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: Wolfbrigade (How Swede it is Again, Part 6)

Wolfbrigade
Comalive
Deranged
I’m not fickle, but every so often even I get burned out on Swedish punk. But right at the nadir of my doldrums invariably I latch on to an album that reignites my love of crusty d-beat punk played with Scandinavian purpose and passion and it’s like losing my punk cherry all over again. Last year it was Disfear’s Live the Storm I contemplated permanently gluing into my CD player. I may have to sand off the Krazy glue because it looks like 2009 will belong to Wolfbrigade’s Comalive.
Wolfbrigade (ne Wolfpack) turn in an album that’s like snorting a line of adrenaline and fucking a naked electric socket. That’s not to say there’s thing one new about Comalive. From the clichéd air raid siren opening to the bass throbbing crust, everything about the album is comfortably familiar like that worn in pair of combat boots. Scandi-punk’s own inertia is overcome by the band’s collective force of will and they harness a lifetime of hardcore ethics and energy (seriously, some of these guys have roots in the legendary Anti Cimex) to pull their musical Lazarus routine.
“High Tech Degradation” ticks off a familiar litany of how humanity is destroying itself. Musically, “Barren Dreams” churns with stuttered thrash picking and “In Adrenaline” rips through a dervish solo scratched over an insistent punk drive.
Disfear ruled my punk listening in 2009 and unless American hardcore steps up in a major way in the next 8 months, it looks like that title will remain with the Swedes.