D-Beat to the Roll (Review: Fredag Den 13:e, Tjugohundratretton 2013)

Terrible name, good premise. Friday the 13th has to be the most horribly cliched and resultantly bland name conceivable, the norse spin / vernacular take  on the name grabs as much attention to the perusing punk as an endorsement from the Smiths down at 24 Aviary Avenue. However if life has taught us anything we should never judge a book by its cover nor by its title, because these Swedish riffaholics have a great knack for intrigue, alloying classic Swedish D-beat with the more wieldy rock influences. Its not punk-rock though, or at-least not by my understanding, because its soul deep in Scandipunk territory, calling it punk rock would diminish too much of what it is in favour of too little of what it really defines it. By my calculations if you can bend your minds to think of something like Wolfbrigade by way of Poison Idea you shouldn't be too far off the margin. 

This exclusive supposition of punk and rock is an exotic marriage like to grab attention, and song writing delivers it in the strongest of terms, piecing together various kaleidoscopic shards that range from  full throttle scandipunk steamrolls, leading guitar sections in familiar faces of punk or rock, to more sensitive ethereal dithers and a special onus on those shout along sections; all choreographed into one climatic and kinetic mesh, each phase etched into the other making for each song one continuous arching thrust of majesty. It should be of little surprise in conformity to the Scandinavian modus operandi production values are  like to cause envy amplifying every resonation of string, drum-skin and vocal chord to a fine and distinct point, spaced far enough apart to make each part audible in its own right, but close enough for collusion. For a genre that is named after a drum beat (D-Beat), I generally tend to find drums fall into the backdrop and guitars dominating the foreground amongst the pristine and clean shaven D-Beat ventures, but in the instance of this release I found drums to have a more equal standing, more often than not the songs felt like a group undertaking rather than "I have just found an awesome progression of riffs, write a drum pattern to follow them" type of process.

If Swedish D-Beat / Scandipunk is your choice of poison, the added spice of rock and roll may just be the extra kick you have been looking for.

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Abstraction (Review: Gadget, The Funeral March 2006)

Gadget - The Funeral March

Swedish ionizing grind cannon Gadget may be quite barren when it comes down to their discography, but each release they do posses is an overwhelming oasis fruitfully rich in content and their quality of song writing is by far some of the most vibrant out there; alluring a fantastic blossoming of creativity and artistic expression, whilst keeping the cold steel claws of grindcore hooked firmly in.

The Funeral March is their second full length and without a doubt their best content to date, procedurally refining through prismic refraction their earlier works displacing what little overbearing density and blustering notions remained, in favour of optimising and crystallising the more creative stains they so enigmatically presented on their prior full length Remote. Gadget are more than just an organic development between death metal and grindcore, but have a unique synergy in their alignment, each element not precluding the other and blended in such a memorable and reflexive fashion.  This great influx of creativity by no means hinders their grindcore credentials, when its time to get their game on Gadget do so with surgical precision offering anatomically precise sculpts and slashes highlighting their highly developed skill set and understanding of music. Their mastery of both slow and fast passages highlight just such a rich palette , creating fantastical dynamics which the band capitalise greatly on whilst retaining that organic pulse in their work and deep sense of progression. Given their distinct Scandinavian guitar tone and intricate weave of musical ferocity and fanciful vision, instant parralels may be drawn to the likes of Nasum of whom I feel have had a huge impact on them stylistically. Yet I feel there is little debate in proclaiming that Gadget truly are a presence to be taken exclusively on their own merits, so deep and enriching is their sound that I feel on an album to album basis The Funeral March trumps any of their Scandinavian peers.  

One of the greatest assets by the band is that the release really is an album experience, as in it is best enjoyed from start to finish as one piece to be listened slavishly as its affections permeate deep within you.  One of the things as a reviewer I am neglectful of is mentioning the artwork, although secondary to the music, artwork is an integral part to a bands identity and serves as a powerful visual cue to what the band are all about. Needless to say the artwork is perhaps one of the most exquisite seen in grindcore, and reflects on the bands divine creation of organic output from something so precise and computative that it is a science to itself. 

