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Hello and thanks for reading. Today I am not writing about a record, but a book. I haven’t really been listening to records lately. I listened to a C.O.C tape this morning, and I listened to this KOHTI TUHOA LP the other night when HELL IS HERE stayed over after their gig in Raleigh. I think KOHTI TUHOA is easily one of the best bands I have seen live. I am lucky to say I have seen them four times. They play so tight. They can maintain pummeling speeds with super catchy riffs, alongside some of the hardest dancing grooves on other songs. Obviously I am already a fan of classic Finnish hardcore, but I can genuinely never get enough KOHTI TUHOA. If for some reason you haven’t yet checked this band out, listen to their last LP. They’ve got a decent amount of studio output, with their first record coming out in 2014. We have a few of their 7”s in stock at the moment. I was pretty drunk in Finland, but I think I recall them saying they will record for a new LP sometime. I can’t wait for that. Speaking of Finland, if you haven’t ordered a copy of the new LAMA boxset—you without a doubt need one!! I will probably write about that at a later time, once my limited version arrives from Svart Records.

Moving on to my staff pick. I am kind of ashamed to admit that I don’t really read books. I have only read two proper novels this year, and that’s more than I’ve read in the last ten years combined probably. When I was a kid, I used to love reading. I remember there being some shit when I was in elementary school where you would get little rewards for each book you read. I think it was just like little stickers on a sheet, haha. I am kind of competitive, so something like that would definitely give me motivation to read more. My housemate has been reading heavily this year and he’s been suggesting books for me to read. The first one I read that he suggested was Inferno. I forget who wrote this one, but it’s related to Dante’s Inferno in some way. The author references it, at least. It was a pretty good book. There was a good twist near the end, and the author did a great job at actually projecting images into your mind.

I started Animal Farm the other night. It’s a pretty short read, so imagine I will finish it next time I sit down to read. I remember we were forced to read this one in high school. Like the majority of my schooling, I paid little to no attention. We watched the movie afterwards as well, which I can also barely remember. George Orwell’s 1984 is kind of renowned in the world of punk, or at least it used to be. I wonder if the young punks these days would know what “big brother is watching you” would be referencing? It’s been a very long time since I’ve read that book. I think I will re-visit it after Animal Farm. George Orwell wrote both of those.

George Orwell was an Englishman who went and fought fascists during the Spanish Civil War. I read that he was shot in the neck and lost one of his vocal cords, but luckily, he survived. Animal Farm was written in late 1943/early 1944 as an allegory of the Russian Revolution. But it is, in many ways, what is happening here and now. He had difficulty getting the book published initially due to its political nature. It was feared the novel would upset the alliance between Great Britain, the United States, and the Soviet Union. It was finally published in August of 1945, the same month that the US dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. If you haven’t read this book and you would like to, you can read it for free online.

So, I just finished Tender Is The Flesh by Agustina Bazterrica. This book was originally entitled Cadáver Exquisito and it was written in Spanish. It was translated to English in 2020 by Sarah Moses. My housemate gave me a pretty brief introduction before reading, so I went in kinda blind. I figured it would be fucked up though, since he seems to gravitate towards bizarre or gross topics. This book is set some time in the future, but it doesn’t describe what year it is supposed to be. In this future, all the animals (besides humans) have been killed. This is due to a virus that infected all the animals, which made them unsuitable for human consumption. Some believed it was a government conspiracy to decrease the human population. They believed this because cannibalism became a standard practice after the transition. There were regulations on which humans could be eaten, and humans were bred in captivity for human consumption. It’s a pretty horrific book to be honest. The processing of humans for meat they describe is shocking and revolting. But in reality, these processes and procedures are virtually the same for the animals led to slaughter right now in the world as we know it.

The book focuses on a main character who works at a processing plant. He recently had an infant child die, and his wife left him. His dad is in hospice care and suffers from dementia. He seems to just be going through the motions of life while continuing grieve the loss of his child and seemingly hating his job. At some point, someone brings him a gift. The gift is a “female head.” Which is a woman who was bred in captivity. She has no vocal cords, so they cannot communicate. Most people would eat her or sell her. Some people even kept humans alive as they slowly eat them in their own home, as this was the freshest meat. Instead, the main character befriends her and gives her a name. I don’t really want to describe more of the book cos I don’t want to give any spoilers for anyone who hasn’t read it and would like to. While the book is really sad and about a dystopian future, I think it was a captivating read. There was a huge plot twist in the end that totally caught me off guard and fucked me up. I found a free version online that you can read if you want. Alright, I think that’s about it for today then. Thank you for reading, and thanks to everyone for your continued support.

Hi and thanks for reading. Today I will be writing about this LATIN DOGS 7”, although I don’t really have much to say about it, haha. It’s the only record I bought in the last two weeks, so that’s why I’m wiring about it I guess. I think this record actually came out last year and we just restocked it. I did not know who THE LATIN DOGS were in 2024, though. Er maybe. Definitely not in 2023, though. I just learned about this shit recently when my friend was selling a copy. The original seems quite hard to come by aka expensive as hell, so I thought it would be smart to go ahead and pick this up. I remember jamming it when Eric was trying to sell his copy, but it didn’t really stick with me. Upon listening again, I can definitely see why haha. This is some of that early hardcore shit, I mean like when they have kinda weak vocals with this gnarly ass guitar tone that keeps me hooked. Danny is always making fun of me cos I am super picky about vocals. It’s true. I also think that USHC bands tend to have snotty or whiny sounding vocals, and that’s like my least favorite shit ever.

