Rotten To The Core Records

Rotten To The Core Records Not Your Fathers Hardcore! Originally started as a local distro @ shows for my friends in 2002. DIY or DIE!!!!

After shows just about stopped I decided to start a label/mail-order, I released my first record in October 2008 & have no plans of letting up. I do this for the love of music & every penny I might happen to make goes back into the label for future release's.

Heavy duty 4.25”x2.75” weatherproof vinyl sticker.These are FREE and limited to 1 per order. If you really want more tha...
06/01/2026

Heavy duty 4.25”x2.75” weatherproof vinyl sticker.

These are FREE and limited to 1 per order. If you really want more than that, email or DM me and we can possibly work something out.

This is not my design and my intention is to get these too as many individuals as possible, not profit from them.

*IF YOU ORDER MORE THAN ONE, YOU WILL ONLY RECEIVE ONE*

Made a handful of these to randomly throw in orders for free.
06/01/2026

Made a handful of these to randomly throw in orders for free.

YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL JUST THE WAY YOU ARE!
05/29/2026

YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL JUST THE WAY YOU ARE!

New arrival!Gudon - “Devil of Mediocrity” 7” $8.99What makes a good reunion band? Should old bands take a victory lap on...
05/27/2026

New arrival!

Gudon - “Devil of Mediocrity” 7” $8.99

What makes a good reunion band? Should old bands take a victory lap on their former glories, or should they dive right back in where they left off and continue what they started?

When Gudon hosted Terveet Kadet in Hiroshima in 2024, obviously I was excited because they’re a classic band with their fair share of hits I want to hear. But nothing could have prepared me for how outrageously GREAT they were as a live band. Total power, maximum attitude, my jaw was on the floor as Ilari and I were looking at each other like ‘welp....we didn’t expect Gudon to be the best band we saw on this tour....but....this is reality’ LOL.
Then when they hosted Dirty Wombs in Hiroshima in 2025, I felt, I wish everyone could experience the joy of Gudon, of seeing a classic band return to action as strong and energized as ever before, continuing to write new songs, make new records, organize gigs, tour, progress forward into the future. Because this is punk, nobody wants to see a rock star on a stale victory parade, the world is still fu**ed up so we need to still be raging against it!

So it’s my immense pleasure to help Gudon continue what they started, with a USA tour and an American pressing of their latest 7”, a powerhouse record showcasing where Gudon is at now: as wild and devastating as ever before. A traditional Japanese hardcore style by one of the bands that made it a tradition, that set the template which others operate from. The new songs continue to showcase their dynamic songwriting style while also having all the speed and guts a hardcore band needs.

Restocked!God’s America - “The Undeserving” 7” $5.99My first experience with God’s America was when they organized Sete ...
05/27/2026

Restocked!

God’s America - “The Undeserving” 7” $5.99

My first experience with God’s America was when they organized Sete Star Sept’s gig in Las Vegas in 2012. They were rock solid, tight and powerful, and they were such lovely people, so they made an impression on me. Over the years, I’ve been lucky enough to watch them grow, develop their style and aesthetic, spend time touring with them, release their records, watching with excitement as they just continued to get better and better and attain more success for it.

And in 2016 with their Merge With the Infinite LP, I think God’s America fully realized their vision and hit a new level of quality. That record still ranks for me as one of the very best power violence/grindcore/fast hardcore records of the last few years, and upon hearing it I immediately called Andres and asked to do their next record.
..Which wound up taking some time to materialize, because of line-up changes. And it’s with great excitement that we release the first proper recordings of the new line-up, kicking off the next chapter of God’s America with 14 tracks of brutal power violence hardcore. Furious and fast-paced arrangements, crunchy guitars, heavy stick-in-the-mud bass, God’s America now takes a turn towards a more conventional power violence style but retain their own sonic personality and aesthetic to ensure the highest caliber of raging.

Restocked!Detesto - “Horrendous Reality of War” 7” $5.99The new kings of Kang return with their second 7”, six tracks of...
05/27/2026

Restocked!

Detesto - “Horrendous Reality of War” 7” $5.99

The new kings of Kang return with their second 7”, six tracks of relentless d-beat brutality from the Swedish school of Wolfpack, Skit System, and early Disfear. For me, there are two things that separate Detesto from the pack:

First, the immaculate production. The guitars have a perfected compressed Swedish crunch, ugly and distorted and depressively heavy. The bass is an earthquake of distortion. The drums fat and heavy, balanced against bright and dry cymbals that cut right through. And Wallas has never sounded better as a vocalist, inhuman gutterals helped by distortion and reverb that create the ideal vibe of kang bruality.

