TOTALITÄR

TOTALITÄR     “Totalitär”

By Dr. Abner Mality

Before Swedish death metal took the world by storm, there was a thriving scene for Swedish d-beat and crust punk bands. And TOTALITÄR was there from the start. They may have been the fastest and heaviest of all the “kangpunk” bands. And perhaps they still are, because 2026 brings us their new self-titled band and believe me, this sucker absolutely rages from start to finish.

In true crust fashion, the record is a blur and is barely 20 minutes long. EVERYTHING is fast here…there are no breakdowns, doomy parts or singalongs. The longest track is just 2:23 in length. No samples, synths or other such fluffery. You can surely see where much of Swedish death metal got its inspiration. The guitar sound is like somebody dragging a crowbar across concrete and the drums are relentlessly d-beat. Poffen’s vocals are a hoarse angry shout.

All 9 tracks are in Swedish, but if I were to hazard a guess, I’ll bet the lyrics have nothing to do with boy meets girl, zombies or Satan and everything to do with anti-fascism and political liberation. Nothing here breaks the Swedish crustpunk mold, but TOTALITÄR were one of the creators of that scene, so no problem there. The ferocity they maintain over all 9 tracks is just incredible. This is one of the best records of its kind I’ve ever heard and is highly recommended to punks and metalheads both.

PRANK RECORDS 

TOTALITAR