THE LATIN DOGS were from Michigan, an hour or two from Detroit. I really don’t know many bands from Michigan. Off the top of my head comes NEGATIVE APPROACH and THE FIX. I discovered ANGRY RED PLANET last year. They were from Detroit and their first EP is killer. This one is in the same realm of kinda weak vocals. They aren’t actually weak; it’s just he’s straight up singing, haha. For some reason they don’t bother me at all, and the EP hits me hard, especially when “Mummy From Hollywood” plays. The YouTube rip is considerably shittier than the record, but whatever. I’m guessing this band is relatively popular since their second EP is on Touch And Go, but I have no idea. I checked that one out a few times and I do not like it. It’s not bad, it’s just so melodic. Maybe one day, haha.

Anyways, if you aren’t familiar with this LATIN DOGS reissue, check them out. It’s cool early USHC. You will probably like it more than me and you should pick up a copy. That’s all for me this week, thanks for reading and thanks for your support!

Hi and thanks for reading. I finally got around to listening to TÀRREGA 91’s new record, Ckaos Total, and I think it’s a certified ripper. It’s silly I took this long to getting around to jamming it, as their previous 7” Fill De La Merda was a previous staff pick of mine. I was chatting with a friend at THE ADVERTS gig the other day, and he was going on about how good the new one is. I didn’t even realize until today that Daniel wrote the album’s description for the label, haha. Of course, it is very well-written, and he gets the points across with ease. If you are a fan of MG 15, or maybe ANTI-DOGMATIKSS, and haven’t checked out TÀRREGA 91’ yet, you definitely should! Between their debut, Fill De La Merda, and this record, there are some subtle changes in the band’s sound. For one, the production on Ckaos Total is much better than the 7”. Fill De La Merda was not poor quality in my opinion though, and I might actually prefer it to the cleaner sound found on Ckaos Total. TÀRREGA 91’ is fast and locked-in, so the cleaner recording almost suits them better in a way. They play much tighter and less chaotic than ANTI-DOGMATIKSS did, so it felt kinda weird comparing them cos of that, but maybe you can hear what I mean. I found it interesting there are no mid-tempo songs until the final track on Ckaos Total. Half of the songs on the 7” were slow, so I expected to hear some more groovy stuff. While the final track on Ckaos Total is a mid-tempo song, it’s much more on the “A Look At Tomorrow” side of things than the groovy side for sure. If you’re just getting tapped into TÀRREGA 91’, I wanted to point out the band is named after their small town and the year that antisocial riots that nearly burnt down the town hall, which ended with the arrest of 86 youths.

La Vida released this record alongside a new KALEIDOSCOPE LP. I have yet to dive into KALEIDOSCOPE, as I don’t have a personal copy yet. I listened to it one time online and, man, it really hit the spot for me. If for some reason you haven’t checked that one out yet, I suggest you do and secure your copy now! Alright, I think that’s all for the week then. Thanks for reading and thanks for your support!

Hi and thanks for reading. Today I will be writing about this MERCENÁRIAS reissue. I apologize, as I write there are only 2 copies left in stock, one of which I will be taking. Oh update, Daniel got the last copy, haha. So, my photo above won’t make any sense until you get to the bottom of my staff pick. Daniel was the one who originally introduced me to MERCENÁRIAS, via Cadê As Armas? I remember then, as well as now, he was surprised I dig them, haha. I guess this band is categorized as post-punk? I don’t know anything about that genre really. There are probably a lot of bands that sound similar to MERCENÁRIAS, but I don’t think they’d really grab me like these guys do. I guess I shouldn’t say guys, cos the band was comprised of all women! I was telling Daniel I didn’t wanna sound stupid (aka sexist) but MERCENÁRIAS remind me of THE SLITS, or FITNESS WOMXN. He told me that FITNESS WOMXN actually covered MERCENÁRIAS! I had no idea, though. I love FITNESS WOMXN, but I did not know who MERCENÁRIAS was back then. It wasn’t until we got that 2021(?) reissue of their LP in stock that I was introduced to them via Daniel. I guess I should specify, it was their first LP Cadê As Armas? I didn’t know they had another LP that came out 1987, as well as this demo from 1983 that I should probably start talking about already.

This demo was previously reissued by Nada Nada Discos ten years ago and Sorry State had copies. Again, I had no idea who they were back then, so I did not get a copy. Nada Nada teamed up with Munster Records for this most recent pressing. I probably would have missed this one too honestly. I had fulfilled some orders and that’s when I realized we had some MERCENÁRIAS shit in stock. This probably sounds awfully silly since I work here, but we stock so many titles it’s hard to keep track of everything coming in. Alongside the demo 7”, we got this 1983-1987 LP that compiles outtakes from both LPs, some live stuff, and another studio session that was never released. I checked this one a little bit, but it doesn’t quite keep me hooked like their LP or this demo. I will have to give it a more in-depth listen. If you’re curious to hear this one and don’t know where it’s streaming, check the label’s bandcamp page.

