Last Night a D-Beat Saved My Life (part 7): HORRENDOUS "War is still..." 12" Ep, 2015

And we're back to Sweden for the third time already. Thank you for flying with D-Beat Airlines, the only planes where you can safely play Death From Above while oboard without getting distressed looks from other passengers. But is it surprising really? Where else would you go if you had to visit a Discharge theme park? Bloody France? Exactly, you go to Sweden, a country where even the pigs know the lyrics to "Spräckta Snutskallar" and where an actual Ministry of D-Takt responsible for regulating the national population of d-beat bands was founded as early as 1983 because said orchestras were starting to threaten and overrun the fragile Swedish rock ecosystem. I hear some Dis-bands even had to be put down.

War is still... stands as one of my favourite d-beat records of the 2010's, a decade replete with bands who tried to get the D right and, as honourable an endeavour as it might be, sometimes failed. I am struggling to know how Horrendous, from Malmö, will go down in Distory, whether in 10 years time they will be seen as what I would call a minor classic or just "that side project with members of Herätys or Infernöh" (the latter option would probably mean that you'll still be able to get the record for cheap). When talking about the early/mid 2010's and about Malmö hardcore bands - or indeed just Swedish hardcore bands - who haunted the period, Infernöh and Herätys would definitely be mentioned in the conversation. And for good reasons as they still prove to be quite loved, if not influential, and the people involved in these bands went on to play in many more good bands. Were these better bands than Horrendous? From an objective standpoint, I suppose so. They managed to produce a decent and coherent discography and were just more significant. All my mates would undoubtedly and vehemently support that assertion. But were they as fun? Or, to rephrase more accurately in the context of this D-beat series, were they as keen on serving narrow-minded fans? Or even, to be more specific, could they make me headbang as vigorously as Horrendous did? I think not.

What immediately strikes the listener on this Ep is the power and thickness of the production. Heavy shit man. The record has a storm-like quality, like a tsunami taking everything in its path of destruction, it pounds and pummels its way toward Discharge paradise, leaving the punks happy and craving for more. War is still... belongs to this category of d-beat records that I can play and genuinely enjoy several times in a row. With a length of about 11 minutes, given the niche they chose to inhabit and the power they achieved to unleash, it is pretty much a perfect record (let's just say for the sake of caviling that it still could have done with another song). The name "Horrendous" might have done them disservice as it spontaneously makes one think heavily of Sore Throat (off-topic, clearly) or some gory death-metal band rather than good old Discharge worship. . And yet at the altar of Discharge they do bow, especially their Hear Nothing era, when the Potters were at their heaviest, and the cheeky bastards included a parody of the iconic Discharge face with what I think could be the singer's own mug. As I told you: self-aware fun! 

Contrary to a lot of bands, Horrendous did not go for a distorted d-beat raw punk sound and listening to it again on a rainy day, it does make me glad they did not and chose the hard-hitting, impactful way of the D. I am reminded of Warcry in their prime - especially with the gruff, raucous, very aggressive vocals but with more of a British scansion (Pancho being of course from Yorkshire) - and Discharge-loving classics like Disaster or Meanwhile are obvious influences. What makes the record stand out are the two mid-paced scorchers "Ain't no worthless scrote" (a song that appears on both sides, at the end of the first and at the start of the second, linking both in a pretty smart, albeit disconcerting at first, move) and "War is reality" that sound incredibly energetic and, rare thing, can actually have you dance, with moderation for those of us who have bad backs. Ace stuff.

Sadly Horrendous did not play for long and this wonderful record was to be their only release. This is the European version on Skrammel Records, the Yanks getting theirs from Brain Solvent Propaganda. The members would go on to play in a lot of good bands and are very much active. Does any of these bands are as fun as Horrendous and can have you rock as hard as on "Ain't no worthless scrote"? Well, I'll leave you to that thought.

