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Excess Blood: self-titled cassette (Impotent Fetus) Excess Blood is a new death rock band featuring members of Electric Chair, and their debut cassette comes to us courtesy Impotent Fetus, a sub-label of Stucco, who originally introduced Electric Chair to the world with their Public Apology EP (which we need in print on vinyl, by the way!) back in 2018. I think death rock is a tough style to do well, but I loved this tape from the minute I heard it. Part of that is that it’s definitely hardcore adjacent, more like the gloomy hardcore of TSOL, False Confession, first LP Christian Death, and other hardcore bands who you might catch sporting all back and maybe even some eyeliner. As with Electric Chair, the music is all excitement and the playing is top-notch, and these songs’ breathable tempos allow the hooks to shine through even more. There’s also a touch of camp, which I think is an often overlooked ingredient in this stew... there are some straight up Dracula vocals, and I’m totally here for it. I’m curious to see where this project goes, but even if this tape is just a one-off, you really need to hear it.

Assistert Sjølmord: S/T 7" (Static Shock Records) Seven-song debut EP from this Norwegian hardcore punk band featuring members of Draümar and Indre Krig (among many others, I’m sure). Assistert Sjølmord’s style is the kind of 80s hardcore throwback we love at Sorry State, and while there’s some of the combination of hooks and speed that makes 80s Norwegian hardcore so special, I have to think there’s a strong 2000s Danish / Swedish influence at work here too. Maybe it’s that scratchy guitar sound, but these songs make me think of Regulations, Amde Petersen’s Armé, UX Vileheads, and the like, taking the big hooks of early west coast punk and melding them to DC-style rippage. “Toxicity,” on the other hand, is all UK-82 with its pounding 1-2 beat and cheeky police siren guitar intro. Fans of everything from Government Warning to Chain Whip should definitely check this out.

Bad Breeding: Contempt 12" (Iron Lung Records) One thing I really love about collecting old anarcho-punk records (and some well-done reissues) is how intensely local to particular times and places they can be. Sometimes reading those dense, text-heavy inserts and poster sleeves can feel like flipping through yesterday’s newspapers, and while that might seem like a bad thing on the surface, I love it. By contrast, in today’s increasingly globalized punk scene, even the most political bands tend to focus on concerns that are more abstract and universal, reflecting the more homogenous, globalized world most of us inhabit. Bad Breeding has always been an exception to this rule. While their anarchist, anti-capitalist philosophy might be abstract, they’ve always pushed their music and the materials that accompany their records to find the point where the rubber meets the road and these ideals get put into practice. For instance, there’s an essay in Contempt’s insert about badger culling in the UK. It just so happens that I have a habit of tuning in to BBC4 as I’m going to sleep, which often falls at precisely the time the program Farming Today airs. So I am (improbably) familiar with badger culling, which many farmers support in order to curb the spread of bovine tuberculosis. I’ve listened to a few stories about the topic, but none of them even hinted at animal rights activists’ efforts to disrupt these culls. The essay in Contempt is from the perspective of one of these activists, writing vividly and concretely about the work they do, often in dangerous circumstances. While badger culling might seem like a niche interest for a North Carolinian punk, I love that Bad Breeding has taken me out of my world and transported me somewhere completely different, giving me the opportunity to reflect on those differences. While different camps within Bad Breeding’s fanbase might get more or less out of the political element of their output, their music continues to grow and evolve. In some ways, Bad Breeding is the quintessential Iron Lung Records band, a near-personification of the label’s aesthetic of thoughtful, forward-thinking (but still maximally intense) hardcore punk. Another thing I’ve always loved about Bad Breeding (this is their fifth 12" record by the way, and I have loved them all) is that they aren’t constrained by the retro sensibilities that limit so many bands inspired by the politics and the aesthetics of 80s UK anarcho-punk. While there are a lot of sounds on Contempt that fit that mold, there are a lot more that don’t, including the scorching metal guitar solos (a new wrinkle on Contempt), the harsh industrial / power electronics production choices (Ben Greenberg from Uniform recorded and mixed Contempt, and there’s a lot of “studio-as-instrument” stuff going on), surprising flashes of melody, and plenty more. I’ve always thought many anarcho-punk bands took musical inspiration from Killing Joke’s early records, and Contempt makes it sound like Bad Breeding took the whole journey with Killing Joke, with the more bombastic moments recalling that band’s self-titled record from 2003 with Dave Grohl on drums. As with every Bad Breeding record, there’s so much here, from the music to the politics to the production to the lyrics to the supplementary materials, and it’s all thoughtful, exciting, and bitingly relevant in 2024. It can be fun to flip through yesterday’s newspapers, but it’s even more gratifying to get real insight into what’s happening in the here and now.

Thought Control: Sick and Tired of the Talking Heads 7" (Crew Cuts Records) The UK label Crew Cuts Records brings us the 3rd EP from this New Jersey band, and these eight new tracks continue along the same pummeling path as their earlier records. This is basically hardcore punk with a slight street punk influence, along the lines of S.O.A., Negative Approach, Negative FX, and all the bands they inspired. Thought Control particularly reminds me of the bands from the No Way Years who leaned into those influences: Dead Stop, Violent Minds, 86 Mentality, etc. Like those bands, Thought Control has the aesthetic down pat, from the songs to the performance to the perfectly gritty recording. I particularly love the anthemic title track, the mid-paced banger that really leans into the oi! / UK82 influences. It’s a timeless sound, and Thought Control does it proud here.

The Drin: Elude the Torch 12" (Feel It Records) Feel It Records brings us the fourth record in as many years from this great band from Cincinnati. The Drin had a distinctive sound right from the jump, weaving post-Velvet Underground art rock together with dub reggae, noise and electronic music, and god knows what other influences, and they’ve both honed and expanded their sound with each subsequent release. The Drin is currently operating as a sextet, and as you might expect the sound here is dense, reminding me of the Jesus and Mary Chain’s “Phil Spector through a transistor radio” aesthetic, but shot through with American indie rock like Pavement, Guided by Voices, and all their associated influences like Krautrock, psych, Kiwi pop, etc. It’s a whole damn wild world of sound, and the Drin wanders through it all over the course of Elude the Torch’s 46-minute runtime (which, to be honest, goes by way too quickly). Any art rocker will appreciate this iteration of the Drin, but it’s even better if you’re here for the band’s whole journey, so god bless Feel It Records for supporting prolific yet consistently brilliant bands like Class, Why Bother?, the Cowboys, and the Drin.

Faucheuse: Rêve Électrique 12" (Symphony of Destruction Records) We carried an earlier cassette from this French hardcore band and while I really liked it, Faucheuse has created something special with their debut vinyl. You could describe it simply as käng hardcore with melodic vocals, but that would imply Faucheuse is a one-trick pony, which is definitely not the case. Maybe a better way to describe Rêve Électrique is hardcore punk that’s not afraid of melody, and there’s definitely something that warrants a Paintbox reference in the way Faucheuse opens up hardcore’s traditionally narrow boundaries. And as with Paintbox, you really don’t know what the next track is going to bring. I love the brief electronic interludes, for instance, but the songs are adventurous on their own, the band often nimbly changing up grooves in ways that make these songs develop in surprising ways. I worry I’m describing this as pretentious, but really it’s just hardcore punk that’s not boxed in by the rules of any microgenre, happy to pull from the best aspects of several of them. The label’s description sums it perfectly: “who said d-beat hardcore was bound to be unoriginal?”

Paranoid Maniac: Garden Plot cassette (self-released) Second cassette EP from this killer Raleigh hardcore band. In case you were wondering whatever happened to Sorry State’s Das Drip and/or you’re curious about how Paranoid Maniac fits into the Raleigh hardcore family tree, this band is basically the final lineup of Das Drip with the vocalist swapped out for Jeff from Essex Muro and DE()T and longtime staple of the Triangle noise scene Alex Swing on second guitar. While Paranoid Manic definitely takes up where Das Drip left off, there are a lot of differences too. Paranoid Maniac takes a lot of influence from gnarly 80s Japanese metal-punk, and while that’s something I might not have picked up on if I was coming to this recording cold, when you compare the more pulled back rhythms here to Das Drip’s nervous energy, the difference is pretty clear. Paranoid Maniac is also way more maximalist than Das Drip was, their sound a cacophony of musical ideas producing constant unexpected collisions. The bass, vocals, and the two guitars often pull in different directions, and if that wasn’t enough, it sounds like they’ve added some additional harsh noise elements to the recording just to make things even dirtier and crazier. The dense but clear recording makes sure everything hits, and the packaging on the physical tape is a real object d’art in the way so many cool small-run noise releases are. While this isn’t retro enough that someone who gets excited at the mention of 80s Japanese punk should rush out and grab it immediately, those of us who see rooting through the past as an ideal way to springboard toward new musical horizons should definitely check out Garden Plot.

Light Metal Age: self-titled cassette (self-released) Light Metal Age is a new project featuring Ian from the sadly departed Gen Pop, and fans of that band should definitely be interested. My favorite moments in Gen Pop’s music recalled the icy, serene pop of Wire’s second and third records, and Light Metal Age leans even further into that, but it’s a long way from homage as there are a lot of different sounds on this hefty 7-track EP. “What He’s Done” and “Weathervane,” for instance, have some of the stoned jangle of the first few Pavement albums, while “Oakland 2017” is a nine-minute Eno-esque synth meditation that carries so much feeling it almost feels religious. It’s clear, though, that Light Metal Age isn’t about sound and style so much as the songs themselves, and the promotional blurb for the tape focuses on the psychological and therapeutic motivations for these songs rather than the musical influences. Gen Pop fans should be sure not to miss this, but anyone with a taste for the arty underground sounds on labels like Post Present Medium and Cleta-Petra could be a potential fan.

