HABAK - Ningún Muro Consiguió Jamás Contener la Primavera. (Distort Records)
Habak, formed in the infamous city of Tijuana, Mexico, is one of the most ongoing bands that continue the context of Spanish emocrust. The band's emotional performance, melodies with a sense of desolation, and high expressive power that maintains a sense of drama and tension even in long songs are similar to those of Ictus, and the band's music has a certain charm. While inheriting the will of their predecessors, the core of their expression is the sadness, despair, and anger they face in the modern world. However, the swirling emotions are sublimated into an art form without being negatively entangled, and the sound is a mixture of classical beauty and the intensity of hardcore punk. There are many slow parts that resonate with Emo/Screamo, but this is expressed not only in the sound, but also in the introspective worldview, lyrics, and artwork by Alex CF, who has worked with Fall Of Efrafa/Light Bearer and many others, which evoke flowers, insects, and organic ecosystems. There is also a deep perspective in the way the system is paired with the capitalistic system created by humans. Their deepest expression has an awareness of issues that we, who live in Japan today, cannot be unaffected by, and this should be reason enough to release their work as a domestic release. - Otonashi Records
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CIKARANG INVASION Compilation.
(Distort Records & Ghoib Records)
This is a full compilation of curse sounds amidst the hustle and bustle of the industrial city, featuring friends from Cikarang from 17 bands, to be released by ghoib records and Distort Records
More to come, stay tuned!
-War and violence
-Bastardestroyer
-Culture reject
-Rusak parah
-Tjap serigala
-Underkill
-Kresek item
-Ragewar
-Cikamara
-Noda hitam
-The old man
-Malala
-Ganjaran
-Redline
-Jamkaret
-Kejam
Price : Rm25 plus postage
LANGUID - A Paranoid Wretch In Society's Games. (Distort Records)
Perfectly executed D-Beat from Edmonton, Canada, a repress of their third album (originally released in 2021 by D-Takt & Råpunk Records). LANGUID belong to the Swedish branch of the D-beat family, less Stoke On Trent, their sound is derived from DISFEAR, DISPENSE, DISCARD and DISCHANGE, and as such they nail it good and proper. Appropriately enough, mastered by Kenko from MEANWHILE.
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BOOTLICKER - 1000 Yd. Stare (Distort Records)
Bootlicker's newest album, "1000 Yd. Stare," is ten tracks of violent music for a vile world. Musically, this sees the group sticking to their UK82-meets-American-hardcore with the echoes of Discharge guiding the hand. Skeptix, Special Duties, and Svart Framtid are the seasoning.
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FLOWER - “Hardly A Dream”
(Distort Records)
FLOWER's tedious approach to writing/making/drawing an LP into their debut cassette has been carefully thought out and the result is a monumental anarcho punk/crust record.
“Hardly A Dream” Takes us on a grim journey through the dark side of society. As soon as you drop the needle, a dark atmosphere is immediately created with a slow intro featuring arpeggiated guitar work building to a stunning d-beat crunch. The album's vocals then leave you feeling crushed by the ever-present burden of living in the modern world of late capitalism built on the falsity of the so-called American dream, religious hypocrisy, nationalism, and human greed. .
FLOWER takes a lot of cues from its predecessors and is most often (and rightfully so) compared to NAUSEA but they also take heavy influence from ANTISECT, SACRILEGE & other greats. The artwork has a very RUDIMENTARY PENI feel and the record comes in a stunning 24.5 X 34.75 CRASS style poster jacket. All artwork is carefully drawn and supervised by guitarist Willow with true DIY style and spirit.
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VAMPIRE - What Seems Forever Can Be Broken (Distort Records)
Since reviewing Pomegranate Seeds: An International Benefit for Mutual Aid in Gaza, the compilation put out by the DISSIDENTS, I’ve been hunting for more VAMPIRE material, so when I saw I was assigned this LP I became very excited. VAMPIRE is an Australian band that plays apocalyptic anarcho-punk. A sense of extreme urgency pervades VAMPIRE’s sound, and What Seems Forever Can Be Broken is ten songs that combine the demanding hardcore of CONFLICT, with a foundation of CRASS, and the rough-hewn delivery of raw punk. The resulting album is dark, hauntingly mesmeric, but also aggressive with a sense of communal voice. In other words, this is anarcho-punk that is of the moment, and articulates exactly what contemporary punk is about without being preachy or elitist. This is that eye-to-eye, in-the-trenches vocalization of criticism that comes off as eye-opening and perspective-altering. What Seems Forever Can Be Broken is by far my favorite release thus far in 2025, but also might be the best album I’ve heard in a really long time. Like, this is benchmark-level material, so definitely give this a listen.
