It's old-school Swedish death metal time again and Stockholm quartet Morbus Chron are dishing out other people's riffs like they're going out of style. This hits me on four levels. All at once they're great, good, mediocre, and awful. You may wonder how that's possible, so allow me to disclose: Firstly, there's a killer, super-heavy and flawless production courtesy of Nicke Andersson. That's the great part. Secondly, they offer (via artist Raul Gonzalez) an oddly colorful piece of cover art that's quite like a fantasy retake on John Carpenter's "The thing". That's the good part. Thirdly, there's the music itself which, as enjoyable as it can be, is nothing more than a rehash of old Swedish riffs from days of yore. There are constant references to stuff that the band have either subconsciously 'borrowed' or blatantly ripped off and I have no idea which is true. Maybe it's neither; maybe it's a bit of both. If you want just one example, however, grab your copy of Dismember's vastly-superior "Massive killing capacity" album, crank up "Hallucigenia" and then have a blast of the main riffs in both Chron's "The hallucinating dead" and "The lidless coffin". That's the mediocre part; the complete lack of originality. And the awful part? Well, I'm never really one to have a pop at image but, guys, seriously. Unless you've had to squeeze the photo shoot in on a quick break from a day's hard graft down a coalmine, there's no excuse. To sweeten what might seem like a harsh review, I must add that Robba's vocals are pretty damn cool. Keep the sound and write something that hasn't been done by every other Swedish death metal band over the last 20 years and Morbus Chron could be onto a winner. - John Norby
DO: watch Grande Roses, one of Sweden's best current bands, perform live on the Swedish television program Nyhetsmorgon. DO NOT: make the same mistake I did and click-through to watch Death Destruction.
Swedish EBM/industrial act Severe Illusion has a new double a-side single "Clear head" b/w "The end of flowers" out now via and you can preview the former above, the latter here. Look for their new album "No more alive then you deserve" to be released in late September.
Dan Treacy and Texas Bob of perennial indie faves the Television Personalities are guest-stars on the upcoming Acid House Kings single "Heaven knows I miss him now" b/w "Lost and found", out October 18 via , both on 7" and digital.
Morbus Chron