New and Recommended Punk & Hardcore Ragers!

  • The Circulators: Insufficient Fun 12"
    Regular price
    $20.00
    Sale price
    $20.00
  • Suffocating Madness: Unrelenting Forced Psychosis 12"
    Regular price
    $20.00
    Sale price
    $20.00
  • The Kewpie Dolls: Bad Boy Mine 7"
    Regular price
    $12.00
    Sale price
    $12.00
  • Thee Rogue Telstars: To The Moon 7"
    Regular price
    $12.00
    Sale price
    $12.00
  • Snarling Dogs: S/T 12"
    Regular price
    $20.00
    Sale price
    $20.00
  • Rowdy: S/T 12"
    Regular price
    $20.00
    Sale price
    $20.00
  • Stiff Richards: GFC/ Empty Barrels 7"
    Regular price
    $10.00
    Sale price
    $10.00
  • The Unknowns: East Coast Low 12"
    Regular price
    $20.00
    Sale price
    $20.00

Recommended Reissues

  • The Effigies: For Ever Grounded 12"
    Vendor
    BFD
    Regular price
    $40.00
    Sale price
    $40.00
  • The Great Unwashed: Clean Out of Our Minds 12"
    Vendor
    Noise Prints
    Regular price
    $25.00
    Sale price
    $25.00
  • The Flesh Eaters: A Minute to Pray, a Second to Die 12"
    Regular price
    $30.00
    Sale price
    $30.00
  • Insted: One To Two 7" flexi
    Regular price
    $10.00
    Sale price
    $10.00
  • Artcore #43 zine + Zany Guys 7"
    Vendor
    Artcore
    Regular price
    $20.00
    Sale price
    $20.00
  • Various: Bones Brigade Video Tunes 2x12"
    Regular price
    $29.00
    Sale price
    $29.00
  • The Briefs: Singles Only 12"
    Regular price
    $25.00
    Sale price
    $25.00
  • The Specials: Ghost Town 12" (40th Anniversary)
    Regular price
    $15.00
    Sale price
    $15.00

recently restocked

  • SOH: Life On Edge 7"
    Regular price
    $7.00
    Sale price
    $7.00
  • Dead Boys: Young, Loud and Snotty 12"
    Regular price
    $25.00
    Sale price
    $25.00
  • Poison Idea: Pick Your King 12"
    Regular price
    $20.00
    Sale price
    $20.00
  • Zero Boys: History Of 12" + 7" (40th Anniversary)
    Regular price
    $30.00
    Sale price
    $30.00
  • Wipers: Is This Real? 12"
    Regular price
    $25.00
    Sale price
    $25.00

straw man army's earthworks available for pre-order

NYC duo Straw Man Army return with their third LP, “Earthworks”, to complete a trilogy of records begun with 2020’s “Age of Exile,” and 2022’s “SOS”. Whereas “Age of Exile” dealt with the haunted landscapes of colonial history in the Americas, and “SOS” gave voice to a crisis of the present moment, like a prayer in bewildering times, 2024’s “Earthworks” signals the band’s attempt to close this trilogy by turning their gaze towards the future, where paradox, complexity and contradiction spiral in ascendance to an agonizing pitch. While continuing to develop their own style of anarcho-punk, “Earthworks” finds the band pulling once again from jazz and ambient influences, expanded Krautrock rhythms, and post-rock experiments, with a stronger emphasis on melodic vocals and varied song structures than on previous offerings. Taking cues from the wistful anti-war harmonies of The Byrds and the angry melodies of Zounds, tracks like “Turn the Wheel” and “Second Nature” mark new territory for a group whose messages and methods of experimentation have merged to form a singular sound equally at home on All the Madmen Records or in the spiritual legacy of ESP Disk. “Earthworks” is an album that holds and subverts many contradictions—juggling the weight of melancholy, grief, guilt, impunity, and the yearning for clarity against the backdrop of boiling wrath; the wrath of nature, the occupied, the dispossessed, and of the mind against itself. To quote the track “Spiral” — “Is this all that’s left for us these days? / Apathy and rage?”— Straw Man Army offers this record as a companion to our frustration, our sickness, our despair, and a lifeline for our fugitive attention in the struggle for peace.

Straw Man Army: Earth Works 12" (PRE-ORDER)
Regular price
$22.00
Sale price
$22.00

偏執症者 (Paranoid): MMXXII 5×7" box set up for pre-order

Sorry State exclusive pressing on white vinyl, limited to 100 copies.

This box compiles the singles released digitally only during 2022, now making them available in physical format for the first time. Also included, exclusively for this box, is an additional fifth single entitled "Nightmare", three new and unreleased tracks recorded during the same sessions, not to be sold separately. Including a guest appearance by the one and only Tadzio of Golpe.

