metal. To be honest, I first heard this term from CLT of ABSOLUT, so I take this as some up north Canadian slang that doesn’t exist far from there. Now, käng is a lot harder to describe, but it’s actually a word in Swedish. When we toured Europe a few years ago, I learned I was pronouncing käng wrong this entire time. The letter k is not pronounced like we would in English, but the word begins with a “sh” sound. Käng is pronounced shhang, essentially. As I was breaking this down, I suddenly realized the symbol commonly used to represent kängpunk is a fist, but käng actually translates to the word boot. I know of another word “kängnäve” that people have used to describe kängpunk bands, but I did not really understand how it translated. Well, I had to get to the bottom of this, so I asked my good friend Anders to help me understand. I asked him why a fist is used to symbolize kängpunk, when the word käng translates to boot. Instead of paraphrasing his reply, I am going to leave you with quotes. If you’re reading Anders, thank you as always for taking the time to share stuff with me!! And thanks to everyone else for your support, of course.

“Käng is boot so that’s correct and kängnäve is the way your fist goes up in the air when listening to a proper käng band. The way ‘Kängpunk’ came to be was that in the mid 80’s American bands wearing flannel and converse shoes were ‘taking over’ even in Sweden and the old proper leather jacket and army boots punk was not very popular. Jimmy (bass player in 16 Blåsare Utan Hjärna, Horse Laugh etc etc) was not very fond of the transition and wanted bands to wear boots. Boot wearing bands = kängpunk. Simple as that. The term spread and the rest you know…Kängnäve probably got its name from people wearing boots going to gigs and just acting out their frustrations about society and war and bands wearing converse shoes.”

Hello and thanks for reading. Last week we got some tapes from brand new label, Total Recall Recordings. The tapes are debuts for both HÄXORNA and JORO PATH. Each band features a few members from CONSEC, but their song writing approach is quite different. While HÄXORNA has somewhat of a USHC vibe, I hear Swedish inspiration when it comes to the riffs. The first track kind of reminds me of KOWARD, while the other two are a bit more on catchy side of things. I guess referring to KOWARD might be silly, since they are from USA. I used them as a reference cos they too had a bit of Swedish approach to things while still retaining a USHC sound. Anyway, I think this tape rips, and I hope they do more. Alongside HÄXORNA is JORO PATH, who pulls influence from the complete opposite side of the globe, where I hear an obvious Japanese influence. They remind me of GASMASK, especially with their pulled-back style. While JORO PATH pulls influence from mid-‘80s Japan, they are not afraid to wander outside this traditional formula and keep things fresh. Total Recall Recordings is operated by one (or two?) of the people from these projects. I think it’s sick they chose to kick off a new label with their new projects, check ‘em out.

I also wanted to mention that Jeff and I have been busy with our own label the last few months. We just got the first SCARECROW EP back in print, and you can grab copies now at Sorry State. We’ve debated putting this back in print pretty heavily for some time now. We could not use the original stampers, so it would not be nearly as cheap as a “repress” should be. And who knows if there is even that much demand for it? Haha. With another tour overseas coming up this year, we said fuck it and pulled the trigger. Maybe I am biased, but I think this is the best cut we’ve had of these songs. It’s loud and clear. Over the weekend SCARECROW finished off some recordings for a promo we will have available when it comes to tour time. We recorded three new songs and three covers, and I think we are all pretty excited for how it’s turning out. You can grab our first EP at Sorry State now like I mentioned, but we have some shirts available via mail order here if that is something you are into. Alright that’s it for this week. Thanks for reading, and thanks to everyone for your support!

