There must be a plausible explanation for the disproportionally high volumes of primo Swedish grind bands , and lets not even get started on how many world-class black, crust and death metal bands Sweden has churned out year in, year out in industrial bulk. “Pundit” explanations for understanding just why Swede’s seem so damn good at music have consistently cropped up all over the interwebs, yet no singular response has merited a consensus. Personal favourite radical theories range from: a gift bestowed upon their ancestors from the Norse Gods, the fact they are the Dragoborn (I am still convinced Skyrim is an emulator for life in Sweden) and best of all: that the global appreciation and mainstay in our listening schedules is just one part of an overall plan of gradual acceptance to Swedish superiority and dependency, for when they ultimately put their plans of World domination into full effect; a theory which coincides with the fact that every item of furniture & cutlery in my studio is from Ikea.
If the latter theory is to be true, then some of us are likely to end up in the forced labour camps of the environmentally conscious and highly productive Swedish run dystopia, and much like totalitarian regimes both past and present, I am convinced that the use of sound will be used to increase worker/slave/person-in-need-of-political-rehabilitation productivity. How do I know this? Well, being a secret agent and all I managed to intercept a copy of such an audio device code named: Livet Som Insats, Self-Titled LP.
Being an attentive fan of these Swedish grind fanatics since they were the wunderkinds tinkering around with Nasums formula and splices of native crust in efforts for their own personal distinction, I weep with joy to see them rhino charge their way into the playing fields of the Grindcore elite.
LSI have the power! This release is so damn heavy, not only did I get that gut-wrenching adrenaline kick and semi hard on when listening to a really empowering force of music; I could feel my sperm head banging and moshing along to their cannonade of groove heavy grind salvo too. There is an exceptional rigid density to their work, a constant heftiness bounced around done with an enviable ease, but the reality is LSI operate on a complex system of grind creation: mixing in burly crust moments, grindcore tantrums and metallic tension, all being threaded into a series of memorable melodic strains.
Do not be foolish enough to associate melody with weakness or deficiency; because if anything not only does it keep that systematic sense of empowerment consistent and at high peaks, but it fundamentally anchors the outright charm of the release. Just think of the sight of a juggler, juggling live chainsaws you have the pace and process of his rotational throws and catches representing rhythm and the chainsaws representing brutality, the two can coexist in an appealing harmony, and for those of you imagining a career changing slip or miscount in this scenario then you will be pleased to know Livet Som Insats have accommodated for that too, letting loose a fast and aggressive crust parade cover of G-anx’s Narrow Path.
The process of the release is one that places an equal amount of responsibility on all 4 elements (Drums, Vocals, Bass & Guitar) none of whom slack the burden off, and instead pool their resources together giving this systematic co-ordination of dynamic tempos, sliding grooves and rumbling punch ups of musical shrapnel. Although if I had to place favourites, I would undeniably pick the guitars whose endlessly churn out one catchy riff after another, yet without disrupting the continuity of the release, I have to wonder if Sweden has developed some riff database and hand out all the good ones to their bands, and if so the LSI got way more than their fair share!
