Swedish purveyors of crust Anatomi-71 return with their latest injection into the overly congested genre that is D-beat—Från Primat till Reptil.
This is a heavy slab of melting Scandi-core, both literally and figuratively. The vinyl—housed in an impressive double gatefold jacket, courtesy of Power It Up Records—is thick, rigid and weighty. Those are a few commendable properties, no doubt. However, I’d be remiss not to mention a serious flaw in the physical product. I noticed straight away that there were discolored spots on the sleeve, similar to the grease at the bottom of a pizza box. I gently slid it out to reveal that several areas in the grooves were seeping some type of moisture. Dabbing at it a little I could see that it resembled the color of motor oil. In all my years of spinning records I’ve never seen anything like it before. I did my best to clean it up before giving it a whirl. After it appeared to dry over, I spun it on an old record player, as I figured it could be potentially damaging to a stylus. I’m all for raw punk and noise, but this was just unlistenable. And no longer had I pulled the needle up than the moisture had returned. I’ve repeated this process several times over the last couple months, and the dampness keeps coming back. It is completely baffling to say the least. There is good news though: only Side A is impaired.
Side B has some raging tunes on it—four of them to be exact. Anatomi-71 has always been good at making pertinent songs fairly free of cliché, all the while prevailing within’ a genre that’s relevance stretches a bit thinner with each notch in the collective bullet belt. Från Primat till Reptil shows the four-piece simultaneously picking old scabs and generating new wounds—this is a very rock-n-roll infused brand of stench. I find it incredibly alluring, despite my usual disinterest in this sort of cleaned-up D-beat. Dual guitar riffs and, yes, solos; combine with an ever-present bass and drum assault to create a truly powerful sound. This all comes together masterfully in “Omen”; a doom-tinged five minute excursion in two parts. As well, they are just as impressive when pushing the point in quick steps. “För Sverige ur tiden” is a hardcore burst that clocks in around eighty seconds. My Germanic language translation is one hundred percent non-existent, but if I had to guess, based on cover work (and Internet research,) I’d say most of the lyrics for these songs are politically charged but with humorous undertones.
In the interest of full disclosure, I did not purchase this Från Primat till Reptil, but rather it was sent to me for review. Yet, even as a reviewer, I’m as disappointed as I would be if I had to pay for it. Side B, is so good, it’s a crime not to be able to hear side A. Based on what I can actually listen too, I’d give this an 8. But taking into account that it’s damaged goods, I am obligated to go a few clicks lower. To no fault of the band, mind you.
