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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Hello and thanks for reading. I recently acquired this AVSKUM tape, and I wanted to write about it. This is the kinda shit that gets me weak in the knees! I never thought I would see a copy of this in real life, let alone have a copy of my own! I have no idea how many of these tapes were made, but I know it’s at least around 200. The tapes are numbered on the inside, and I have seen up to the number 198 online. I feel like AVSKUM is a band that needs no introduction. They began during the first wave of Swedish hardcore and have (more or less) kept it up since. I previously wrote about them when Prank did the recent reissue of Crucified By The System. I talked about how essential I consider that record, but I also mentioned how much I LOVE their unreleased material. They recorded for their 7” in February of 1984, but there were several recording sessions between July 1984 and September 1985 that were never properly released. Luckily, all that stuff was later compiled onto LP and CD releases, though. If this is all new to you, you can listen to most of these unreleased and early sessions here.

Anyways, this tape is a live AVSKUM performance recorded at Blitz, legendary Norwegian squat. The audio is not from the soundboard, but if you love AVSKUM, it will certainly hit the spot. Yeah, you can hear the crowd sometimes between songs, but AVKSUM sounds like they are on fire!! When I actually got this tape in my hands, and I realized this gig was recorded April 1985 - my mind started to race! I wondered, “Would they play any tracks from the unreleased Mortarhate 12”?” That session was recorded only five months later, and they are some of my favorite songs AVSKUM has done. I thought more as I examined the j-card, “Would they play stuff I have never even heard before…?” Between the 7” and the Mortarhate session they recorded several times, but just like the Mortarhate session, none of this stuff was released. Ah actually, Really Fast Vol 3 features AVSKUM, and they didn’t use any 7” tracks. I am not sure which session those songs are from without looking it up, which I won’t do right now... I know they appeared on a ton of cassette compilations as well, but I am not that familiar with these comps off-hand either. Anyways, most of this unreleased stuff was compiled onto a CD in the 90s by Finn Records, so luckily it could be heard and in one place. Then, later in the 2010s, Skrammel released a double disc compilation that included everything on that Finn comp plus even more unreleased shit that I didn’t know existed. Some double disc compilations like that can get old, but I don’t think AVSKUM is a band I could ever get tired of.

Unfortunately, I didn’t get to hear any tracks from the Mortarhate session on the Live at Blitz tape. They play the entire Nov. ’84 session, two songs from the July ’84 session, plus two songs from the 7”. But oh baby… there sure was a song I had never heard before! On the Skrammel comp there were a bunch of songs or alternate versions of songs I have never heard, but this track “Violence is Solution to Create Peace” doesn’t seem to appear anywhere aside from this cassette. I dropped that link above to the cassette, so you can hear it as well if you have not. I could be crazy, but the song sounds really similar to “Gold Digger,” which is recorded later on the Mortarhate session. I know it’s not the same structure, and they drop the guitar solo, but maybe they decided to rework the song or something. They play “Glöm Aldrig Hiroshima” a bit differently than they did on the record as well. Alright, I should wrap this up. Before I go, I wanted to drop this link to this translated interview with AVSKUM. It doesn’t look like I shared it last time, and if you don’t know about it already, it’s a fun read. Cheers and thanks for reading.

