[engl] Everyone has to swallow the world’s shit, but Cleveland’s Woodstock 99 regurgitates it in technicolor. Their nihilistic and antagonistic take on hardcore punk can recall the Kings of Punk in their prime, but this band is too fucked up to focus on their rage… sometimes they’d rather wander away after a psychedelic riff or poke around in the trash for scraps of 90s pop culture. On Super Gremlin, Woodstock 99 examines the void from all angles, and while it might look frightening or intimidating from some vantage points, from other angles all you can do is laugh. One pill turns you into Jerry A (“La Casa De Fuck You”), and one pill lands you at the denouement of a French noir film (“Budget Inn”), and another one summons DJ Lethal to lay down some sick scratches (“Beatboxing in Viet… Nam!!”). Down them all, chase them with a couple shots of cheap whiskey, and follow Woodstock 99 down the rabbit hole.

[engl] “Toisten Todellisuus” compiles two 7”s by Helsinki, Finland’s YLEISET SYYT: their self-titled EP, originally released in 2019, and 2021’s “Umpikujamekanismi”. Despite members playing in well-known underground Finnish bands like KOHTI TUHOA and FORESSEN, YLEISET SYYT has flown under the radar in the Anglophone world, with only a small fraction of their records’ tiny pressings making it outside Finland. Fortunately for you, the hardcore fanatics at Sorry State and La Vida Es Un Mus have our ears to the ground, and we agreed that a band this killer deserves a much wider audience. YLEISET SYYT’s sound is both blistering and anthemic, moving nimbly from full-throttle rippers like “Hygieeninen Ruumis” to tracks like “Hyväntekijä” and “Luovan Keskiluokan Takapihalla,” whose big chorus hooks could have anchored a Riot City or No Future A-side. The combination of ferocious performances and songwriting chops might remind you of older Finnish bands like LAMA, MELLAKKA, and APPENDIX, but MINOR THREAT, THE FIX, and NECROS are equally apt comparisons. If you like your early 80s-style hardcore tightly-wound, razor-sharp, and bristling with hooks, you’re gonna love “Toisten Todellisuus” as much as we do (Daniel Lupton)

[engl] "Relentless" is the long awaited YOUTH AVOIDERS second album. The five years between this new full lenght and their debut have been really intense for the band, made of constant live appearances everywhere around the globe. Intensity is the trademark of YOUTH AVOIDERS, "Relentless" is the fruit of a five days session in the Normandy countryside studio Swan Sound. To keep it simple, "Relentless" is YOUTH AVOIDERS making what they have done so good so far but even better : catchy riffing, rich melodies, inexhaustible drumming, sharp vocals... The band has also raised the tempo, these 11 songs go at an unrestrained pace. "Relentless" well bears its name !

[engl] Youth Avoiders' first full length is exactly the best you would have expected after their different E.P's. These 5 guys combine great songwriting with great sense of melody and catchiness. This first album is made of 11 songs and the band hasn't feared to explore new things, more complex structures without loosing their energy and straightforwardness. The result is an urgent and solid record. This is the third Youth Avoiders' release on Destructure and like the "Time Flies" e.p it's a corelease with Build me a Bomb.

[engl] After a well received demo, ZIG ZAG has been making waves at shows around America as well as their home ground of South Florida. Playing punk hardcore that is as akin to Germs and Blatz on "Gets Worse", Zig Zag showcases their sassy, sardonic take on the genre. Ranging from short and speedy hardcore bursts to mid tempo punk masterpieces, their newest release has all in store. All songs are dedicated to the loving memory of their deceased guitarist, Austin, whose final recordings are on this release. 500 seven inches pressed

[engl] 500 copies on black vinyl. Includes pocket sleeve and a die-cut sticker.

[engl] Finally, the long-awaited debut album from Philadelphia’s Zorn. While Zorn’s theatrical, (literally) scorching live shows are the stuff of legend, it would be a grave mistake to think the chaos they summon is all about the flaming swords, makeup, and leather corsets. Like Alice Cooper and David Bowie before them, Zorn knows you gotta have the songs to back up the image. Zorn’s metal-punk draws on death rock melody, intricate thrash riffing, and the bulldozing power of Discharge-inspired hardcore bands, but the songs are as infectious as they are intense. As with early Metallica, tracks like “Already Dead” and “Delco Devil Mosh” are built on memorable melodies that, in another time and place, might have formed the backbone of a killer glam rock single. I’m happy with my current reality, though, where Zorn is the kind of band who puts a devil standing atop a pile of flaming skulls on the cover of their album.