https://flowernewyorkcity.bandcamp.com/album/heel-of-the-next-physical-god

Hello and thanks for reading. A friend of mine recently sent me a copy of the new FLOWER 7” and I’ve been listening to it a lot. This record only features one track on each side. Usually I would talk shit on a record with such few songs, but instead I am a huge fan of this release. Even though it’s only two songs, the duration of this 7" is still about eight and a half minutes. I think I would also usually find songs that are so long to be boring, but in this case I find the two tracks to be super captivating. I heard FLOWER with their debut release on Profane Existence. They played our house spot a while before that LP came out, but I was wasted, and their sound didn’t really stick in my head. On their LP, I heard an obvious nod to NAUSEA, amongst some anarcho-type riffs. The artwork had a total RUDIMENTARY PENI vibe, down to the foldout poster sleeve. I liked the LP, but I really like the EP. The recording sounds much more clear and powerful on the LP, but I find the song-writing itself to be more powerful on the 7". I feel like they really locked the sound in more on this release, and the packaging is simply amazing. I also want to mention how much I like the lyrics. They are political but worded in such a clever way. They are a serious highlight for me on the release. I love the back-and-forth bits on the vocals too. It makes the choruses even more memorable. With the packaging, it’s the same Crass Records foldout poster style as the LP. Even though they were working with less space this time with the 7" format, I feel like they really did more with it. It takes so much time and dedication to pull off this type of layout, and they executed it perfectly. Probably everyone sees FLOWER artwork and thinks Nick Blinko, right? Even though it’s so on the nose, I find there is originality to it. On the 7" especially, there are so many layers, dimensions, and messages. It is such an adventure to take it in. I really appreciate how the lyrics are incorporated into the art. You have to really engage with the record to fully take in. I know not every band has the ability to go all-out with art like this, but man I can say how much I appreciate it when they do. This record is a cooperative release between Fight For Your Mind (France) and a brand-new label called Peace Of Mind. I am pretty sure that label is operated by a member of FLOWER and a close friend of the band. I don’t think this record is actually available in the US yet, but I am sure we will get copies in due time. Alright I think that about sums it up for this week. Thanks for reading and thanks to everyone for your support!

Hello and thanks for reading. This week I wanted to write about the recent DEEF reissues on General Speech. I think it's safe to say DEEF is obscure as fuck. While they are obscure in my mind, they were credited as "the first Sapporo hardcore band" by Doll Magazine in 1982. Regardless, I'm guessing outside of Japan that some cult tape traders would be the only ones to know the band, until maybe the G-GAS reissue that General Speech did in 2015 where DEEF was mentioned. G-GAS was from Sapporo, just like DEEF. While they existed at the same time and have some similarities in sound, DEEF existed before G-GAS did. I learned from the Nou reissue that DEEF had begun as early as 1979. However, they were just school kids and far from a punk band in these early days. On the Nou LP reissue we can find DEEF's 1982 debut also entitled Nou, which was originally released on cassette, and is in fact hardcore. The A side of the LP also features their tracks from a hyper rare cassette entitled Nouten Records, which compiled tracks from three early and obscure Sapporo hardcore bands including 2.26 and PROBLEMS. To finish off the A side, General Speech unleashed 3 completely unreleased studio songs recorded in 1982! While the B side of the LP is totally unreleased recording as well, I think those 1982 studio tracks really set this LP off for me.

I knew virtually nothing about DEEF before these reissues. The only stuff I knew from them came from a bootleg of Real Control on cassette I have. Real Control originally came out in 1983, and I think it absolutely rules. When I heard General Speech was reissuing it I got super excited. I was actually under the impression this tape came out in 1984 until this reissue, and that makes DEEF even more significant in my mind. The B side of the LP features another unreleased session from 1983! With all this unreleased material and killer packaging, it is like a record nerd's wet dream. I feel lucky to have a label like General Speech here in the USA. He's reissuing killer shit from overseas, and he does it with a serious passion and knowledge about what he's dealing with. Inside these reissues I discovered things about Japanese punk history that I had no idea about. I learned that punk was essentially banned in Sapporo by the mid-'80s. It looks like the gigs would start at 1PM in the afternoon. They would also be private, and sometimes people would be seated. That is nuts! Each of these DEEF LPs comes with a foldout insert completely loaded up with color photos, flyers, and scans of the original jcards. These LPs are super well-done, and I think they deserve a place in every collection. I understand it can be overwhelming to have two LPs of obscure shit drop on you and it's hard to know where to start or digest. I mean, that's exactly what's happened to me with the other two General Speech reissues he dropped at the same time! Haha. I better check those out before it's too late. Alright I think that's all for the week. Thanks for reading and thanks for your support!

Hi and thanks for reading. My boy Merm was the only person to reply to anything I said in the last newsletter. Which is sick cos I love Merm, but really? No one else had shit to say about who first wrote a song called "ACAB?” Also, I understand the MALINHEADS shit is a bit obscure, but I really was hoping to get something on it. Oh well. Maybe it's cos I came off like too much of a poser with my lack of knowledge on German hardcore. Or maybe everyone is preoccupied by the complete shit state of the world. I find it hard to clear my head in general these days, so trying to clear my head and write about a record doesn't come so easily. I never thought I would live through a global pandemic, followed by a literal, blatant genocide. I never imagined after WWII that something like this could happen. I don't mean the ill-intentions of the State of Israel, of course imperialist nations always have bad intentions. What I mean is how not one single country has stepped in to stop this. In reality, all the other countries will look to places like the USA and UK, and for good reason. Well not really a good reason, but because we have pummeled the living shit out of every place on Earth and that is why we are a "super power" country or whatever the fuck politicians like to call it. You would think we would use our super power to stop Israel, or even just cut the funding of U.S. tax dollars to Israel, but I guess I am naive to expect anything less from the U.S. government. I'm sure everyone reading this is on the same page with me, and I feel so helpless most of the time. I don't want to take the time here to remind you of the current state of world though, so I will move onto records.

