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The sleeping giant that is the SSR newsletter is only just beginning to rouse from its winter slumber, and we’re taking it one step at a time. This week we have an incredible new release on the label for you—the demo tape from Raleigh, North Carolina’s Plastique Pigs—as well as a striking Record of the Week from the Apparition out of Leeds, England. We also have a bunch of news about new distributed titles and I also run through a handful of recent arrivals to the website. If you haven’t checked in with the site in a while, though, this is only a small fraction of what’s come in over the past several weeks. And of course there’s lots more to come too!
News
Plastique Pigs demo cassette out now on Sorry State
Sorry State is stoked to announce our first release of 2026! It’s the demo tape from Plastique Pigs from SSR’s home turf of Raleigh, North Carolina. Some of you may have checked this out when the band released the recording on their Bandcamp site a few weeks ago, but now we have the tapes in hand and they’re ready for you to order. So give it a listen and pick up your copy if you’re as stoked as we think you’re going to be. Here’s the official description:
Sorry State Records formed in 2005 to release fast hardcore punk music from our part of the world, and 20 years later we’re still banging the same drum. Case in point: this debut 4-song cassette from Raleigh, North Carolina’s Plastique Pigs. With their blistering riffs, locked-in rhythms, and hooky vocal lines, Plastique Pigs fuse the speed and ferocity of early 80s east coast and midwest hardcore with the songwriting chops of the west coast greats from the same era. Sorry State’s true believers will be stoked, as this slots in perfectly next to the label’s classics, from Direct Control and Koro to Personal Damage and the Hell. And bringing things full circle, Sorry State OG Eric Montanez (from Direct Control and Government Warning, among many others) even contributes backing vox. So strap on your spiked leather cuff, tie a bandana around your boot, and get ready to slam.
Update on Psico Galera LP pre-orders
Quick update for those of you who have ordered the new Psico Galera LP on Sorry State. Here’s the short version: we originally anticipated having the records in hand in early November, but the revised estimate on that is now mid to late January. See the fully story below.
As I noted above, we originally expected to have the vinyl in hand in early November, not long after the album’s official release date, but the pressing plant didn’t actually get our order done until mid-December. Then, when the first shipment arrived to the band in Europe, they found a major printing error that will need to be corrected before we can ship out any copies. Since the record was shrink-wrapped with a hype sticker, this will entail not only redoing the print, but also removing the shrink wrap from the records and re-assembling, re-wrapping, and re-stickering the entire pressing. The plant didn’t get this done before they went on break for the holidays, but we’re hoping they have it completed soon. We’ll keep yo up to date on what’s happening, and rest assured we’ll start shipping your pre-orders the moment we have the records in-hand.
New cassettes from The III, Hektiks, and Venom Snipers in stock now from Roachleg Records
Our friends at Roachleg just released three new cassettes, all of which are in stock and shipping now. Remember, Sorry State is Roachleg’s official distributor and shipping partner, so if you order from the Roachleg website Sorry State will handle the shipping, and if you have a shop or distro you can also get in touch with us for wholesale orders for Roachleg titles. Of course all three tapes are also available to order on the Sorry State site too.
It looks like only the III cassette has a fleshed-out description at the moment, but if you’re wondering: Hektiks play raw noisy hardcore with some Kyushu vibes, Venom Snipers play snotty KBD-influenced punk with wild, Tapeworm-level production, and the III is a solo project by Will from Poison Ruin / the Damage / a ton of other bands, and it’s the kind of moody, noisy stuff punks make when they edge into genres like shoegaze and indie. Read Jonah Falco’s much more fleshed-out description of the III below. And if you’d rather hear for yourself, all three releases are also streaming on Roachleg’s Bandcamp.
Admittedly, it’s hard to pin down. What do you say about a guitar record in the age of limitless creative reach. Where time seems to not matter in terms of how you let your songs speak to people but also in how to place music in time. Is the NOW just coincidental? Is Now (tm) just when it happens to be made, or is the NOW when we know that as a critical mass we all knew how we wanted to best express ourselves. Hard to say what’s instantaneous about The III and what’s classic but somewhere in all the questions lie this tickling mist of hanging chords and slow emotions that let you drift as well as they let you propel yourself at the stage to burn that last bit of your high frequency hearing you’ve been holding on to. Guitars and inward reaching melancholy worth of Greg Sage’s legacy with touches of the optimistic 90s guitar player who could just buy a JCM 800 or an Ampeg v4 for nothing cause they felt like learning guitar by starting a band. Wipers, Motorhead, Goo Goo Dolls, Screaming Trees, Hot Snakes, Bikini Kill (Come one Will you know the song I mean), and maybe even a Champagne Supernova, at this time of year, at this time of day, in this part of the country, localized entirely within a Philly warehouse show.