[engl] The second release on Sealed Records is a 14 Track round up of the five singles by Zounds. The debut single from 1980 Can’t Cheat Karma was released on Crass Records and 39 Years later still stands as one of the finest singles both politically and musically. For the next three singles Zounds released them on Rough Trade Records, along with their debut album The Curse of Zounds. 1981’s Demystification was a tense and stark masterpiece. It was followed by the haunting Mikey Dread-produced Dancing and then the more straight up pop of More Trouble Coming Everyday. The final single of Zounds was La Vacht Qui Rit released on Belgium label Not So Brave in 1983 and was originally supposed to be a split single with The Mob but ended up with two scratchy studio tracks and two rough and raw live tracks recorded in Holland in 1982. Every home should have these essential Zounds recordings.

[engl] ARE YOU STUPID? Get ready to find out! This DC group of young guns are taking the IQ lower than a limbo pole. Playing punk hardcore inspired by greats such as Cülo and School Jerks, they are part of the new wave putting a capital P in punk. And to top it off with is the deranged leads played by inimitable Daniel Peña (of Rashomon, Kombat and Pure Disgust nonetheless) This seven inch is a wild ride, so hold on and get ZTUPED.

[engl] My People...Hold On EP is Zulu’s follow up to 2019’s phenomenal Our Day Will Come and sees Anaiah Lei’s musical prowess and lyrical urgency only grow onwards and upwards. Anaiah wrote and performed most of the tracks, as seen in the debut release. This time however, different voices are given platforms such as on Blackcurrant, where we hear the racist and sexist everyday experience of black women in the form of a striking poem read over a piano accompaniment and magical chimes written and performed by Aleisia Miller. Zulu continue to turn the powerviolence genre upside down, Now They Are Through With Me, sees classic blastbeasts matched with dissonant chord beatdown sections, a hardcore drumming solo and finished with a sample of Eddie Kendricks’ My People Hold On. To say each song is a musical and emotional ride is an understatement and you will find yourself listening repeatedly and noticing different elements each time. Lyrically, songs centre around calling out the hypocrisy of people who are only interested in performative justice and don’t actually do anything to help change things for black people, such as in Do Tha Right Thing (And Stop Frontin’) What's it gonna take What's it gonna be For you to see We're human beings It's up to you And you alone Make that change The frustration is palpable, and as some turn back around after posting a few black squares, Zulu is holding hardcore punk accountable to remind us this struggle is still here and up to all of us, and in times of hopelessness, they call for us to keep up the fight.

[engl] My People...Hold On EP is Zulu’s follow up to 2019’s phenomenal Our Day Will Come and sees Anaiah Lei’s musical prowess and lyrical urgency only grow onwards and upwards. Anaiah wrote and performed most of the tracks, as seen in the debut release. This time however, different voices are given platforms such as on Blackcurrant, where we hear the racist and sexist everyday experience of black women in the form of a striking poem read over a piano accompaniment and magical chimes written and performed by Aleisia Miller. Zulu continue to turn the powerviolence genre upside down, Now They Are Through With Me, sees classic blastbeasts matched with dissonant chord beatdown sections, a hardcore drumming solo and finished with a sample of Eddie Kendricks’ My People Hold On. To say each song is a musical and emotional ride is an understatement and you will find yourself listening repeatedly and noticing different elements each time. Lyrically, songs centre around calling out the hypocrisy of people who are only interested in performative justice and don’t actually do anything to help change things for black people, such as in Do Tha Right Thing (And Stop Frontin’) What's it gonna take What's it gonna be For you to see We're human beings It's up to you And you alone Make that change The frustration is palpable, and as some turn back around after posting a few black squares, Zulu is holding hardcore punk accountable to remind us this struggle is still here and up to all of us, and in times of hopelessness, they call for us to keep up the fight.