I remember Daniel telling me the band’s live performances were really raw and intense compared to the studio recordings. I think that sound is captured on their demo. I mean that obviously makes sense; there are like three years between those two releases. On the LP it sounds like they’ve improved at their instruments, and their songwriting flows more like what I imagine post-punk to sound like. I love how the demo sounds kinda rigid/janky, and the vocals really caught me by surprise. They almost don’t fit the music, making it even more sick to my ears. For some reason the first thing I thought was UNITED MUTATION; they don’t really sound anything like that but maybe you know what I mean. They shed this style when it comes time for their debut and grew into more palatable singing. I originally heard “Policia” on the LP and it stood out as one of my favorite tracks. I was so stoked to hear this song on the demo as well. When that song came over my speakers I made my order immediately, haha.

OK before I go, I wanted to mention this tape I bought this week that we do still have in stock – LOTTI BIGOTTI. It’s funny this week I am writing about two releases that are not hardcore at all… what’s happening? I saw a friend of mine with good taste made an order this week, and this tape was in the midst of the stack. It was one of the only titles I didn’t recognize, and I realized we had just gotten it in stock. I don’t have a tape player at work, but I was able to stream the demo on bandcamp. I think I was two songs in and I had already made my order, haha. I have no idea what style of music this is. They say “dark punk” on their bandcamp. It definitely has some goth-y vibes, but they are subtle. Maybe reminiscent of MUSTA PARAATI at times? It’s certainly on the punk side of the fence, though. I also find them reminding me of TOŽIBABE with the dissonant elements of some songs. And then at times it reminds me of some anarcho stuff too, like maybe PART 1? Oh duh, “deathrock.” That must be what they are going for, right? Haha. This band is from Budapest, which is another thing I think is super cool about it, as I know virtually no bands from Hungary. I’ve mentioned before, but I won’t write about a tape unless I have bought it too since tapes are not so cheap these days. I’ve heard bands that sound similar, but they usually get boring fast for me and/or the vocal style is awful. I think this tape is excellent and you should buy it, too. Alright, that’s it for today. Cheers and thanks for reading.

Hi and thanks for reading. I am sitting down to write this week with nothing in particular in mind, but I will briefly mention a few things I bought for myself today. I also wanted to mention that last week or so, we went through and marked down some more stuff. We’ve been doing this occasionally if you haven’t noticed. There is some middle of the road type shit each time we do this. But there is also always some heat waiting to be scooped up. I noticed we marked down these SISTEMA EN DECADENCIA 12”s.

This record, Nuestro Legado, is a pure ass-beater. While they are from Australia, they take obvious influence from the noisy side of Japanese hardcore, similar to classic bands like FRIGORA, or more modern stuff like D-CLONE. If you haven’t heard this one and love noisy stuff or crasher shit, I would definitely check it out!

So I heard about these PUNK JUNK VHS tapes little while ago, and I have been anticipating getting copies since. I know there are probably a lot of readers who think VHS tapes are silly, just like audio cassette tapes. To someone like me, I think it’s super cool to release something on this format. It’s much cooler than burning DVDs or just uploading the footage to YouTube. I don’t think every band on the tape is like super sick or something. There are actually a few I have never listened to. It’s the fact that this tape was done with pure passion that really draws me in. To me it just takes one glance to see this thing was made by the punks and for the punks. That sounds cheesy kinda but I’m not sure how else to say it. I think Baño from PERSONAL DAMAGE filmed all the footage himself. It looks like he’s credited Austin (BLAZING EYE) for some help with art, as well as Bungee from PERSONAL DAMAGE. I haven’t watched mine yet cos I just grabbed it, but I look forward to viewing it tonite.

We got a few different zine/mixtape combos with the PUNK JUNK stuff. While I think they all look cool, I had to limit myself to just one, and I chose the La Ciutat No Es Per Mi mixtape. The printing on this one looked especially cool, but the real reason I selected this one was for the bands. I feel like usually I’m grabbing stuff with bands I am familiar with, but in this case I was looking for something totally new. I recognize like maybe four out of these 20+ bands. On the front of the zine, it says the bands are punk & new wave, and from all over the world. I don’t really know anything about new wave really, so I look forward to Baño taking me to school (or whoever the hell made the track list, haha). Alright that’s it for the week. Cheers and thanks for your support.