War is still horrendous

Last Night a D-Beat Saved My Life (part 6): DISPOSE "Horror Revival" Lp, 2013

Already the sixth part of Last Night a D-Beat Saved My Life and only the first band to have the "dis" prefix in its name. The trend of this prefix as a sign of d-beatness, about as subtle as a oi band having the word "skin" in the moniker, has remained pretty stable since its explosion in the 90's with only a small drop in the early to mid 00's. You would think that by now bands would have run out of existing words starting with "dis" but as Disattack and iconic discore band Disfear proved, you do not even need a proper word to make one, a philosophy that the remarkable and sadly underrated Disclone were only too happy to follow (a lot of average-to-mediocre d-beat band did too but I am too much of a coward to rat them out). Dis may have been getting pathetic for a while but at least it is still alive and kicking, claiming its relevance. But then you could say the same about nu metal (the epitomy of tastelessness and a style even scarier than shoegaze) so that's not necessarily a good thing.

Dispose, from Norrbotten County, I got into relatively recently, I must admit. Caught into the constant maelstrom of hardcore novelty it seems that I did not take the time to give them a proper listen. The band was very prolific between its inception in 2007 (says bandcamp) and the mid-10's (one full Lp, two split Lp's, one full Ep, 5 split Ep's and I am not even mentioning the tapes and cdr's) and bands that release materials every 3 months are fundamentally hard to keep up with. It feels like a losing battle that you may not even want to engage because you're lazy, which is ok, you can always justify it by being a real punk-rocker. This kind of things. I remember listening to the 2016 split Lp with our national treasure Bakounine, liking it well enough and thinking to myself that I should give Dispose some attention. Still a bit late to the party I suppose.

This proud Swedish d-beat band belong to the radically DIY part of the hardcore scene. This ain't no fancy hardcore band parading on social media, these are Disclose maniacs keen on having material released on a label called Dis Before Dishonour. Dispose have been running on passion, dedication, resolve, at the expense of quality at times but d-beat needs punks them to keep the flame of raw and ugly music alive. Is the very name polysemous? Of course the phrase "to dispose of" makes sense for a d-beat band and one might stop at this meaning, but you could very well understand it as "the pose of the dis" in a positive sense which would basically suggest a "dis identity", a way to conduct yourself and stand in life, "dis" as "oi" if you wish except you don't have to shout it three times. 

But let's crash the pose of intellectualism and fancy postmodern theory, Dispose play straight-forward d-beat raw punk, with a focus on the raw. I love how emphatic the drumming sounds, very much like Diatribe, and how spontaneous and honest it feels. However simple the formula is, you can tell the guitar sound has been worked on and it certainly displays aggression and grooviness, I like it a lot. The vocals are of the raspy variety but not low-pitched, giving it a raw punk edge. The real hit to me is the song "Horror revival" with its alternation of early mid-paced Discharge and fast d-takt moments, creating a nice contrast. The faster Disclose style remains the main influence here, whether it is the Tragedy or the Disbones periods, and I am definitely hearing the 90's Uppsalla d-takt käng bands as well like Dishonest, Harass or Cumbrage. Visually, everything is in order with the band using the same font as late Disclose and a very similar skull logo too with the "noise not music" symbol replacing the good old anarchy symbol so that even without looking at the picture of the famous Norii gate that survived the bombing of Nagasaki on the cover. Pretty close indeed.

Horror Revival is a great starting point if you are looking to discover Dispose and I see it as their most accomplished work but their split with Kranium is also solid. This was released on D-Takt and Råpunk, a crucial and influential label run by a passionate man responsible for some great records since the late 00's.    

Dispose Survival

Last Night a D-beat Saved My Life (part 5): ANGER BURNING "When" Lp, 2012

In all this global mania for Discharge, it would be fun to make a list of bands that picked a Discharge song as their moniker. Well, "fun" might not be the right concept here. To some, this very activity would sound like a continuing nightmare that could involve the possibility of a relationship's destruction while to others it would be the most romantic thing ever. I can think of Fight Back from Croatia; two Decontrol from England and Canada; Protest and Survive from Poland; two Realities of War, from England and Japan; one Visions of War, obviously; Mania For Conquest from the States; Hell On Earth from Slovakia; Final Bloodbath from Japan and even one Four Monstrous Nuclear Stockpiles, from France, a rare band that managed to blend d-beat and humour without being corny. And did I mention bloody Meanwhile? You see, we're having so much fun together! Yay.

