Labels: Phobia
Review by: Alex Deller
Sweden’s Arrogant State kick this off with two tracks straight from the ‘Fifteen Counts Of Arson’ playbook … sure, things are a bit faster and a bit rougher round the edges, but the comparison is unavoidable. This said, there’s plenty of energy and ‘Gruesome Warcrimes’ has some pretty nifty guitarwork going on, so despite being insanely derivative I can get on well enough with it all. Slutet, on the flip, are also Swedish and also play crusty D-beat. Theirs is a bit claggier, with burlier vocals and riffs that tend to stick to the roof of your mouth. The influence here is Tragedy rather than His Hero Is Gone, and while it’s all fine enough the overall stodginess sees them trailing behind Arrogant State somewhat.