I can't remember if we had the new PUBLIC ACID record in stock when I was writing my staff pick last week, but I wanted to mention it this week. To me, it's obvious that everyone and their mother should buy this LP—and I am sure you all have. This is an excellent follow-up to their Condemnation EP, and the packaging is absolutely beautiful (as always). What really makes this LP special is it's the first record that Jeff appears on since he joined the band! Although I think he played on the Beat Sessions cassette that came out last year. I've been seeing this band (or a version of it) for about a decade now, so it's kind of easy for me to take them for granted. The band has evolved a ton since they first started. I talked about their evolution a bit when their Condemnation EP was released. I think I fuck up some details but it's like 95% accurate. And like I mentioned, the band has evolved past this when adding Jeff to the equation. Proud feels like a weird word to use, but I think that is how I feel about this band. This crew of people has been tirelessly putting all their effort forth for years with a number of great bands, and it feels like they are finally getting the recognition they deserve. I also wanted to mention this debut cassette from BLISTERING NOISE. This band is from Tokyo, and I knew nothing other than that and this tape was recorded at Noise Room. Naturally, I want to check out anything recorded at Noise Room, so I did. I had to listen to this physical cassette, cos there was no streaming online I could find. So I wanted to let anyone know who was on the fence about the cassette, it rips.

I had briefly mentioned this record last week, but I've finally had a chance to spend a good amount of time with the new NIGHTFEEDER 7". I find NIGHTFEEDER to be a particularly interesting band cos they always do something that tests my taste on each release, but their foundation is so damn solid that I am always eager to hear what's next. To be honest, I don't like it when bands challenge me as a listener. I know that's boring. However, I seriously appreciate it when a band challenges my ears, and then it grows on me, resulting in me looking forward to these parts I once questioned. I love that. I'm sure there are people who specifically seek this when checking out bands, but I just don't look for this experience when listening to music. So NIGHTFEEDER begins this EP with a "longer" mid-tempo song. The song itself is entitled Disgustor, like the EP. Over half of the song is slow and has a kinda droney sound or something. The last minute of the song they pick up the pace (just a bit), with some pulled-back DISCHARGE drumming accompanied by another dissonant, but slightly catchy riff. On the B-side you can find two certified rippers in true NIGHTFEEDER fashion that you want to play on repeat. I guess the A side of the record took me some time to digest. The riffs are not particularly memorable, and it's the only track featured on the A side. After talking with Daniel about the track, he explained his interpretation of the song. He said he didn't think the song was really about the riffs at all, but about the overall energy or atmosphere the band establishes. He explained how it all seemed to build into the chorus, where the lyrics are the real focus; "I am disgustor, hear my name." I probably didn't explain that very well, but after letting this soak in it really started to grow on me. It felt like the band was going for a more classic approach or something; 7" cut at 45rpm featuring one slower song on the A side that focuses on the chorus, followed by two bangers on the B side. The formula reminds me that of like a PARTISANS or DEMOB 7". NIGHTFEEDER really lays into the "horror" aspects of the band with this EP. While I think elements of horror can come off so cheesy, I think they still pull it off. I really like the artwork and packaging on this EP especially. They made a limited screen-printed version, but the artwork for the regular version is just as sick!! The spots of color and layout is excellent. It looks so cool that I would consider buying it without knowing who the band was. I think there are bands who are not very good, and rely on a gimmick of sorts to attract listeners. While NIGHTFEEDER has some artistic elements with their presentation, I don't think they rely on this to attract listeners cos their music actually rips. Alright then, I think that about sums it up for this week. Thanks for reading. Thank you to everyone for your support!