N.E.O.: S/T 12" (Media Nox) Debut record from this band from Helsinki, Finland, and it is a total ripper. While N.E.O. definitely sounds like a contemporary band, the way they synthesize many of the most interesting strains in the worldwide punk scene reminds me of how so many of the classic Finnish bands from the 80s did the same thing. The foundation here is energetic, stripped down hardcore punk, with dashes of other sounds keeping things interesting, like the crossover-ish intro to “Kulutusjuhla” and the cool, post-punky guitar lead that ends the final track, “Kukan Ei Vastaa.” The recording is crisp and clear, and the playing is incredibly tight and powerful... in those respects, they remind me of Kohti Tuhoa, and I think fans of that band will find a lot to like here (speaking of which, Ville Valavuo from Kohti Tuhoa mixed and mastered this record). Even if you aren’t familiar with the contemporary Finnish scene, these airtight songs and the commanding vocals will win you over. I don’t think too many people in the US are hip to N.E.O. yet, so check ‘em out and get on the train before this record is impossible to find.

Traumatizer: S/T 7" (Neon Taste Records) While I associate Neon Taste Records with the punkier sounds of bands like Chain Whip and the Imploders, they have a pretty solid sideline in gnarlier sounds, of which this debut 7" from the Dutch band Traumatizer is a fine example. The core of Traumatizer’s sound is rampaging, everything-in-the-red d-beat, with at least a toe in the corner of this sound where it meets tougher, graffiti-letter type hardcore. The pedal is on the floor for the entire first two tracks, but when they get to their theme song “Traumatizer,” the style widens with a cool, John Carpenter-through-a-fuzzbox synth intro and some Death Side-esque lead guitar histrionics. The straightforward parts will peel paint, but it’s the subtler moments in these six rippers that really catch my ear.

Gimic: We Are Making a New World 7" (Crew Cuts Records) This is the second EP from this scorching and unique band from Bristol, England. If you haven’t heard Gimic yet, I’d put them in the category of bands like the Minutemen and NoMeansNo who clearly pull a lot of inspiration from the abstract qualities of energy and intensity that are a hallmark of hardcore punk, but who are indifferent—maybe even hostile—to the other formal conventions of the genre. In other words, they make a kind of boundary-less hardcore punk, largely avoiding d-beats, power chords, and breakdowns in favor of a sound that’s all their own. And like the Minutemen and NoMeansNo, the level of musicality is super high, rhythmically and melodically inventive, but never in a show off-y or virtuosic way... it’s more like these are just punks forcing themselves to develop the unique aspects of their playing as far as they can. The lyrics and vocals are similarly impassioned, trying desperately to wrench sense from the decaying environment we all live in. Gimic might not be for everyone, but if you have a taste for progressive and passionate punk, I think they’re one of the best bands going, and these three songs are their most powerful statement yet. Let’s hope they keep ‘em coming.

Disarm: Existence Demo 1985 12" (Beach Impediment Records) True Sorry State heads know that, while we’re strongly associated with North Carolina (and rightly so!), I actually grew up in eastern Virginia and only moved to North Carolina in my early 20s. So I feel more than a twinge of hometown pride when I listen to Virginia Beach’s Disarm, whose 1985 demo Beach Impediment just lovingly re-released on vinyl. Honestly, though, I’d be into Disarm no matter where they came from, as their influences and aesthetic are like catnip for me. Their sound is a kind of Americanized take on peace punk, reminding me a lot of California’s Final Conflict and Richmond’s Unseen Force, and while most of the lyrics deal with the kinds of social issues you might expect, there’s a healthy side of skateboarding too... three of the band’s members were hardcore skaters, and their drummer Mike Crescini eventually went pro for Vision. Disarm also had strong connections to the 80s Raleigh scene, as their bass player Bryan S was from Raleigh and had previously played in UNICEF, and many of Disarm’s out-of-town shows were in North Carolina. In the booklet, Disarm also lists the No Core compilation as one of their most important influences, alongside European hardcore bands like Wretched and Anti-Cimex and, of course, your standard punk and early hardcore classics. Speaking of the booklet, it’s beautifully done, up to the standard of top-shelf reissues on Radio Raheem (which makes sense, since that label’s co-owner Chris Minicucci handled the layout), compiling a bunch of archival material along with a detailed interview conducted by hardcore historian Tony Rettman. The music here is great, and the packaging is killer. If you have a personal connection to Disarm’s story like I do, this release is essential, but anyone with a taste for obscure 80s hardcore archival releases will get a lot of enjoyment from this.

Industry: A Self Portrait… 12” (Static Age Musik) The full title of this debut record from Berlin’s industry is A Self Portrait At The Stage Of Totalitarian Domination Of All Aspects Of Human Life, which gives you an indication of where this group is coming from both politically and aesthetically. Industry has a lot to say about why the world is fucked up, and their songs take the ranting vocal style of Crass and meld it to a mid-paced, churning sound in the vein of Exit Stance or early Amebix. While the sound is heavy and chunky, Industry doesn’t sound like metal, but instead like a new shoot from the Killing Joke branch of punk’s family tree. “Industry” is a great name for the band, as their music sounds a bit industrial, particularly given the cold, slightly shrill recording, which makes the songs sound like they’re echoing through the rubble of a bombed-out factory. A Self Portrait... seethes for its entire 20-minute runtime, and like the society it critiques, it constantly threatens to boil over, yet remains in a tense, uneasy equilibrium. A gripping listen.

Marcel Wave: Something Looming 12” (Feel It Records) Marcel Wave is a new UK group featuring a couple of folks from Sauna Youth and a couple of other folks from Cold Pumas backing up lyricist and vocalist Maike Hale-Jones. A quick Google tells me Hale-Jones is a screenwriter for their day job, which makes sense as Marcel Wave’s songs have a writerly flair, with a vividness to the lyrics that’s a cut well above your standard DIY punk fare. The lyrics are striking whether they’re character studies like “Peg” or “Elsie,” social critiques like “Great British High Street,” or more traditional-ish tales of misspent youth like “Something Looming” and “Linoleum Floor.” Something Looming also has a strong sense of setting, its cover artwork perfectly capturing the tar-stained pub back room ambience that runs through the entire album. As for the music, it borrows some of its aesthetic from the early Rough Trade catalog, with layers of simple melodies coalescing into a psychedelic swirl, but the recording is crisp, bright, and modern, which suits the ongoing dialog between past and present that is a recurring motif in the lyrics. And fans of the Fall’s early records are gonna hear a lot they love in those great organ lines. Something Looming is a really fantastic album, and while it’s bound to catch the ear of anyone into contemporary post-punk-influenced music, its distinctive lyrics make it stand out from a crowded field of very good bands.

Osbo: S/T 7” (Blow Blood Records) We carried a demo tape from this Sydney, Australia band a while back, and now they’re back with their debut EP on Blow Blood Records. Osbo’s brand of hardcore is noisy, dark, and desperate, their loose and unpredictable style (as well as their snotty vocals) bringing to mind Cleveland classics like the H100’s and Gordon Solie Motherfuckers, but with a touch of Saccharine Trust-esque artiness rather than a full dirtbag aesthetic. The twin guitar lines give these songs an extra layer of interesting texture, particularly on the dirge “Time,” a No Trend-esque deconstruction that gives the musicians space to wander off the main groove and conjure some really interesting sounds. Recommended for those who like their hardcore raw, dark, and weird.

Mirage: Legato Alla Rovina 12” (Roach Leg Records) Debut vinyl from this New York group who sings in Italian and whose music takes a lot of inspiration from 80s Italian hardcore. While the label’s description mentions Nerorgasmo and Upset Noise as points of comparison, the one my mind keeps jumping to is Cheetah Chrome Motherfuckers. Mirage’s vocalist has a similarly biting tone to CCM’s vocalist, and like CCM at their best, Mirage has a way of moving between frantic, clipped rhythms and spacier parts where the lead guitar takes center stage with intriguingly off-kilter melodies. The weird-but-intense vibe also reminds me of Die Kreuzen in places, but then again, so does CCM. Like Idiota Civilizzato, Mirage really seems to have cracked the code on how this gloriously strange and intense strain of Italian hardcore works, but rather than produce mere pastiche, they’re able to infuse their music with energy, power, and progressive spirit.

Dishrags: Four 12” (Supreme Echo Records) Supreme Echo Records brings us a second archival compilation from Vancouver’s the Dishrags, North America’s first all-woman punk band. While the earlier release Three compiled material by the band’s three-piece iteration, Four chronicles the expanded lineup, including their 1980 EP Death in the Family, a nine-song studio demo, and some excellent sounding soundboard recordings. Like the material on Three, Four finds the Dishrags sounding very much of a piece with what was happening across the world as punk shot its tendrils across oceans and continents, which is certainly not a bad thing, as these tracks are imbued with the revolutionary spirit of the times. The music is three-chord punk that frequently accelerates to hardcore tempos, much like Dangerhouse bands such as the Dils and Rhino 39 were doing at the same time further down the west coast. Where Four really distinguishes itself, though, is in the vocal arrangements, with back-ups and trade-offs making these songs come alive, like on the standout opener “Quiet Little Table.” While the production on most of these tracks is bare-bones, one senses there was enough raw material here that the Dishrags could have made a classic punk album. Had that happened, the Dishrags’ place in history might have been different, but as things stand, both their compilation LPs are full of gems.

Vidro: Upp Till Dans 7” (Beach Impediment Records) Stockholm, Sweden’s Vidro follows up their 2023 full-length Glöd with a brand new 4-song EP on Beach Impediment Records. The title track, “Upp Till Dans,” is first, and I think it’s one of Vidro’s best songs. The main riff is different for them, a chunky fist-pumper that really comes alive in the second verse when they throw in these super cool accents on the off beats. It’s a bit like Judas Priest’s “Breakin’ the Law,” and just as infectious. The second track, “Allt Brinner,” is one of Vidro’s most brutal and straightforward songs, feeling super lean at 71 seconds long, but still making room for a bunch of dramatic rhythmic accents. The two tracks on the b-side spread out a little more, the rhythm section laying down heavy grooves while the vocals jab and dodge and the guitars waft, melodies lilting like an untethered balloon. It’s over in a flash, but there’s so much to hear that you can’t resist starting it again from the top. A brief but vital missive from one of today’s most distinctive and exciting bands.

