Details:Halvfabrikat Records has been around for ten years now… I can’t believe it’s been ten bloody years since I bought the Besk 7” Revolution, man I loved that record. But anyway, to celebrate this ten year anniversary label owner Danne got together some acts of the label’s current roster for a compilation, where the bands did covers of other bands of the roster. I’m glad we got to see the day the label turned ten, but it also makes me think back to the early days of Halvfabrikat. I can only remember one other DIY label that survived the test of time (Blindead Prod, although its changed name a couple of times since the start). There were tons of awesome distros and labels spread across Sweden, where I spent most of my cash every month. What the hell happened to the rest of them?End of All, one of the greatest crust acts around today, start things off with a cover of Anatomi-71’s Hytta med näven, digga med foten, one of their rockier bits. It’s an ok track, but since I’m not the world’s biggest fan of rock infused crust I’d definitely preferred another cover, but oh well. Something a lot more interest on here is what happens next; M:40’s cover of the classic Operation, a band that ruled Sweden’s anarchy scene in the late 90ies. They’ve definitely put a twist of their own to the track, and it sounds way rougher, harder and more brutal than the original. Really cool to hear, since it’s also an older tune. Grace.Will.Fall takes control of the turntable and cover a Passiv Dödshjälp tune off of their split with Livstid. I honestly can’t say much about it since I haven’t heard the original, but Grace.Will.Fall definitely sounds heavier and crustier than normally. It’s a pretty lethal execution, so I’ll abide.
Flipping the vinyl over we have the almighty Aktiv Dödshjälp covering M:40’s Historiens svarta vingslag. I’m not sure what the hell they’ve done with the drums, ‘cause it sounds like a drum machine eventhough it’s a live drummer. They grind things to bit in the beginning, and I just wish they would’ve continued on blasting. But nonetheless I have to say it’s a great track, sounding colder and more haunting than the original. Protestera is the only band that decided to do a cover of an older release, so old in fact I can’t even remember how the original sounds. But I’m damn sure Totalt Jävla Mörker didn’t sound as anarchopunk, and it puts an unusual twist on Protestera’s sound to do such tune; cool. I’m guessing Passiv Dödshjälp decided to cover Aktiv Dödshjälp just due to the band names, but it doesn’t matter why since the original was absolutely masterful, and they’ve put a dirtier edge to it, which works very well. Livstid does a Norwegian version of End of All’s Sista vilan, and they blast it to hell with a grind infusion. A terrific tune done faster, rawer and dirtier. It doesn’t sound as masterfully angstfilled as the original, but with a whole other sense of aggression to it.
It’s definitely a good compilation, and the artwork and layout for the whole thing is wicked. The only real remark I have is a question as to why only three out of the seven bands were included to write about their experience with Halvfabrikat Records. It would’ve been cool to have the remaining four acts' thoughts about it as well, but I guess it’ll have to do. Anyway, the bad boy is limited to 300 copies, and if you’re a fan of the label’s work over the years you better act fast.
Price: 4 euro
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