Hi and thanks for reading. It's been a minute since I wrote. I was out sick for a bit, and then Daniel got sick too. I'm not writing about any new releases this week unfortunately, cos I haven't spent much time with any of them yet. I have been really looking forward to the DEEF reissue on General Speech, and also the new NIGHTFEEDER 7" that we got in stock recently. I've only had time to spin those just once each, so today I am writing about MALIN HEADS. At the risk of sounding like a poser, I will be writing unashamedly. I don't really know much German hardcore/punk. I can name maybe like a dozen bands. I'm pretty sure MALIN HEADS was my introduction. I discovered them while on tour with my old band with Jeff. We were at Arrow's Aim in Gainesville, and that's where I picked up a copy of their first EP Probegepogt Aus Spandau. As I was flipping through a 7" bin, I passed over it cos I had no idea what it was. As I passed it, Jeff asked If knew it and also informed me it ripped. Obviously, I bought it. I will pick up almost anything a friend suggests to me in that context. I never really thought about it until now, but this type of thing happens often when I got to record shops with friends, where someone is flipping and another is kinda looking over their shoulder and there is conversation about what dank shit is floating around in the bins, know what I'm talking about? Haha. Anyway, from there I checked out the other bands on Pogar (the label who originally released that MALIN HEADS EP). Somewhere in there I heard more shit like VORKRIEGSPHASE, UPRIGHT CITIZENS, SLIME, and THE BUTTOCKS. I know SLIME and BUTTOCKS are pretty early bands. A close friend of mine living in Germany told me about SLIME after we toured Europe a few years ago. It's funny, I was just talking to some friends the other day about "ACAB." I know this acronym is wildly popular now… and it's possible some young punks don't know what band my friends and I associate this slogan with. I mean obviously ACAB was not invented by a band, but I always thought 4 SKINS was the first band to do a song called ACAB. I'm pretty sure that came out in 1982, right? Well fuckin' hell, SLIME released a track called ACAB in 1981! I had no idea. If someone knows anything earlier please let me know. Or maybe I am wildly mistaken, and 4 SKINS had been playing it live before SLIME.

Getting back to MALINHEADS, their first EP is such a banger. Their second EP entitled Medical Fame followed a few years later in 1986 and I think its also an excellent record. The sound is noticeably different though. They have another release the followed that, but to be honest I don't even remember what it sounds like. Their first EP was reissued, and I am not sure why Medical Fame was not. For many years that reissue I held me over until one day I was able to land an original copy of Probegepogt Aus Spandau. I guess when I say original, I mean an 80s pressing. The cover of the record I had gotten was not the first press according to Discogs. And as of late, some pretentious asshole added a new version that he has, and of course he states THIS is the first press, haha. I knew there was a different cover for the "first press," but I have always wondered if there was actually two different pressings or just some different versions of the cover. I was actually chatting with a German friend, and he sent me a photo of his copy that he got in the 80's. It's yet another different version than what is listed on Discogs.

There was a record shop called Vinyl Boogie in West Germany, and they seemed to have distributed all the Pogar stuff. I was actually just poking around Discogs, and it seems the owner of Vinyl Boogie was also the same person who operated Pogar Records. Interesting. I wish I knew more. I'm not sure how true this is, but one guy told me he was there at Vinyl Boogie when the MALINHEADS records arrived, and they quickly threw together the covers of the "first press" cos they didn't have anything prepared. I'm not sure if he meant only those very early copies (which seem to be few, and printed on colored paper,) or if he meant they made an entire run of covers with the same design printed on regular white paper. According to Discogs, the was a repress the same year as the original. On this sleeve, they took the back cover photo from the first press, and that became the front cover of the repress. I just wonder if there really were two pressings, and/or how many copies exist of each cover. That leads me to why I really decided to write about this today, haha. I've shared this cover from my staff photo on Instagram before, but I didn't get any info on it. I've searched the internet to the best of my ability, and never came up with shit. I did see an old Ebay listing where a copy sold with this same cover, but a part of me wonders if this was by chance the same copy that eventually ended up in my hands? I bought this copy just a few years ago from a German record shop. What this is, is the repress sleeve, but for some reason MALINHEADS is not printed across the front. What the fuck? I have endless questions, and I am out of time, haha. Sorry my write-up this week seems directionless and really in the end I am just hoping someone will reply and let me know some info on this record! Haha. Cheers and thanks for reading.