Gefyr / Rat Cage: Split 7" (Bunker Punks Discs & Tapes) If you’ve been following the Bunker Punks Discs & Tapes discography so far (and you should be... Jeff and Usman from Sorry State and Scarecrow run the label), you’ll know exactly what to expect from this split: ripping, riff-soaked hardcore punk. Sweden’s Gefyr is first up. Gefyr is from the same city as Totalitär, and how similar they sound makes you wonder if there’s something in the Hudiksvall water supply. The riffs are totally dialed, the light-on-distortion guitar sound (don’t worry, there’s plenty on the bass) highlighting how hooky they are. The vocals are just incredible, shredded similarly to Poffen from Totalitär’s, but with their own personality. As for Rat Cage, it’s their second appearance on a Bunker Punks release after the Screaming Death compilation, but surely you’re familiar with them already. These three tracks continue the emphasis on hooky vocals we’ve heard on the past several Rat Cage releases, and as on those records, they explore their roots in late 70s / early 80s UK punk without compromising the intensity of their earlier material. You gotta love the “aaaah-ah” vocal part on “Thatcher’s Back,” particularly when it’s laid over a paint-peeling No Security-style riff and leads into a gnarly breakdown. Each band contributes three tracks, and it’d take a real stick in the mud not to walk away satisfied.

Norms: 100% Hazaarulas 12" (11PM Records) It looks like 100% Hazaarulas is the 3rd LP from this wild hardcore band from Budapest, Hungary, but their first for a US label, 11PM Records. While it sounds like Norms take a lot of inspiration from early 80s Italian groups like Negazione, Wretched, and CCM, their take on raw and fast hardcore has full-on avant-garde touches. The off-time riff in “Magyarmagyarmagyar,” for instance, wouldn’t be out of place on a John Zorn or Boredoms record, but it also sounds more like Die Kreuzen than those bands ever did. I also hear some resemblance to projects like Cicada, Closet Christ, and Cryin’ Hand, particularly the Neos-esque drumming and the artfully lo-fi recording. As with some of my favorite Italian records, it can take a couple of listens to hear past the brick-wall intensity, but the music is so dense with original ideas and truly face-melting musicianship that 100% Hazaarulas totally rewards that extra time investment.

Diode: 2 12" (Under the Gun Records) I thought this LA band’s first LP was killer, and so far I like 2 just as much. The lo-fi aesthetic, synths, and jittery rhythms are gonna make some people think egg punk (I notice the label’s description studiously avoids the term), but this feels like it’s part of a longer tradition of punk music with synths. Diode alternates between stiff rhythms that might make you think of early Devo or the Deadbeats and moments of pure pop that recall more mainstream 80s sounds. Now that I think about it, it’s like the mix of tones on Devo’s Freedom of Choice, which is an excellent album to model yours after. It’s not really retro, though, as “Card Dealer” and “Fear” both sound very modern, like music that couldn’t have been made before now (Powerplant gives me a similar feeling). I also like that while the first album was a short burst, Diode takes their time on 2, sitting with parts a little longer and making room for experiments like the unique-sounding intro.

Alienator: Time to Die 7" (Unlawful Assembly Records) I’ve been a big fan of all Alienator’s previous material, and this new 5-song EP continues to tread the same bruising path. Maybe it’s just me, but every Alienator release seems a little more over the top than the last, and it certainly doesn’t feel like the band is holding back on Time to Die, from the countless dive bombs to the gratuitous breakdowns to the killer cover illustration. It’s all way over the top, but at the same time Time to Die delivers riff after riff, the band generating punishingly heavy rhythms. The last time I saw Alienator they covered “Lifestyles,” and Kings of Punk is a solid reference point for the brawniness of their sound on Time to Die. There’s also a nod to Sick of it All on the cover, and there are moments here that wouldn’t be out of place on Blood, Sweat, and No Tears either. A killer, punishing hardcore record.

Parsnip: Behold 12" (Upset the Rhythm) It’s been a few years since we heard from this Melbourne band whom I’ve always really liked. Even before I listened to Behold, its artwork (particularly when taken alongside the long gap between releases) seemed to hint at a shift in direction, with its earthy color palette and fisheye cover photo bringing to mind The Left Banke’s Too. I don’t know if Parsnip meant the artwork to be a signal that they’ve gone baroque pop, but Behold is certainly poppy and there’s a hell of a lot going on. The music is densely layered, diving fully into psychedelia with “Duality,” but at other moments more in the vein of the Fall / early the Clean-influenced clatter that’s been a through-line in Aussie punk of the last decade or two. Interestingly, while Behold seems like an ambitious album to me—its thirteen songs and 34-minute running time feel epic by today’s standards—its release has been fairly low-key, with only a UK pressing on Upset the Rhythm so far. Behold’s length and density mean I’m going to need to sit with for a while to fully appreciate it, and my fellow stateside fans should nail down a copy while they can.

Despertá: demo cassette (self-released) 8-song demo cassette from this band that’s based in Newfoundland in the far northeast of Canada, but whose members come from across the Americas. While the presentation is raw, heavy, and hardcore, Despertá’s music isn’t monochromatic in the way so much hardcore is. Many parts are pretty and haunting with a post-punk / death rock influence, some parts that are fast and intense, and other parts are heavy and bruising. The band makes all these sounds their own, particularly given their drummer’s distinctive stuttering rhythms, which carry through all the tones and styles on the tape. The vocals are cool too, high-pitched yelling that makes me think of Sad Boys. Recommended if you like sounds from out-of-the-way places that couldn’t have come together anywhere else.

Jalang / Unsanitary Napkin: Split 12” (Bad Habit Records) (So-called) Australia’s Jalang and Aotearoa’s (New Zealand’s) Unsanitary Napkin make a well-matched pair on this split 12”. Many of you are familiar with Unsanitary Napkin from their 2022 full-length All Billionaires Are Bastards, and their 6 songs continue in that bulldozer style, combining metallic riffing with a street-punk-ish knack for hooky melodies. The vocals are mile-a-minute political tirades in the tradition of MDC, with the heavy delay effect creating this woozy, swirling effect when the syllables wind around one another. It’s catchy, high-energy, and doesn’t sound like anyone else, so if you enjoyed the previous LP, don’t miss this one. As for Jalang, their vocalist has a similar sound to Unsanitary Napkin’s, but even more shredded-sounding. Jalang also keeps the energy level just as manic as Unsanitary Napkin, though their nods to Discharge and Cimex are more straightforward than Unsanitary Napkin’s sub-genre-obliterating racket. Interestingly, while each band covers one of the other’s songs here, both covers fit perfectly on their respective sides. A powerhouse record from two bands who were made for one another.

Rearranged Face: Far Green Arcade 12” (House of Tomothy) I really enjoyed this LA band’s 2021 LP, A Rare Caged Fern (which is still in stock!), and this new album is an excellent follow-up. While I probably reference turn-of-the-80s art rock / new wave bands like Suburban Lawns, Talking Heads, and the B-52’s in descriptions of contemporary bands relatively often, few of them evoke that vibe as strongly as Rearranged Face. Perhaps it’s Rearranged Face’s crisp production style, which is a marked contrast to the lo-fi egg punk bands who share a similar set of influences (particularly Devo, whose criss-crossing robotic rhythms are all over Far Green Arcade). Uranium Club is a contemporary band that does something similar to Rearranged Face, but whereas Uranium Club’s music often stretches to psychedelic lengths, Rearranged Face’s songs are snappy and dense with ideas. I’m a sucker for bands like this who wrap toe-tapping melodies in an arty and slightly obtuse aesthetic, and Far Green Arcade definitely scratches that itch.

Direct Threat: Endless Siege 7” (Iron Lung Records) You might remember this Denver band’s 2021 demo (which Iron Lung put to vinyl), and three years later we have their proper debut EP, a co-release between Iron Lung Records in the US and Quality Control HQ in the UK. Three years seems like a long gap between a demo and a first EP, but the extra time in the oven paid off with this batch of tunes. At first glance, Direct Threat sounds a lot like other oi!-infused hardcore bands of recent years, with their fuzzy, analog-sounding production and barked, 86 Mentality-style vocals. But behind the primitivist production are interesting and even subtle songs. I love the Negative Approach-esque drum parts on “The Violent Dawn,” which sound so classic, but the most striking moment is “Hammer of Reality,” a song built around this unique, bouncy rhythm that might seem like a slight stylistic detour, but I think it really works. Endless Siege is full of moments like that, and it’s worth a listen even if you’re feeling a bit worn out by all the new jack oi! boys.

Sin Tax: Abnegation 7” (Miracle Cortex Records) Debut EP from this dark and punishing hardcore band from Melbourne, Australia. I’ve seen Sin Tax compared to several outsider-y 80s hardcore bands, but the comparison that keeps coming to my mind is Septic Death. The guitar player is mega-speedcore fast, playing in a death metal-ish style on the fast parts, but the drumming is pure hardcore, with simple and punishing beats and a rhythmic restlessness. While Sin Tax’s music can feel manic when there are a lot of fast parts in a row (and there often are), the band settles into heavy grooves on the mid-paced parts, notably “Faces of Death,” whose intro touches on some supremely Flag’d out Eye for an Eye-isms. Abnegation has an introverted, artsy feel that takes a minute to warm up to, but the band’s ambition pays off in tunes packed with compelling musicality.

Prisão: EP 2 7” (11PM Records) Denmark’s Adult Crash Records released the first EP from this Swedish hardcore band in 2022, and now they’re back with their second, which fortunately has a North American pressing on 11PM Records. There are a couple of things you need to know about Prisão if you aren’t familiar with them already. First, while they’re a Swedish band, their singer is Brazilian and sings in Portuguese, and I’m guessing the band also works to channel the raw and ugly side of early South American hardcore. Second, said Brazilian singer is Lucas who plays guitar in Vidro, and while I don’t know how much he contributed to riff-writing on this EP, if you’re a fan of Vidro’s hooky, groovy hardcore, you should definitely check out Prisão. The heavy, mid-paced grooves that make me want to smash my head through a wall also make me think of Golpe, particularly since Prisão lets these great riffs and grooves breathe, their songs taking time to unfold, which stands in contrast to the compressed, manic vibe of so much similarly ugly hardcore. Of course I like the fastest song the best, as “Foda-se” rips with a catchy, Minor Threat-ish main riff. A top-notch hardcore punk EP.