I write my review from the experience of the 2012 vinyl remaster in my personal collection, since I don't really have the original to compare it to, my only point of reference in making a comparison is the 128kbps streams from their bandcamp which offers streams of both versions. Since 128kbps streams are a bit weak to go on to discriminate a contrast take what I say with a pinch of salt, but I do notice the presence of a more sharper sound. They also have inversed the far right horizontal quarter of the original artwork now found on the far left, integrating well with the back cover of the gatefold. Adapting the artwork in a respectful way.

The Funeral March is more of an abstraction of what grinds potential can be over any notions of genre purity, its a deep merger of death metal tidings and grindcore fidelity, yet one that has cohesively plunged them deep into the artistic fabric of music, allowing them to tame what is an unruly and snarling artform. 

Purchase LP (Reissue)

Falun, Rens! (Livet Som Insats, ST LP 2012)

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!

Malice Aforethought (Review: Infanticide, Sonic Punishment 2008)

Too bad post millenial Terrorizer took a wrong turn somewhere after their Pièce de résistance World Downfall and ended up stumbling aimlessly through a mess of banal music that did their earlier endeavours and legacy no justice. However that being said if one was to guestimate what they should of sounded like if they maintained their threshold of awesomness and vibrant tone from 1989 in a modern day grind setting then I would suggest the grind machinations of Infanticide would be affectionatley close to the outcome. 

Their 2008 7" Sonic Punishment is appropriately named, with its modernised deployment of fleshy bass tone reminiscent of former Grind upstarts Insect Warfare, immediatley shafted against the distinct Terrorizer guitar riff work, all of which is accompanied by a constant melee of unyielding blast beats and howling savagery that passes for vocals. It works at every level of the playing field, ultimately condensing together for an exceptional powerful and demanding onslaught of grind virility. The session of castigation has a run time of seven and a half minutes long, broken across 10 tracks which all offer their own little boon, but uniformly channel the obstinant fury Infanticide have time and time again brought to the table. 

I would be reluctant to call it a test run of their 2010 jackpot From Our Cold Dead Hands, but rather a condensation of what they would later go on to, on this release instead opting for a minute or under runs, quitting the game once terminal grind velocity has been obtained and starting up the malice afresh rather than offer any solid development with the exception of Oblivion Descends. However far reaching development is not part of the game plan, if the release name didn't already give it away the master plan merely consists of all elements chasing for all out barbarity, something these Swedes in particular seem to have a natural talent for. 

Voluntary Victim (Victims, A Dissident 2011)

The thunderous D-Beat in all its simplistic punk glory is not only a trademark which will hook any leather clad discharge fanatic but has that infectious tick that often results in you endlessly tapping your feet. One such band who opts for this mesmerising percussive standard is Swedens very own crusted d-beat purveyors Victims.

A Dissident is their 5th full length lashing of hardcore consisting of a 13 track release totalling just shy of the half hour mark. Broadly speaking their d-beating philanthropy is a direct contrast to the normal caustic punk approach associated with d-beat and crust marauders, opting for an acute harmonious flow of melody to stream alongside the thudding Tom bashing.

Gracefully shredding from one congenial passage to the next, it places much emphasis on a guitar centric blissful serenade, whilst still retaining that punk outlandishness constituted by thick slabs of punk chord progression and screamed lyrics. Production quality shines wonderfully offering a clean and crisp sound, greatly benefiting the tidy flow of punk that whimsically flows from the fine string shifting resonance.

Overall a greatly crafted album, however not for one and all, a lack of drumming styles (well it figures since they are a d-beat band) and a general lackluster aggression to it, will certainly alienate those who like their punk loud and angry in true crusted fashion, whereas those who are more welcoming to the likes of Wolfbrigade, will have an instant liking to the syrupy sweet Swedish punk it radiates. For those tranquil moments you just want to chillax this is the album for those moments.