Second, they simply have better songs. While a lot of bands of this ilk can be so monotonous and droning, which can be cool and there are many records/bands of that ilk that I enjoy, Detesto get bonus points for writing dynamic and thoughtful songs that stay interesting and exciting without losing their brutality or relentlessness. Limited to 300 copies.

Restocked!Detesto - “Self-Titled” 7” $5.99After a split live tape and a few comp tracks, Detesto make their long-awaited...
05/27/2026

Restocked!

Detesto - “Self-Titled” 7” $5.99

After a split live tape and a few comp tracks, Detesto make their long-awaited vinyl debut. Five tracks of heavy d-beat hardcore, clearly drawing from brutal Swedish kang like Wolfpack, Disfear, the Uncurbed, but with a modern sense of reverb’d vocals and the occasional mosh groove. All captured with a flawless production: guitars at in-the-red metallic distortion, bass at a cataclysmic distorted rumble, drums heavy and dense, vocals in the desperate reverb’d hell. Perfect! And the Sugi cover art is the cherry on top. For me, it’s one of the best releases of this style in recent years. Limited to 300 copies.

2 available!Confront - “Guilty or Not Guilty?” LP $18.99Mie’s premier hardcore veterans Confront return with their first...
05/27/2026

2 available!

Confront - “Guilty or Not Guilty?” LP $18.99

Mie’s premier hardcore veterans Confront return with their first proper full-length album! Of course Japanese hardcore fans will know this powerhouse group, but I think Americans at large should remember their stunning 7” and collection 12” on General Speech in the 2010s. By comparison, this album sees Confront at their most pulverizing and hardened, a streamlined traditional Japanese hardcore attack. High-charge drums, big gang vocal choruses, emotive vocals, memorable riffs, all the trademarks of the style are in full effect.

Restocked!Kuroishi - “Egocide of the Warmad” LP $18.99Oulu, Finland’s flagship hardcore band Kuroishi return with their ...
05/27/2026

Restocked!

Kuroishi - “Egocide of the Warmad” LP $18.99

Oulu, Finland’s flagship hardcore band Kuroishi return with their 4th LP. By now, we’re all familiar with their signature style of Tragedy-influenced hardcore. Big epic guitar solos atop heavy, brooding riffs and high-charge drums. It is the same darkness and ice that bore Wolfbrigade and Unkind after all.

But while many bands rewrite the same records over and over (bless them lol), Kuroishi continue to push and pull themselves in slightly different directions, keep their signature style but lean into different ideas. Check the frantic anxiety of riffing in “Turhautumisen Liekki”, or the black metal blast flourishment of “Egocide of the Warmad”. Feel the goosebumps in the creepy guitar arpeggios and spoken words of “Aivojen Kasijarru”, let your spirits soar with the epic melodic backing vocals of “Kun Tiedostat Virheesi”. Simultaneously familiar but distinctly different from their other records, Kuroishi continue to be one of the hardest working bands in the game, dedicated to thoughtfully crafting each album as a separate experience and not rehashing the same tired ideas into frayed pieces.

Again, mastered at Enormous Door.
Again, masterpiece artwork by the legendary Sugi, printed on a thick tip-on jacket.

New arrival!Active Minds - “Things That Cannot Be Unseen” LP $15.99Our world continues on a downward spiral towards capi...
05/27/2026

New arrival!

Active Minds - “Things That Cannot Be Unseen” LP $15.99

Our world continues on a downward spiral towards capitalist dystopian dictatorships. It’s hard to hold much hope for a better future. But one can always hope for Active Minds, a near-40 years old institution of DIY punk, to continue making poignant and thoughtful political punk records commenting on the currently relevant attributes of this downward spiral. Two brothers from the UK, exemplifying basically all the most joyful, meaningful, and powerful characteristics of DIY punk both in their walk and their talk, put another shout into the void for those paying attention.

Part of what makes Active Minds one of the best punk bands ever is their consistency. A new LP in their 39th year, and it contains all their signature sounds: the melodic style they’ve embraced (“The Price of Sporting Excellence”), the raging hardcore they came up with (“Not My Reality”), songs that push the boundaries of their ideas (“The Man Who Fell to Earth”), songs that retreat back to simple catchy pop songwriting (“Beware the F**kwitted, Egotistical Tycoons”), and songs that are amongst the finest they’ve written (“Shamima”). Their sonic minimalism may hide their stylistic width and depth, but I think they continue to be one of the most interesting and exciting punk bands in the game.

Address

Oak View, CA
93022

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Rotten To The Core Records posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Business

Send a message to Rotten To The Core Records:

Share

Category