Cartoon: Nyuck Nyuck Boing! 12” (Human Headstone Presents) This Philadelphia avant-punk band delivers their first vinyl after dropping a demo tape (also on Human Headstone) back in 2022. Cartoon’s songs are mostly instrumental (though vocals with fractured, imagistic lyrics pop up a few times over the course of the record), drawing from diverse strands of instrument-focused (rather than vocal-focused) music like jazz fusion, post-rock, and Krautrock. But while the compositions sound like they’re based on influences from outside punk and hardcore, Cartoon plays like a punk band, keeping the intensity high and the tempos up, leaning hard into the grooves that form the backbone of these seven tracks. Nyuck Nyuck Boing! isn’t going to be for the majority of people reading the Sorry State newsletter, but if you hang with the post-Paganicons Saccharine Trust material, you’re gonna love this. If you enjoy Jaco Pastorius, 70s Miles Davis, and 80s King Crimson, you’re even better suited for this wild musical journey.

Mower: II 12” (Audacious Madness Records) II is the appropriately titled second album from this d-beat rock and roll group from Pittsburgh, and while I liked their first album a lot, II is even more scorching. Mower isn’t shy about their inspirations—their aesthetic is grounded firmly in Motorhead and Inepsy—but their music is far from formulaic, the style serving as a framework rather than a set of constraints. The band is on fire here too, the raw and live sound showcasing their power as players and the blistering tempos—Mower is fast!—keeping the energy level through the roof. While the punkier parts are straightforward, loud, and fast, Mower frequently slides into extended instrumental breaks that give them the opportunity to go further out, with blistering guitar solos, complex bass runs, and deft instrumental interplay serving as the perfect foil to the straightforward rippage. I’ve heard plenty of bands in this style that can wear thin after a track or two, but II is a smartly sequenced record that changes up the tempos, structures, and feel from song to song to keep everything super lively. Excellent stuff.

X: Hate City 7” (Dirt Cult Records) Dominic wrote about X-Aspirations, the classic debut album from this 70s Australian punk group (not to be confused with Los Angeles’s X) in his staff pick a few weeks ago, but the four tracks on Hate City capture an earlier four-piece version of the band that splintered before they released anything. This version of X is more straightforwardly punk, these tracks buzzing with loose energy and built around simple and memorable hooks. “Good on Ya Baby” (which also appeared on X-Aspirations) and “Cabaret Roll” remind me of the gruff sound of the Chosen Few, while the title track’s classic-sounding rock and roll riff and call and response chorus approach the amphetamine-fueled transcendentalism of the Saints. My favorite of the four tracks, though, is “Home Is Where the Floor Is,” another high-energy rocker with a super melodic chorus that fans of the early Scientists records will love. These four tracks are an important piece of the early Aussie punk puzzle, and while I wish this lineup had recorded more, I’m stoked to have a hard copy of these four lost classics.

Pleasants: Rocanrol in Mono 12” (Under the Gun Records) Debut release from yet another lo-fi Aussie garage-punk group, and while I’d love to tell you this scene has run out of steam, Rocanrol in Mono is very much worth your time. While Pleasants don’t come off as a Ramones-worship group like the Riverdales, the Ramones are a clear influence here, with some vocals adopting a Joey-esque accent (“Takeout Dinner”), lots of blistering 16th notes on the cymbals, and chunky major key riffs (“Home Alone” sounds a lot like the Ramones’ “Pinhead”). Like I said, though, there’s more to Pleasants than that, with mid-paced tracks like “Dead to the World” having a 70s glam feel and poppier songs like “Rubix Cube” reminding me of Cherry Cheeks. The vocals are distorted and buried, leaving most of the big hooks to the instruments, with lead guitar and bubblegummy synth lines vying for the spotlight across the LP. It’s catchy, high-energy music that might appeal to fans of anything from ’77 classics to the 90s Lookout! Records scene to contemporary egg punk, without fitting squarely into any of those styles. Rockanrol in Mono’s emphasis on high energy and big hooks means it’ll appeal to anyone with a pop sweet tooth, and its stylistic range will keep it on the turntable for many plays.

JJ & the A’s: Eyeballer 7” (La Vida Es Un Mus) Eyeballer is the second 7” from this Copenhagen-based band on La Vida Es Un Mus, giving us four more blasts of their abrasive but tuneful synth-punk. While Eyeballer keeps the energy level just as high as the debut and is still bathed in sheets of fuzz, I think the melodies shine through even more memorably here than on the first JJ & the A’s record. “Generation” has a dreamy quality that reminds me of their label-mates Rata Negra, but the rhythm section’s full-bore intensity cuts that sweetness with bucketfuls of grit. The underwater effect on the vocals can’t drown out the catchiness of the chorus to “Eyeballer,” and the 60s organ sound from the synth elevate both the title track and closer “The Runner.” “Counterstrike,” on the other hand, lays into the Ramones influence with its super fast drumming and heavy chord changes. I also love the artwork on this record. The graffiti lettering (a theme that carries over from the first EP) seems like an odd fit, but that weird little punk mutant on the front and the cool primary color accents are to die for.

Added Dimensions: Time Suck / Hellbent 7” (Domestic Departure Records) The title of this debut from Richmond’s Added Dimensions might give you the impression it’s a two-song single, but it actually serves up 5 tracks of the UKDIY-inspired indie/punk we expect from Domestic Departure Records. While the 4-track-ish production on Time Suck / Hellbent gives it a unified sound, the music covers a lot of ground, from the more driving and angular “Impulsive” to the Shop Assistants-y pop of “In the System” to the artier, Wire-ish “Wound Up.” (Yes, I’m using all the same comparisons as the label’s description… they’re very apt.) I particularly like when Added Dimensions’ melodies pile on top of one another, as in “Interruption” and “Compartmentalize,” which feature criss-crossing lines that intersect with one another in unexpected ways, sometimes producing interestingly dissonant harmonies. That arty sensibility combined with an uncomplicated appreciation of pop melody propels some of my favorite music ever, and that same chemistry makes Added Dimensions sound timeless and compelling.

Legion of Parasites: Undesirable Guests 12” (General Speech Records) General Speech Records brings us a well-done official reissue of this 80s UK hardcore gem. Legion of Parasites—particularly on Undesirable Guests—always reminded me of Ultra Violent in the way their music is based on a UK82 foundation, but the band clearly aims to match the intensity and speed of the most energetic US-style hardcore. The vocals rely on simple and memorable melodies and chanted choruses, and the music is bruising, with rhythms and tempos that remind me of Germany’s Inferno on “Party Time” and “Hypocrite.” You also can’t talk about Legion of Parasites without mentioning the wild drumming. The drummer seems way more interested in doing crazy fills than holding down a steady beat (much like Jerry’s kids), and the looseness of the fast parts also reminds me of Life Sentence. The speed and rippage factors place this in the company of the fastest European and American hardcore bands of the time, yet the echoes of those older UK punk sounds give Undesirable Guests its own unique flavor. It’s also worth saying that rather than the deluxe treatment most reissues receive nowadays, General Speech opted for packaging that more closely resembles the original pressing, with a punk price to match. Indeed, Undesirable Guests doesn’t need any bells and whistles to sell it… it just rips.

Welly Artcore: Nefarious Artists book (Earth Island Book) In this reference-style book, Welly from Artcore fanzine examines “the evolution and art of the punk rock, post-punk, new wave, hardcore punk and alternative rock compilation record.” Rather than a narrative history of the compilation, Nefarious Artists examines each compilation one by one, devoting half a page of description and analysis to each, letting the larger story of the compilation record—and the genres they cover—emerge through that lens. Theoretically, much of the information in this book is available on Discogs, but the consistency and thoroughness of Welly’s approach reveals the limitations of crowd-sourcing information, which applies attention very unevenly across large data sets like this. Cover art is a great example. Images of cover artwork are all over the place on Discogs; while major records probably have pretty good ones, once you get into the weeds you’ll find plenty of blurry, cropped, low-res, or otherwise substandard images on Discogs. For Nefarious Artists, however, Welly has meticulously scanned each compilation’s cover art himself, and while the images in the book are small, they’re of uniformly high quality. The same with the half-page descriptions of each compilation. Welly always provides a list of bands on the compilation and a brief description of what the record and bands sound like, as well as a short analysis of its artwork and packaging. Nefarious Artists will be a valuable reference tool for punk nerds, but there are freaks like me who will read it from beginning to end like it’s a novel (I did the same with the Flex discography books). If you do this, you will learn a TON, no matter how much of an expert you are. I’ve learned about dozens of compilations I’d never heard of, plus a mountain of other factoids. For instance, I learned about a band featuring a young Frankie Stubbs from Leatherface that released a single track on a regional compilation in 1981 (you’ll have to get the book to find the name of the band and the record). After searching the internet in an attempt to learn more, this information appears to exist only in Welly’s book and in the brains of old punks like him, so cheers to him for getting so much of this down. If you’re as big a nerd as I am, you’ll love going through Nefarious Artists systematically like this, listening to things on YouTube where possible and watching your want list swell. For me, there’s no higher praise for a book about punk rock than that.