Hi and thanks for reading. I wanted to take the time and space to announce a release I am working on with some friends, but first I will mention a few other things. Over the weekend, SCARECROW went up north to Norfolk to play AXON’s record release gig. No surprise, they were killer. This band is mostly comprised of the NFTW crew, with the addition of Alex from MEAT HOUSE on drums. If anyone has seen Alex play, they know he’s an incredible drummer. The songwriter behind AXON is the vocalist, Joey. In the recent past, you would typically see him behind the drum kit, namely with RECKONING FORCE. Oh yes, he also was behind the mic and songwriting in LETHAL MEANS. AXON sounds significantly different than any other band NFTW has released, reminding me a lot of mid-90’s Japanese hardcore with some modern hardcore tendencies that keep it exciting. If you haven’t listened to that record yet, check it out. The track “Separate” stood out to me a lot. It also sounds the most burning spirit-y as well, haha. I wouldn’t really say the band sounds like a burning spirits band, though. When they played live, I heard some more tracks that gave me some more insight into the band’s influences; including a mid-paced banger that was reminiscent of GISM’s “Death Exclamations.”

For most of the show, I stood kinda far from the stage. Norfolk kids go hard as hell, and I am getting older, haha. I watched INVERTEBRATES from pretty close though, and they were phenomenal, per usual. INVERTED CROSS opened the show up. I think I have seen them before, but I can’t remember off hand. I could be crazy, but I think someone from INVERTED CROSS was in AXON as well. They covered a SVART FRAMTID song, and I thought that was fucking sick. This band features members of HOMEMADE SPEED, whose 7” stood out to me a lot. The bands don’t sound similar at all, though. I was talking to Jordan (CEO of NFTW) about the HOMEMADE SPEED recording session a bit during the gig. He told me everything was recorded live, including the vocals. He also said every song but one was recorded in one take. That is some incredible old school shit. They didn’t mention this on the insert at all, and I wanted to be sure to make note of it for all the nerds out there.

Alright, I’m gunna wrap this up with the DESTRUCT / SVAVELDIOXID split 7” that will be coming soon on PRESCRIPTION. I launched that label recently with the ABSOLUT tape, and I think I will continue to release some more raw punk on the label. This release is a co-operation with Flox from Fight For Your Mind Records over in France. He’s got a new label as well though, Children of the Grave Records, and this will be his second planned release as well. I’m hoping to have these out in mid-June. Of course, Sorry State will have copies, so you can secure your copy here if you need one! I won’t promote it online at all, but there will be a special mail order version with a bonus sleeve as a surprise. So if you are reading this and care about that kinda shit, be sure to order directly from me. And when I say me, I mean the BPDT website cos I am not going to take the time to make a new website haha. So, DESTRUCT are huge fans of SVAVELDIOXID. They used to play a SVAVELDIOXID cover live. Covering a contemporary band (as a contemporary band yourself) is not something I see commonly. As I am big fan of SVAVELDIOXID as well, I loved that DESTRUCT covered them. In the making of this split, both SVAVELDIOXID and DESTRUCT recorded cover songs of the opposing band, but in their own native language. Some people may not really care about that, but I think it’s super cool and a special way to commemorate the split release. Alright that’s about it for today. Cheers and thanks for reading.

Hi and thanks for reading. I feel like we are swimming in hot new releases at the moment, and it was hard to pick just one to write about. Even though I had absolutely no anticipation for this debut cassette from UNIFORMED SERVICE, I have decided to write about that today. When I say I had no anticipation, I just mean I knew nothing of this band before we got their tape in stock. It initially caught my eye when I was filing away hold piles and I kept seeing the UNIFORMED SERVICE demo tape pop up in orders. The j-card had a pretty old school feel to it. The way they outlined shit on the flaps and left the back flap blank felt especially classic to me. The insert looked like a HEADCLEANERS rip to me for some reason. It looked cool. Now, just cos something is a hot seller, it doesn’t mean I am going to like it. I usually end up checking shit out we are selling like mad, but I often think it’s just some overly hyped band that I have no interest in. Sorry to be so blunt. Anyways, the tape struck up some interest, but still not enough to check it out, haha. I’m stupid like that. Later that day, I saw Al Quint had posted some pictures online from a gig. I didn’t read the caption from the post, so I had no idea what bands I was looking at. He often posts old pics, too, so I really had no idea. As I flicked through the photos, I see Brian from SAVAGEHEADS / BKB holding a guitar. I’m a huge BKB fan (like most), so went to the caption, and I discovered it was pics of UNIFORMED SERVICE. Damn. No wonder why so many people were grabbing this, haha. I made my order for the tape like immediately and looked for a rip on YouTube.

So, if you know SAVAGEHEADS you know what you’re in for when it comes to UNIFORMED SERVICE—catchy hardcore played in an anthemic UK82 fashion. While the songwriting is simple, it’s the execution that really makes this tape stand out. I am especially a sucker for recordings that are made with the 80s in mind. This tape was recorded by Mark from Active-8/THE MASSACRED, but if you didn’t know that, you might be fooled into thinking you just stumbled across some old ‘80s band. I think the sound of the kick drum is perfect, which is one of the hardest things to get to sound nice and natural when you’re recording drums. The tape was released by X-Ploit Tapes; I’m guessing this is Brian’s label, but I have no idea. They did a few releases like 10 years ago, and he was in most of the bands. I don’t think the demo tape is something that will die, as long as hardcore punk is around. I know I am getting older and there have been one or two, shit maybe even three, waves of young punks since I felt like I was one of them myself. And the thing about getting older is that things change. The young punks do some shit so different than I would. Some things I don’t agree with, but who cares? It seems young punks are much less about gatekeeping, which is great. When I was a kid, it was like you had to endure a hazing from the older punks to be accepted. Anyways, the youth may approach things differently as time goes on, but I still see demo tapes being released like mad. The quality of the tape always varies, but it means a lot to me that they are keeping the demo tape alive. I even see some kids making bootleg mixtapes and shit like that. It’s so cool.