-Jonah Falco
Paul May’s book Shot from Both Sides in stock and shipping now
We ran a pre-order for these back in November, but I wanted to give this item a bump since Paul May’s book—and the first book on Sealed Records—is in stock and shipping now! I knew this thing was going to be cool, but I was completely blown away when the actual books showed up. It’s a total monster, hard-backed and with just under 500 full-color, beautifully designed pages that will keep you lost in the world of 80s UK punk for many, many hours. And while Shot from Both Sides is billed as a photo book, there is a ton of text, mostly first-hand recollections of the gigs from folks who were actually there. I feel like the jpegs and mockups I have seen just don’t do this thing justice, so if you’re on the fence, then get off it!
Shot from Both Sides is available to order now! Grab a copy from the Sorry State website and it’ll ship right away.
Unidad Ideológica's Choque Asimétrico 12" on La Vida Es Un Mus in stock now
Choque Asimétrico is the new LP from Bogotá, Colombia’s Unidad Ideológica, and it’s in stock and shipping now! As per usual with La Vida Es Un Mus’s releases, we have some of the limited color vinyl copies, this time on green vinyl, while supplies last. As I write this we are down to the last few copies, so give it a listen on LVEUM’s bandcamp and order your copy from Sorry State now.
CHOQUE ASIMÉTRICO by Bogotá’s UNIDAD IDEOLÓGICA hits you like a wrecking ball to the face. In the four years since their first album UNIDAD IDEOLÓGICA has become even more intense and relentless. The pummeling drums, apocalyptic bass, the explosive guitar riffs and, vocals howling like a rabid dog will make your head burst like a melon. Like a mutated child of BASTARD and early POISON IDEA their sound is heavy and massive without losing the rawness needed to make hardcore punk really bite.
Youth Avoiders new LP Defiance up for pre-order
France's Destructure Records just gave us a nice little new year's present, surprise dropping a brand new LP from long-running French hardcore band Youth Avoiders! You can stream the entire LP on YouTube, and Sorry State is also offering a pre-order for the vinyl version--including red, red-and-black-splatter, and black vinyl variants--which is due to ship in early February.
Eight years have passed since Youth Avoiders released their second album, Relentless. In a world ruled by urgency and immediacy, taking the time to do things properly still matters. Beyond the hundreds of shows played worldwide, this period in the band’s life was marked by major events: a global pandemic and a lineup change. These shocks required the band to step back in order to finish this new record the way it deserved. Defiance is a collection of observations on the social injustices at the core of today’s society. A set of anthems calling for resistance, urging listeners to stand up, fight back, defend the oppressed, and reclaim power. Defiance is the natural continuation of Relentless: the same frantic tempos driven by Marlon’s ultra-tight drumming, the same sharp and melancholic guitar riffs from Christoph, and the same melodic rage carried by Christopher’s voice. For this album, Nico (Bleakness, Deletär, Destructure Records) handled the recording and also played bass. As with Relentless, mixing was done by Guillaume Doussaud at Swan Sound Studio, with mastering handled by Daniel Husayn at North London Bomb Factory Mastering. The stunning artwork for this new album was created by Gaspard Le Quiniou of Arrache Toi Un Œil.
New Industry LP up for pre-order on La Vida Es Un Mus
"Since their formation in the latter half of 2023, Berlin’s Industry have quickly emerged into the foreground as one of the more exciting groups of the European DIY punk scene. Having released their 2024 debut LP, touring and playing festivals all over the continent, they are now back with a follow up record that’s every bit as bruising and bleak as the first.
Much has been made of how ‘on point’ Industry sound - a mid-paced cocktail of heavy toms and churning riffs recalling ‘No Sanctuary’ era Amebix or classic Killing Joke. But Industry use these sounds as a springboard rather than a template, utilising the form for genuine expression where others are tempted by retro cosplay. Their sound is pared back, pulsing, relentless but danceable. But it’s the words that result in a listen that’s engaging from start to finish, an album that’s both expressive and polemic. Just as people often describe Discharge’s lyrics as Haiku, Industry uses the band’s repetitive grooves as a wide-open canvas on which their exasperated observations are given space to land with precision. The litany of criticisms are familiar to us all - violence exacted on the poor and vulnerable by those in power, the ongoing industrialised slaughter of humans and animals, the disastrous consequences of colonialism, the list goes on… The world in 2025 is fucked, and even though greet say they ‘can’t even look’, this band has got their eyes wide open."
