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Finally available. Havoc is one of the few record labels who can claim that a release was burned up in a Riot. Replacement vinyl was delayed by the virus, but this is finally available for North America (Europe order from Punkdistro/La Familia).
RE press of this 1994 classic of Swedish hardcore. Disfear built upon the foundations of early 80's Swedish raw punk and Hear Nothing See Nothing Say Nothing era Discharge. The result is an unrelenting barrage of ferocity that will have you pounding your fist and banging your head. I remember this record causing a stir when it was released. At the time people were critical of the new wave of "dis" bands aping Discharge. But rather than a homage or a slavish copy, Disfear and there contemporaries were moving this style of hardcore forward into a unique and new style of Swedish hardcore.
Our take: Havoc Records reissues a record that is perfect for them, Disfear’s 1995 full-length Soul Scars. Truth be told, I haven’t spent much time with Disfear. By the time I was digging into international crust and d-beat in the 2000s, Disfear was putting out records like Misanthropic Generation and Live the Storm, and the computer-generated graphics and the fact that those records were on Relapse turned me off… I mean, who can blame me for passing over Disfear when I was just hearing bands like Shitlickers and Disarm for the first time? I bet even the members of Disfear themselves would acknowledge that I took the right path. I did see Disfear live once, in Philadelphia with Warhead and Forward. I’ve seen both Japanese bands many times, but this set was the best I ever saw either of them… which may have something to do with the enormous amount of speed my friends gifted the bands before the gig. Disfear was good that night, but you can’t beat two legends of Japanese hardcore in a chemically enhanced state. So, it’s 2020 now and my good friend Usman rides hard for Disfear, so I checked out Soul Scars and it turns out that it rips! While too many bands over the years have taken this bulldozer crust sound into directions that are too polished and/or metallic for my tastes, Soul Scars is a hardcore record through and through… if you fuck with Totalitär and don’t like “The Ultimate Disaster” or “The Price of Ignorance” you might need to consult your ear doctor. It’s too bad I wasn’t cool enough to be into this the first time around, but it’s never too late to turn over a new leaf.