Hi and thanks for reading. This week I am going to write about RATTUS: Rajoitettu Ydinsota EP. This EP was originally released on Poko Rekords in 1982, and it’s back in print in Finland for the first time since! I think it’s significant that this record came out in 1982, but I find it even more impressive that this was already the fourth record for RATTUS. I feel like this is the EP that everyone associates with RATTUS, but maybe I am wrong. I know the record that probably gets the nerds going is their first 7" cos it is hyper rare, haha. Their first two records are not really hardcore, but ‘77 punk. This early RATTUS punk sound fits in well with the Poko Rekords catalog. When thinking about Finnish hardcore, the first labels I think of are Propaganda and P. Tuotanto. Rock-O-Rama also comes to mind, but they were just a German label who was licensing releases from Propaganda. I know a handful of other smaller labels that released hardcore bands; otherwise most of the records I can think of were self-released. The earliest Finnish labels I can think of are Poko Rekords and Johanna. Both labels began in the late 70s and released some pretty essential stuff when it comes to Finnish punk and hardcore. Well, mostly punk really, and not so much hardcore.

Poko released a fair amount of good bands, including one of my all-time favorite ‘77 bands, KOLLAA KESTÄÄ. They also released a lot of weird shit, like rock-a-billy and electronic bands. I was just thinking about it, and I think RATTUS is probably the most hardcore shit they ever released, haha. KOHU-63 would be another banger on Poko that comes to mind, but again this stuff doesn’t hit quite like Rajoitettu Ydinsota. Don’t get me wrong, I really like KOHU-63 a lot and I consider them hardcore. I am just saying the sound isn’t like full-blown DISCHARGE-type hardcore. It’s like LAMA (who was on Johanna); they are definitely hardcore, but they formed early on and played through the evolution of punk into hardcore. TERVEET KÄDET I think is another example, with their evolution into hardcore being obvious on their third 7”, Ääretön Joulu, which was also released in 1982 on Poko Rekords. Damn, I never realized TK’s Ääretön Joulu was released so close to Rajoitettu Ydinsota EP. If anyone is counting, RATTUS had recorded for that EP in December ‘81, while TK didn’t record until spring of ‘82. Alright anyway, RATTUS released their previous record in 1981 on Poko Rekords as well, Rattus On Rautaa. While the band was already under the influence of DISHCARGE when Rattus On Rautaa was recorded, the sound did not translate so well. I think this is an excellent record, but if they were going for DISCHARGE, they still needed to go a bit further. I guess they really made sure to get the point across by putting a huge atomic cloud on the cover of Rajoitettu Ydinsota, and entitling it “Limited Nuclear War.” RATTUS kept it up into the later ‘80s releasing records on a handful of different labels, including two more 12"s on Poko Rekords. I have never actually heard their 1988 7", but I really enjoy every single release RATTUS from the ‘80s.

So, Poko Rekords was started by this guy Epe Helenius 1977. However, Epe had already owned a record store in Tampere since 1972 called Epe’s Music Shop. This shop expanded to a chain of stores over the years, and he also started a label for distributing bands from overseas called Poko International. He manufactured and/or distributed classics like DEAD KENNEDYS, PARTISANS, EXPLOITED, and BLITZ. He even handled distribution for a few METALLICA LPs, crazy. It’s a bit unclear to me how things worked, but things got rough and Epe had several different companies behind Poko to keep it afloat through the 90s. Poko Rekords was originally founded under Unitor Oy, but Unitor Oy went bankrupt in 1993. At the end of the 80s, he went into business with a friend, but that friend was bought out in 1991 by a company called PolyGram (who later becomes Universal). He did not want to go into business with PolyGram, so he bought back the shares his friend once had. In the end, it resulted in the bankruptcy of Unitor Oy. Luckily, he had already started a new company called Shoeling Oy in 1992, so he used this company to buy the old master catalogue to Unitor Oy that he lost in the bankruptcy. Then he changed the name of Shoeling Oy to Poko Rekords Oy. Haha, after wrapping my head around that, it is pretty genius... Eventually in 2001, Epe sold Poko Rekords Oy to EMI. I’m not sure how it worked, but Poko Rekords still functioned as a label regardless of what happened with EMI until 2009. And then finally in 2013, Universal bought EMI. What a story.

Thanks to Universal, there were licensing fees out the ass on this EP. They claim 50% goes to RATTUS, but that is bullshit of course. This RATTUS reissue was originally intended to be a co-release with my label Mäkitie 8, but due to the complicated licensing agreements it was best to keep it as a solo release from Finnish Hardcore. Regardless, I feel honored to play a role in the distribution of this legendary Finnish record over here in USA. Naturally, I wanted to make our copies special somehow, so each one comes with a bonus offset printed sleeve and proper screen-printed sticker. Sami from Finnish Hardcore included a brief history of the band, as well as a bunch of unreleased photos Vote Vasko took during the recording session!