Hello and thanks for reading. This week I wanted I write briefly about this No Genocide compilation we’ve had it stock for a little while. This was originally released on cassette format and we had copies of that as well. I can’t remember how many sold, but after that they decided to press it to 12” as well. They made 300 of these and all proceeds are directed to mutual aid in Gaza. I know they’ve sent over a ton of money before the 12”s were made and that was great to hear. SCARECROW was asked to be on the compilation. They were looking for exclusive songs mostly, which we don’t really have, haha. We have done a number or cover songs though, and those can only be heard on cassette or flexi, so we went with one of those. A while back we covered Raleigh’s own C.O.C. for a tour tape, and now you can hear our version of “Rabid Dogs” on this No Genocide 12”. They properly mastered all the songs too, so it sounds a lot better than what we released on tape, haha. I was surprised how good it sounded, since we recorded with a portable recorder. The 12” compilation comes with a booklet that the cassette version did not, and Jeff did a sick page for us ripping off some old C.O.C. shit. On the compilation you can find some great contemporary bands, but they also featured some classics like OI POLLOI, THE MOB, and PART 1. Those bands probably don’t give a shit, but I can’t believe my band is on a record with them!! Haha. I was stoked to see RAT CAGE on the compilation too, as we’ve already done stuff with them. They also did a cover, by VARUKERS. While the comp is comprised of punk bands, the sound is all over the place. Actually, the final track is not a punk band at all, it’s a choir singing an anti-war song. That might sound cheesy to some, but I find stuff like that awesome. Anyways, I’m sure most everyone already knows about this compilation, but I wanted to take some time to mention it. If you’re not interested in buying the comp, you can stream the entire thing here. Of course you could donate by buying a digital version, but there are also a ton of links at the bottom of the page for direct ways to send funds to Gaza. Alright, I think that’s about it for the week. Cheers and thanks for your support. We really appreciate all the Sorry State customers.

Hi and thanks for reading. I saw we had this reissue of ANTI-CIMEX’s s/t 12” in stock and I wanted to write about it a bit. I’m sure everyone knows this record, aka Criminal Trap. This specific reissue was done by Nada Nada Discos / Spicoli Discos over a decade ago now, and that’s why I wanted to mention it. I think you can still pick up all the CIMEX 12”s on that label Back on Black, but to be honest I have never checked those reissues out. I’m guessing they are kept in print? I am not sure.

I remember when this reissue of their self-titled came out, er really when they were reissuing every CIMEX record. It was a huge deal, at least to me, haha. I think it was the first time any of this shit was ever being properly reissued, especially in the replica-type format. Shit man, I remember riding my bike up to the record shop back in Indy, Vibes Music, to order the Victims of a Bombraid and Raped Ass reissues off the computer there. My silly ass didn’t have internet at home, and I definitely did not have a smart phone back then. I was so excited I bought five copies of each Raped Ass cover variant, haha. Whoever fulfilled my order probably thought I was an idiot, but I made a lot of friends happy over the years with those copies. All these reissues done by Nada Nada Discos / Spicoli Discos were super-duper nice, easily the best CIMEX reissues out there in my opinion. I think the 7” reissues they did were actually getting a bit hard to find, but luckily there was the box set reissue that came out a few years ago as well.

Anyway, I remember picking up this reissue of their self-titled and it is killing me right now that I can’t find it. I guess I sold it? I remember the cover being so nice. Just like how they did the foil printing on Victims of a Bombraid reissue (that the most recent box set reissue painfully lacked.) While the 7”s were more like replicas of originals, the 12”s they did added bonus shit. Inside the s/t I remember reading some liner notes from Charlie (drummer of ANTI-CIMEX) about the record. He confirmed “Make My Day” is a Clint Eastwood reference, haha. Maybe that didn’t seem as cheesy back then, but damn it just makes me think of my dad now or something, haha. And I remember him saying they re-recorded “Set Me Free” cos they didn’t like the sound on Victims of a Bombraid or something like that. Which is nuts to think about, cos that record rules.

I would say the s/t 12” captures CIMEX in their prime. I think their demos rip unbelievably hard, and obviously, nothing can beat Raped Ass (except for maybe GBG 1982…), but you hear how damn good they’ve gotten at their instruments when it comes to the s/t. Victims of a Bombraid is an absolutely killer EP, but following up Raped Ass is no easy task. The sound is still powerful, but in a different sense. The songwriting is more pulled-back and they have more of a heaviness to them. Really, I don’t think there is anything that sounds like it at the time. It’s like the perfect example of proper kång. Anyway, on the 12” I feel like they deliver this extra ferociousness Victims of a Bombraid was kinda missing. While they still have that heavier sound, they picked up the pace a bit and added some new elements to the mix. Namely, some proper guitar leads, a rocked-out mid-tempo track, and a whole new mofo to deliver some extra percussion. While today I would probably think seeing a guy on stage solely beating the shit outta stuff would be cheesy, ANTI-CIMEX delivered it with pure originality.

