will be doing a 3x7" box featuring splits between Anatomi-71 + Bombstrike, Desperat + Giftgasattack and Makabert Fynd + Tortyr. 200 hand-numbered copies only (with "bonus stuff" included) plus 300 standalone copies for those folks that don't want the whole package.
There's not really that much to say about Sweden's Tortyr other than if you like your crust bassy and dirty as hell then you'll love them. Musically, they're a mix of punk and crust with a tiny hint of death metal that goes a long way to surpassing the likes of genre luminaries Skitsystem in the heaviness stakes. As with a lot of this type of music, however, it tends to get a bit samey after a few tracks. Thankfully, Tortyr do offer a little in the way of variation, although not nearly enough. "De blindas lakej" kicks off like an oldschool Swedish death metal effort, and doesn't sound a million miles away from something you'd expect from an early-90s Entombed. For me, at least, it's the track of the album and showcases an aspect of this band that they should really explore. Vocally, there's some work to be done here. It's just too shouty-screamy and, although that's the style generally used for this type of music, it's clear that these guys would benefit greatly from the odd death-growl passage here and there. It's more of this type of variation -- both musically and vocally -- that could elevate Tortyr to greater recognition and see them output a truly monstrous album. Here's hoping for next time... - John Norby
Not new, but worth noting: Swedish crusties Tortyr on the soundtrack for CSI: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ly8cxzDWvos
The set designer went overboard on the cheese (as did makeup), but at least they got the music right.
Sarcastic punk zine iconoclasts "Skitliv!" pay tribute to themselves with a double-disc collection of cuts from (almost) every artist they ever interviewed and that adds up to ten issues and 48 tracks of uncompromising Swedish d-beat/käng/råpunk. Most of the big names are represented, from old-timers such as Anti Cimex, Moderat Likvidation and Mob 47 to Wolfbrigade, Disfear, Skitsystem and Victims, as well as up-and-comers like Tortyr, Kvoteringen, Giftgasattack and truckloads more. Of course the quality here runs the gamut, be it related to songwriting or recording, but it kind of doesn't matter in end because it all starts to blend together after 20 minutes or so. On the other hand, as a genre-dabbler, it's a great resource to have because the song selection is so all-encompassing and overwhelming; I'm sure I'll be going back to revisit in smaller doses to pick out new favorites. For everyone else, especially if your only knowledge of Swedish punk is limited to the mediocre "Svenska Punkklassiker" discs, the uncompromising, unrelenting hardcore noise attack of "Skitliv!" is a great overview of a much-heralded underground scene well worth investigating, even it does veer towards overkill. - Avi Roig
Here's the playlist for this week's radio show Sirius XMU:
01. Champagne Riot - THe champagne anthem
02. TALK 1
03. C.Aarmé - Bodybuilding
04. Mattias Alkberg - Andra känner
05. Asha Ali - The time is now
06. Karin Ström - Hon som älskade dig
07. TALK 2
08. Masquer - Bang bang
09. Mikkel Meyer - Tartar
10. Rising - Grail of bone
11. TALK 3
12. Sambassadeur - Days
13. Tortyr - Joag
14. Franke - Exil riktas inåt
15. Madamm - Lately I've been so blue
16. TALK 4
17. Taggarna Ut - The secretary
18. José González - In our nature
19. Moloken - Followers
20. Kitty & the K - Iamamf
21. Joel Alme - You will only get it once
22. TALK 5
23. The Movements - Going to your house
Reminder: my show airs every week on Sundays and Mondays at 11pm ET on Sirius XMU. That's channel 26 on Sirius, 43 on XM and 831 for DirecTV subscribers.
Here's the playlist for this week's radio show Sirius XMU:
01. Jong Pang - Liar liar
02. TALK 1
03. The Bear Quartet - Least loved (of the unloved)
04. Tortyr - Jag faller
05. Pistol Disco - Evergreen
06. TALK 2
07. Magnus Carlson and The Moon Ray Quintet - Sea lion woman
08. Thåström - Kärlek är för dom
09. Okkultokrati - Hand of glory
10. Syster Lycklig - Djuret
11. TALK 3
12. Tredje Mannen - Cul-de-sac
13. The Psyke Project - Winter
14. Titiyo - Longing for lullabies
15. TALK 4
16. The Silent Section - Loss of consciousness
17. Firefox AK - Winter rose
18. [ingenting] - Dina händer är fulla av blommor
19. TALK 5
20. Marvins Revolt - New Year's in Warsaw
Reminder: my show airs every week on Sundays and Mondays at 11pm ET on Sirius XMU. That's channel 26 on Sirius, 43 on XM and 831 for DirecTV subscribers.
Here's the playlist for this week's radio show Sirius XMU:
01. Samtidigt Som - Vid min sida
02. TALK 1
03. Tortyr - Ingen anger
04. Tribulation - Beyond the horror
05. The Fine Arts Showcase - Lovesick
06. TALK 2 (Umeå Punk City set)
07. The Bombettes - Oh boy
08. Industri Royal - Location location location
09. Regulations - Different needs
10. Moloken - Followers
11. Inständg - Kött är mord
12. Knugen Faller - Jag vill inte vara med
13. The Rats - Everything is a trap
14. TALK 3
15. Elmo - Blind heart
16. Logh - Forest eyes (RBG version)
17. Shining - Plågoande O'Helga plågoande
18. TALK 4
19. NEI - City of gold
20. Svart - Honey, honey
21. Fare You Well - It's almost over
22. TALK 5
23. Samuraj Cities - 2 close 2 yr hrt
Reminder: my show airs every week on Sundays and Mondays at 11pm ET on Sirius XMU. That's channel 26 on Sirius, 43 on XM and 831 for DirecTV subscribers.
It's a shame that Tortyr's vocals can't match the deep, guttural roar of their music because if they did, they would be unstoppable. As-is, they're still plenty fierce despite the harsh screams. They've got such an intense sound, especially when they drop in subtle disharmonic melodies such as on the chorus of this song, the title track of their new album "Ingen kommer undan". The freight-train bass is so loud and punishing that many of the subtleties get lost, but you can still sense the unease, the darkness. "No one leaves, everyone must die." I'm feeling it.
Via Doomsday Mag comes word that D-Takt & Råpunk Records will be releasing a new 12"/CD from Tortyr and a 7" from Warvictims in March/April. They'll also be handling the brand new Moderat Likvidation 12" "Mammutation" as well as a repress of the killer Loud Pipes album "The downhill blues" on vinyl. For more info, go here: http://dbeatrawpunk.blogspot.com/