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DISSIDENT - Menjaga Nyala Berbagi Api
(Distort Records)
Menjaga Nyala Berbagi Api is an explosion of disgust condensed into ten devastating tracks. Born from the womb of a sonic collective that crawled from the darkness of 2019, this album is a monument to organized anger. With its final lineup of Cumik (vocals), Dika (guitar), Ulul (guitars), Imam (drums), and Anggit (bass), the album unleashes frenzied crust/d-beat explosions and piercing death metal riffs. Their stage becomes an autonomous zone, a battlefield where music is the weapon and solidarity is the ammunition.
Menjaga Nyala Berbagi Api is resistance distilled into ten tracks. It is the antithesis of gloom, a proof of concept that autonomy can still be fought for. Every composition is not merely a song, but a gathering place for voices that refuse to surrender to loneliness and resignation.
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AXEFEAR - Prophetic End
(Distort Records)
Following up a despairing, miserably heavy demo last year, Seattle’s Axefear unleashes an irradiated hellwave of horrific metallic crust on their first full length ‘Prophetic End’. Stenchcore from yesterday’s collapsed future, Axefear harbors the prophecy of doom within their furiously miserable metallic riffage, ringing the deathknell with roiling midpaced metalpunk chugger apocalypse, looming mournful melodies soar downcast into the abyss, evoking shredded battlestandards from the final conflict, cruising-speed thrash with killer riffs and despairing leads, muscular grinding war Bass and thumping, rocking, vicious drums with blast-forward moments amidst the metallicrust chug carnage, withering expulsions of grind within the more mid-paced bombardment landing like bunker-busters. ‘Prophetic End’ bears a particularly excellent production job, thunderously loud and sculpted, accenting every war-scarred lead and despairing bellow against clean guitar interludes with crowsong choir amidst the presumed dead. If you’ve been following and/or digging on Swordwielder, Cancer Spreading or Moribund Scum, you’re certain to dig this. Reissue tapes by Distort Records.
- (Gonzo karaoke)
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NIGHTFEEDER - Cut all of your face off (Distort Records & Apaadanyarecords)
While I dig some d-beat, I find much more of it to be pretty unoriginal, repetitive and boring. This is primarily due to the dearth of great songwriting. Anyone can play fast, write derivative riffs and scream some dark, “fuck everything” lyrics over the top of it. Once a decade, it seems, a group can actually transcend the confines of the genre and write epic, memorable songs while losing none of the bleak aggression of the originators. Tragedy is the gold standard of all of this, and Nightfeeder is the first band to come close to that greatness since. Massive guitar sound, banging riffs, ripping drums, and—crucially—dynamics. This is not some one-trick-pony scenario. Tempos vary, solos are interjected, hooks are discernible and still, heaviness and darkness permeate it all. If you’re picky about your brutality, this is the beating to take. Repeatedly. –Chad Williams (Razorcake)
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SIYAHKAL - Days Of Smoke
And Ash / روزای دود و خاکستر (Distort Records)
Siyahkal is a band named for a guerrilla operation against the then long-ruling Pahlavi government of Iran in 1971. The Marxist-Leninist “Organization of Iranian People’s Fedai Guerrillas” stormed a military outpost in order to free previous captured guerrillas. The band’s music seems to be deliberately influenced by 80s Scandinavian hardcore, as well as some more current tropes (squealing feedback, noise, a straight four on the floor beat). The most unique thing about their sound, though, is the vocals, which are delivered in a Kurdish Farsi dialect, sung in a startlingly unique way. At the risk of Orientalizing the style, they do sound non-Western, indebted to melodic traditions of the Middle East and maybe even Russia. At times, the singing sounds borderline operatic or almost like folk melody. Perhaps a nod to subverting longstanding cultural traditions or about desecrating folk legacy in traditional music. Other moments simply sound like the most terrifying military order being barked at you from behind a bayonet.