I’m guessing everyone has this record who is reading this? If you don’t - you need a copy, and this Nada Nada / Spicoli Discos reissue we have in stock is the one you want. Since I am on the topic of CIMEX, and I also wanted to mention quickly this demos 12” we have in stock. We’ve had these for a minute, and they’ve been recently marked down. If you don’t have this record, now is the time to scoop it for cheap. I think some people were turned off by the cover. Or obviously, do you really need yet another ANTI-CIMEX demos reissue? In this case, the answer is yes. I wrote about it when we initially stocked it, so you can read about why I think this is easily the BEST demos reissue if you want. Alright, I think that sums it up for this week. Thanks for reading.

Hello and thanks for reading. Today I will write about this fairly recent TST reissue we’ve had in stock for a little bit. I feel like TST is a band that is not well known outside of Sweden, unless you are one of those Swedish punk/hardcore fanatics. They were from a relatively small town named Västerås, which this EP Vås Punx is named after. There were not a lot of bands there, but the city is only 60 miles from Stockholm. When I compare them to bands like MOB 47, TST doesn’t really come off like a råpunk band, but they quickly developed much more hardcore tendencies after their first 7”. I would say their 1983 s/t LP was probably the prime of their hardcore shit. All that material was recorded in 1982, and it is furious. There are a few different recording sessions on the LP, and you still get a serious taste of the band’s ’77 sound. TST started all the way back in 1977, while Vås Punx didn’t come out until 1981. They recorded a demo and broke up for a while before releasing that 7”. I read that they used two songs from the demo, but I am not sure if it was literally the same tracks or just the same songs re-recorded. They only pressed 300 copies of this 7”, and oh baby, it’ll cost you a paycheck for an original!!

If you aren’t familiar with all this stuff, I’ll say my favorite TST material is easily No Teenage Future. This record was recorded in 1981 and released on a 12” between the 7” and the s/t LP. I wish I could find a full rip on YouTube cos it RULES. It’s the perfect blend of punk and hardcore with those anthemic choruses that get your blood boiling. Ah, here we go, I found something. If I pasted this right—it’s a playlist. The kinda silly video with the cool pics that starts the playlist was done by this Swedish label Birdnest Records, who released a TST compilation some years ago. That double disc reissue would be a discography, but it’s missing Sweden, a 12” they released in 1984. I haven’t listened to it in a long time, but I don’t remember liking it very much. Oh shit, they have a 1988 LP too, haha, I never knew that. Anyway, since I have that comp on Birdsnest, I was on the fence about scooping up this Vås Punx reissue. The comp has great sound, but man, nothing beats a repro-reissue. I’m a sucker, but I have other reasoning as well, haha. The comp does sandwich these tracks between others, which didn’t make a lot of sense to me. Besides that, this 7” reissue added some cool photos of the band I have never seen before. I wish either reissue added a bit of a band biography or interview or something, cos it would be super cool to read some more about them. The Vås Punx reissue has some brief liner notes, though. Ah yes, if you aren’t familiar with this EP you can jam it here. Alright, that’s all for this week. Cheers and thanks for reading everyone.

Hello and thanks for reading. I’m wondering if any readers have ever moved across the ocean with a few thousand records, and how they did it? I’m pretty sure everything is going to for real go down the shitter here in the next four years with the latest dickhead in charge. On top of all his twisted views and tyrannical political agenda, it’s hilariously scary how many times this guy has filed for bankruptcy. Every business he touches fails. Our economy is already bad enough, haha… It’s also insane that he is a convicted felon, cos like 99% of felons are prohibited from voting in presidential elections. I could go on forever, and I’m sure you could too. I really hope he doesn’t privatize the postal service, like he has repeatedly mentioned. It would fuck things up on a lot of levels, including anything that deals with mail ordering records.

