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NEW DARK AGE BLOG

The record that has been in the works for more than four years from these K-town degenerates is now ready. We are proud to present the dark and rough reality that is THE WAR GOES ON. Made up of people responsible for bands like NO HOPE FOR THE KIDS, HJERTESTOP, and many more K-town classic hardcore bands. This record sees singer Ronni Dybdahl delve further into the depths of darkness and gloom than ever before, and come back with an anthemic hard pounding street punk record that somehow blurs the lines between Oi!, Punk, and Hardcore....

SORRY STATE

Debut LP from this new Danish band that features former members of No Hope for the Kids and Hjerte Stop. If you were a big NHFTK fan (and who wasn't in like 2004?) you'll immediately recognize the distinctive vocals, but The War Goes On is a little different. While the dark melodies and catchy vocals are very much intact from NHFTK, the music is generally faster and more straightforwardly punk a la Hjerte Stop... maybe I'm just listening for it because I'm aware of the members' backgrounds, but it does sound like those two bands smashed together. It's extremely well-written and recorded, to the point where some of it actually reminds me a bit of Bad Religion's stuff from the early 00s after they returned to Epitaph and kind of re-punked-up their sound. I'm sure that comparison will be a big turn-off to some people, but it does serve as fair warning: this is pretty slick stuff, but I wouldn't say it's overproduced by any means. I can't help but feel like if this has come out 10-12 years ago they would be, hands-down, one of the biggest bands in the worldwide punk scene, but the sound of this, to me at least, doesn't seem to be where a lot of people's heads are at in 2016. There are advantages and disadvantages to that; on the one hand it sticks out more for sounding very different than most of the recent stuff that has passed across my turntable, but at the same time it doesn't have the force of the zeitgeist behind it. It's definitely a well-crafted, engaging record, so use the info above to determine if you're someone likely to be blown away by it.

WINTERVIEW issue #3, winter 2017

I have listened to this one for so many times that I find no sense in writing anything about it. It simply is an essential record for anyone claiming to be punk in 2017. True melancholic punk rock from the ashes of NO HOPE FOR THE KIDS with the most authentic suicidal lyrics ever written.

SORRY STATE RECORDS

More Swedish hardcore courtesy of the great Adult Crash label. Listening to Axe Rash I can’t help but think of Sorry State favorites Torso, as both bands have a dense, intricate, and pissed-off sound. Like all of Torso’s records, Axe Rash’s debut has a clear and powerful recording that seems to smash into your ears with the force of a ball peen hammer, and their vocalist sounds like they’ve swallowed all the world’s evil just to regurgitate the bile-soaked mess back at you. The riffing is intricate and catchy (there’s no way Totalitär isn’t a direct influence), and the playing is razor sharp. It’s a relentless assault until “Just Like Me” slows things down a hair, allowing the guitarist to pull a few extra tricks out of their bag and close the record on a high note. Ripping!

DIYCONSPIRACY.NET

I’m going to repeat words like raging, blistering and slaying over and over again within this article, but these are totally accurate when it comes to AxeRash from Sweden.
Fast, abrasive and relentless in its ferocity, it’s sure to scratch you where you itch! Favorite hardcore punk release from Sweden after Larma’s self-titled LP for this year... oh yeah, both these records were released on the same Adult Crash label!
By Mittens XVX

RAZORBLADES AND ASPIRIN no. 8 - winter 2020

Rapid-fire hardcore from Sweden - it's a vicious and blister-inducing journey through eleven tracks which just cook. Twisitng, turning riffs that give off a feeling like watching Steve McQueen tear through San Fransisco in Bullet, pausing occasionally to catch its breath then it's back to the races. Less classically Swedish and more American sounding, I'm still kicking myself for getting sick and missing out on their recent US tour. Top shelf stuff.

RAZORBLADES AND ASPIRIN no. 8 - winter 2020

Seven blasts of skull-cleaving käng punk attack. Powerful Swedish d-beat hardcore with really intricate bass work - if you're familiar with 90's Portalnd rippers Detestation, this is along that line of thought - it punches along at a more mid-tempo clip, but still is really enticing. These tracks originally appeared on a split tape with Muro.