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LANGUID - Shove their system up their ass (Distort Records)
The dbeat engine that is Languid keeps rolling along destroying everything in its path.Here the Canadian rippers return with their 4th full length. 12 tracks of full throttle D-beat punk in the Discard tradition.This will be released to coincide with the Languid Japan tour 2025."Halfway into this current, horrific decade, we’ve reached a once far future that is arguably bleaker than many had ever hoped. With the ever more present, fucked up societal systems in place that wage war on the existential progress of the masses while worshiping at the altar of imperialism, ideas of resistance and anger are as vital as ever. With “Shove Their System Up Their Ass”, Languid returns with their fourth 12” record, reminding listeners that this isn’t some tired old slogan but at its heart, an alarm to be present and angry. While some choose to ignore bands by their 4th record, Languid present what is possibly their strongest and most necessary material yet in their ever reliable Discharge by way of Dischange/Meanwhile style. We all know the formula well by this point, but here the songs are stripped down even further. There is nothing extra; no reverb, no wasted space, no nonsense. The intensity is cranked, with the guitar driving the always bulldozing, yet hypnotic, riffs. Here we have the best output yet from these Canadian raw hardcore lifers. “Reject the shit, no ruling class, shove the system up their ass!”"
- Patrick, Destruct
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LAUTSTURMER - Föruttnelsen
(Distort Records)
Norragränges berzerkers pummeling the ground with their metallic high octane mangeling d-beat rawpunk. This is their third fullength and it's brilliant and totally shows of how they are meant to be listened to, LOUD and fast.
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Hellshock - S/t (Distort Records)
Over 10 years since the last long, HELLSHOCK strengthens its style by playing some of the heaviest riffs on the world punk scene. Where most crust bands seem to lose their fire and dirt or just fall apart before the peak of their heyday, this band seems to get more powerful with each release, and this long-awaited album is no exception! This track features RIPPER’s Robbie Chronic on guitar, adding some really sick solos. Plus, there’s a strong tempo, pure brutality, growling, anguished vocals and epic songwriting without straying from pure crust classics. For the fan: AMEBIX, DEVIATED INSTINCT, AXEGRINDER and HELLSHOCK. The name deserves to be right next to the creators and masters. Over 20 years from now, this record will be considered one of the best records of 2020, just as we look back on “Only the Dead Know the End Of War” as in the late 2000s.
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MARAX - Toward Eternity
(Distort Records)
East java hardcore punk band With catchy riffs and pounding pogo beats, there seems to be influence from bands like Odio, Gai, and little bit of mammoth grinder. But rather than adopting the noisy, lo-fi fizz that is common with these Japanese hardcore bands.
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TOZCOS - Infernal (Distort Records)
Tozcos is a punk powerhouse from Santa Ana, California that has been tearing up the Latinx punk scene in the States for over a decade with their all-Spanish bangers. With a discography that includes a rawly recorded demo (2013), a similarly stripped-down EP (2015), and their hard-hitting debut album Sueños Deceptivos (2018), their sophomore full-length, Infernal, dropped in late 2023 and caught everyone off guard.
More surprisingly, Toxic State Records, a label known for its allegiance to the New York punk habitat, took a leap with Tozcos—a rare thing for the label to release a band from California. While Toxic State has always toyed with a number of Latinx bands—most recently putting out great releases by the likes of Abism, Salvaje Punk, and Ataque Subliminal—bringing Tozcos onto their roster was a bit of an unexpected move.
Musically, Infernal is a huge step forward for Tozcos, delivering a more dynamic and electrifying experience than their debut. Their sound is still deeply rooted in the tradition of California Latinx punk, with nods to pioneers like Alice Bag, The Zeros, The Stains, and The Plugz. Influences from Agent Orange, Adolescents, and TSOL are evident in their occasional surf guitar riffs and compelling hooks, while their rhythm section brings to mind the classic UK82 style.
Despite the band’s Californian heritage, Tozcos also draw inspiration from an even wider range of international bands—especially in the harsher, more raucous vocals—ranging from Spanish punk like Eskorbuto and Toreros After Olé to other European bands like B.G.K., Negazione, Svart Framtid, and all those worldwide bands you hear on classic 80’s compilations like Welcome To 1984. Of course, all this name-dropping is just to show that behind Tozco’s simple yet effective formula lies a deep understanding of punk’s origins and cultural significance, while the band enthusiastically does its own unique thing.
As descendants of Mexican immigrants in the United States, the lyrical content of Infernal is even more important and culturally relevant than the music, as it boldly explores themes of self-perception and the experience of being an immigrant. It’s punk with a purpose, tearing through themes of identity, existence, and resistance.
From the get-go with “El Vacio,” Infernal grabs you by the neck and pulls you into the void with razor-sharp riffs and a relentless pace, questioning the very fabric of our fears and insecurities. Tracks like “Ven A Ver” and “Nadie Dice Nada” spit in the face of indifference, serving as a wake-up call to the injustices festering beneath our collective gaze, and “¿Quién Te Va Enterrar?” refuses to succumb to the forces that seek to bury people’s stories and struggles.
