Unidad Ideolgica: Choque Asimtrico 12″

Description

CHOQUE ASIMTRICO by Bogots UNIDAD IDEOLGICA hits you like a wrecking ball to the face. In the four years since their first album UNIDAD IDEOLGICA has become even more intense and relentless. The pummeling drums, apocalyptic bass, the explosive guitar riffs and, vocals howling like a rabid dog will make your head burst like a melon. Like a mutated child of BASTARD and early POISON IDEA their sound is heavy and massive without losing the rawness needed to make hardcore punk really bite.

Our take: La Vida Es Un Mus brings us this scorching new full-length from Bogota, Colombias Unidad Ideolgica. Maybe you heard Unidad Ideolgicas first album from four years ago, maybe youve seen them live (I was lucky enough to catch them at the K-Town hardcore fest a couple years ago), or maybe youre familiar with the recent spate of great hardcore punk releases pouring out of Colombia. Regardless, you arent ready for how hard Choque Asimtrico (Asymmetric Shock) rips. Trevor (in his inaugural Sorry State staff pick!) compared them to New Yorks Salvaje Punk, and I think thats a great point of reference I remember Salvaje referenced Colombias ultra metal scene as one of their key inspirations, and theres something similar at the core of Unidad Ideolgicas sound, a from-the-heart sense of wildness, the intensity spilling over beats and measures and bleeding together into a frightening tidal wave of intensity. But while Choque Asimtrico makes you feel like the pedal is constantly on the floor, if you listen closely, you realize how adept Unidad Ideolgica is at changing things up so the energy never lags (sort of like how Gauze said they wanted to create the impression of speed rather than simply play super fast). They have a deep bag of tricks for this (Asymmetric Shock is an apt title for the album!) sometimes the drummer lays off the cymbals for a moment, sometimes the band will depart from the relentless d-beat and recharge with a staccato buildup part, sometimes the whole band might just pause for a fraction of a breath, and sometimes a lead guitar overdub will crash into the mix and turn everything up to eleven. The result of all this masterful hardcore execution is not only a more effective pummeling but also a record with depth and variety that will reveal itself to you gradually over many listens. I know everyone is talking Best of 2025 lists right now, and while the fact that Choque Asimtrico landed at the end of the year may have prevented them from appearing on many of those lists, the true hardcore faithful wont want to miss out on this crusher.