Do you remember when media mail did not come with tracking? It was super cheap to ship back then, too. You could pay a little extra for tracking, but that wasn’t the standard (for me at least). It was literally like $2 at USPS to ship an LP. You could ship a stack of 15 or so LPs, and it would still be only like $5. These days, to ship a single LP it’s going to cost $5.38 alone in shipping charges. If you can make it less than 1 lb, you can ship it for $4.63, but LPs more than likely go over that 1lb threshold after they are packed. On the plus side, tracking has been a standard that came with media mail with no extra cost for like over a decade now it feels like.

I feel like tracking numbers are a blessing and a curse, or however that saying goes. It’s obviously nice to have tracking on a parcel for a number of reasons, especially if you are running a distro and need to keep track of everything coming in. But I feel like some people who are just mail ordering a few records trip way too hard about tracking numbers and updates. Do you ever buy a record from overseas without tracking? I definitely do, haha. Yeah, a bit of anxiety could come along with the gamble, but it’s nice just to kinda let the days pass and just have faith everything will go as it should. I know some people have porch thieves and cities like NYC are a zoo, but luckily, I have always had a relationship with my mail carrier, so I was never too concerned about a parcel being stolen cos it was left out or something like that. But yeah, tracking numbers have given me so much anxiety. From both sides, selling and buying.

When I do my own mailorder, my process is a lot more tedious than Sorry State. Packing records is easy enough, but of course there is more to it than that, and I don’t have the website integrations that drastically save time. When I do mailorder, I typically print out all my shipping labels first, then write on the back what the order includes. I could print packing sheets if I wanted to save time, but I don’t think it’s needed since BPDT is pretty basic and I’d rather not add more paper to the process. Man, I remember when I still hand wrote all my packages. I would probably still be doing that if not for Sorry State and learning about a thermal printer, haha, talk about saving time. Anyways, so my process means that everyone in my current mailorder queue got a tracking number, but if there is a ton of orders, some people’s order won’t get packed until the following week. If you’re someone like me, you understand that “shipping label created” doesn’t mean shit. This could mean USPS already has your parcel and it’s actually en route, but USPS neglected origin scans. Or this could mean your label is just printed, and it’s sitting in a huge stack of other orders waiting to be packed on some dude’s desk that scattered with empty beer cans or some shit. I know some people pay attention to these shipping updates, but some don’t.

I feel like Amazon, and online shopping in general, has really changed the threshold of people’s patience when it comes to waiting for their product. Most people expect same day shipping. Luckily at Sorry State, we are generally selling to like-minded punks who understand the layers of a small operation. But there are always exceptions of course. I feel like we generally stay on top of mailorder, though. Every now and again we get slammed when pre-order comes in, but I feel like we got it down pretty smooth.

Anyway, so that’s my perspective from the seller’s side. Do I even need to talk about the anxiety that can come from buyer’s side? We all know that “estimated delivery date” doesn’t mean shit, haha. It sucks when you watch your beloved parcel bounce around places it has no business being. A record we shipped the other day to New York scanned into Puerto Rico? What the fuck? I am sure it will show up though, just hopefully in one piece, haha. One of the worst things is when the parcel goes out for delivery, but then it never shows up, and the tracking updates to like “awaiting delivery scan,” and then you wait for days for it to show up. Or better yet, when the thing scans delivered, but it actually hasn’t showed up, haha! That’s maybe one of the worst. I think what has happened there is your carrier said, “fuck it, I will just scan these delivered” (for a number of different reasons that I will not take the time to explain here) and then deliver them later in the week. I’ve seen that so much, it’s wild. Sometimes they show up the next day, or sometimes it’s nearly two weeks later. Alright, I just wrote way too much about shipping, sorry. At least I am talking to the right crowd, haha. In summary, all I mean to say is that I am grateful for those who are patient with stuff. I wish everyone was like that. Sometimes stuff takes time, and then when it’s outta of our hands, USPS does something crazy with it. But it works out just fine 99% of the time. Update scans don’t really indicate shit at the end of the day. I need to remind myself sometimes to stop checking the status of an incoming parcel. If something seems to be going wrong, I have all the time in the world to worry later if it actually ends in misfortune.

