Bob Malmström – Kejsarsnitt 7″ (Elitbolaget)

After mentioning Bob Malmström in a previous music review, I felt obliged to talk about this quartet a little bit more. As I also cited yesterday, Elitbolaget supplied us we a big pile of their older releases, so thankfully, I have more than enough material to talk about for a while. Bob Malmström is unquestionably one of the most interesting contemporaries of the Finnish underground music scene. The best part about this quartet is that you cannot easily pinpoint their style to a particular genre, mainly because the band embraces everything you love about extreme music. I was lucky enough to review Länge Leve Bob Malmström CS and a 10th anniversary split 7″ release series with bands such as Dispyt, The Enchained, and Tvärnitad. Each one of these recordings sounds impressive, so I was curious enough to dig deeper and listen to their earlier recordings.

Kejsarsnitt is undoubtfully one of their earlier recordings worth checking out. It’s a release that comes before all those releases I listed above. This particular 7″ carries four blistering compositions entirely performed in classic Bob Malmström style. For those who’re not familiar with the sound of this outstanding quartet, Bob Malmström nurtures such a distinctive sonic appearance based upon hardcore punk, crossover thrash, crust punk, and punk rock. It’s hard to define what genre comes first in this mixture, mainly because these guys are continuously experimenting with their sound. Perhaps hardcore punk is their primary weapon of choice, while the remainder of the music styles rotates depending on their current mood. The most significant aspect of their sound is that each of these genres suits them well, and these experienced musicians are not shy to push the boundaries of extreme music even further.

Kejsarsnitt is probably their rawest recording I heard, and their later recordings have a much more polished production. I have to admit this rawness suits them well. It somehow adds up more aggression to these four compositions. As usual, Bob Malmström pay a lot of attention to everything. No matter if we’re talking about the arrangements, the details, vocals, riffs, basslines, or beats, everything sounds top-notch from scratch to finish. After taking a couple of listens to Kejsarsnitt, I assume Bob Malmström paid equal respect to all genres they dearly love. You’ll stumble upon catchy crust punk riffs, heavy hardcore beatdowns, some metal grooves, and loads of aggression over the top. There are even some more stoner/sludgy moments along the way when you’ll hear crunchy layers of fuzz lurking around. Bob Malmström never disappoints, and that’s a fact. Kejsarsnitt is still available at Elitbolaget, so treat yourself with a vinyl record if you’re into flawlessly executed crossover music.