Box set contains:

- Kill the Light, 7"
- Vanished Resilience, 7"
- Possessed, 7"
- The Great Reset, 7"
- Nightmare, 7" (exclusively for the box set)
- Fold out poster, 36x54cm
- Insert
- Postcard
- Sticker

偏執症者 (Paranoid): MMXXII 5×7" box set (PRE-ORDER)
Regular price
$85.00
Sale price
$85.00

zorn's endless funeral 12" out now on sorry state

Philadelphia metal-punks Zorn return with the new 5-track EP Endless Funeral, their first new material since 2023’s head-turning debut LP on Sorry State. Endless Funeral ups the ante on Zorn’s previous releases in nearly every way, with more brutality, more musicality, and more theatricality. Zorn’s unique blend of metal and punk continues to pull from a wide swath of influences, whether it’s the brutal death metal riff on the opening track, “Warpath,” the epic mosh part in “G.O.R.N.,” the charging d-beat of “Drunken Demon” and “Dance of Madness,” and even the neoclassical shred guitar of the title track, a standout moment from recent live sets finally immortalized on vinyl. Atop the instrumental melee, vocals howl like an army of banshees let loose from hellish containment, their idiosyncratic rhythms skittering wildly across the instruments’ lock-step pummeling. Summoning both the chaos and the power of Zorn’s legendary live sets, Endless Funeral will leave you bruised, bloody, spent, and loving every second of it.

Zorn: Endless Funeral 12"
Regular price
$18.00
Sale price
$18.00

new arrivals

  • Huggy Bear - Killed (of Kids) book
    Vendor
    Jabs
    Regular price
    $40.00
    Sale price
    $40.00
  • Thine Retail Simps: Strike Gold, Strike Back, Strike Out 12"
    Regular price
    $20.00
    Sale price
    $20.00
  • The Great Unwashed: Clean Out of Our Minds 12"
    Vendor
    Noise Prints
    Regular price
    $25.00
    Sale price
    $25.00
  • The Circulators: Insufficient Fun 12"
    Regular price
    $20.00
    Sale price
    $20.00
  • Insted: One To Two 7" flexi
    Regular price
    $10.00
    Sale price
    $10.00
  • Suffocating Madness: Unrelenting Forced Psychosis 12"
    Regular price
    $20.00
    Sale price
    $20.00
  • Boys Life: Home Is A Highway 12" box set
    Regular price
    $90.00
    Sale price
    $90.00
  • Black Star: No Fear of Time 12"
    Regular price
    $30.00
    Sale price
    $30.00
  • The Kewpie Dolls: Bad Boy Mine 7"
    Regular price
    $12.00
    Sale price
    $12.00
  • New Order: Bizarre Love Triangle 12"
    Regular price
    $20.00
    Sale price
    $20.00

latest used items

  • Obnox: Boogalou Reed 12"
    Vendor
    used
    Regular price
    $8.00
    Sale price
    $8.00
  • Onsind: Anaesthesiology 12"
    Vendor
    used
    Regular price
    $30.00
    Sale price
    $30.00
  • Pharaoh Overload: Out Of Darkness 12"
    Vendor
    used
    Regular price
    $25.00
    Sale price
    $25.00
  • Rivethead: The Cheap Wine Of Youth 12" (used)
    Vendor
    used
    Regular price
    $12.00
    Sale price
    $12.00
  • FIDLAR: Too 12"
    Vendor
    used
    Regular price
    $15.00
    Sale price
    $15.00

new on la vida es un mus

Second Death: S/T 12" (PRE-ORDER)
Regular price
$25.00
Sale price
$25.00
Rudimentary Peni: Pope Adrian 37th Psychristiatric 12"
Regular price
$29.00
Sale price
$29.00
Chain Cult: Harm Reduction 12"
Regular price
$25.00
Sale price
$25.00
Festa Del Perdono: Società Mentale 7"
Regular price
$10.00
Sale price
$10.00

new on sorry state

Lasso: Parte 12"
Regular price
$20.00
Sale price
$20.00
Golpe: Subisci. Conformati. Rassegnati. 7"
Regular price
$9.00
Sale price
$9.00
Zorn: S/T 12"
Regular price
$18.00
Sale price
$18.00
Personal Damage: Violent Ritual 7"
Regular price
$8.00
Sale price
$8.00

Recommended books, zines, and other reads

  • Huggy Bear - Killed (of Kids) book
    Vendor
    Jabs
    Regular price
    $40.00
    Sale price
    $40.00
  • Artcore #43 zine + Zany Guys 7"
    Vendor
    Artcore
    Regular price
    $20.00
    Sale price
    $20.00
  • Roger Miret: Agnostic Front - With Time: The Roger Miret Archives book (PRE-ORDER)
    Regular price
    $69.00
    Sale price
    $69.00
  • Weird Music That Goes on Forever: A Punk's Guide to Loving Jazz book
    Regular price
    $18.00
    Sale price
    $18.00