Ultimate Disaster: Demo 2024 cassette (Acute Noise Manufacture) Debut 5-song demo from this new raw punk band from Richmond. This came out a few months ago, but our first batch of copies sold out instantly. Thankfully, Acute Noise Manufacture pressed more for the band’s recent tour with Deletär, which not only gives you a second chance to pick it up but also gives me an opportunity to tell you how much I like it. Disclose seems like an obvious reference point for Ultimate Disaster’s sound because they play in the Discharge style and the singer’s vocal inflections have a hint of Kawakami, but I really think they have their own thing going on. Unlike a lot of recordings by bands who draw inspiration from Disclose, the production here isn’t super fried. Instead, it’s rich and clear, unafraid to show the band’s powerful playing in the clear light of day. And god damn, are they powerful players… the drumming is heavy and driving, the bass playing is locked into the groove rather than a chaotic mess, and the riffs are broad and classic-sounding, the elements melding together into a unified roar. While their songs are dynamic and full of exciting crescendos, I love that Ultimate Disaster lets you get a good head-bang going, riding riffs and grooves long enough for you to sink into them. Critics will say there’s nothing new here, but I like that Ultimate Disaster doesn’t try to reinvent the wheel, offering us a self-assured sound from a band who clearly knows who they are.

Cicada: S/T 7” flexi (Total Peace Records) Here’s another repress of a Richmond band’s demo that sold out instantly the first time around, thankfully upgraded to a red vinyl flexi courtesy of Total Peace Records. While there are fewer than 4 minutes of music on this disc, Cicada packs a lot in a small space. Starting with the buzz of the band’s namesake insect, feedback swells and the full band enters with a mid-paced stomp, the tempo building until a dramatic pause, the guitar player quickly signaling the riff before the full band throws you in the meat grinder. Cicada’s brand of hardcore is sinister and moody, the vocals in the demonic United Mutation school while the riffs dance around dark, complex chords that give Cicada a richly textured sound. The rhythms, often frantic, are similarly ornate, weaving a couple nods to Poison Idea into their darting lunges. Then you’re out before you know it, the band leaving us with a brief outro that sounds like a 4-track version of Goblin. There’s so much here that I’d love to see Cicada expand on, but there’s something magical about everything that’s captured in this brief tornado of sound.

Slender: Learn to Die 12” (Digital Regress Records) After two records on La Vida Es Un Mus, this New York project moves to Digital Regress Records for their second album. It seems like an appropriate move given the defiantly eclectic and experimental direction they’re moving in, which seems to have as much to say to the worlds of chamber music and fine art as DIY punk shows and limited edition 7”s. I could spend a couple thousand words touching on all the different styles and sounds Slender tackles over the course of Learn to Die and still come nowhere near doing it justice. Suffice to say there’s a lot of music here, and you never know what the next moment—much less the next song—will hold, with drastic changes in genre, tone, production methods, and just about everything else keeping Learn to Die in constant flux. Yet it doesn’t sound scattered. The label’s lengthy but evocative description puts it really well when they note it has a “polyvocal quality,” like it was created by a village full of artists rather than just a small group. Fans of strange and eclectic albums like Comus’s First Utterance, Cathedral’s Forest of Equilibrium, or Royal Trux’s Twin Infinitives will get the most out of this dense and demanding but exciting musical journey.

Lysol: Down the Street 7” (Feel It Records) New 4-song EP from this long-running hardcore punk band from Seattle. If you’ve checked out Lysol’s previous releases, you know broadly what to expect… hardcore with a seedy rock and roll edge that leans into the Iggy-isms that informed the Germs and early Black Flag. It’s a sound that’s strongly associated with the Pacific Northwest, with the Lewd, Poison Idea, and Mudhoney all cooking with a similar recipe. After the straightforward punker “Sonic Thrill,” Lysol lays down a slinky, vaguely Stones-y riff in “Grease Paint.” The b-side shows the band pulling at the edges of their sound, with the slide guitar (I think?) and loose guitar work in “15mg” drawing from 60s garage, only for “Padded Cell” to close record with a fast and tightly arranged hardcore tune that could slot right into the middle of Group Sex. If your cup of tea is actually a warm PBR, there’s a good chance you’re gonna like this.

Ikhras: Jahanam Btistana cassette (Quality Control HQ) Quality Control HQ brings us the debut cassette from this new UK band whose lyrics move seamlessly between Arabic and English. I think there’s a strong interest in the punk scene right now in hearing voices from Arabic-speaking and Muslim communities, and Ikhras melds that perspective to some walloping music. Ikhras is on the tougher side of the hardcore we cover at Sorry State, with a sound that’s inventive and eclectic, the powerful drummer seamlessly weaving together Cro-Mags gallop, Victim in Pain-inspired thrash, groovy I Against I-influenced parts, a touch of d-beat, and the all-important huge mosh parts. The lyrics shift between Arabic and English—not just from song to song, but sometimes line to line—and they’re super memorable, with “Enlighten Me” calling out people who wear liberal / leftist values like a cloak that hides their self-centeredness. The last track, “El Nahr,” is a climactic end to the tape, culminating in this part where the singer shouts “from the river to the sea for you I bleed” before the band drops into a huge mosh part. It’s easy to imagine a packed room full of sweaty hardcore kids all screaming that line in unison. While Ikhras’ music is a little outside Sorry State’s wheelhouse, their perspective and message make them interesting to more than just people who follow their particular style of music. I’m stoked that not only is Ikhras sharing their world with the rest of the punk scene, but that punk rock is alive and vital enough that it’s bringing new people under its tent, with those people inspired to contribute to punk’s social, aesthetic, and musical evolution.

Innuendo: Peace and Love 12” (Roachleg Records) Vinyl debut from this hardcore band from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Innuendo has a unique take on hardcore punk that combines the pulled-back, mid-paced approach of bands like Social Circkle with the grimy, nihilistic breed of hardcore that descends from the Negative Approach 7”. Songs like “Suffer for Peace” and “Walk Away” have California-sounding riffs, their catchiness accentuated by the laid-back cool with which the guitarist strums them, a stark contrast with most hardcore guitarists’ style of playing as fast and as hard as possible all the time. Yet even though the riffs are so catchy, the music never sounds syrupy, even when they do something anthemic like “Nuke This Place” (which makes me think of the Formaldehyde Junkies’ similarly anthemic “Nuke the Frats”)… the singer’s raspy, Dez Cadena-esque vocals and the band’s habit of playing like they’re being dragged through the mud ensures that. The balance of sweet and sour on this one is just great… you gotta love this style of dirty punk with fist-pumping hooks.

Gall-Bladder: Merciless Pendulum cassette (self-released) From what I understand, this demo cassette from Gall-Bladder is kind of a Sirkka side-project, with the US-based members of that band (i.e. everyone except the vocalist Sanja) swapping instruments. The sound is still hardcore punk, but Gall-Bladder ends up sounding quite different from Sirkka. After a somewhat melodic 70s punk-ish sounding intro that reminds me of Puffer’s raw but hooky punk, there’s a long snare roll and then Gall-Bladder launches into the full-bore hardcore, never letting up from there. The sound is desperate and chaotic, reminding me of Discharge without sounding like they’re imitating Discharge. The mix is smashed together with all the instruments coalescing into this monstrous roar, and the chaotic guitar leads especially remind me of Bones. The leads are most Discharge-y element of Gall-Bladder’s sound, but even those go off on their own tangents, like the way the crazy tones on “Applauded Absurdity” make me think of a nuclear warning siren. Gall-Bladder’s music is fast and energetic, but it’s also dark and bent, and while these four songs are undeniably hardcore punk, they’re not without interesting surprises. An excellent demo.

Balta: Mindenki Mindig Minden Ellen 7” (La Vida Es Un Mus) Mindenki Mindig Minden Ellen is the second EP from this noisy Hungarian punk band on La Vida Es Un Mus. You might remember their first EP, Rendszerszintű Agybaszás, which we named Record of the Week back in December 2022. If you love hardcore punk that is maximally noisy and chaotic, you are going to love Balta right off the bat… the tones on this record are insane. The recording is raw and blown out, with a guitar sound that’s fried into a static-y oblivion. It seems kind of obvious to compare Balta to 80s Italian hardcore given their raw and chaotic sound, but they particularly remind me of Indigesti because there’s a relatively straightforward hardcore band lurking beneath the noise, tape hiss, and chaotic delivery. The vocalist sounds like a mix of the guy from Indigesti and Pat Dubar from Uniform Choice, and when there’s enough of a lull in the chaos to get a handle on what’s going on (like when they play the catchy main riff in “Ez A Zaj”), you might even find yourself humming along for a second. But those moments are few, with most of Mindenki Mindig Minden Ellen devoted to undulating waves of chaos. I particularly love when loud guitar overdubs tumble into the mix, performing the function of your standard lead guitar break, but it’s really just more noise at a higher volume and slightly different frequency. This nine-song ripper will be a thrill ride for anyone who loves unrelenting, harsh noise.

Dollhouse: I Hate You Don’t Leave Me 7” (Toxic State Records) Toxic State Records brings us the second 7” from this New York City punk band, and I think it may take many people by surprise. Dollhouse sounds like a classic Toxic State band in a lot of ways: their predilection for pogo and shuffle beats, strained vocals, the artsy vibe, and lyrics and imagery that view childhood through a sinister lens. But while I think of New York punk bands as favoring primitive recordings, I Hate You Don’t Leave Me sounds clear and heavy, with a level of studio polish that reminds me of 90s pop-punk and melodic hardcore. The guitar riffs lean in that direction too. While the melodic lead guitar on “Be Nice to Me (Part II)” wouldn’t have been out of place in a Sad Boys song, the title track’s big guitar hook sounds like something you’d hear on one of Screeching Weasel’s Fat Wreck-era LPs. Some of you may interpret that as a slight, but I love those records, and I think “I Hate You Don’t Leave Me” is a great song too. Even the vocals, which are pretty limited in terms of melody, find patterns that make you want to sing along on the title track and “So Hollow.” As someone who owns just about every record by Crazy Spirit and Dawn of Humans AND Screeching Weasel and Pegboy, I think this is a great—and very unique—record.