Now, when I say the quality of tapes these days varies, I mean a lot of things. Of course, there is the super shitty sounding home-dubbed demo tape that was likely made in a rush before a weekend tour. These are great because they really capture the time and place of the band. It was made by them, by hand, in a small number. Sometimes these tapes end up being like historical artifacts, haha. Personally, I hate it when I buy a tape and it sounds like shit. It doesn’t have to sound like that. Now there’s the flip side—when everything is way too pro. I see so many tapes now that are shrink-wrapped. What the fuck? I mean, I get like you made a tape version of your LP or something, and maybe you shrink-wrapped that? Maybe? Haha. Maybe I am too critical, but to me a tape seems like a pretty DIY thing, so when your production is so professional that the end result is shrink wrapped, it seems like an oxymoron or something. I can go on forever about how I think a tape should be made, but I am just gunna stop while I am ahead, haha.

I should probably wrap this one up, but there are a few more things I wanted to point out. First, the tape itself sounds good. I bought one and played the hell out of it. It’s single-sided, so I’m guessing it was a home-dub? Home-dubs are some of the best in my opinion. The equipment just needs to be in nice working condition, and your original/master obviously needs to sound nice and clear. So, one thing that really stuck out to me in the pics from Al Quint was that Brian was singing and playing guitar at the same time. That’s no easy task, and I have a lot of respect for bands that really maximize what they can do with fewer people. I was chatting with Mark from Active-8 briefly, and he told me he was gunna join the band on guitar later this year. While the 3-piece look will be ruined, I’m guessing the intensity of the band will be amplified, as Mark is a beast. The last thing I wanted to point out is this tape is only $5. Wow, haha. That is so sick. That means they sold em to us for so cheap. Like cost? We sell SCARECROW tapes for five bucks at the merch table, and there’s like room for one dollar in profit or some shit. The $5 tape is an endangered species with everything getting more and more expensive each year. This was just another reason for me to love this tape. When I began writing this, we had like 15-20 in stock still, but I just checked and now it’s like 5 or less. I’m sorry if you’re reading this and it’s sold out. If not, better buy fast! Cheers and thanks for your support.

Hello and thanks for reading. There have been a lot of great records that arrived over the last week. It was hard to pick just one to write about! Since I have limited time and have been anticipating ULTIMATE DISASTER’s debut 12” the most, I decided to write about that beast today. It’s funny that Grave Mistake isn’t nearly as active as a label as it used to be, but randomly they drop some crazy shit like this or DESTRUCT. ULTIMATE DISASTER is a pretty well-known band in my mind, but we live close to them and I have seen them a lot. I realize that even the average Sorry State reader may not be that familiar with them, since their demo tape came out just last year on a fairly new label, Acute Noise Manufacture.

The guitarist had a short-lived project before this that some of you might remember called HORRID PEACE. If I remember right, HORRID PEACE was just meant to be a studio project, but ended up playing a few gigs. I am glad they did and that I was there, cos they ripped. Their one and only release was also the debut for Acute Noise Manufacture. If you missed that one, I would check it out. While ULTIMATE DISASTER and HORRID PEACE have obvious similarities (i.e. DISCHARGE), the latter seemed to take much more influence from DOOM. Ironically, I think ULTIMATE DISASTER really leans into the DISASTER side of things. To some these distinctions are super silly and possibly not even distinguishable, but I think it’s an important reflection of each band’s sound. ULTIMATE DISASTER tends to play faster than DISASTER though, and they never have gang vocals on the chorus. I feel like that is something a lot of bands lack these days, but also half the time you’re playing at a DIY spot where you’re lucky to get one good working microphone and maybe a microphone stand. Ah yes, I wanted to point out that ULTIMATE DISASTER is a 3-piece band, and I am always impressed when people can really maximize what they are doing like that.

ULTIMATE DISASTER will come through here in May to support their new record. If they’re playing anywhere close to you, I would say it is well worth the drive to catch them live! Alright, I think that sums it up for the week. I do wanna also mention we got some VARAUS shit in stock. I’m not sure how long they will last, and this stuff does not seem to circulate too well. If you missed their EP the first time, grab one now!! We have also just stocked the repress of the 12” that was previously reissued. It was an extremely nice and clever touch to house the repress in a fold-out poster sleeve, just like they did the original pressings. Even though I got a copy of the first reissue (in the proper jacket like the first press) I had to get this one because of the packaging as well, haha. Alright thanks for reading, ‘til next week.