Record of the week: rudimentary peni: Pope Adrian 37th Psychristiatric LP

Rudimentary Peni: Pope Adrian 37th Psychristiatric 12” (Sealed Records) Sealed Records’ Rudimentary Peni reissue campaign arrives at Pope Adrian 37th Psychristiatric, the band’s third album from 1995, regarded by many as the strangest and most difficult record in the band’s catalog. Never having been able to locate a vinyl copy of Pope Adrian in my twenty-five years of Rudimentary Peni fandom, it’s the Rudi P record I’ve spent the least time with, and consequently I was looking forward to this opportunity to appreciate the full artwork and packaging alongside a deeper dive into its music. The lore is that Pope Adrian was conceived during one of Nick Blinko’s most severe bouts of delusion, when he believed he literally was the pontiff from the album’s title. While Blinko’s mental state clearly colors his music and artwork throughout his career, there’s something unique about the way Pope Adrian engages with the landscape Rudimentary Peni’s music inhabits. Repetition is one of the key themes on the album, and the way Pope Adrian leans on repetitive motifs makes it a unique entry in the band’s canon. There’s a looped chant of “Popus Adrianus” that runs through their entire album, not only between the songs but right through the mix, and while you can occasionally tune it out and focus on something else, it’s always there and impossible to ignore for more than a few seconds at a time. The songs themselves are also extremely repetitive, totally hostile to the musical development or resolution upon which all pop music (punk included) is based. Most songs are just one or two parts repeated over and over, with perhaps some slight improvisation on the theme, but never in any sort of clear direction. While the droning repetition might be difficult for some hardcore punk fans to acclimate to, Pope Adrian’s music is some of Rudimentary Peni’s most straightforward and catchiest. The lack of blistering tempos (the exception being “Vatican’t City Hearse,” which might actually make you think you’re listening to Death Church for a second) means the memorable riffs and melodies that made Rudimentary Peni’s early music so seminal shine even brighter here, with tracks like “Pogo Pope” and “Regicide Chaz III” being downright hum-able. But to appreciate those moments, you have to accept Rudimentary Peni’s embrace of repetition, letting go of the desire for the cathartic middle eight or breakdown that gives a song its sense of shape. In contrast, Pope Adrian is like a Dali landscape, stretching out to infinity, built on its own inscrutable logic. But despite all this talk about how strange the music is, I never find Pope Adrian difficult to listen to. It’s not like Nick Blinko is abstruse… he’s not attempting to hide what he’s saying or make it difficult for you; it’s just really fucking weird. That’s part of what you come to Rudimentary Peni for, and Pope Adrian delivers in spades. And even if the music is too out there for you to jam on the regular, the packaging on Sealed’s reissue is phenomenal, with a full-size booklet packed with large, beautifully reproduced images of some of Blinko’s most captivating illustrations.

Rudimentary Peni: Pope Adrian 37th Psychristiatric 12"
Regular price
$29.00
Sale price
$29.00

Featured Releases: November 18, 2024

SOH: Cost to Live 12” (No Norms Records) Los Angeles’s SOH follow up 2022’s Life in Edge EP with their first full-length record, showcasing their musical chops and forging a path that’s totally punk but also fully unique. SOH doesn’t sound like anyone else out there, and while you can hear antecedents in their galloping d-beat rhythms, metallic riffing, and charismatic vocals, it all comes together into the band’s distinctive sound. Part of what defines that sound is its eclecticism. You never know what SOH is going to throw at you next, and each song offers something new, whether it’s a different rhythm from the drummer, a new style of riffing, some bubbly bass lines, or a new vocal technique that you haven’t heard on a previous track. It feels like SOH took pains to make sure they weren’t just writing the same song over and over, with each one adding something distinct to the band’s oeuvre. This means the record is full of highlights, and if you get hooked, for instance, by the crazy demon vocals on the second verse of “Walang Paglaya” or the reverbed-out East Bay Ray guitar stylings in “Annihilate,” the band won’t beat you to death with that idea for the rest of the record. SOH’s vocalist is a total chameleon, using everything from shouts to screams to grunts to speak-singing to keep every moment on Cost to Live fresh and exciting. Much like the record’s eye-catching artwork, Cost to Live is fully thought-through but not belabored, holding itself to a high standard of originality and execution without losing the rawness and personality you want from underground punk.