Laughing Corpse’s Beyond Recognition 7” out now on Sorry State
This week, Sorry State has two brand new 7” releases for you! Both are in stock and shipping now and streaming in full on our Bandcamp site. First up is Washington, DC hardcore punk band Laughing Corpse with their debut 7”, Beyond Recognition. Give it a listen then pick up the vinyl at Sorry State. And if you’re in Washington DC, go see Laughing Corpse’s record release show TONIGHT with Alienator and get a special limited edition sleeve! Here’s the official description:
Sorry State presents Beyond Recognition, the debut 6-song 7” EP from Washington, DC’s Laughing Corpse. Laughing Corpse emerges from the same DC hardcore scene that has brought us so many great bands over the past few years, with members serving / having served time in Brain Tourniquet, Kombat, Corvo, Daunting Nightmare, Genocide Pact, and many more. While Laughing Corpse’s blistering execution hints at the members’ experience, the sound here is darker and uglier than you might expect, mired in the reckless, Void-influenced end of 80s hardcore. You can expect dramatic rhythmic shifts, desperate vocals, and guitars that frequently careen off-script into wild, noisy leads. Laughing Corpse drummer Connor Donegan is a transplant from Sorry State’s home base of Raleigh, North Carolina, and his roots show through with several nods to our city’s tradition of uniquely damaged hardcore, particularly the early eras of Corrosion of Conformity and Double Negative. You don’t need the backstory to appreciate this, though… just hit play at max volume and let Laughing Corpse level you.
Beyond Recognition was recorded and mixed in Washington, DC by Eric Zidar and mastered by Arthur Rizk.
Featured Releases: November 12, 2025
House Arrest: Food on Your Table 7” (Extinction Burst Records) California’s Extinction Burst Records brings us the vinyl debut from this hardcore band out of Bandung, Indonesia. House Arrest’s sound is rootsy enough to appeal to the purists (one member is wearing an Out Cold shirt in their Bandcamp profile image… message received!), but their sound is also undeniably modern in some respects. I hear a lot of 86 Mentality in the mix (see “You Wish,” whose riff and rhythm is pretty dead-on), but there are also elements of modern stompy hardcore, and the singer’s gravel-y shout feels very 21st-century too. With a touch more metal and a more modern-sounding recording, I could see this appealing to the same audience as Scarab, but instead House Arrest went full-on old school with the production and presentation, both of which are firmly rooted in circa-82 hardcore, particularly the Negative Approach 7”. I think that was a great choice, making the record sound immediate and classic but not straight retro. If you dig mean, hooky hardcore punk, this is well worth your time.
Split System: No Cops in Heaven b/w Pull the Trigger 7” (Static Shock Records) Static Shock Records bring us a new two-song single from this Melbourne, Australia group who has released two well-regarded LPs and a string of singles. With a sound that carries the big riffs and choruses of classic Aussie punk like the Saints and Radio Birdman into the 21st century, Split System is easy to like, but don’t make the mistake of thinking they’re all style and no substance. In fact, they don’t lean into the retro thing too hard at all. While their presentation feels classic and true to the era they’re inspired by, they don’t have that faux-vintage patina so many bands use to paper over a lack of inspiration in their actual songs. That brilliant lead guitar hook in “Pull the Trigger” doesn’t sound like Radio Birdman because of some $400 ProTools plugin or a $5,000 vintage amp… it sounds like Radio Birdman because it’s biting, energetic, and hooky as all get-out. Split System has the total package… inspired playing, great tunes, and the ability to capture them on tape such that blasting them at home or in your earbuds makes you feel like you’re up front screaming along in a sweat-and-beer-soaked Aussie pub at the climax of the greatest night of your life. If you like classic-sounding punk, pick up this and/or the next Split System record you see and join the cult. The water’s fine!
Abism: S/T 7” (Toxic State Records) New York’s Abism follow up their 2023 LP on Toxic State with a new 4-song EP. No major changes from the earlier stuff, not that there needs to be as Abism has one of the most unique hardcore sounds going. The rhythm section is firmly rooted in the early Discharge sound, but rather than trying to erect a punishing wall of sound, they focus on the more minimal, almost drone-y aspects of early Discharge. The guitars, though, aren’t really in the Discharge mold at all, with Crazy Spirit guitarist Eugene Terry doing his unique thing on top. Eugene’s guitar is a big part of what I think of as the Toxic State / Ground Zero NYC punk sound, and it’s in full effect here, with his patented wobbly riffs and strange chord progressions no one else would think of. Abism’s vocalist also leaves their stamp on these tracks with an angry, acerbic style that reminds me of Monsé from Tozcos. The sum total is punk that’s fast and angry, but has a totally different vibe than anything else out there. That means if you love it, you need to snatch this up because there’s no other band that’s going to scratch the same itch.