“Desilusión Total” and “Regeneración” cut deep, exploring the disillusionment and hunger for renewal amidst a maze of systemic barriers, while “Presos” and “Ojos Muertos” paint a bleak picture of soul-crushing confinement and a world numb to suffering. And let’s not forget that the lead single “Presos” was also paired with a killer video that channels the spirit of the ’80s Latinx punk underground in a gloriously lo-fi homage, which mimics an obscure shot from an ’80s TV clip recorded on a glitchy VHS tape.
Bangers like “Sigio Infernal,” “Nunca Pasarán,” and “Viboras” are a fierce rally against time, oppression, and deceit, embodying the perpetual fight for survival that defines the experience of the dispossessed. “Abolición,” the concluding track, powerfully condemns systemic violence and calls for the abolition of oppressive structures like the police, highlighting the infernal conditions endured by communities under systemic mistreatment and injustice.
True to its name and aesthetics, Infernal not only electrifies as a relentless punk record but also serves as an important social critique on the struggles and adversities faced by marginalized and immigrant communities in a time of increasing social disparity and conservative politics. Certainly one of the punk highlights of the year. Europeans can get the record from Quality Control HQ in the UK.
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SLAN - AGD (Distort Records)
Debut album by high octane Swedish unit SLAN!!! These guys drops a fierce, powerful and merciless assault of brutal kang. Sixteen songs in the vein of Krigshot, Totalitar and Massgrav. Breaknecking ultracore the way it should be! Reissue Tapes by Distort Records.
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NO FUTURE - Mirror (Distort Records)
NO FUTURE steps up to the big size and only format that matters with 20 minutes of raging paranoid drum and bass driven noisy punk tracks in the vein of Sial, Lebenden Toten or Destino Final. “Mirror” is a tightening of ideas and a blast forward in sonic destruction akin to a sinkhole opening up and swallowing rock crushers and earth movers whole… in a word, massive. A fucking deadly thing meting out intense views on “modern life and how easy it is to realise there’s nothing to be done to make things better for any of us. The horrific and broken virtues of the worlds governments and social structures that preach empathy and respect for people but in reality, they crush the human spirit into an easily manipulated paste so they can mould us into a deranged image of what we were. And this process only continues when you realise it, you try to resist and fight back, sometimes you have success, but it is ultimately futile.” Get this now.
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MEANWHILE - Same Shit, New Millennium (Distort Records)
Originally forming as DISCHANGE in the late '80s, MEANWHILE carved an everlasting path early on in the world of DISCHARGE worship. Same Shit New Millennium was the third full-length album from these Swedish D-beat veterans, and it is finally back in print after 24 years! These 19 raging, riff-heavy tracks will without a doubt have your fist pumping and head banging from start to finish.
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PHANE - Maniac (Distort Records)
PHANE is from Vancouver, BC, and they are bringing the G.B.H.-style hardcore punk to the turntable. They’ve got it down, too—the song structure and the great guitar riffs, shouted vocals and powerful drums. If you’re a fan of UK82-style hardcore punk with some modern updates, you should rush out and grab this now.
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IMMORAL - The chain of fears.
(Distort Records)
Immoral is a band that was founded in 2011 on the south side of the city of Bandung and carries a sewidish D-beat crust music style, with Scandanavian riffs through lead strains towards gloom combined with satirical lyrics towards the authorities, the cruelty of war, nuclear nightmares, and a deep human culture.
The unstoppable south bandung Dbeat crust punk releasing their third album, 10 songs, at the end of June, this album will reach eleven, even more awesome!
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ALEMENT - Banished Sphere
(Distort Records)
The Philadelphia, PA crust punks are back, five years since their Onward 12″ EP, here is their first full length album of seven perfectly honed tracks in the UK tradition dirt-core axe grinding. The stench is strong with this three-piece. From the first track you can hear the familiar Axegrinder/Deviated Instinct influence, quickly slipping into a stampeding gallop of early Sacrilege/English Dogs; while the vocalist channels and emulates the vibes of roaring into the dark, apocalyptic hell-scape, as once mastered by that Mr Aphid Baron on a desolate hill-top somewhere outside of Tavistock in the winter of 1982. If this sounds a bit derivative, in a way, absolutely, yes, it is, but that’s ok, the musical skills on display here achieves the same kind of restoration and re-creation that make Flower and Swordweilder so exciting and fresh. Safe hands reshaping old familiar into new familiar, I have no problem enthusing over the end result. (Land of treason)
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