Unfortunately, when I got the shipment I discovered a large percentage of the records were warped . Since the EPs cost so much money after licensing and shipping, I felt like I had to test each copy. I would be bummed if I paid $12 and got a wobbly ass 7" record from a label. So, my partner and I set up two turntables in the living room and tested all 300 copies on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, haha. It sucks so many were warped. It also almost sucks more cos they are warped but still totally playable—it’s just not pretty to look at. As a result, we’ve got some of these wobbly limited versions for sale via Sorry State. If that type of thing is too much, we’ve got the guaranteed-flat black vinyl version in stock as well, haha. I know this EP has been pressed a few times before, but I think it rips and deserves a place in every single record collection. Alright that’s all, I should go now. Thanks for reading and thanks for your support!!

Hello, and thanks for reading.

You would think since I write a staff pick like every week this wouldn’t be much of a challenge, but I still find it difficult to get my thoughts into writing. If I am prepared, I begin to write more than a few days in advance. I start by outlining the thoughts I want to cover and noting important bits I don’t want to forget. Even though I outline, I still find myself going on about random shit and I end up removing text I spent a lot of thought on. I use WordPad to create my document, and it doesn’t have spell check. So, I have to paste all the text somewhere else to make sure there are no mistakes. I have to look up words in the dictionary more than you’d expect. I search for synonyms sometimes cos I don’t quite know what word I am looking for, and I don’t think I really understand grammar. I’ve come to learn I love run-on sentences. Luckily Daniel is an English major, and he proofreads everything we write. While the newsletter usually comes out on Monday, our staff picks are supposed to have been submitted to Daniel by the Thursday before. Usually, I would delete something like this before I submit my staff pick to Daniel, but this week I am going to just leave it in. So anyway, I saw today we restocked that 100% ass beater SALVAJE PUNK 12". I assumed it was a repress, but Daniel explained Toxic State had just found another box. If you missed this LP the first time, I would suggest you don’t even think and buy this LP right now. Who knows if or when it will be available again. I wrote about this LP recently in my year end review, and I wrote about it before that in a staff pick so I‘m not gunna get into it again. I do wanna mention again, it comes with a fucking sick poster!!!

PHYSIQUE recently released a new 6 track EP, Overcome By Pain. It feels like it came super quick after their latest LP. I wonder how soon after the LP they recorded this material. There is no recording information on the new EP, but Iron Lung mentioned it was recorded on unceded Nisqually & Squaxin land by Captain Tripps at High Command and mastered by Shige at Noise Room. Inside the gatefold of Again, it has the same exact credits, but it also says it was recorded March 2022. Talking to Daniel, I began to wonder if the EP was from the same session as the LP and they were just waiting to release the EP after the LP finally came out. But after listening to Again again (haha), I don’t think it’s the same session. There are some similarities in sound, but this new EP sounds even better if you ask me. I think the best parts about their noise come through. The record sounds kinda heavy and thick, but there is still a certain clarity about it. It would be hilarious if I was wrong and these were from the same session. I mail-ordered this EP directly from Iron Lung when it came out. Often I wait until Sorry State gets copies of a release, but I did not want to wait for this record. I didn’t even bother streaming the EP digitally before buying it. After hearing Again, there was not a doubt in my mind that I needed this record. As time goes on, I find myself more and more impressed with PHYSIQUE. I think I saw them live the first time in 2018 and they blew the doors off that club. I am actually re-visiting this 12" from 2018, and it is a monster. While PHYSIQUE is obviously under the influence of DISCLOSE, there is a bit more going on here. Besides picking up the pace a bit and playing overall much faster than DISCLOSE, I think a major characteristic is how tight the instruments are through transitions. The drummer often does rolls into punches, or vice versa, but he always keeps it fresh. Honestly, the insanely tight and creative transitions this band pulls off in the midst of the speed is what I find so impressive about them. I can’t wait to hear what they do next, and I really look forward to catching them live again next month. I heard a rumor that PHYSIQUE and ELECTRIC CHAIR were going to do a split. Maybe I shouldn’t say that, but whatever, I doubt many people are reading this. You know what fucked me up today? I discovered that Trae from Electric Chair played bass early on in PHYSIQUE, whoa haha. Check out their first tape if you want to hear it. OK, that is all for today. Free Palestine.

