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Hello and thanks for reading.
I think Sweden took more influence from DISCHARGE than anywhere else in the world during the 1980s. Obviously, DISCHARGE was ground-breaking when it came to punk across the globe, but bands who took influence from them usually had their own twist on things. It seems the significance of DISCHARGE was even more evident in Sweden, with DISCHARGE-type hardcore bands forming as early as 1981. I have no idea who the first DISCHARGE worship band was in Sweden. SKITSLICKERS or ANTI-CIMEX, right? But I guess that also brings another silly, pointless, nerd question to the table; can one qualify as a DIS-band if there is no DIS in name? I think that question is up for debate.
DISTRUST is one of the earliest bands I can think of who might fit this category. However, I don’t think they really mastered the DISCHARGE sound. I am not super familiar with all their material though, so I won’t speculate too much. DISARM is a band that comes to mind quickly. Their first EP was released in 1984, followed by another in 1986. I think both of these records are exemplary when it comes Swedish hardcore in general, but they are great examples of a Swedish band taking such a massive influence from DISCHARGE. They also released material before they had the name DISARM, as TOTAL ARMSVETT. The style was significantly different, though. I’m sure they knew who DISCHARGE was in their early days, but I wonder what changed between the tapes and the first EP. I really love DISARM, but this is some of my absolute favorite Swedish shit, next to shit like TATUERADE SNUTKUKAR and NYX NEGATIV. None of these bands are really DISCHARGE worship by any means, though.
So then there is DISACCORD, a favorite of mine. DISACCORD, like many other amazing Swedish bands, never had a proper record. They released a tape in 1985 and appeared on a few compilations. I think this tape might be the first of its kind, in the sense of total DISCHARGE worship. I know SVART PARAD had already released a tape of pummeling DISCHARGE-type hardcore with gruff vocals, and shit I mean, CRUDE SS and AVSKUM were certainly already around before SVART PARAD; but to me DISACCORD pushed it to the next level. The music is a bit more brutal, the artwork is totally that of DISCHARGE, and of course their band name begins with DIS. The thing about “D-beat” and DIS-bands though, is this term is much more of a 90s phenomenon. I don’t think there were any bands in the ‘80s self-identifying as “D-beat.” I was trying to think of the first use of the word, and the earliest use I can think of is either from Jan Jutila or Kawakami. I’d love for someone to tell me their thoughts on this.
So, I am slowly getting to my staff pick here with DISCARD. DISCARD was yet another Swedish band who never had a proper record. In fact, they never even had a proper tape. They had two different recording sessions, and this stuff was only circulated amongst friends and fanatics. Most notably, in 1986, they had two songs appear on Really Fast Volume 3. It wasn’t until 1990 that DISCARD finally had a record released, which was a “reissue” of one of their 80s recording sessions. A small Swedish label called Jesus Kudd Records released this debut on 7" format and it was entitled Death From Above. Soon after, Finn Records repressed the record in Sweden. And then later, German label Rødel Records reissued it. It was put back in print most recently in 2015 by Czech label Insane Society Records. I am not sure if they just repressed it or if we got some dead stock, but we have some copies in stock now. The original pressings of this record were notably very nice, with cardstock textured sleeves. I think Insane Society did a great job on their packaging, with some nice screen printing in silver ink on black paper. As you can see in my picture up there, I have every version of this absolutely essential record. Although there is a rare version of the first pressing that I do not have, where it exists on green vinyl...
Now the thing is, DISCARD was never a real band in the first place. I read inside the Stockholm’s Mangel reissue that they played one gig, though. DISCARD was essentially just a recording project with members of MOB 47 and Per from AGONI on vocals. I have always associated DISCARD with AGONI and CRUDITY, but this is cos of the legendary Stockholm’s Mangel compilation. This compilation originally came out in 1986 on cassette format. But DISCARD was not actually on the tape. It was not until 2000 when the tape was reissued on LP and CD, and the track list was expanded to include some more projects from Stockholm who existed at the time, including DISCARD. I am pretty sure the recording session on Stockholm’s Mangel is the same session where the tracks on Death From Above came from, but the 7" is missing some tracks.
So, DISCARD first recorded six tracks in 1985. In 1986 they recorded those same six songs again, alongside five more new tracks. I think the only difference between the two sessions is who plays the guitar solos. The sound of them is very similar; sometimes it’s hard for me to tell them apart until it comes to the solo, haha. I could be totally wrong about which songs they recorded when, but I read Åke from MOB 47 recorded both sessions at his legendary Bowlingstudion. Regardless of just being a side project, these songs never get old to me. DISCARD seriously sticks out in the midst of literally every single DIS-band who has ever existed. There is no one who quite got the sound as brutal as this, while still maintaining such a stripped-down style. I think the vocals are arguably more powerful than Jonsson of ANTI-CIMEX. The lyrical content and artwork are all total DISCHARGE, and they even ripped off the DISCHARGE font for their own logo.
They might have been the first band to rip off DISCHARGE’s logo for a record. I am not really sure, but I can’t think of anyone who did it before. But like I said, their first record didn’t come out until 1990, and they did not have any artwork initially, so this complete DIS-phenomena did not happen in 1985 or 1986 when they were recording. If not for that initial pressing in 1990, who knows how the DIS-world would have formed differently. DISCARD had such a massive influence on bands like DISCLOSE and DOOM, who themselves have influenced an immeasurable number of bands. There is a certain rawness that comes with DISCARD’s stripped-down sound that is just absolutely perfect, like that of DISCHARGE. I’m sure there are plenty of readers who think this record is just as essential as I do, but I know there are tons of people out there who have seen the name DISCARD but just pass it over as just another shitty DIS-clone band. If you happen to be one of these people, I’d check them out cos it’ll likely blow your mind.
A note before I go: There were a lot of Swedish bands influenced by DISCHARGE and I only named a few. It would be silly to talk about Swedish DISCHARGE worship and not mention ABSURD, so I am doing it now. Their one and only EP was recorded in 1982 and released in 1983. The artwork is super iconic, and totally that of DISCHARGE. They took a great influence from DISCHARGE, and they especially loved SKITSLICKERS. They even recorded at the same studio where GBG 1982 was recorded. Their EP really is excellent, but it took some time to grow on me when I first heard it. I guess it just was not quite what I expected based on the context, and they maybe fall a bit short with intensity compared to other bands at the time. I think that probably has to do with what was going on in the studio, though. Before I start blabbing about some other shit, I wanted to also mention Lasse (vocalist of SKITSLICKERS) oddly enough said he never had a DISCHARGE record and was never really a big fan... haha. Alright that’s all. Thanks for reading and thanks for your support.