by Mia Euceda (@shoegazepapi)
Two minutes. That’s all the time Totalitär needs to blow your face smooth off. The Swedish d-beat legends return nearly twenty years later with a self-titled record, picking up right where they left off with sheer force. Birthed in 1980s Hudiksvall, nursed by the blast beats of Discharge, the group was pivotal in fleshing out the sound of the kängpunk (“boot punk”) scene–taking cues from other English anarcho influences like Crass and Conflict to distill their own mutation of brutal rawness. In turn, they’ve left a mark both domestically and worldwide in the raw punk and d-beat scenes. Even to the unfamiliar, their influence is wide–Totalitär ripped so Driller Killer and Rat Cage could assail. You might also recognize the dark and crunchy melodies fashioned by Lars-Ander "Lanchy" Orre, who also plays guitar and bass for the notoriously misanthropic Swedish noise rock outfit Brainbombs.
Immediately, there’s a call to urgency. Frontman Poffen Frimodig shakes listeners by the shoulders, shrieking as a muddled mix of wailing guitars and brute drums hack away. Frimodig’s shrieks are infectious, transferring pure, condensed rage in high frequency. His vocal cords carry aged strain and fury, yet show no restraint. This is especially felt on the frenetic and aptly titled “Detta Är Vad Jag Fick” (“This is What I Got”), a fuzzy freakout with no interest in holding back. Penetrating kick and snares bash and bash, forcing their way through the muddled soundscape of Orre’s gritty, wailing riffs and Frimodig’s seething barks. At last, catharsis.
Within fifteen minutes, it’s all over. Like a curious child sticking their finger into the socket, you’re met with two decisions: you either stop, or plug in and shock yourself again. Forty years later, Totalitär remains high in voltage. They demolish throughout, offering cutting critiques of complacency and piercing rampages. It would be reductive to dismiss the band’s sound as monotonous, as lacking innovation and offering nothing new. All the problems addressed on this record remain ever so relevant: corruption, blind nationalism, forever wars–why point the weapon elsewhere when the target is clearer than ever?