Hello, and thanks for reading. I mentioned previously I would write about a killer reissue next time I wrote, but I spoke too soon. This week I am writing about THE COMES, specifically this recent live 12” Ballroom of the Living Dead. I assumed pretty much everyone reading this knows THE COMES. If you haven’t ever really listened to them, then you should stop reading this right now and listen to their 1983 debut No Side. This album is excellent. I don’t think excellent is a strong enough word, but I think it is safe to say a copy belongs in every single collection. If you like this record and don’t own it for some odd reason, you can pick up this nicely done reissue we have in stock. I think a big reason this LP stands out so much is cos it came out pretty early on for Japanese hardcore. Some of the most popular Japanese bands like THE STALIN, GAUZE, or GISM (whose debut was also on the same label as THE COMES) were also active 1982, but most of my favorites like ZOUO, CONFUSE, THE SEXUAL, HEADLESS, ANTI-SEPTIC, etc did not exist until the years that followed. Aside from existing early on the hardcore timeline of Japan, the vocalist of THE COMES was a woman. I guess a part of me feels silly to point this out, but I think it is significant for the time and place. I’m not super well read on Japanese hardcore, but I know a bit of this and that. When trying to think of 80s bands with women, almost none come to my mind. NURSE would be an obvious one. That band it was all women. Holy shit, we have this in stock too, very sick. NURSE’s debut was also in 1983, actually. It is definitely a cool release, but it certainly does not rip like No Side. GAS is another one that comes to mind. Their 1982 flexi No More Hiroshima is so good. Insanely good. Damn, I never really thought about how early this record it is, and how DISCHARGE the sound is. That’s probably why the flexi sells for like $2k, haha. Oh yeah, but important note; their first flexi doesn’t have the line-up with a woman in it; it is the following one where she takes over vocals. Oh yes, there is also OUTO SYOJODAN. This shit is pretty cool. It also seems pretty obscure. It’s later 80s and the band is all women. My boy Rich showed it to me. (What up Rich!!!) Too bad this rip kinda sounds like shit with a low rumble like the entire time. Maybe Rich could hook me up with a better one, hehe. Okay, I think that’s all that is really coming to mind right now for women in 80s Japanese bands. I’m probably forgetting one or possibly two I might know. Anyway, THE COMES’ sound is super original to me. The songs (on No Side) are a nice mix between hardcore rippers and very slightly pulled-back catchy ones. When I really think about what they sound like, it kind of reminds of THE STALIN around Stop Jap, but more hardcore sounding. I have never once thought this before, but I think I hear some elements of USHC in there too. Am I crazy? Maybe I am just high. I think what really elevates their sound is the vocalist. I’m not sure what she does, but it sounds so unique and pissed off at the same time, it’s too good. They follow No Side in 1986 with Power Never Die. I think this record is sick, but if you compare it to No Side, you are going to be disappointed. The vocal style and song writing are completely different, but it’s still a great record. On this LP, it is the original vocalist and drummer alongside a new bassist and guitarist. I wonder why it’s never been reissued. Does the band think it sucks? (Like that KALASHNIKOV 12" that will probably never be reissued, haha).

Alright, I need to start talking about the live LP. It’s sold out, that sucks. I still wanted to write about it, though. This thing was pretty expensive at $40. I mean a higher retail price is always to be expected when dealing with Japanese imports. However, often Japanese releases are some of the nicest ones. The first thing I noticed was the badass tip-on sleeve. Hell yes. Isn’t there like one place in the world that makes these still? Inside, the thick ass jacket is a very nice booklet that’s printed in full color. Oh man... I’m not sure where to start with this. They give you a timeline of every show THE COMES played in their existence. I had no idea they were playing so many gigs in 1982! But I guess duh that makes sense. Bands usually gig a fair amount before their first record comes out. It’s also pretty insane their first gig is with GISM, GAUZE, and EXECUTE! Wow. Honestly, tons of the bills you see on the flyers in the booklet are just nuts. Alongside the flyers and timeline, this thing is loaded up with photos. I read Tom from General Speech said that a lot of these photos are unreleased. There is a lengthy interview with the bassist and drummer included as well. The band started with childhood friends, and slowly they grew from playing rock like QUEEN or KISS to shit like DISORDER, DEAD KENNEDYS, and DISCHARGE. I could be mistaken but I think they said the vocalist was super into glam shit and SOUXIE AND THE BANSHEES, but they were all exposed to hardcore punk via one member traveling to London. I could have totally misread that though, but they definitely mentioned London and punk, haha. Maybe they just meant punk fashion? They talk about the history of the band more or less, but I’m not sure why they broke up. They may have covered it and I just missed it. I got all this info from using a shitty translator, haha, better than nothing though. Yeah, the interview is in Japanese only. Going back to Tom from General Speech, he did a great job describing what kind of live audio we get here. “Well done archival live audio document...A side captures the band early in 1982 with a 17 song live set with several rare and unreleased tracks from before the No Side era. The B Side captures the band a year later and a bit more mature, but still early era and sound. The audio on both sides is above average quality audience recordings, not soundboard quality, and for those keeping close tabs, these are different, and in my opinion better live sets than the ones documented on the reissue live CDs 10-15 years ago.” Given that this isn’t studio sound, if you aren’t that familiar with THE COMES then I would definitely suggest checking out No Side first. But if you think THE COMES rip, then you are gunna be stoked about these tracks! They aren’t soundboard, but man they hit the spot for me. Their live performance fuckin’ rips. It sounds like they don’t stop once the entire set. Damn. Three of these songs have actually already been released on the Outsider compilation, I think. I think the sound is maybe a bit better than what you hear on that compilation. Side 2 has a handful of the same songs as side 1, which I think all appear on No Side, but the band’s playing is noticeably different. They seem tighter yet groove more. It’s cool to hear the evolution in sound, and especially the unreleased tracks from side 1. Overall, I think this is a great release. I am really loving the booklets labels have been going all out with. Yeah, sucks if you missed out, I’m sorry. I have no idea if we will be able to get more. I hope they will repress it! Alright it’s getting late I should go. Thanks for reading and thanks to everyone for your support!

