Boy, you're not overwhelmed with compilations on vinyl nowadays, so I applaud this brace decision! Also, I haven't really paid attention to many younger swedes so this could maybe be a good introduction. So - how is the music then and does it match up with the more known names of yesterday and today? It's hard for me to not see this comp in the light of earlier swedish ones like Esthetics of Cruelty and Höga Nord for example but i'll try to be as objective as possible. Arkhe actually reminds me a LOT of the IZL "Klirrfaktor" LP with its chilling feedback and deep, low background. But while said LP has 45 minutes to evolve I feel this track fails a bit due short length, but I absolutely think this has potential. There's a definite edge to this which I enjoy. Feberdröm - makes me think of ConSono (!) with their out of tune pianomelodies, there's some interesting structurework here but doesn't come out too well in the end, too many sounds at the same time, would have worked better with a more minimal structure but maybe the track length limits made them over-ambitious. Händer Som Vårdar then. Looped tape noise evolving like this always has a good effect on me, working of course in a long tradition of earlier composers but these both near and distant sounds of wind, malfunctioning machinery, and start/stops makes a good track. This one on the contrary, benefits concerning the track length, I can really see this working perfectly on a 7". Arv & Miljö - pretty high volume synth (?) background loop, with arrival of other more lo-fi loops of high end feedback and radiosamples (?) . Would work better without the synth background which takes over a bit too much of the overall sound picture, it gets "heavy" in a way that seems unnecessary to me. Flipping the vinyl - Amph first. OK, this is classy stuff, these guys knows their Deutsch Nepal-albums from top to bottom. Perhaps a bit too much of the radiostörung-signals but overall an impressive wall of sound, never noisy but not really ambient either. Landvarelser – sorry, this reeks. The sounds themselves are totally bland to me and the lack of any red thread besides one feedbackloop getting back in sometimes just makes me stare at the wall. Too many sounds at once that don't really fit together either. Avoid this! Only plus is their picture in the booklet which reminds me of some of John Anderssons comic works. Implicit Ruin – bodes well with it's rhythm section and while I like the sounds (some on the border of more academic works) and atmosphere it doesn't really get anywhere. Last one then - Blodvite – not too far away from some of Sewer Election's more recent works with feedback, scrap metal and tapemanipulations, but maybe with a darker overall edge and more use of a wider spectrum of sounds, especially in the last part of the track. One things that strikes me with a lot of the newer swedes is the lack of structure, pulse or rhythm, call it what you will, but there's most often a more chaotic and/or unwant for distinct rhythm sections/base, if it's not loopbased of course where rhythm is unavoidable. I can't say if it's a "reaction" to earlier swedish industrial music or just a general "trend" - not necessarily a negative one, it's just something i've thought of as a distinct difference. But, maybe this is not something I've experienced in full regarding this album, more a general thought here. In short – while I may not overtly enjoy most groups contained herein on their own, I find myself listening to the LP quite a lot and that's a good sign! I will definitely delve deeper regarding a few.