Public Interest: Spiritual Pollution 12” (Erste Theke Tonträger) Second album from this Oakland post-punk group that, I believe, is the solo project of a member of Marbled Eye. Not a million miles away from Marbled Eye’s brooding post-punk, Public Interest sounds to me like late 70s / early 80s Manchester filtered through 2000s Australia. The heavy drums and the way the bass carries so much melody puts this firmly in the Joy Division school of dark post-punk, but as with Aussies Total Control and Low Life, there’s a golden-hour-at-the-beach quality to it too that keeps the darkness from fully taking over. Maybe it’s the way most of Spiritual Pollution stays at such an even keel, avoiding a lot of the obvious dynamic shifts in tempo or volume that so many other bands use to keep the listener’s interest. Public Interest doesn’t pander in that way, instead requiring you to acclimate to their environment before you notice the interesting details. I particularly like tracks like “Residue” and “Burning of Time,” where the guitars have more of a chiming, Smiths-influenced sound, weaving melodies that wind around the bass lines in interesting ways. Given Public Interest’s staid demeanor, it may take a few listens for Spiritual Pollution to sink in, but it has plenty of charm for those who give it the required time and attention.

Ritual Warfare: Poison Death Noise 7” (Sewercide Records) Sewercide Records brings us the second 7” EP from this raw underground metal band from their stomping grounds of Halifax, Nova Scotia. Poison Death Noise, despite being only a 7”, is a smorgasbord of raw underground metal sounds. I know nothing about who makes Ritual Warfare’s music, but I picture a total metal fanatic who does nothing but smoke weed, listen to primitive underground metal from the 80s tape trading days, and meticulously revise their own metal masterpieces. While all four tracks on Poison Death Noise channel the raw excitement of outlier 80s metal like NME’s Unholy Death LP, they’re also intricately composed, coming off like mini symphonies influenced by the entire history of underground metal. The title track that leads off the record is fully of knotty rhythmic shifts, its fried production values making it sound coherent despite the music swaying between full-bore death metal and moshy, thrash-style breakdowns. The second track, “Detest,” is just as impressive, starting with scorching guitar work on the death metal intro and moving to a chorus that features a climactic yell of “you fucking piece of shit!” through Sakevi-style distorted and delayed vocals before launching into a blazing guitar solo. You might think the song is winding down, but it’s only halfway done, building a new foundation of Norwegian-style black metal before an extended guitar solo that cycles through numerous movements and musical ideas. They put some work into this guitar solo, and it shows. Yet despite how ambitious Ritual Warfare’s music is, it always sounds raw and direct, just like my favorite under-the-radar 80s classics. A fucking scorcher.

Spaced: This Is All We Ever Get 12” (Revelation Records) I knew nothing about Buffalo, New York’s Spaced before I dropped the needle on their Revelation debut, This Is All We Ever Get, but the combination of the band’s surreal and psychedelic imagery and the Revelation Records stamp of approval moved me to check it out, and I’m glad I did. Compared to much of the hardcore we cover at Sorry State, Spaced’s sound is very modern, though there are old school elements in the mix, like the Cro-Mags-esque galloping beats and the singer’s raspy vocals. Though Spaced’s singer sounds like a woman, they also sound a bit like Kurt from DRI on Dealing with It, super snotty and punk but with legible lyrics and a knack for melding them to simple, hooky melodies. The thing I like most about Spaced, though, is how eclectic their songs are. Though the songs are short (its eight tracks blaze by in just 16 minutes), they’re full of parts that often contrast starkly with one another. They might shift from that Cro-Mags gallop to a Gag/Bib-esque pogo beat, then into a groovy part where you hear the influence of 90s bands like Quicksand. There are also huge mosh parts and singalongs, both of which I’m sure make crowds of people many years younger than me lose their minds. There’s even a vaporwave-ish track (“AIATB”) that breaks up the intensity nicely. While I like some parts more than others, you never know what’s lurking around the next corner of a Spaced song, and the record’s dynamism means that, even if you don’t like, it would be hard to call it boring. I know many people who read Sorry State’s newsletter are dedicated to 80s hardcore styles and Spaced probably won’t be for them, but if you have broader tastes or you’re just looking to mix it up, This Is All We Ever Get is a thrilling listen.

Svaveldioxid / Parasit: Split 7” (Phobia Records) Phobia Records brings together these two veteran Swedish d-beat bands for a well-matched split 7”. No doubt you know both these bands’ names if you follow modern Swedish d-beat, and while all four songs here are very much in that vein, they show how much room for movement there is within a style that’s often dismissed as derivative. Svaveldioxid’s first track, “Ruttna Bort,” starts with a gloomy intro and segues into a powerful d-beat fast part that’s heavy and punishing on the surface, but the more melodic guitar riffing I can hear at the edges of the mix gives it the textural richness of 2000s-era Avskum. Their second track, “Statliga Mord,” is more of a punishing, Disfear-type track (BTW, Svaveldioxid’s drummer is Robin Wiberg, who played on Disfear’s Everyday Slaughter), climaxing with a simple, repetitive guitar lead that makes me think of Anti-Cimex’s “When the Innocent Die.” As for Parasit, while they play a similar style, their singer has a rawer, more unhinged style, and their first track, “Tysta Skrik,” uses chords and rhythms rooted heavily in Discharge’s Hear Nothing See Nothing Say Nothing-era sound. Then they totally switch things up for their second track, “När Skiten Rasar,” a more rocking mid-paced track that doesn’t sound like Discharge at all, but more like some of Totalitär’s mid-paced songs. Maybe at the end of the day, this one is for the heads, but the heads will find plenty to enjoy here.

Pleasure: Candy Samples cassette (Donor Records) Leeds, England’s Pleasure has a sound rooted firmly in the tradition of dark, nihilistic hardcore that begins with Black Flag’s Damaged and extends through everyone from Bl’ast (obviously) to Fang through the Melvins and Bleach-era Nirvana and all eras of hardcore punk since. The riffs are heavy but the vibes are heavier, with a bottom-trawling sound meant to evoke, soundtrack, or even trigger an actual psychotic meltdown. If you’re able to listen past the overwhelming negativity of it all, there’s a lot to keep the fan of dense and dynamic hardcore interested here. Much like Damaged, it feels like there’s more music here than the recording can hold. Rhythms range from driving, Negative Approach-inspired thrash to lumbering noise rock, but pleasure is always doing interesting stuff whatever mode they’re in. I love the rhythmic hiccup in the breakdown of the opening track, “Buzzed,” the skronky Ginn-inspired guitar solo in “Relaxation,” and the way instruments dramatically drop in and out of the full-scale assault of “Prayer Glitch,” perhaps Candy Samples’ most exciting track. That darkly bent song particularly reminds me of first album-era Double Negative, though that wouldn’t be an out-of-place comparison for any of these tracks. If you like your hardcore dense and warped, you’re gonna like Pleasure.

Sexpill: In Dust We Trust 12” (Beach Impediment Records) In Dust We Trust is the proper debut vinyl for this long-running noisy hardcore band from Texas. While you could place Sexpill in the same category as noisy hardcore bands like Enzyme and Lebenden Toten, their execution is so over the top and unique to them that comparisons only go so far. Sexpill’s formula is straightforward and doesn’t vary much from song to song: apocalyptic riffs inspired by 80s Japanese hardcore, a pogo beat played at “violence tempo,” a manic, drug-fueled madman on the mic, and a thick blanket of noise draped across the top of everything. While there are minor variations (“South East Santa,” for instance, zones out and stretches to twice the length of the other tracks), Sexpill finds a lot of room for expression within that formula. The vocals are very creative, not only finding interesting rhythms but also making strange sounds that sometimes don’t sound like the human voice at all, as well as using the microphone creatively, backing away strategically at some points and, at others, pushing so much air that it goes into the red. The noises over top of the more standard punk instrumentation are also consistently fascinating, varying in texture from song to song and orchestrated to accent the particular dynamics within any given song. You could remove the bass, guitar, drums, and vocals from this record and have a compelling harsh noise record. Whether you’re a wasted punk who just wants the loudest, craziest music possible or you’re a brainy appreciator of aural sculpture, In Dust We Trust has plenty to love.

Drill: Permanent 12” (Abandon Everything Records) I was a big fan of the first cassette from Philadelphia’s Drill, and while I was anticipating Permanent, I’m sad to hear that it’s a posthumous release as the band has broken up. I know it’s hard to generate excitement for a new record by a defunct band, but fuck… Permanent is so killer! While much of Drill’s music lies on the arty, bass-forward end of the post-punk spectrum and might warrant comparisons to contemporary bands like Spread Joy, the World, and Fitness Womxn, you really can’t pigeonhole their sound. First of all, the band’s setup—drums, bass, and synth—immediately separates them from other similar groups, particularly since the synth player approaches the instrument more as a noisemaker than a deliverer of melody. While the bass establishes the songs’ chord progressions and core instrumental melodies, most of the time the synth bursts in with these harsh squalls that lend an air of arty chaos. While the synth sounds are abrasive, Drill’s great songwriting and willingness to inhabit different musical moods makes me think of the best 90s indie rock bands. I compared them to early Pavement when I wrote about their tape, but the band that comes to mind when I listen to Permanent is the Breeders, particularly the bouncy, vaguely hip-hop-ish gait of “Pipsqueak” and the brilliant “Eggs for Now,” a five-minute long amble whose loping groove makes me think of a sun-drenched cowboy clip-clopping his way across the desert while tripping on acid. Other highlights include “Gavin,” the one track with guitar, which plays a rockabilly-tinged riff that makes me think of Brix’s stint in the Fall, and “Sweat,” whose extra funky groove and over the top vocals warrant comparisons to Suburban Lawns. Permanent is just a great fucking record from beginning to end, and Abandon Everything Records even pressed up a small batch on a special color vinyl for Sorry State’s customers, so pick it up while you can.

