Reviews

Halvfabrikat

Asocial Död Åt Kapitalismen CD

Perfect. Absolutely perfect ten songs, sixteen minutes, and twenty-nine seconds of Swedish hardcore. Perfect. I mean perfect. An out-of-the-park, kicks-the-shit-out-of-everything, perfect hardcore record. By the time this record first surfaced on vinyl in 2017 on the F.O.A.D. label, I had forgotten people could even make records this good. ASOCIAL’s early ’80s origins were more lo-fi and raw—the last time they surfaced was on an uneven metal outing in the ’90s—but this incarnation (75% of the original ’80s band, 25% the long-standing drummer of UNCURBED) takes cues from Hear Nothing See Nothing Say Nothing, where adept musicianship completely nails really basic pummeling D-beat without standing in its way, weaving inventive song structures and curt solos to absolutely perfect D-beat hardcore. Unrelenting powerful drumming, with the overdrive of the best UNCURBED moments. Tommy Berggren sounds less like the haunting ghost of his last outing in UTANFÖRSKAPET, but is still one of the consistently greatest Swedish hardcore screamers. The recording is perfect, similar to Hear Nothing where it’s not raw but in no way over-produced, with just the slightest metallic tinges. It’s long enough, just short enough. Only points off: the lyrics are entirely in Swedish, but with no translation or explanation, and the cover, while well-drawn and poignant to the meaning of the record, maybe falls short of the sheer perfection of the music. This totally fucking rocks—it’s perfect.

Illvilja Mörkret 10″

Since its beginnings, neocrust has always walked hand-in-hand with black metal. The sense of gloom approaching is prevalent in both genres, so it only makes sense that one should combine the two—HIS HERO IS GONE had one of the blackest riffs the crust world has ever heard in “Headless/Heartless.” It’s all about the atmosphere! ILLVILJA does exactly that, melancholic neocrust with a black-as-night atmosphere. And it makes even more sense since they are Swedish, they are born with melody in their veins.

M:40 Arvsynd LP

I do not know if the band name M:40 is in reference to a weapon or what, but M:40 of Sweden is weaponized with dooming folksy acoustic landscapes that remind me of ACURSED, GUTS PIE EARSHOT, and some tinges of blackened metal. My favorite thing about Arvsynd is the way all the musical levels are blended together. There is not much breathing room here, but it is not overwhelmingly aggressive either. It’s like a dense Scandinavian fog of heavy turmoil. This is the kind of hardcore that can usually get exhausting to me, but M:40 breaks it up with casual D-beat such as UNCURBED, sinister metal riffs such as NIHILIST, and fuzzed-out duo vocals. Favorite track: “Viskningar I Mörkret.” Melodic crustcore with finesse.

Illvilja / M:40 split EP

M:40 is presented first here, as a char-core discordant mosh cacophony. As far as newer crust goes, this registers on the blackened epic side. SLUTET comes to mind, but more abysmal and desperate, like ACCURSED or MARTYRDÖD in mood, but add some bone-grinding blastbeats and take away all glints of hope and light. M:40 is a lesson in Scandinavian blackened crust. ILLVILJA has an intro that creates a new dawn of sorts on this split, but equally reminiscent of ACCURSED. Epic chords and melancholy journeys across a desolate crust landscape. ILLVILJA plays remarkably more optimistically, if that means I’ve come to terms with the complete dread of the world. Not a feel-good split—here it is, drowning whirlpools of dark crust anguish for your embittered nihilistic enjoyment.

Misantropic Catharsis LP

This is an angry album. Gerda, the female lead vocalist, rails at the patriarchy and capitalism as the guitars weave back and forth easily between hardcore and metal. Each song is fast, crusty, and powerfully emotive lyrically. “Day of Reckoning ” is nothing less than a battle anthem from the gutter. “Fragmentation” is pure hardcore excellence with Gerda shouting back and forth with the male vocalist, Matte. They even throw in some violins and synthesizers on a couple tracks, and it takes nothing away from the blistering rawness. After nine tracks of anarcho-rage that fans of WOLFBRIGADE will appreciate, the album manages to close on a hopeful yet pissed-off note with “The Dying of the Light,” declaring to their children “To my daughter, to my son / The future is yours when the battle is done.”

Protestera Kampen GÁ¥r Vidare CD

The thrilling, epic, and chilling debut LP from Götenborg’s PROTESTERA is now available on CD. Bitter, metallic, and melancholic late ’90s/early ’00s crust, with harsh riffs, and drums that are fierce and tight: weaving D-beat with circle pit-ready mosh breakdowns. Spoken passages, dual vocals with static-filled hardcore breaks and vicious oration, and menacing, rhythmic gang vocals all put forth intense conviction. If you’re into CONTRAVENE, SCUMBRIGADE, POST-REGIMENT, OI POLLOI, FLEAS AND LICE, or ANTIPRODUCT, this is for you. The 30-page booklet oozes with photos, a history lesson, and squat scene nostalgia. We need more bands like this again. Such a level of solidarity and passion in a time of exhausting hopelessness. Digitally remastered to the highest standard since its original release on Skuld release in 2000. This will not disappoint.

Antigen / Socialstyrelsen A Sense of Dread split LP

Phobia Records from the Czech Republic won’t stop delivering crust punk D-beat bands. On these eleven tracks in under 25 minutes, we encounter ANTIGEN and SOCIAL STYRELSEN. ANTIGEN offers four tracks led by a crust-cut female voice pitching high choruses, filled with desperate feeling along with a painful screaming. Solid crust punk with hardcore drums, pretty much all straightforward. SOCIALSTYRELSEN blasts crunchy D-beat crust punk with demonic high vocals, guitars like non-stop chainsaws, and ranting drums. A chaos sound from another era with modern nods. The Swedish language hits hard, with such suffering-infused voices fueled by violence. Suggested tracks: “Knivad” and “Hata Mig.”