Proteststorm is a Swedish duo featuring Kristofer Jankarls (Livet Som Insats, Axis of Despair, etc.) and Anders Jakobson (Necrony, Nasum, Krigshot, Axis of Despair, etc.) that debuted back in 2016, but this is their first full-length—errr... maybe? Den Typ Som Överlever tears through 20 songs in about as many minutes! Recorded in 2017, 2018, and 2021 before being mixed in 2022, expect absolutely raging, crust-tinged hardcore/punk. One could argue that there's a grind component, but that'd primarily just be in terms of speed and intensity, it's really more in that frenzied hardcore vein with yelled vocals. Fast-paced and in-your-face, but not boring, which is an important distinction for me, especially in a case like this where the tempos are generally either fast or faster.
There are a couple of distinct standouts like "Hopplös," however, which has some darker/quirkier riffing toward the end; and closer "Domedagsklockan," which displays the quickest dash of dark melody for about the first six seconds of the intro, ha! It's also worth noting that "Ge Upp Det" is a Poison Idea cover ("Give it Up"), if that helps indicate a portion of where the band is coming from.
The production is aptly raw, but not overly so. There's a great sizzle to the distortion, you can still make out the bass, the drums possess just the right crispness, the vocals don't overpower, etc. Everything also feels quite consistent from track to track, despite having been spread out across three recording sessions/three separate years.
The disc is housed in a satin finish gatefold digipak with great cover art and a two-sided, four-panel black and white insert that contains all of the lyrics (in Swedish) alongside succinct English descriptions of what the songs are about: "About being tired of all the hate and shit," "About stress and pointlessness," "About being totally lost." I concur.
Den Typ Som Överlever is out now on CD (through EveryDayHate) or neon green vinyl (through Fight for Your Mind Records) limited to 500 apiece, but doesn't appear to be streaming at this time. Fans of blistering Swedish hardcore and/or the members' other efforts should not be disappointed...
Get It
- Axis of Despair Webstore (CD, LP)
- Nasum Webstore (CD, LP)
- EveryDayHate (CD [soon], LP)
- Fight for Your Mind Records (LP)
- Bandcamp (mp3)
