Absolut Country of Sweden

Imagine my surprise when I learned the de facto Swedish national anthem, " Du Gamla, Du Fria," does not actually feature d-beats (though I'm sure as we speak Tomas Lindberg is pulling together a roster of Swedish punk greats to rectify that oversight).
Because in my mind, even beyond the greatness of Scandi-grind, Sweden first and foremost has always stood out to me as a joyous celebration of Discharge's swinging punk legacy just with way more umlauts. It's a story that begins with seminal punk bands like Anti Cimex and continues through .... a whole lot of other bands that also contain ex-members of Anti Cimex and whatever band Tompa hustled into a studio during his free weekend.
Where Discharge were pissed and spitting, the Swedes (while still dealing a decent amount of aggression) also seemed to have realized that a hopping d-beat can actually be fun. They're screaming, sure, but you can just feel the corners of their mouths quirking, fighting to hide back an idiot grin.
Or maybe that's because Swedish punk bands, like a lot of their Scandinavian kin, tend to stick to their native language, so I have no clue what they're saying. As Totalitar said in the liner notes to Ni Mast Bort!, "... I would feel rather stupid if I wrote about these subjects using someone else's language. This has nothing to do with nationalism, to me it's just a simple fact that I react, think and have much more complex knowledge of the language I grew up with." But language has never been a barrier with Swedish punk, the intent comes through in the musical chops and the vocal passion just fine without resorting to Babel Fish.
Since I've been binging on Swedish punk lately, I thought I'd share a few of my favorites. I'm by no means an expert here and compiling this list made me realize my collection is short a few goodies (Krigshot! Svart Sno!), but I haven't made you guys a mixtape in a while and felt the need to share.

Swedish Punk [Mediafire]

Disfear - "Powerload"
Skitsystem - "Det Sociala Arvet"
Avskum - "Masskonsumtions Helvetet"
Victims - "This is the End"
Wolfpack (aka Wolfbrigade) - "Power and Greed"
The Great Deceiver - "Strychnine"
Anti Cimex - "Victims of a Bombraid"
End of All - "Fostrad"
Acursed - "Tunneln I Ljusets Slut Track 13 [Untitled]"
Totalitar - "Mediet Som Vapen"

G&P review: Acursed

Acursed
Tunneln I Ljusets Slut
Prank
For a while I was worried Thomas Lindberg would have to singlehandedly do all the heavy lifting in the Swedish hardcore scene. Not that I doubt Tompa’s ability following a solid new outing with The Great Deceiver and an absolutely rampaging new Disfear disc, but it’s good to see the man get some help. Even that guy’s gotta take a break some time.
So enter the spelling challenged Swedish enclave Acursed and their most recent offering for Prank, Tunneln I Ljusets Slut, a tasty slab of pink in the center d-beat from the land where Discharge still reign as gods nearly 30 years after they dun datted the first dun dun dat.
According to Inter Tran, the title is actually The Light at the End of the Tunnel and, sadly, has nothing to do with sluts. We were hoping maybe some of these oh so serious punk types had finally lightened up a little a decided to maybe crack a smile every so often. But that’s the only cue you’re going to get on this album’s content because this beautifully designed monochromatic digipack fails to include lyrics or even song titles.
You may notice the album’s design bears a striking resemblance to the most recent offspring of statewide d-beat collective, Tragedy, and that bad is a perfect reference point for the moody melodies that waft like smoke rings around this half an hour of crusty metal. Before you cry rip off, this is actually the stateside reissue of this band’s 2004 album.
Acursed break up their d-beat rampage with frequent spoken word pieces. But without a close friend fluent in Swedish to translate, the monologues begin to sound didactic despite the lilting Scandinavian accent.
You can just bet these guys are laying a serious bummer on you about war, death, misery and the way corporations and government conspire to strip you of your liberties while you consume yourself into oblivion. Skip the campus rabble rousing and enjoy the 20 or so minutes of hardcore heaven that light up the end of this dark d-beat tunnel. And hopefully Prank, which also brought Totalitar, Avskum and Svart Sno across the pond, won’t make us wait another four years for a follow up.