With recent releases by Extreme Noise Terror and Discharge – both blinding albums GO GET EM! – I was itching to get my ears around this bunch of brutality from Swedish D Beat Crusties Parasit.
The band, formed in 2010 feature members of Uncurbed in there and have expanded to a 5 piece for this sophomore release. These guys know their crusty onions and are ready to unleash their fury on an apathetic world burying their heads in tech.
“A Proud Tradition of Stupidity” is 16 tracks of ferocious gnarly (not in a skater way) crust punk. It has the velocity of the aforementioned Discharge and ENT that will keep any angry young or old punk raging in the pit (or even in the car on their way to a job they tolerate). “Den enes brod” opens up proceedings with a frenetic pace before “After Work Bars” which reminds me of the Exploited meets Blood for Blood. The spirit of Lemmy looms large throughout the album with Daniel Sandelin providing dirty bass chords that would make the warty one proud, bouncing off some frantic lead breaks from Michael Gunnarson and Kenneth Wiklund.
Thumping the tubs for this bunch of Swedes must be a hell of a workout so I expect Johan Jansson has arms like steel cables. “Hur svart kan detva” is a swirling maelstrom of a track, in which I can only imagine his flailing limbs as a blur whilst the gravel throated Simon Frid roars in Swedish covering a tumultuous crowd in spittle. “The Market Sets” slows down a little and has a Death ‘n’ Roll groove that any Entombed fans will headbang and slam to.
The title track is pure Discharge (ugh that sounds grim in the wrong context) and serves as homage to Parasit’s roots – let’s face it the roots of every D beat or Crust band to lurch across a sweat soaked stage or squat floor.
Parasit allow no let up , they give no quarter. This is pedal to the metal ferocity from beginning to end and as such things start to blur with each burst of buzzsaw guitar and rasping tirade seguing into the next. This is no bad thing. It makes for a sonic shot in the arm that disorientates and energises at the same time. “No Honour No Glory” channels Napalm Death in its anti-war sentiment with Simon’s pipes giving it a good old Barney. I am nearly shell-shocked myself by this time then the spiralling guitar line in “Lita pa Det” hits my lugholes and I am grinning like the Cat from below Liverpool. The sixteen aural stabs end with “It’s Never Too Late” which feels like a call to arms for this 42 year old Metal Punk.
A Proud Tradition of Stupidity” is not genre defining or ground-breaking. It’s 32 minutes of unrelenting punk rock fury that will make you want to break something and then put it back together. It is the sound of a body hitting the ground and being pulled up by a roaring woman in a stud covered denim cutoff. It is cider and ALF pamphlets forming a punk papier-mâché on a squat wall. It’s fun.
(7.5/10 Matt Mason)
https://www.facebook.com/parasit666
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