Traume: Wrzask 12” (Quality Control HQ Records) Quality Control HQ brings us the debut LP from this Polish punk band who fuses their country’s tradition of intricate yet hooky punk with the stripped-down drive of contemporary hardcore. Those of us who have spent time appreciating classic Polish punk bands like Dezerter, Siekiera, and Post Regiment will certainly hear the through line in Traume’s music, particularly in the guitarist’s dense, intricate riffing style, the rhythm section’s blistering yet agile grooves, and the singer’s ability to balance hooks and aggression. Of the classic Polish bands I know, Post Regiment is the most obvious point of comparison for Traume (they even cover the Post Regiment song “Wstyd,” which is a vinyl-only bonus track on Wrzask), since their singer sounds a lot like Dominika from Post Regiment in places. Traume also share Post Regiment’s rhythmic precision and density, but the way they can also bludgeon you with simple and fast pogo rhythms and driving, down-stroked riffs in the S.H.I.T. school feels totally modern. And as with Siekiera and Dezerter, the guitarist has a way of taking angular post-punk-inspired riffing and squeezing it into hardcore’s faster, more charging rhythms, which (as with those older bands) is a thrilling combination. The songs themselves are sturdy, well-constructed, and engaging, and will keep you listening whether or not you appreciate the influences Traume’s sound draws from.

Atomic Prey: S/T 12” (Iron Lung Records) Iron Lung Records brings us the debut release from this new Portland band, which they aptly describe as “a total psychedelic d-beat smasher.” While the phased-out noise guitar and heavy delay on the vocals are definitely giving psych, to me what feels more psychedelic about Atomic Prey is the way this EP takes you on this crazy journey. It’s very brief—six songs in 14 minutes—but Atomic Prey touches on a lot of hardcore punk sub-styles here, from full-on crasher crust pounding to brooding and organic anarcho rhythms, to driving pogo-punk, galloping d-beat, ENT-influenced chaos, and beyond. While Atomic Prey is pretty much always in full-bore attack mode, these subtle variations keep things from falling into a rut, making it feel as though the energy level is constantly spiking. On the surface, there seem to be no dynamics here at all because it’s all so harsh and noisy, but there’s so much happening in these songs in terms of tempo, rhythm, and atmosphere that each one feels like it contributes something unique to the record. A real scorcher.

Human Trophy: Primary Instinct 12” (Iron Lung Records) Iron Lung Records brings us the second album from this grimy, noisy death rock band. Their first album came out on Drunken Sailor in 2021, and while we actually still have a couple copies in stock at Sorry State, I don’t think I listened to the band closely until now. Perhaps it’s that I approached Human Trophy at the right time of year—fall seems like the perfect time for death rock—but Primary Instinct has really been hitting the spot. Rather than “goth” or “post-punk,” “death rock” seems like the most appropriate genre tag for Primary Instinct because it’s so heavy and driving, and while the baritone vocals have shades of Ian Curtis, the more direct musical influences are in the Christian Death / Samhain school. As with those bands, there’s a sense of restraint to Human Trophy’s sound that imbues their music with ever-escalating tension that they rarely release. The first three songs on Primary Instinct feature ever-slowing tempos, and when they finally break out into something like a hardcore rhythm on “Devotion,” it feels like the first gasp of air after you’ve been holding your breath for a long time. One benefit of weaving this tension through Human Trophy’s music is that is focuses the listener’s attention, and when there’s a hook like the slightly bluesy, Cult-ish chorus in “Only a Knife” or the big guitar hook in “The Cabin,” it sinks in much deeper. The back half of Primary Instinct also offers some unique moments like the (comparatively) upbeat, sunny rhythm of “Serpentine Grin” (which reminds me a little of “I’ll Melt with You” by Modern English) and the shoegaze-y “Bright Like Perspex.” The murky sound and muted rhythms of Primary Instinct may take you a few listens to warm up to, but once it hits you, this record’s dense atmosphere and ambitious songwriting will keep you absorbed

Sorry state newsletter: November 18, 2024

This week we have a classic Record of the Week from Rudimentary Peni, much-anticipated new releases from Life and Destruct, Tiikeri, and Cosey Muller, Staff Picks, Featured Releases, and lots more.

Click here to read it.

Who We Are and What We Do

Sorry State Records has the best selection of DIY punk and hardcore vinyl in the world, with well over 2,500 unique titles currently in stock. We're a great music discovery tool, with blogs and other features to help you discover great new music you'll love. We have the fastest, most professional mail order service in punk, with most orders shipping within 24 hours. We're also a great brick-and-mortar record shop based in Raleigh, NC, specializing in collectible and hard to find titles in all genres.

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Super ILL packaging, quick shipment, only complaint is that y'all load too much stuff I want on the site, all the time.

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