K9: Thrills 12” (Who Ya Know Records) After a string of cassette releases, Richmond’s K9 finally puts their sound to wax. For me, K9’s music evokes an era and a sound that I hear few, if any, bands call back to these days: the precise moment in the early to mid-80s when indie rock and hardcore’s paths diverged. I don’t know enough about the members of K9 to know for sure if this is the case, but they sound like folks who cut their teeth playing in hardcore bands, saw possibilities for different types of songs and different styles of playing, and pursued those interests without completely shaking off their hardcore roots. Many of the songs on Thrills are straight up old school hardcore that any fan of the genre would love, but my favorite tracks push the sound somewhere else. They might have the agitated tempos and dramatic arrangements of hardcore (quick instrumental breaks, big cymbal crashes, etc.), but they also feature more melodic singing and playing and lyrics that go beyond hardcore’s typical second-person accusations. The opener, “Arms Fall Off,“ sounds like scrappy, punky indie rock, but with its toe-tapping energy and lyrics like, “If your arms fall off / you’ll have to use your teeth to sign your will,” I am 100% here for it. If you’re a fan of Taang!-era Lemonheads or Squirrel Bait, you’ll flip for Thrills, but anyone whose tastes encompass both hardcore and rootsy indie rock should give this a spin.
Record of the Week: Rigorous Institution: Tormentor 12"
Rigorous Institution: Tormentor 12” (Roachleg Records) Portland’s Rigorous Institution follows up their brilliant 2022 album Cainsmarsh with this new 12” on Roachleg Records. The band seems careful to bill Tormentor as a maxi-EP or a mini-album, which seems like an effort not to oversell it. While it clocks in at 25 minutes—longer than all but a small minority of hardcore full-lengths in today’s age—two of the tracks diverge from the band’s usual crusty hardcore: “P.B.T.D.,” which is a collage of solo electric guitar and nature sounds, and the eight-minute closing electro-acoustic instrumental piece “H.D.IV. - Laika’s Lament.” I’m sure some segment of Rigorous Institution’s audience won’t find those pieces interesting, but as someone who thinks their arty impulses are a big part of what makes them great, I’m here for the ride. Regarding those crusty hardcore tunes that makeup the bulk of Tormentor, all of Rigorous’s strengths are still here: the perfectly ominous synth tones that sound like they’re calling a band of medieval Scottish warriors to battle; the brutal-yet-subtle drumming, full of strange, Celtic Frost-esque rhythmic shifts; and of course the charismatic vocals and brilliant lyrics, which simultaneously feel like they’re set in another time and place and like they confront the problems of today’s world in a realer and more direct way than anyone else. While I miss the neanderthal riffing style that lent so much to Rigorous’s earlier releases, they couldn’t have taken the band some places it goes on Tormentor, particularly the track “Passion Play,” a four-minute epic built around a swinging, intensely Sabbath-ian riff. (Side note: these riffs have largely migrated to Gnostics, the new Richmond band featuring Rigorous’s original guitarist. Gnostics just released their demo tape on Roachleg, concurrently with Tormentor.) All this makes me wonder where Rigorous Institution might go in the future, and if churning stench/crust will play an ever-diminishing role in their sound. In the meantime, though, Tormentor provides a satisfying hit of the mystifying art-stench that only Rigorous Institution can create, while pointing the way toward even wider vistas.
DE()T’s Welcome to the Idiot Factory 7” out now on Sorry State
This week we’re also releasing a new 7” from Raleigh, North Carolina synth-punk group DE()T (pronounced “debt” if you were wondering!). As with Laughing Corpse, you can listen to all four tracks now and pick up the vinyl from Sorry State, which is shipping immediately. Here’s the full write-up on DE()T:
Sorry State presents Welcome to the Idiot Factory, the new 4-song EP from Raleigh punk lifers DE()T. While its members come from Raleigh’s fertile hardcore scene, DE()T’s ability to pummel is only part of their toolkit, with these four songs exploring the wider range of feelings that crop up when you’re on the wrong side of your 30s and life is still dealing you the same bullshit it did in your 20s. Vocalist Colin Swanson-White’s disaffected drawl evokes the post-human cool of Gary Numan or “Homosapien”-era Pete Shelley when he sings about life as a cog in the machine, but he can also let out a blood-curdling scream when things come to a head and powerhouse drummer Cameron Craig lays into his Vistalites. DE()T’s deft ensemble playing—honed over years of blowing touring bands off the stage here in Raleigh—further elevates these songs, whose inventive arrangements ride waves of loud/quite/loud as bassist Jeffrey Bechtel drags anchor across the bottom end and synthesist Matt Stone bleats out hooky melodies on top. These four anthems sound like no other band, yet still deliver a mighty dose of punk’s authentic, gut-punching impact.
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