Columna Marginal - November 2025
The powerful feeling after a good punk show is undeniably one of the best feelings you can have. This previous month I went to some shows that I enjoyed a lot, and I returned home a few times thinking that punk is amazing. Mostly I saw friends live, which is even better, some in projects I didn't know or that are just new.
Life is strange, and maybe even more so in our little punk corner. One day you're meeting some punks for a few hours, maybe staying at their house or playing together somewhere in the world, and after a few years with no knowledge of each other, you meet again and it's like finding some good old friends. This is what happened with NURSE a few days ago. We played together (I believe they even put on our show) in Atlanta in 2017 and stayed with them. Then in 2019 we were so lucky to play again there with them, and finally now, in 2025 they played in Barcelona (in my neighborhood!). I do not need to convince you that the show was amazing, they proved it everywhere over the last nine/ten years!
I was so excited to see NURSE and mildly curious about local bands. It was not the best day for me, I was kinda nervous, and I was ready to stay at the door the whole show. Well, that's exactly the opposite of what happened. Besides seeing all the bands, I was impressed by SÖT. I love to see people that have been part of many other projects for years doing a band that sounds as big as this one. Their sound was perfect for a melodic punk act, and there was even a MASSHYSTERI cover (and another one of THE CURE I think?), so you know what the deal is.
The next day I went to see the Berliners TERMINAL FILTH and SPEED KOBRA with their heavy crust at Blokes Fantasma, a classic punk squat from Barcelona that is at risk of eviction. They also played with SAYÓN (read review) and OFENSA. I wasn’t able to see OFENSA because I was talking with friends I haven’t seen in a long time, but SAYÓN did an amazing job. I think it was the best show I saw of them. After them, TERMINAL FILTH delivered tons of heavy sounds that smashed our heads. It was magic, I couldn’t believe how good this band was. Then SPEED KOBRA finished the job with another demonstration of musicianship and powerful vocals.
A couple weeks later DISAFFECT also visited our city! Again at Blokes, a perfect place for a punk show. These legends from the 90s still deliver an incredibly powerful anarchopunk, and I would say that more than a hundred punks went to see them on a weekday. It’s beautiful to see how different generations get together to enjoy punk! I left the venue thinking how beautiful this community is, how great it is that someone who started to play in the 90s can still come to Barcelona in a total DIY way, with the same passion after more than 30 years.
As you can see (or read), we had a lot of fun lately over here. I recommend you to listen to all these bands and support them if they come to your city (they will, I’m sure about it)!
SÖT - Crema-ho tot
SÖT is a new band with members of PÖLS and NAFRA, with mostly all the members from Almacelles or Lleida, if I'm not mistaken. You should check Almacelles on Wikipedia and then keep reading this. They have bands there, record their music, started a social center, publish easily the BEST punk fanzine in Spanish/Catalan that exists nowadays (SILENCIO TÓXICO) and are the nicest people on Earth!! These are things you don't expect from a town of around 7000 people.
The Spanish scene had many melodic punk acts like this one in its history. There’s examples like ELEKTRODUENDES and the more recent ACCIDENTE, but the list is so long. As many other punks from Spain I was also influenced by those sounds and lyrics. SÖT is a new take on that style, a bit more darker, sometimes it could be classified as post punk. Their musicianship is excellent, from vocals to drums everything is where it should be.
After a few listens of the LP the melodies of the vocals got stuck in my head, and some lyrics started to come to my mind in random situations. I love the compositions, I feel like every song has new details in every listen, and they put a lot of effort on making this a perfect album. I kinda feel like this band will be big as soon as they start to tour and release more music of this quality!
https://sotpunk.bandcamp.com/album/crema-ho-tot
dcdirkzwager
NURSE - S/T (III)
Referred as III in their own bandcamp page but as "Nurse" in State Laughter Records page, I do not know what's the real name of this release. Anyway, this is a pure NURSE record, very modern sounds, mixing some kind of goth vibe with what I see as a big influence from 00s/10s NYC punk, but I may be totally wrong. NURSE have been doing this kind of sounds for a decade, they probably are writing music in their own style already.
The references could be multiple, but think about weird hardcore. DIE KREUZEN, some CRAZY SPIRIT, certain YDI parts, etc. You know what I mean, right? Well if you don't, just listen to the damn album!
Along the tracks I can hear rugosities, textures, changes and a very great production in the whole album. I love the drums and bass, they give a solid presence to the music with a very specific tone for the second, a flavor with big personality. But what amazes me the most are the guitar licks, that escape of the classic power chords played as fast as possible. Combined with the bass and the dark growled vocals they take you to a very dark place.
I hope this band keeps writing music and touring for so many years, it would be a pleasure to listen to them for another decade (if we are not totally deaf by then).
https://nurseatl.bandcamp.com/album/iii
Bandcamp New & Notable Jan 20, 2024
TERMINAL FILTH - Traces Towards Oblivion
When you listen to TERMINAL FILTH you have to be prepared for long songs. But that kind of songs that are a good trip, with parts that evolve in total different passages. Use this music to take that train, metro or bus in the morning in the way to work: I promise you will want to kill everyone in that shitty workplace without a single drop of coffee. These Berliners are masters of the sounds they deliver, they control precisely the timings and how every sound should be in its correct place. Of course we are talking about a crust band, maybe nearly death metal one, or just a stenchcore band that could be already a classic with their own style.
Traces Towards Oblivion is an amazing release, and since I'm not even close to an expert of these sounds I will let you decide which are the influences. If albums were wine I could recommend you to take this one with a bit of HELLSHOCK, BOLT THROWER and DEVIATED INSTINCT. But that's just my opinion and albums are not wine, so do whatever you want to. Their live show here was incredibly good, making this album be on repeat in my mp3 player. This is a must for anyone into this genre. Really. Listen to it. Please.
https://terminalfilth.bandcamp.com/album/traces-towards-oblivion
yaz