Hello and thanks for reading. Also, Eid Mubarak to anyone reading who might’ve celebrated. I probably would have never said something like that ten years ago, as I reject all religion strongly. But now I find it important to embrace some parts of my upbringing and my family’s culture. I find it more important than ever actually, with this growing MAGA cult shit that is whitewashing and homogenizing America. I actually just drank some water that came from the Zamzam Well, which is nuts to me. This was the first time I’ve ever had this water, unless maybe there was a time at a mosque when I was a kid and don’t remember. I’m assuming the average Sorry State reader does not know of this well. It is watering well inside Mecca, by the Kaaba. If you still don’t know what I am talking about, Muslims face towards Mecca when they pray cos this is where the Kaaba is. This is the holiest place on Earth to a Muslim, because of the Kabaa.

OK enough religion, haha, and onto TOTALITÄR. I have said this before: this is not the first time I have written about TOTALITÄR and I know it will not be the last. TOTALITÄR is one of the best hardcore bands ever for a good reason. They started in the ‘80s and continued to release unbelievably good records for twenty years. I am pretty sure I wrote about Sin Egen Motståndare when Prank put it back in print last time. But for good measure, I will explain a bit. This was their debut full-length and the first record where Jallo Letho would join them on drums for recording. Jallo Lehto was previously in NO SECURITY (who is arguably just as good as TOTALITÄR, but lacked the solid output of records). If you didn’t know, Jallo is the guitarist of MEANWHILE as well. Anyways, I remember when I first heard Sin Egen Motståndare, to my young and stupid ears it sounded too compressed. It didn’t sound as raw as their other records I had heard, and it starts out with a rocked-out intro. Again, I was a stupid teenager. In fact, this LP is absolutely a hardcore masterpiece. The speeds they hit on some tracks, and how damn locked in everything is… man, it’s hard to handle a record this good, haha. I’ve heard some people are turned off by the artwork of TOTALITÄR records. Maybe I am just too obsessed cos I don’t see anything wrong with this cover. Yeah, it’s simple, but I think the way it’s printed is cool and I mean the artwork is of a guy with a gun to his head in his reflection saying some shit like he’s his own enemy. It’s deep, haha, no joke. I met this guy at K-town last year that said he had the original artwork, fuck.

Alright, so this is the 30th anniversary pressing of this record! I didn’t buy a copy last time Prank reissued this cos I have every version that came before, including the CD. However, when I saw this reissue was coming, I knew I had to have a copy. Prank enhanced the artwork with some spot-gloss and even housed the LP in tip-on jackets!! That’s so sick. A tip-on in 2025? Those are so expensive to manufacture now. By the price point on this bad boy, he must have little to no profit on this release. Inside, this version also includes liner notes none of the previous ones had, alongside a bonus flyer from the original album release gig. If, for some reason, you didn’t buy this record in the last 30 years, this is probably the coolest version you can get. If you didn’t know, this album was originally only available on CD. It was released by Finn Records, which was a label that Jallo Letho operated with another guy. It was five years later when Prank released it on vinyl. Thank you Prank Records, haha.

I feel like everyone reading this already knows how good TOTALITÄR is, so I feel a bit silly writing about them, but literally every single one of their records belongs in your record collection, so I think they are worth talking about until I die. If you aren’t familiar or just have been sleeping on grabbing copies of their shit—step up, cos they won’t be in print forever! I think people already flip that first Skrammel comp on Discogs. We still have the second one in stock that compiled their EPs from 1998-2002. This is some of their rawest shit. If you don’t have this record, you need it. Unless you have those originals and like flipping 7”s, haha. But this compilation was seriously needed for so long, as those records are increasingly harder to find. We also have some copies of Ni Måste Bort, their second LP, and we’ve got some copies of their final LP, Vi Är Eliten in stock as well. The style of TOTALITÄR is very distinct, but each LP has its own unique sound, really. Sometimes they are a bit more raw, and sometimes they are a bit more catchy, but they ALWAYS groove hard as fuck at high speeds. If you don’t have all these records I mentioned today, you should load up your shopping cart with some of the best records ever made while hitting the free shipping minimum. Alright thanks for reading, and thanks for your support!

Hello and thanks for reading. So last week I mentioned I got a parcel from a good friend of mine in Finland. While there were some serious scores inside for my personal collection, the largest portion of the box was probably these PUTKIPOMMI 7”s. My mate didn’t release the record or anything like that, but he was just helping us keep the shipping costs down since he was already sending me shit. (What a sweet man!!) So, PUTKIPOMMI is a relatively new band from Oulu, Finland. While they are just teenagers, it sounds like they have been studying this shit for like a decade. They play with such a classic sound, and it is without a doubt delivered raw and fast. We played together in Turku when SCARECROW went to Finland for the first time ever last year and they left a serious impression on me. The second they started to play my ears perked up like mad and I moved closer to the stage. Well, I say stage, but the gig was just on the floor of some DIY/anarcho bike shop. I had no idea I was going to witness some shit like that. I felt like I was watching RIISTETYT in the ‘80s or something. It was just so raw and like nothing I ever hear a band doing these days. I kept looking over at Daniel or someone else in our crew and saying like, “What the fuck?!!” After they played, I asked them if they had any tapes or records, and they told me they did not have tapes, but they were going to have a record out later that year. I have been anticipating this record Tuhottu Tulevaisuus ever since.

