Shit yeah! I've been wanting to check this band out for awhile, and yes, they rip! The opening track kicks off this blast of raging Swedish hardcore with a call of "Unleash the fuckin' fury!" (which I damn sure hope is a Yngwie Malmsteen reference) before plowing into a set of short, fast tracks with hoarse vocal yells (trading off between a few varying levels of depth) that have a little bit of a filter hovering over 'em. It's heavy without sounding metal at all, the speeds are forceful rather than bland, and the tracks definitely posses a certain furious energy that I'm all for. Most tracks run less than two minutes, so they get to the point and pack up. "R?kna Med Br?k" opens up with some slower metallic notes before opening up into a much more rocked out chord progression; "En Galge For Din Pl?nbok" hits on some midpaced metal riffing (in a rocked out sort of way); "Piss on Your Lies" is both a bit more melodic and a bit angrier in a way, making for my favorite track of the entire disc; while "Djurpl?geri" opens with another brief slow, dissonant passage before picking the pace back up into the usual driving crust styled tempo accented here and there by very subtle layered guitars. The last song is a cover of "Letter to the Censors" by Manu Chao/Mano Negra, sounding not unlike the other songs in its rocked out brand of hardcore/punk. Aside from the filter over the vocals, which can honestly be annoying as hell, the recording kicks ass. The snare drum pops out a little bit (the drums are sort of taut but that's the only element that becomes most noticeable), but I love the bass tone (which does have a good amount of space), and the guitars sound killer. It's nice and full, with a round low-end. I love the vocal style, and they sound cool, but that weird sheen of midrange that hovers around them makes them separate from the music and distracts the listening experience. Other than that it gets the thumbs up. The layout looks really unique and blends lots of high contrast graphics with a black and white/orange and yellow color scheme. The lyrics are a mix of Swedish and English and seem to be largely chock full of attitude, so any statements made are pretty pissed but with a sense of humor in a way, best summed up with the line, "My point of view is nothing new, but I'm hitting rock bottom with style." For the most part this stuff is pretty straightforward, I love the fact that they throw in some winding basslines, or distinct picking patterns/note choices that you'll rarely hear from this genre, which gives them their own edge, though. That really makes a difference. Good stuff.
[Prank]
Running time - 25:31, Tracks: 14
[Notable tracks: I Don't Wanna Party, Raindrops, R?kna Med Br?k, Piss on Your Lies]
Prank Records - http://www.prankrecords.com