Shit I am not ready for this week’s staff pick. There’s this new record out on Iron Lung that I am pretty into, but I will wait to bust that out until we have our copies in stock. There is also this killer reissue Mäkitie 8 is distributing in USA, but I will also wait to write about that til we have it in stock. We do have this pretty cool reissue from this ‘70s band named BLAST from Belgium in stock now. This has been reissued once before in 2015 and it was getting some high dollar amounts on Discogs in the recent years. I am not sure how I heard this record originally, but it was not from that reissue. I only heard the band recently, and it certainly stuck out in my head cos of what year it was. I don’t listen to like any 70s music. What I typically look for in music did not translate into what I like until the 80s. Haha. Don’t get me wrong, I am exaggerating, and I do listen to more than just hardcore. Here is a great example of some 70s music I really enjoy. The love of my life got me into this. Anyway, what makes this BLAST record special is that they are playing d-beat! Of course, it’s not like a straight up DISCHARGE song or these guys would have been legends, but the drummer is playing a proper d-beat. Everyone used to say BUZZCOCKS used it first in 1978; well we were wrong. I’m guessing everyone has heard this BLAST reissue by now, as I’ve seen it online a ton. If you haven’t though, you can hear their d-beat it here. I think this record is quite expensive for being a 7”, but I will say it has pretty nice packaging. I really like the silver and red center labels, and the full color booklet is nice. If it wasn’t for the A side with the DISCHARGE beat, I probably would not give a shit about this record. The B side sounds like some hippy shit.

Moving on but keeping the DISCHARGE beat, this week I am going to write about VERDICT. I’m writing about this record as I’m listening to it for the first time(s). I remember buying their first LP, or at least spinning it a few times. I also know it’s a member or two of bands I really enjoy, but I’m not gunna take the time to look that far into it as I just want to write a bit more candidly. I am not sure why I ended up listening to a copy of this LP, but I’m glad I did. I knew about it cos I saw the release details online, but I didn’t think much of it. I think the artwork and color scheme is not that great. The artwork has this cool cut-n-paste vibe, but it comes off as totally digital. I’m sorry for hurting anyone’s feelings, but that’s just my take and I am not an artist or graphic designer by any means. The album title is also kind of funny, it reminds me of that movie with Mr. Bean. But whatever, this is coming from a guy whose band is named after a John Mellencamp song. Anyway, I think this record rips! It has an excellent blend of fast and slower songs. I’m really enjoying the pulled back songs especially; the drummer has an excellent groove, and the riffs are especially catchy when they slow it down just a bit. I don’t remember liking the first LP as much as this one, but I am definitely gunna visit it again tonight. I just realized this LP is 14 tracks and it blew right by. That is pretty sick if you ask me. It’s hard to make an LP with a good number of tracks AND not get too boring. Or alternatively, bands these days make 12”s with eight to ten songs. I guess ten songs is fair, and they cut it at 45rpm, blah blah. My band had to talk me down from making like a twenty song LP. (I think we settled on fourteen.) To me, there is nothing like a fuckin hardcore record that just gooooes. Here are three excellent examples; one, two, and three.

Alright I should get going, Thanks to everyone for reading and thanks for your support! Oh yeah, you can check that banger VERDICT LP out here. See ya next week.