I will finish off here with some brief words about ZYKLOME A. I don’t know shit about Belgian punk/hardcore honestly. ZYKLOME A was my introduction, and I learned about a few more bands from some compilations that were also released on Punk Etc: namely Alle 24 Goed! and Second Time Around. Some favorites from those comps are SUBVERSION and CAPITAL SCUM. SUBVERSION is such straight DISCHARGE worship, it’s sick. Game of the Arseholes reissued some of their material on a 7”. If you’ve never heard it, check it out. So, this ZYKLOME A reissue is super-duper nice. It includes their tracks from the aforementioned comps, their tracks from the MORAL DEMOLITION split, the Made in Belgium LP tracks, and some live shit. Oh man, there is an unreleased song from their Alle 24 Goed! recording session as well, actually. I was kinda disappointed at first when I saw they separated that track and started off side D with it, followed by the live shit. But after I heard the live stuff, I was stoked. The sound quality of the live material is excellent. It sounds like it’s gotta be direct from the board, and mixed well. It was recorded in 1984.

Alright, let me back up a bit. So, this discography was released by a label based in Antwerp, Belgium called Ultra Eczema. From my understanding, this reissue was done as a tribute to Markus, ZYKLOME A’s singer, who passed away some years ago. The reissue is super deluxe and obviously done with love. I explained what material they compiled already, but I didn’t really explain it comes on two separate discs. They each come in a printed inner sleeve, housed in a gatefold jacket. The really sick thing about this reissue is this killer 75+ page booklet that comes with it. It’s printed in color and it’s loaded up with tons of photos, flyers, scans of old adverts and zines, and most importantly, the label conducted an interview with some of the band. This reissue actually came out a few years ago, and I think it just had pretty poor distribution in the US. It was distributed well overseas, and the label is now left with some dead stock. We were lucky enough to get these at a very low cost, so they are retailing for only $30. I really can’t get across how insane of a price that is for how nice this thing is. I am glad we were able to get these copies and pass on the deal to everyone else. If you’ve loved them for ages or if this is your introduction to ZYKLOME A, this is a great way to get all their material in one place with killer extras—all for a great price. I consider this one essential. Alright, that’s all for today. I blabbed for too long about shipping earlier. Cheers and thanks for everyone for your support.

Hi and thanks for reading. It’s funny I am starting off the year by writing about two tapes back-to-back cos I usually am not a fan of tapes for a number of reasons, but of course there are exceptions. If tapes were all still just $5 or less, I would probably still buy the hell out of them, but that’s not the standard anymore. There are times I write about a record that I enjoy but don’t buy a copy in the end cos I am pretty selective about records I buy these days as well. I am even more selective about cassettes, but I would not write about a tape that I haven’t bought myself as well. Anyways, if you’re someone like me who is a RAT CAGE fan and never seen them live (and probably never will), this tape is perfect. It’s not a sound board quality recording, but it certainly captures their raw intensity I always hear about from those who have seen them live.

RAT CAGE’s sound has evolved quite a bit over the years, but they’ve always had a pummeling sound. I’ve definitely heard more melodies or unexpected bits recently, but it’s always delivered with such intensity and speed. “Spitting on the ceiling” is a perfect example of some shit that came way outta left field or whatever for me, haha. That record is kinda all over the place, but fuck it rips. Some songs are so fast but played so damn tight, it’s insane. I kinda forgot that Sorry State had an exclusive color of that one. I am all for changing shit up a bit, especially when you can really pump out releases like RAT CAGE can. I feel like people already know, but it’s Bry playing everything on the recordings, and then live he sings with some mates playing the instruments. Regardless of his song-writing approach changing subtly, it’s always fucking ripping. This live cassette is a testament to that. They sound so intense it’s nuts, haha. Bry’s vocals rule, too.

