I saw the guys on the cover of this, and thought, "Great, another generic, harsh, hardcore experience." Then I noticed they were from Sweden and thought "Hmmm," as the first strains of hardcore heaven rocked my stereo speakers. By the second song I was smiling uncontrollably and cranking it up even louder. Selfmindead grooves heavily and smoothly, making skilled use of flowing rap rhythms throughout (but this is NOT rapcore). The vocals are distorted and sometimes pretty harsh, but Ilkka always gets the lyrics out intelligibly with plenty of variety and style (unlike most hardcore). The topics are typically depressing and anguished, but the glimmer of light is always there. There's so much intensity and anger to be found here, though; it would be hard to find a match elsewhere in Christian music (Six Feet Deep perhaps...). I found myself imagining a huge metal Godzilla carving deep grooves into rock-hard concrete as I was listening to this--that's the effect it had on me (really!). I might be paralyzed and in a wheelchair, but these guys almost had me up and moshing around the room. Ferocious and full of fury, yet wise in the ways of good songwriting . . . quality spit-core for yer momma. YEAH!
5 tocks
Other coverage for this album
HM Magazine #76Reviewed by Ben MengdenScandinavia is going to take over the world through their hardcore / emo. Another great release from Solid State and from Sweden. This release is a modern metal guitar album with singing hardcore and lots of cymbals. Lots of time changes, pauses, feedback, and speed. Fitting well in the Solid State family, Selfmindead is similar to the likes of Embodyment or Blindside. This is melody through…The Lighthouse Unsorted 1999Reviewed by Jonathon SmithBe prepared for some pretty loud guitars, vocals, and drums when you listen to Selfmindead's self-titled debut on Solid State Records (a fairly new division of Tooth & Nail). This new band comes from Sweden, the country that gave us Blindside, Royal, and Extol. I have read a lot about a band having a "wall of sound," but Selfmindead truly does. Pounding bass and drums not only lie underneath the…The Phantom Tollbooth 1998Reviewed by Josh SpencerTooth & Nail is just the record label of the decade. Not only did they almost single-handedly elevate edgy "Christian" music to the present, now they're importing previously hard-to-get albums by killer bands from Scandinavia like Blindside, Royal, Extol...and Selfmindead. Hopefully, they'll keep it up, and send their scouts out everywhere in search of great unknowns (in the US anyway). Not much…Similar sounding releases
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