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Hello and thanks for reading. Also, Eid Mubarak to anyone reading who might’ve celebrated. I probably would have never said something like that ten years ago, as I reject all religion strongly. But now I find it important to embrace some parts of my upbringing and my family’s culture. I find it more important than ever actually, with this growing MAGA cult shit that is whitewashing and homogenizing America. I actually just drank some water that came from the Zamzam Well, which is nuts to me. This was the first time I’ve ever had this water, unless maybe there was a time at a mosque when I was a kid and don’t remember. I’m assuming the average Sorry State reader does not know of this well. It is watering well inside Mecca, by the Kaaba. If you still don’t know what I am talking about, Muslims face towards Mecca when they pray cos this is where the Kaaba is. This is the holiest place on Earth to a Muslim, because of the Kabaa.
OK enough religion, haha, and onto TOTALITÄR. I have said this before: this is not the first time I have written about TOTALITÄR and I know it will not be the last. TOTALITÄR is one of the best hardcore bands ever for a good reason. They started in the ‘80s and continued to release unbelievably good records for twenty years. I am pretty sure I wrote about Sin Egen Motståndare when Prank put it back in print last time. But for good measure, I will explain a bit. This was their debut full-length and the first record where Jallo Letho would join them on drums for recording. Jallo Lehto was previously in NO SECURITY (who is arguably just as good as TOTALITÄR, but lacked the solid output of records). If you didn’t know, Jallo is the guitarist of MEANWHILE as well. Anyways, I remember when I first heard Sin Egen Motståndare, to my young and stupid ears it sounded too compressed. It didn’t sound as raw as their other records I had heard, and it starts out with a rocked-out intro. Again, I was a stupid teenager. In fact, this LP is absolutely a hardcore masterpiece. The speeds they hit on some tracks, and how damn locked in everything is… man, it’s hard to handle a record this good, haha. I’ve heard some people are turned off by the artwork of TOTALITÄR records. Maybe I am just too obsessed cos I don’t see anything wrong with this cover. Yeah, it’s simple, but I think the way it’s printed is cool and I mean the artwork is of a guy with a gun to his head in his reflection saying some shit like he’s his own enemy. It’s deep, haha, no joke. I met this guy at K-town last year that said he had the original artwork, fuck.
Alright, so this is the 30th anniversary pressing of this record! I didn’t buy a copy last time Prank reissued this cos I have every version that came before, including the CD. However, when I saw this reissue was coming, I knew I had to have a copy. Prank enhanced the artwork with some spot-gloss and even housed the LP in tip-on jackets!! That’s so sick. A tip-on in 2025? Those are so expensive to manufacture now. By the price point on this bad boy, he must have little to no profit on this release. Inside, this version also includes liner notes none of the previous ones had, alongside a bonus flyer from the original album release gig. If, for some reason, you didn’t buy this record in the last 30 years, this is probably the coolest version you can get. If you didn’t know, this album was originally only available on CD. It was released by Finn Records, which was a label that Jallo Letho operated with another guy. It was five years later when Prank released it on vinyl. Thank you Prank Records, haha.
I feel like everyone reading this already knows how good TOTALITÄR is, so I feel a bit silly writing about them, but literally every single one of their records belongs in your record collection, so I think they are worth talking about until I die. If you aren’t familiar or just have been sleeping on grabbing copies of their shit—step up, cos they won’t be in print forever! I think people already flip that first Skrammel comp on Discogs. We still have the second one in stock that compiled their EPs from 1998-2002. This is some of their rawest shit. If you don’t have this record, you need it. Unless you have those originals and like flipping 7”s, haha. But this compilation was seriously needed for so long, as those records are increasingly harder to find. We also have some copies of Ni Måste Bort, their second LP, and we’ve got some copies of their final LP, Vi Är Eliten in stock as well. The style of TOTALITÄR is very distinct, but each LP has its own unique sound, really. Sometimes they are a bit more raw, and sometimes they are a bit more catchy, but they ALWAYS groove hard as fuck at high speeds. If you don’t have all these records I mentioned today, you should load up your shopping cart with some of the best records ever made while hitting the free shipping minimum. Alright thanks for reading, and thanks for your support!