Skip to content
What’s up Sorry Staters?
Well shit, it’s been a while huh? Hope all you Sorry State readers out there weren’t hurting too badly without a newsletter for the last better part of a month. Scarecrow only made our triumphant return home from our Nordic European tour less than 2 weeks ago. But still, I only just now feel like I’m settling back into normalcy. Without going into crybaby mode too hard, I will say that the post-tour blues hit me really hard this round. I gotta say, this tour was easily one of the best punk-related trips I’ve ever been on in my life. This is due greatly in part to spending a grand majority of our travels alongside our good friends in Vidro. While watching them play every night, the conviction, intensity and energy they deliver in their performances is truly inspiring. Made me wanna throw a couple extra high-kicks into my repertoire during Scarecrow’s set. My attempts are surely much less cool looking or graceful haha. Beyond how great they are as a band, everyone in Vidro—Lucas, Vendela, Melody, and Staffan—are all just a bunch of sweeties. The smartest, the funniest, the coolest. We all feel like family now. Stay tuned for the upcoming sitcom where all live in a big house together. Shenanigans will ensue.
I won’t go into a full-on tour diary, but here are a couple tidbits I’ll mention:
• In Uppsala, we got to see Gefyr play, and they ripped. PX-30 also were so killer—they have the same guitar player as Herätys, so of course I geeked out on him.
• Visiting Finland for the first time was amazing. I finally got to see Tiikeri play inside of a bicycle shop, which had me smiling ear to ear for their entire set.
• I got to touch and listen to an original copy of The Fix Vengeance in the home of a super funny, sweet and welcoming Finnish married couple, who we found out probably have one of the best hardcore punk record collections in the world.
• Kohti Tuhoa’s set in Helsinki was incredible.
• After Finland, you obviously must take the overnight party boat back to Sweden. There was late-night karaoke on the ferry. Melody from Vidro did impressive renditions of the Jackson 5 and KISS (awesome). Usman did an equally impressive performance of “Walk” by Pantera (LOL). Usman hates Pantera btw.
• Our show in Stockholm (where Vidro is from) was a killer gig. Red from Scarecrow joined on guest vocals for Vidro, and Vendela from Vidro jumped up and sang with Scarecrow for a song. Such a special moment.
• In Oslo, we got to play the legendary Blitz venue that’s been around and hosted bands in Norway since the 80s. Daniel’s bass got stolen in Norway, but that’s about the only bad thing worth mentioning (oof).
• Our show in Gothenburg was great too. We played with Slan, whose EP Usman and I released on Bunker Punks. I for one definitely partied hard that night.
• Then we were off to K-Town. Christina and everyone who helps organize the fest at Ungdomhuset are amazing. Maybe the best punk festival ever.
• Got to party with the homies in Invertebrates in Copenhagen for 3 days. They absolutely crushed when they played.
• Danced my ass off during Mujeres Podridas.
• Larma was insane. Most ripping band I’ve seen in years.
• Visiting Cliff Burton’s memorial, nearby where the bus accident happened in the Ljungby area of southern Sweden.
• Lastly, our driver Wilhemina fucking rules. Was so rad getting to hang out with her, and also meeting and talking about hardcore with her partner Christoffer (from DS-13 and more recently, Exil).
Alright, so that bulleted list ended up being longer than I thought. So yeah, life back in Raleigh has been dull by comparison. But I’ve been stoked to see friends, and definitely have enjoyed being back working at the record shop. Also, The Spits/Electric Chair gig here in Raleigh was killer the other night. Looking forward to hopefully equally killer local gigs in the months to come. One more thing, Usman and I are proud to announce our new release on Bunker Punks: the Gefyr / Rat Cage Split 7”! Available directly from our webstore or Sorry State if that’s more convenient for ya. We’re stoked on this one. 2 ripping bands from Sweden and England, respectively.
Sooooo, time to talk about what record I chose for my staff pick for fuck’s sake? Apologies for the long intro. I went with the debut full-length by The Dark, entitled Sinking Into Madness. Perhaps this record needs little support or exposure from little old me, seeing as you folks already seem to be gobbling up our copies here at Sorry State. But I think this is a great record, so why not give it a little attention? The Dark, based mostly out of the Los Angeles area and partially Orange County as well I believe, has been a band for quite a while. The band’s previous vinyl release was a 7” called Demons, which came out in 2018. And I remember really loving the band’s series of demo tapes, which now feel like they came out about 10 years ago. Wild. I remember there being a little buzz around when those initial couple demos were floating around. Not only that, but the band’s sound and aesthetic gave this illusion of a veil of mystery. Like… who were these characters lurking in the shadows making this evil sounding hardcore? Which was a funny thought for me to have back then, because the names of the people of in the band are totally credited on the j-card lol. Maybe the band only seemed obscure and hard to find because of their lack of internet presence? But for example, Corrina the drummer of The Dark also plays drums in Tozcos. Which is interesting, because now following Toxic State’s breaking out of their usual scene and starting to release non-NY based bands… first Tozcos, and now an unexpected full-length from The Dark. Imagine that.
Speaking of that first demo by The Dark, listening to this new LP, I was like, “Huh, these songs sound familiar.” Turns out that the first 4 songs on Sinking Into Madness are the same 4 songs on The Dark’s first demo. That said, those are great songs, and definitely deserving of a sonic facelift from the raw recording on the cassette. Okay, let me talk more about what I think the music sounds like. Compared to everything I hear in the current hardcore punk landscape, I think The Dark are doing something super unique. The Dark is a fitting name, because I hear a lot of influence from the creepier, darker depths of Japanese hardcore. The Dark in particular seem to borrow from the more metallic, plodding side of Japanese punk, reminding me a bit of Blunt Sleazy-era Execute. They straddle raw punk influence, while incorporating glam-influenced, chugga chugga guitar stylings a la Randy Uchida. Then again, I also hear like GBH.
Unlike their earlier recordings, the vocals are less the heavily effected and sit more up front in the mix. Still a bit of delay on the vocals, but all the instruments sound heavier and punchier with more weight to the sound. The vocals have more clarity, while still maintaining a demonic and vomitous atmosphere, yet also a feeling of creepy, desperate emotion over the powerful riffs behind them. And while the familiar songs on the A-side are great to revisit, the new songs the band have written on the B-side sound fresh and powerful. The opening B-side track “Face In The Mirror” to my ears leans into a bit of that Orange County influence, with these eerie, arpeggiated chords that make me think of something off of Weathered Statues by TSOL. Then probably my favorite track on the record, “Heartless,” opens with this sassy, chuggy mid-paced riff that straight up sounds like Judas Priest or Motley Crue. Maybe the band would hate me saying that haha, they’re probably still thinking about Randy Uchida writing those riffs. But that shit fuckin’ BANGS. Makes me wanna hop on a motorcycle and mow down posers with a battle axe or some shit. FUCK and the double kicks behind the dissonant Die Kreuzen-y riffs on “Nightmare”? Get the fuck outta here, it’s so killer!
As always, Toxic State did a beautiful job with the all-screenprinted packaging. From what I can tell, it doesn’t seem like The Dark plays live super often. Hopefully this LP will get the band some well-deserved love and implore them to play some fests or maybe even tour? I would love to see them play. Do yourself a favor and snag this LP while you can.
Okay, that’s all I’ve got this week. As always, thanks for reading.
‘Til next week (hopefully),
-Jeff