Some of those reading might remember I made a little fanzine when we stocked the debut QUARANTINE 12”. Well, this PUTKIPOMMI really got my mind going, and I arranged an interview with the band to turn into a fanzine. Instead of writing messages back-and-forth, I thought it would capture the actual feeling of an interview better if we all spoke over video chat. I ended up having to interview them twice, cos the first time I lost the entire screen recording… haha. That sucked. That wasn’t the only painful setback when making the zine, though, especially since it’s not just a few pages folded in half. I tried to go all-out. The centerfold is printed in color and it actually folds out a bit with an extra flap, reminiscent of a Playboy mag or whatever, but Finnish, haha. Daniel was super cool and offered to eat the costs of printing, so everyone who orders the 7” at Sorry State will get a copy of the zine as well. I will probably take some time in a few weeks and make the zine available digitally as well. Alright that’s it for today, you can read everything else I have to say in the fanzine! Check out PUTKIPOMMI and grab the 7”! Cheers and thanks for your support.

Hello and thanks for reading. I was out of town last week, so I haven’t really had any time to listen to records since my last staff pick. When I returned home, there was a parcel waiting for me from a friend in Finland that I have been really looking forward to. There were various tapes and records inside (including some stuff for Sorry State) that has me excited as hell, but I will save that for next week. Instead, I am going to write about this week’s Hardcore Knockouts - namely ERNST AND THE EDSHOLM REBELS.

EXISTENZ has appeared in two matches now and they lost both times. To me that’s insane. I think that record is in the top 25 sickest Swedish hardcore 7”s. Maybe they are too obscure or something? Last time they were paired with ARROGANTA AGITATORER. Both bands were originally from Helsinborg. ARROGANTA AGITATORER seems obscure as hell to me, but that 7” has been reissued, I guess. EXISTENZ’s 12” has been reissued and I have always wondered why they haven’t done the 7”, especially since they are active again!!

Now, when I say their 7” is in my top 20 Swedish hardcore 7”s, E.A.T.E.R.’s Doomsday Troops 7” is also without a doubt on that list. Yes, this record is raw and fast (maybe a bit on the sloppy side at times, haha), but I think the choruses are really what make this record stand out so much. Whether it’s the gang vocals or catchy guitar riffs, I find the songs stuck in my head often. If you haven’t heard this record, definitely check it out.

While E.A.T.E.R. originally appeared on Really Fast Vol. 1, my introduction to them was when Doomsday Troops was reissued. If you clicked that link I just dropped to check out the EP for the first time, or if you don’t already have one of these reissues, you need one. It’s funny, I always thought Havoc released this, but Havoc is only credited for distribution. Ten bucks says Felix handled all the manufacturing and/or keeps it in print, haha. In Havoc Records tradition, this reissue is super nice. The paper is a lot nicer than the original actually, and it comes with a repro of the original booklet.

The same year that record was reissued, Hardcore Survives released a 7” entitled Abort The System, which included four unreleased songs from the 80s. I actually had no idea that Distortion had also released a compilation a few years before that, which included all the tracks from Abort The System and Doomsday Troops. It didn’t just include those songs, but it also included their split tape tracks and some unreleased songs. One of those unreleased songs is “Death Wish,” which seems to be from the same session as Abort The System. I don’t want to spend too much time explaining all the different versions of songs, but between that compilation and E.A.T.E.R’s bandcamp it’s amazing all the killer shit you can hear. I read they had another session besides Abort The System that was never released, and you can actually find some of these songs on their bandcamp as well.

Let me back up a little bit, though. If you don’t know E.A.T.E.R. outside these 7”s, I would suggest checking out their split with INCHARGE. While the style is a bit more primitive, you can still hear some serious melodic tendencies here and there as well. It’s killer. E.A.T.E.R. was from a small town called Grums, and I think INCHARGE were like the only other band from there. I tried to find a link to drop for the INCHARGE side of the split, but I could not find any that were worthwhile to share. Two of E.A.T.E.R’s tracks from this tape were also used on Really Fast Vol. 1. On that Distortion compilation I mentioned, they noted those two songs were from an earlier session, but I think that is incorrectly credited and that entire tape was from 1983. Micke Blomqvist recorded both bands at his studio Kloakens A.A.S. I think he recorded all the E.A.T.E.R. stuff actually, but I am not sure about some of these demo recordings. I’ve mentioned Micke Blomqvist time and time again, and that will probably never stop cos this guy deserves so much credit. If you don’t know, Micke Blomqvist was in ASTA KASK and operated a recording studio where he recorded tons of bands like ANTI CIMEX, AVSKUM, ASOCIAL, SVART PARAD, CRUDE SS, NYX NEGATIV, and RÖVSVETT.