A big reason why I hate tapes is cos they are too short. Typically, the program repeats on both sides as well. So much material can fit on one tape, but I also understand that demos are typically short and released exclusively on tape. The ABERRATE demo I wrote about last week, (which is now in stock!) featured their demo on side A, and a live recording on side B. I loved that. I feel like they made better use of the tape by adding an alternate B side, and I will never see them live, so I really appreciated that. Anyways, this RAT CAGE tape isn’t short by any means. It’s nearly 30 minutes total. It doesn’t seem like they cut anything out from the live set, so you can really pretend you are there, haha. Don’t worry about weird or boring gaps between songs though, these guys are like seasoned veterans; if they stop between songs, it’s not for very long. We also get Bry’s stage banter as well. I guess it’s not so much banter, as he talks mostly of politics on stage. He does say “fuck” a lot though, so it’s not weird pretentious or preachy politics, if you know what I mean, haha. I know the longer the tape, the more expensive. But they kept the price fairly low on these regardless, especially with import shipping costs etc. DIY to the core. OK, I think the sums it up for this week. Cheers and thanks for reading, and thanks to everyone for your support.

Hello and thanks for reading. SCARECROW played a benefit the other night in Richmond. I was really happy to do something like that and spend quality time with some friends. I got some really sad news last week when a friend passed away. A few days later, my BFF from back home called me to let me know the drummer of our old band had just passed away as well. Death is hard for me to accept. I understand that every living thing on this planet must die. It is something we all have in common. But still, I fear death. Like most, it brings me great pain when someone dies who I know and love. Even with strangers, it always makes me really sad to hear about someone passing away. I guess this is why people probably look to higher powers for acceptance and understanding. It is times like this when I am reminded life is shorter than I expect. Too short to waste. Too short to spend dwelling in negativity or hating on other people’s shit. Too short to let days float by without slowing down to admire all the beautiful things, no matter how small they seem. Too short to not constantly show those around us how much we love and appreciate them.

When we were in Richmond, we met up with Patrick from DESTRUCT and picked up his latest release on Acute Noise Manufacture, ABERRATE. I imagine this tape is probably not on most people’s radar, unless you know Patrick or you’re one of those nerds who pays close attention to the Japanese scene. You can’t hear it online as far as I know, and this is the band’s debut. ABERRATE is from Tokyo, and I think it’s awesome that Patrick made this tape available outside of Japan with a US version. ABERRATE consists of guys who were in FRIGORA, ABRAHAM CROSS, and LIFE. For anyone that knows those bands at all, that’s probably all they need to hear, haha. That was the case for me at least. If you don’t know those bands and love the 90s/early 2000s Japanese crust style, ABERRATE hits the spot. When I say crust, I mean the crasher side of things of course. ABERRATE delivers a classic, unrelenting pummeling sound with wall-to-wall noisy guitar. I feel like demo tapes are generally pretty bare bones, but I was really happy this tape included a rather large double-sided insert, and it’s not just a tape with a few songs on each side. The A side features the complete demo, but rather than having the program repeat on the flipside, they gave us a taste of their live performance instead. ABERRATE’s lyrics cover topics like war and capitalism, but there are also lyrics that focus on self-reflection. I always appreciate coming across messages like this, and it’s something I have always loved about ABRAHAM CROSS. This is the second release on Acute Noise Manufacture, and I know their third release is in the works. I guess I shouldn’t say much about it, but I know it’s a proper record this time and I think people are gunna be super stoked about it. I hope the label can stay more active, as their first release was back in 2022 and it’s great to see a new/small label releasing cool stuff. Alright, I guess that’s it for the week. Thanks for your support.

