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Verdict: Time to Resign 12” (Phobia Records) Time to Resign is the debut record from this new Swedish käng band featuring members whose names you might recognize from similar groups like Meanwhile, Dischange, No Security, Disfear, and many more I’m sure (ask Usman, he’ll tell you). The sound, fans will be pleased to hear, is what you’d expect from this crew, but something about Verdict feels more vital and less off-the-cuff than other projects from the post-Totalitär Swedish hardcore underground. The first thing you’ll notice with Verdict is the vocals, which are hoarse, snarling, and captivating. The lyrics are in English, which is relatively uncommon for Swedish bands of this ilk, and they’re excellent, conveying a mix of anger, disgust, and horror at the current condition of the world, riding the fine line between being direct and more evocative and poetic. The music is pitch-perfect käng, so meticulously composed that it feels almost claustrophobic at first, but when you listen closely, you hear the inventiveness on display. As with Totalitär, the riffing ranges from super catchy (“Hypocrisy,” “Bound to Fail”) to straightforward and brutal (“Lock Down Society”), with the rhythm section executing a range of different d-beat grooves and tempos to match. Verdict constantly changes things up and keeps them exciting, knowing just when to shift gears into something like the standout “Dark Thoughts,” which speeds up the groove from Discharge’s “A Look at Tomorrow.” I can’t believe Time to Resign is 15 minutes long… it feels like half that, and every time the record ends I’m left wanting more.