Alright anyway, so I mentioned I had read about an unreleased session from the 80s. Well really, I had read about two unreleased EPs from the 80s and I am pretty sure Abort The System is one of them. I found this unreleased demo tape on YouTube, but the style of playing has got me wondering when this was recorded. All the song titles are also in Swedish and that makes me think. You can only find their songs in Swedish on their split tape that came before the EPs. I mentioned earlier you can find some unreleased songs E.A.T.E.R’s bandcamp page, and these “demo tape” songs were some of them. I still included that YouTube link earlier cos oddly they excluded one from their bandcamp.

There are many odd but cool things about their bandcamp, haha, namely their “alternate” version of the Distortion compilation they have up there. It’s like an entirely different track listing. They even added a “smurf” version of a track, where it’s just sped up like hell, haha what the fuck? They also drop another unreleased song, this time “Slakt.” I can’t tell for the life of me what session it’s from, but it’s fucking sick to hear. It sounds a lot like ASTA KASK. They’ve also added some rehearsal recordings that kinda suck, alongside what sounds like old 80s live recordings that are pretty cool. There is also another version of a song from their split with INCHARGE. That was cool to hear, but the SUPER cool thing to hear was the demo recordings of Doomsday Troops. If you haven’t heard this stuff and you love that EP like me, I’d suggest checking it out immediately! Alright, I should get going. Thanks for reading.

Hello and thanks for reading. This week I wanted to write about these Brazilian hardcore classics. I don’t know a lot of Brazilian bands, but I feel like OLHO SECO is one of the most popular hardcore bands that I do know, alongside RATOS DE PORÃO. Botas, Fuzis, Capacetes was OLHO SECO’s debut 7”, and it has been reissued a few times since it originally came out in 1983. This 7” has got that track “Nada,” and I feel like that song is the epitome of Brazilian hardcore, haha. Maybe that is super ignorant of me, but I feel like everyone and their mother knows that song. I have this split 12” on New Face where those songs are compiled alongside their s/t 7” and some live tracks. Oddly enough, I was just interviewing a band and one of the members mentioned this Brazilian band who I had never heard of, FOGO CRUZADO. I discovered after that OLHO SECO has a split 12” with them that came out in the early 90s. It looks like the OLHO SECO tracks are the same on both splits and they also used the cover of Botas, Fuzis, Capacetes on both splits too. When I saw that, it made me think the tracks from the first 7” and the studio tracks from side A of the s/t 7” were from the same session. I am not sure about that, but it sounds like it when you hear it all back-to-back on the compilation.

I remember how I first heard RATOS DE PORÃO, but I can’t remember who introduced me to OLHO SECO. I remember that I bought this Grito Suburbano compilation 12” cos it had OLHO SECO on it, and that’s what introduced me to INOCENTES. It also introduced me to CÓLERA. Their tracks might be my favorite on that record. The guitar tone is nuts. It’s so fuzzy it will have you convinced there is dust on your needle, haha. On this compilation, it sounds like INOCENTES might be influenced by RAMONES more than DISCHARGE. They give you a taste of a some hardcore though. Two of their four tracks go pretty hard, while the other two sound like IGGY POP or some shit. Now when it comes to their 7” Miséria E Fome – that’s my shit right there. It sounds like they took influence from RATOS DE PORÃO or DISCHARGE and it’s so damn good. I feel like this was the sweet spot for the band. After this, it’s like these other influences took over and you can’t hear hardcore in there so much anymore. It’s a cool LP, but it does not rage like the 7” to me. It kinda reminds me of some So-Cal punk shit, actually.

Again, I don’t know anything about Brazilian punk/hardcore. I don’t know if INOCENTES had line-up changes and that resulted in the sound changing as well. But I read something significant about their songs on Miséria E Fome, though. They actually recorded enough for a 12”, but due to government censorship they were not able to release them all. They recorded eleven songs, but apparently due to their strong protest lyrics they were only allowed to release the first four songs. Luckily, that entire session was finally released in the late 80s so we can hear it all today. It’s a shame they had to trim it down, cos the entire session is so damn good!

I am super happy Morrer Discos / Sub Discos has put these two records back in print, especially cos the originals are hard (AND expensive) to come by. A few months ago someone listed a copy of Miséria E Fome for sale on Discogs. It was priced a little high, but they were located in the USA. I actually bought another record off the seller, but I didn’t pull the trigger on the INOCENTES cos of the price. When I saw we had these reissues in stock and how nicely they were done, I started itching real bad for that OG copy, haha. Well, the seller had “make an offer” on the record – so I decided I would offer fifteen bucks less, and if they declined it, I would buy it anyways. So, I made the offer and less than a half hour later I get an email saying my offer was declined. I was like ah shit, oh well it’s just $15 more and I headed back over to the Discogs page. But the listing was no longer there. I was like, “Oh fuck man, maybe they realized they already sold it? Shit.” Or my offer pissed them off? I don’t know, it could be anything. It was hard not to wonder and hope they’d re-list it later. I decided I would check again later and then try to forget about it. So, later that day I check and still no luck. But this time I noticed the sales history changed..it no longer said the last sale was a few years ago, it said it sold that very day—for that original listing price I saw. Are you fucking kidding me???! That was a hard one to get over. I should have just coughed up that extra dough. Never forget: “I don’t regret a single record that I have bought; I regret the ones I did not buy!”