Viscount: 10 Past 10 cassette (Noble Lowndes Annuities) 10 Past 10 is the debut 8-song cassette from this solo project helmed by Lucy Anstey. I am a big fan of Lucy’s band Primetime (maybe you are too?), so when I saw this solo release hyped in Neon Taste’s newsletter, I had to check it out. Primetime always had great pop melodies, and that carries over to Viscount, though the instrumentation is quite different. There’s probably a better comparison out there, but many of the tracks on 10 Past 10 remind me of New Order’s electronic pop: drum machines, synthesizers, dance rhythms and big pop instrumental and vocal hooks. That’s the core of the sound, but there are also two more abstract instrumentals (“Dungeon” and “Third Floor Corridor”) that break up 10 Past 10 nicely, as well as a cover song at the end of each side. I like the cover of “Rose Garden,” but Viscount’s cover of “When You’re Happy You Won’t Understand” by the Bartlebees really blew me away. I’m not familiar with the Bartlebees—Discogs tells me they’re a 90s German garage/indie band—but in Viscount’s hands, “When You’re Happy” is a beautiful slice of wistful 80s-style indie-pop with a minimal synth backbone and an absolutely classic chorus. I have a feeling I’ll be putting this song on mix tapes for many years to come. All of 10 Past 10 is great though… maybe its title shoulda been 10 out of 10?

Häxorna: demo cassette (Total Recall Recordings) Very brief 3-song, 3-minute long demo from this new band from Athens, Georgia that (I believe) features members of Consec. Häxorna’s meaty US hardcore-influenced sound and hoarse, desperate-sounding vocals remind me of another great Georgia hardcore band, Bukkake Boys. The songs are lean and to the point, but the hooky riffs, dynamic arrangements, and tasteful vocal placement elevate these songs above mere inchoate bursts of thrash. While Häxorna sounds like the more straightforward cousin of their label-mates Joro Path, there’s a freaky little guitar overdub at the end of the last track, “Total Recall,” that hints they may have a few different moves up their sleeve. This one is compact, but hits hard.

Absolut: 2024 cassette (Prescription) This cassette compiles a bunch of recent studio recordings by long-running Canadian metal-punk band Absolut. The three tracks on the a-side are new demo recordings for an upcoming LP, while the five tracks on the b-side come from an unreleased 2022 demo. We love Absolut here at Sorry State, and these recordings hint that their upcoming album may be their defining statement. Absolut’s guitarist’s chops get more impressive with each passing year, and while getting better at your instrument can be a double-edged sword for a hardcore band, Absolut has not lost the plot. As with Sorry State’s Valtatyhjiö, tasteful touches of double bass drumming add spice to the relentless d-beating, and the blistering lead guitar licks weave across and through the riffs, as on the standout mid-paced track “Burn in Hell.” That track’s main riff would be plenty to carry the song on its own, but the lead shredding means every bar of the song offers unique surprises for the ear. Absolut’s next album may one day render these recordings obsolete, but in the meantime I’ll be burning up this hot reel.

Why Bother?: Serenading Unwanted Ballads 12” (Feel It Records) Serenading Unwanted Ballads is the latest full-length from this punk band from Iowa on Feel It Records, whose 2023 album A City of Unsolved Miseries got a Record of the Week nod at Sorry State. I hesitate to mention how prolific Why Bother? is because it might make you skeptical about the quality of any individual release… how could a band release so much music and have it all be good? However, as with their similarly prolific label-mates the Cowboys and Class, I hear no appreciable dip in quality across their many records. And holy crap, do Why Bother? have a lot of records, having put out at least eight albums since 2021. Not only did A City of Unsolved Miseries arrive barely a year ago, but also there’s an entire album, Calling All Goons, that came out between that and Serenading Unwanted Ballads. I am not privy to Why Bother?’s inner workings, but I’m guessing you can chalk up their quickly growing discography to some combination of these factors: 1. there probably isn’t shit else to do in Mason City, Iowa; 2. Why Bother? doesn’t play live (though there is one track on this album that says it was recorded live), and 3. they have a fucking ton of ideas. The latter is apparent on Serenading Unwanted Ballads, which has a ton of variety. There are tracks that, like many of my favorite Why Bother? songs, sound like gritty punk/pop in the vein of mid-period Husker Du (the opener “Nullity,” the aforementioned live recording of “Frothy Green”). A bunch of others—many of these among the record’s best—sound like post-punk underground pop music, like “Until” with its late 70s Manchester guitar line or the beautiful “High as the Heavens,” which sounds like it could have been in a John Hughes movie. “Your Love Will Die” has a cool 60s-sounding psychedelic surf vibe, while “Some Don’t Dance” is minimal and jittery a la the Urinals. And like any great band, Why Bother? takes these different ideas and runs them through their filter in a way that makes everything sound coherent. If you’re a fan of pop-based but adventurous punk, check out Why Bother? Don’t let their discography intimidate you… dive in here, and if you like it, sleep comfortably knowing there’s plenty more to hear.

Phil & the Tiles: Double Happiness 12” (Legless Records) We last heard from Aussies Phil & the Tiles on their debut 7”, released on Anti-Fade Records, and now they’re back with their first full-length on the similarly hot Australian label Legless Records. While Phil & the Tiles sound like a contemporary Australian band, they also sound like a band who might have formed at an art school at any point since, say, 1975. They have the right influences (the Fall, the Stooges), and they clearly know what’s cool (cryptic lyrics, synthesizers, singing that’s more like fast talking, etc.) and what’s not (earnestness, soloing, pomposity). While it has that sheen of art school cool, Phil & the Tiles’ music isn’t difficult; there’s a grit to it, but they are also fond of simple, naïve-sounding melodies. These melodies might come from the guitar, the synth, or any of the multiple vocalists, overlapping and criss-crossing in ways that are a delight to untangle. At their most brooding (like “Ode to Phil”) Phil & the Tiles remind me of the post-punkier end of the contemporary Aussie spectrum with bands like Low Life and Total Control, but I’m just as fond of the more upbeat, punkier tracks like “Captain Punish.” There’s just so much music on Double Happiness, its eclectic songwriting and dense instrumentation giving it both immediate appeal and strong replay value.

Repression: War Comes Home 7” (11PM Records) War Comes Home is the debut vinyl from this Arizona hardcore band. They had an earlier demo tape on the excellent Total Peace label, but since that recording Mike from Extended Hell and Yellowcake has joined on drums. As I said when I wrote about Yellowcake’s 7” a while back, Mike is a beastly drummer who will improve any band he’s in, and War Comes Home is indeed a powerful record. Repression’s sound is jagged and noisy, drawing from more than just a narrow spectrum of influences. Total Peace’s description of their demo mentioned Nine Shocks Terror and Deathreat, and I can hear that in War Comes Home. In the same way those 90s bands sounded like an amalgamation of everything in hardcore that had come before, Repression’s music isn’t anchored in one particular scene or style. The snotty but snarling vocals sound contemporary, with a similar catchiness as Gag or Paprika, and the guitars do everything from flanged-out noise to driving power chords to loose and chaotic leads, all three of which you can hear on the closer “Noxious Bulbs.” The mid-paced “Eradicated” is another highlight, with a strutting riff that would make your granny want to slam. While the fact that Repression doesn’t stick to one clear lane may make them a little less immediate, I love that War Comes Home doesn’t sound quite like any other record in my collection.

Nasti: People Problem 12” (Iron Lung Records) People Problem is the third 12” vinyl from this Seattle hardcore band. Jensen from Iron Lung (the label and the band) is in the group, which makes sense because Nasti sounds to me like the quintessential Iron Lung Records band. Their sound is dark and desperate, their music uniformly heavy and intense, but also adventurous. There are parts that remind me of Gag’s elastic pogo, Reek Minds’ crossover riff-fests, and Brain Tourniquet’s pulverizing bottom end. But they have their own moves too, like how, through all these tempos and rhythms, the guitarist deploys these broad melodic flourishes that remind me of 90s alternative rock (check that almost pop-punkish lead in the otherwise bleak “Ruin Everything”). And then, as if Nasti’s sound wasn’t already unique enough, when they drop into the five-minute closing dirge “White Fences II,” they augment the sound with sampled percussion, bringing an alien set of textures to this well-worn hardcore trope. Needless to say, if you’re a fan of the arty, forward-thinking hardcore Iron Lung specializes in, Nasti will be right up your alley.

Cruelster: Lost Inside My Mind In Another State of Mind - The Singles Collection 12” (Drunken Sailor Records) This LP collects all the non-album tracks from the Cleveland band Cruelster. Cruelster is a band that beckons you down their rabbit hole, and this singles collection, particularly its mythology decoding / perpetuating insert, sends you way the fuck down. Does the idea of a casual Cruelster fan make sense? Certainly, if you’re not down for the whole trip with these folks, you’re missing a lot. If that casual fan does exist, though, they’d likely dismiss the first half of this collection as juvenilia. But around halfway in, Cruelster’s strangeness and brilliance surfaces and the band just takes off. As I said, though, to really appreciate it, you need to take the whole trip. Speaking of which, the insert for this record is like the secret decoder ring that explains the heretofore murky story of Cruelster and its adjacent projects, primarily Perverts Again, but also including Sorry State’s Knowso, among others. The insert is amazing… it’s like 10,000 words, but printed as one giant block of text in tiny type with long lines and no paragraph breaks, a complete affront to the notion of readability. I had to break out a ruler to follow it, but—and this seems analogous to my entire experience as a fan of these groups—the effort was totally worth it. It’s a great story, covering the group’s origins as young (poser?) skinheads through myriad challenges, obstacles, small triumphs, and too many hilarious asides to count… I’m reminded of the tag line for Wayne’s World: “You’ll laugh! You’ll cry! You’ll hurl!” All that being said, if you’re not up for an album experience that requires extra hardware, you might as well skip this record. Cruelster is always going to make you pay to partake in their brilliance. But if you’re on the trip with these folks, this is another can’t miss episode. And like any great episodic series, it ends with a cliffhanger, hinting at an upcoming, as-yet-unrecorded new Cruelster album. I look forward to listening to that, enjoying it thoroughly, and writing yet another description that amounts, essentially, to “for fans only.”