And of course there is Anger Burning from Sweden. They did not go for my favourite Discharge song (by far, I think "Anger burning" should have been called "Requiem for good taste") but on the When Lp they could be considered as one of the best Discharge imitators of the past 20 years, a much coveted spot indeed. If you want to be very anal about it, and you know I do, When is one of the best tribute to Why, a sentence that when spoken aloud sounds either like the ramblings of a very drunk man or some brilliant comment on postmodernist literature that will make academics scratch their chins in awe and type frantically on their Macbook. But when a proper punk hears it, s/he just knows and this knowledge is precious and makes one feel part of a worldwide conspiracy or a soap-dodging sect as my mum would rephrase it.

Unsurprisingly Anger Burning were from Sweden - land of Discharge love where the government forces innocent children to sing the whole Fight Back Ep at school in defense of their future - and played between 2007 and 2016 (a respectable run) with its members arsing around in other hardcore bands before and have been since. Ernst and Simon were together in Assassination (a traditional rocking käng band), with the former playing subsequently in Panikattack and recently Bombardement and the latter fronting grindcore veteran act Infanticide and Parasit (up until 2016 I think) and dicking around on the bass (like with Anger Burning) with noisepunk loonies Sex Dwarf. As for Vidar and Cederick, the former would go on to play in Anti-Metafor and Svaveldioxid and the latter in a lot of bands that I have never heard of but must belong the metallic hordes judging from the covers (or they could be Russian ska bands in disguise, who knows?). Resumes do not really mean anything, fortunately for me, but they at least indicate in the present case that the listener is dealing with a serious band who does not take the worship of Discharge lightly and if Anger Burning's discography is pretty solid (the Warcharge Ep on La Vida Es Un Mus and the split Lp with Discover come recommended), When stands as the dischargiest work, the apex predator of Discharge love's foodchain in the early 2010's.

I hear you ask: why and where is When so close to Why? I won't even mention the title because I (mostly) respect the intelligence of my audience. But let's take a look at the song titles, most of which refer directly to Why: ""Leftovers of war" instead of "Visions of war", "Ain't no war without bastards" instead of "Ain't no feeble bastard", "Is this a solution" for "Is this to be", "What can you do about this system" for "Does this system work" (and "You take part in creating this system" off Fight Back) and of course "When reprise" (duh, I know). There are a lot of plain nods to Dischagre lyrics as well that would be too tedious to list. The golden nugget might be the song "Where are our rights" that could, or rather must, be referring to that elusive Discharge song entitled "Where's our freedom" that appeared on an Ep bootleg called Live in Preston that included an early live recording from 1980 with this mid-paced song that never made it on vinyl. This one is really for the nerds. 

Stellar is the production, primal but very dynamic and angry, highlighting the speed of the early dis beat. The guitar possesses the exact right tone but it had more reverb on Warcharge for instance so I suspect the guitar player toyed with his setting so as to sound as close to 1981 Bones as possible and as for the bass lines, they snake their way through the whole 13 minutes (Why was 14 minutes and 21 seconds long so Anger Burning are a little short). The vocals however are very different to Cal, a man whose barks have always proved to be difficult to resurrect as many a shower can attest, and the singer went for his own raspy style, closer to the traditional käng style, which probably confers more aggression to the songs than if he had forcefully "Cal-ified" his voice. Of course the band went for the classic Discharge font and put the moniker and the record's title in the same spots as Why. The war-themed black and white cover itself reminds me of Disgust's The Horror of it All... but there might be a close comparison.

It doesn't seem relevant to drop names of other d-beat bands who tried hard to sound just like Discharge in the 90's and 00's but I cannot think of any that sounded as close to Why as When does. Here we have to think in terms of record instead of band and try to isolate When and take it on its own. Therefore if Anger Burning may not be the absolute Why-era Discharge clone, When might very well be the aptest copy of Why ever. This wonderful album will speak to those of us who love the worshipping, idolizing side of d-beat, the meticulousness of which would impress the best 17th century oil-painting copyist. This was released in 2012 on Rawmantic Disasters (the label's fifth release) and Truemmer Pogo and can be found for a very decent price.

When when when but when