Hello and thanks for reading. We’ve got this ripper from Greece in stock, a debut from ΠΛΕΚΤΑΝΗ (PLEKTANI), and I wanted to write about that a bit. However, as you can see the photo I have taken for this week’s staff pick is not of this record. That is cos I have also written a bit about my scores of 2024, since I didn’t take the time to mention any personal record scores in our last newsletter.

So ΠΛΕΚΤΑΝΗ is from Athens, Greece, but I hear a lot of Swedish influence in there. We also had a small restock of the ΠΥΡ ΚΑΤΑ ΒΟΥΛΗΣΗ (PYR KATA VOULISI) 12”, but it has sold out. While ΠΥΡ ΚΑΤΑ ΒΟΥΛΗΣΗ also takes a huge influence from Sweden, these bands have different approaches to it. ΠΥΡ ΚΑΤΑ ΒΟΥΛΗΣΗ leaned more into the catchy side of things, reminding me of bands like HERÄTYS. While ΠΛΕΚΤΑΝΗ rips in a similar fashion, the riffs are less rocked-out and delivered with a bit more DISCHARGE. It’s hard to describe what I mean exactly cos I am not the best writer, but I often find myself thinking of INFERNÖH when jamming their record. ΠΛΕΚΤΑΝΗ aren’t religious to the d-beat formula though, with some bouncy pogo parts and breakdowns here and there. I don’t hear a ton of bands from Greece, and this one instantly caught my attention. Definitely check this one out, especially if you were into that PYR KATA VOULISI 12”.

Alright, let’s talk about the heat in the photo. I buy a lot of records. I love to buy new releases just as much as “collectable” old records. I guess often I find that older pressings tend to sound better than the records I come across that are manufactured these days. They are typically cut louder at least. Anyways, I seriously consider each record in the photo a score of a lifetime. When I say it like that, I can’t believe I landed three of those in one year. Now, one of these I was not actually looking for, as I did not know it existed. I will save that one for last and start with the VARAUS 12”. I previously wrote about this record when I landed it a few months ago. I explained how this is the most expensive record I have ever bought. Yep, it was more expensive than the test press up in the photo too, which is kinda nuts to think about. Maybe it just means I got a great deal on the test though, haha. I won’t take more time with VARAUS though, cos you can just hit that link and read what I previously wrote.

Moving onto the WRETCHED / INDIGESTI split 7”. Oh baby...I have been dying for this one for a long time now. It’s sick that Daniel and I both got a copy this year, haha. I tried to buy this record a few years ago online, and I got ripped off. I paid out the ass and never got the record. It was some elaborate Discogs scam where a reputable seller with thousands of positive feedback got hacked temporarily. Who knows if their story was true, but I am lucky enough to have gotten all my money back from PayPal. This copy of the split ain’t a top copy like that one I originally tried to buy, but I am just as happy to have it in the end. Sometimes it’s kinda nice to get a rare record for a bit cheaper cos it’s a little beat up. I don’t stress as much about handling it, and of course I know there will inevitably be surface noise, pops and ticks. I absolutely hate it when I am playing a record that has always played super clean, and then one day I have a pop in there. Ugh.

Alright, let’s wrap this up with the ELECTRIC DEADS: Mind Bomb 7” TEST PRESS!!! What the fuck!!!! Still speechless about this one. I got this copy from a guy in the US I’ve known for a while now. He mentioned he was thinking about selling it and I couldn’t get it outta my mind. I didn’t even know one of these existed. I have no idea how many were made, but he told me he got it from a guy who helped release the record. I should probably ask him some more questions to see what else I can learn, haha. I love collecting test presses… but never has it been a test from the ‘80s!! I almost bought a HEADCLEANERS test for $300 and I talked myself out of it. I still think about that day often, sucks. Especially now cos the same guy who once was trying to sell it for $300 now has it for sale for like $1,200… Jesus. Alright, I am about to be late on the submission deadline for my staff pick, per usual. Thank you for reading, and thanks to everyone for your support. Check out ΠΛΕΚΤΑΝΗ!