Paprika: Let’s Kill Punk 12” (Iron Lung Records) We’ve carried two tapes by this New Orleans hardcore punk band at Sorry State, now they’re back with their debut 12” on Iron Lung Records. When I listen to Let’s Kill Punk, I’m struck by its maximalism. Everything feels larger than life here: the big, booming sounds, the chunky, moshable riffs, even the singer’s charismatic snarl. It’s so imposing that, as a listener, I was leveled on my first few listens, failing to appreciate much of the subtlety while I was processing the music’s blunt force. It took several plays before I could appreciate, for instance, the great riff at the center of the opening track, “Peace Talks,” which has a subtle, Wipers-y gloom coloring its attack. Let’s Kill Punk is short, most of its 10 tracks hovering around a minute in length, and Paprika doesn’t linger at all, going straight for the kill and making a quick getaway before you know what hit you. It’s only with multiple listens that you really appreciate how deftly Paprika annihilates you.

Grisaille: Entre Deux Averses... 7” (Black Water Records) Debut two-song single from this two-piece group from Brest, France, featuring two members of Syndrome 81. While these two songs aren’t miles away from Syndrome 81’s gloomy, melodic punk, as the label’s description notes, there’s a good deal of 2000s Copenhagen in the mix too, with the atmosphere here recalling the more melodic bands from that scene like No Hope for the Kids and Gorilla Angreb. If Entre Deux Averses... had come out in the 2000s, I guarantee everyone would have compared them to the Wipers, which was the de rigueur reference for bands playing this kind of upbeat but sombre-sounding punk. We’ve heard a lot of music from this camp lately, and while the different projects (Syndrome 81, Mentalité 81, etc.) are cloaked in slightly different aesthetics, strong songwriting and meticulous production runs through all of them, and Grisaille is no different. Add these tracks to your “gloomy spring morning” playlist and play them while staring vacantly out the window, waiting for these folks to whip up their next batch of hits.

Hexx Head: Seabeds Cough cassette (self-released) Debut release from this electronic duo from Boston. I’m only a dabbler in electronic music, but it’s been cropping up in the newsletter more and more lately, as there are quite a few releases in this vein that I’ve been connecting with. I’m not sure if Boston’s Hexx Head comes from a punk/hardcore background or if they’ve just noticed us stocking bands similar to theirs, but when they hit me up about carrying their tape, I really liked what I heard. Like Boy Harsher, Die Letzten Ecken, and Mandy, Indiana, Hexx Head’s music sits at the intersection of noise, dance music, synth-pop, and punk. From punk and hardcore, they take the consistently high energy levels and viscerality—there’s a reason people call this “electronic body music”—and combine it with noise music’s dense textures and dance music’s beat-forward sounds and structures, topping it off with a touch of synth-pop’s instrumental hooks. While Hexx Head forces your body to move, they’re often challenging you with off-kilter rhythms, like the stuttering “No Fair.” I love the steady pulse of Seabeds Cough, but Hexx Head never zones out, their songs inviting your attention rather than testing it. Like I said, I’m far from an expert on this stuff, but I really like what I hear here.

En La Muerte: Silencio 7” (Extinction Burst Records) The label’s description of this 7” from LA’s En La Muerte caught my eye with its Deadline and Wasted Youth (LA) references, and I’m glad I checked out Silencio, because it’s killer. Those references are spot-on, particularly for the ripping fast parts that characterize 80% or so of Silencio. It’s slightly sinister-sounding US-style hardcore that also reminds me of G.U.N.; En La Muerte’s vocalist even sounds like Nico from G.U.N. While hardcore rippers comprise most of En La Muerte’s music, things get a little weirder on their mid-paced parts, like the Big Black-ish intro to “Bleed” or the Ginn-esque guitar lead over the early NYHC-ish breakdown in “Killdozer.” I also love the freakout part at the end of the last song, “Damned,” which reminds me of the way Hüsker Dü would end their records by unspooling into chaos. While Silencio will appeal to fans of retro USHC (a key Sorry State demographic), I love that they’re not following the rulebook so closely they suck the life out of the music.

Perp Walk: Permacrisis 7” (Crew Cuts Records) Second EP from this Bristol, UK hardcore band, like its predecessor arriving on the Crew Cuts Records imprint. Judging by the number of copies we’ve seen heading out the door at Sorry State, plenty of Americans are hip to Perp Walk, and it’s easy to see why they’ve generated interest abroad. Perp Walk reminds me of Bib because their songs primarily revolve around huge-sounding, mid-paced riffs that strike a balance between “inciting violence” and “left of center.” The riffs are simple-sounding but never dumb; “Penitent Man” even reminds me of the pop dirges on Nirvana’s Bleach. “The Gavel” starts with a more metallic sound that might make you think of the Cro-Mags, but the song’s rhythm won’t quite let you skank your way to that glorious guitar lead at the end. Perp Walk’s music is heavy, hooky, and smart, and while it’s steeped in hardcore’s history, it doesn’t sound bound by it. Excellent stuff.

Joro Path: Golden Lines cassette (Total Recall Recordings) Total Recall Recordings, a new label from Athens, Georgia, taps hometown talent for their first pair of releases, including this 4-song weirdo ripper from Joro Path. Like the Death Rites demo I also wrote about this week, Golden Lines is bathed in the aesthetic of 80s Japan. I like that while Joro Path likes the hard stuff—your Mobs, Zouo, Execute, etc.—they also embrace the left-of-center quality many of those groups had, just totally nailing the vibe of “obscure flexi from 1985.” Maybe you need an appreciation of that stuff to understand where Joro Path is coming from, but as someone who has a very healthy appreciation for that sound, I think this totally rules.

Blind Ambition: Demo 2023 cassette (self-released) I don’t know much about Amsterdam’s Blind Ambition, but I’m tempted to draw inferences based on their sound. I see them as part of a long tradition of bands featuring people who were weaned on hardcore, but want to get back to their punk roots. Maybe they want to create a sound with more musical colors rather than something focused single-mindedly on intensity. However, while they embrace melody as composers, they still play like a hardcore band, with lock-step grooves, bruising downstrokes, brisk tempos, and a big, aggressive sound. Blind Ambition makes me think of contemporary bands like Neighborhood Brats and Consensus Madness, and like those bands, they draw a lot from early Southern Californian punk, both the proto-hardcore Dangerhouse bands (the singer sings a lot like Alice Bag) and the beach-y punk bands like the Adolescents, D.I., and especially Legal Weapon (not so much in the vocals, but in the way there’s a touch of Johnny Thunders in the guitarist’s Agnew-isms). Great songs, powerful performance… this ticks all the boxes.

Satanism: In Conspiracy with... cassette (Final Return Records) The label’s description for this New York band’s cassette invokes “the golden era of Evil Metal,” and that hits the nail on the head. They mention Venom and Slayer’s Show No Mercy as influences on Satanism, and I’d add Celtic Frost that list, too. The songs move between modes of sleazy and savage, the band equally comfortable in both. The recording is very vintage too, with copious reverb and an unpolished yet heavy and powerful sound. The lyricist isn’t winning a Pulitzer or anything (one song goes “I hate you / I hate you / I hate you / fuck you”), but the rawness and the confrontational quality suits the music. I like that it’s 7 tracks too, feeling more like a long EP or cassette album than just a demo. This will definitely get some horns in the air.

Somnol: Brain Death cassette (Final Return Records) This debut EP from NYC death metal duo Somnol arrives a full nine years after their 2014 demo tape. Somnol features Evan Radigan from the Rival Mob on drums and vocals and Chris Bowman from Ajax on strings, but other than an appreciation of rawness and brutality, you can’t hear much of the members’ hardcore backgrounds in Somnol. Actually, when the tape started and the intro for “Brain Death” kicked off, I was taken aback by the musicianship. Plenty of punks these days are exploring their interest in underground metal, but the intro for that track is this modal riff that sounds like something that could have appeared on Death’s Human LP. That only last a few seconds, though, before Somnol dives headfirst into straightforward brutality with some gnarly early Morbid Angel-style pummel. While Brain Death remains in that more brutal and straightforward mode for most of its five tracks, the musical ambition and sophisticated sense of composition is apparent throughout, making Somnol sound a lot more interesting than your typical old school death metal throwback. The recording is a big part of that too, with Will Killingsworth’s gritty but powerful recording successfully keeping any kind of polish at bay.

Death Rites: Demo 2024 cassette (self-released) This band describes themselves as “LA METAL PUNK” on the j-card of this, their debut release. While Death Rites’ sound is cloaked in the sensibilities of super raw shit like GISM and Parabellum, it reminds me of very early Metallica (like No Life ’Til Leather and Kill ‘Em All) in that the songs and performances are influenced by the relentless forward drive of UK82 punk. It’s also coming from a similar place as the English Dogs circa Forward into Battle or Sacrilege on Within the Prophecy, i.e. raised on GBH and Discharge, but also acknowledging ‘tallica kicks ass. The riffs are fully metal, but the vocals are punk as fuck. The singer sounds like they’re influenced by 80s Japanese punk and the physical tape recalls an artifact of 80s underground metal tape trading in pretty much every way, right down to its length (three songs in about seven minutes, the perfect amount to fill that awkward space on the C90 you’re sending to your pen pal in Saskatoon or Bremen or whatever). Very cool.

Phosphore: S/T cassette (Fight for Your Mind Records) Eight-track demo tape from this band from the d-beat haven of Bordeaux, France. The scene in that city is so fertile that there’s a full spectrum of d-beat flavors, ranging from the more polished and rock-influenced to the more brutal and guttural. Phosphore is on the latter end of the spectrum, with simple and aggressive riffs grounded in the Swedish Shitlickers / Anti-Cimex school of Discharge-inspired hardcore. I love Phosphore’s mid-paced songs too, which are even more blatantly Discharge-inspired. Phosphore plays with the confidence of veterans, taking relatively simple riffs and selling the fuck out of them, their locked-in playing and clear vision shining through the slightly fuzzy, 80s-sounding recording. It would be easy to scoff at this, saying it’s been done before, but for me this recording feels exciting and alive with timeless hardcore punk energy.