COVER OF THE MONTH 2025: DECEMBER

Cover of the month 12/12: “Beyond The Gates Of Doom” (Exciter), Long Live The Loud, 1985.

We’ve officially come to the end of the road, and with the final song of 2025’s cover series, we’re taking our stand and obeying some…Canadian metal! Although it’s a country which has produced a ton of essential bands in various genres to choose from, the decision to go with the original heavy metal maniacs felt like a quite obvious one.

Our fellow power-trio Exciter shouldn’t need much of an introduction. Except for being one of the most badass bands ever, they’re pretty much the whole speed metal genre epitomized. It’s enough to just read the song titles of an album like Violence and Force and you just know it will be amazing, before you have even heard a single tone of it.

Their first two offerings might be considered the most classic ones, but this little gem from Long Live the Loud immediately felt like a perfect fit for us once the suggestion came up. The way it concludes the A-side really made it feel like a natural song to go with as the last song of this whole project, which is why we saved it for last.

The most observant ones has probably already figured out that the title of our second album “Heavy Mental Fuck-Up!” from 2018 is obviously a (not so subtle) nod to Exciter’s debut.

Big up to Kenko for stepping in on drums on this last track, and for always being reliable and solid as a rock! He always delivers despite short deadlines and, at times, poor input. It’s safe and reassuring to work with someone who knows us, how we work and knows what we want. Always a true pleasure and we can’t thank him enough for his involvement in ‘Cover of the month 2025’. Long live the loud! Over and out.

Recorded by Jocke D-takt at Studio Mangel, December 2025. Drum recording, mixed and mastered by Kenko at Communichaos, December 2025. Intro by Marcus Edvardsson at Metallfabriken Studio.

Note: the songs are only available via our YouTube channel.
Link: https://youtu.be/h-NwlJzjzco

COMPILATION FOR MUSICAL DESTRUCTION

It feels great that the local scene is glowing and growing, and that we get to be a small part of it. This compilation tape highlights and takes the temperature of what it sounds like in 2025. Punk, metal and alternative bands in a blissful mix. We’re participating with two brand new and previously unreleased songs. Not available via any streaming services. Snag a copy from our webshop: https://pndftw.bigcartel.com/

COVER OF THE MONTH 2025: NOVEMBER

Cover of the month 11/12: “Svarta Tankar” (Skitsystem), Grå Värld / Svarta Tankar, 1999.

This month we find ourselves back on home soil again with our interpretation of an absolute rager by the almighty Skitsystem! Their place as one of the most influential and impactful (and maybe infamous?) bands in Swedish punk history can’t be denied.

For all the Swedish young punks getting into this kind of music the last 30 years or so, Skitsystem are surely one of those bands you’ll likely stumble upon early on, which means that they have some sort of impact on most. It’s rare that they’ll pass anyone by unnoticed one could say. It’s just the ultimate band name (and logo) you’d want to paint on your denim or leather to give society and the world around you the middle finger. Combined with their rather simple yet highly efficient songwriting ability, to craft such memorable tunes and screaming along-friendly choruses, you have the formula that has earned them their place among the greatest ones.

We had a discussion early on and the choice was actually between Skitsystem, Wolfpack or Disfear for one of the months. In hindsight, we probably made the right choice. A circumstance that made the selection of which song to go for a bit tough, to say the least. We tried out and actually recorded ‘Maktens Murar Rasar’ at the beginning of this year, but didn’t feel like the outcome lived up to our expectations, so eventually we ended up going for ‘Svarta Tankar’ instead. Must add, however, still consider the 10″ to be their best release. Hardcore raw punk perfection.

You obviously can’t talk about Skitsystem without mentioning the recent tragic passing of Tompa Lindberg. A passionate and kind soul with a powerful voice, in a double sense. Whom we and countless others unanimously regarded as an endless source of inspiration and an enormous loss. The decision to do this song and the recording was made quite a while before the devastating news broke, so it was really just a coincidence that it’s being released now, so shortly after. It ended up becoming a fitting tribute, we’re happy to be able to show our reverence and salute one of the all-time greats. R.I.P. Tompa!

Recorded by Jocke D-takt at Studio Mangel, May-September 2025. Mixed and mastered by Kenko at Communichaos, September-November 2025.

Note: the songs are only available via our YouTube channel.
Link: https://youtu.be/s53Wbmdkr4E

COVER OF THE MONTH 2025: OCTOBER

Cover of the month 10/12: “Power From Hell” (Onslaught), 1985.

Heading back to the UK for October’s cut, and it’s a stone cold classic we decided to take on this time. It goes without saying that Onslaught has had a big influence on us and they were one of those bands you heard early in your youth on a mixtape without knowing which band it was. An obvious choice that we could no longer resist. Having their roots in the UKHC/Crust-territories and adding those very strong Venom and early thrash-influences with the release of their debut album, Onslaught ’85 created a musical landscape that we really feel at home in.

Even though the punk-vibe is still present, it feels quite remarkable that the shift in style seemingly happened quite fast, yet they really mastered the metallic sound so well immediately. It’s pretty much only “Thermonuclear Devastation” that tells of a crustier past, a song that might as well could have been written by Discharge or Shitlickers and the like. Kind of unique to have a 1:30 long 2 riffs-song like that on your album, if you’re looking at contemporary thrash metal bands. That aforementioned tune would have been a cool one to try out as well, but eventually the title track was a bit too hard to pass on. As a first suggestion we additionally had “Death Metal” with an idea of changing it to “Punk Metal” in the choruses.

Also considered trying something by English Dogs, or some of the classic UK crust heroes, but Onslaught is what we all agreed on and ended up going for. Actually talked about doing this one back in 2015 already, along with Possessed which we also discussed for this year, but never happened then. Super stoked to be able to share our take on it with y’all this time instead.

And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed from his prison….

Recorded by Jocke D-takt at Studio Mangel, September 2025. Mixed and mastered by Kenko at Communichaos, October 2025.

Note: the songs are only available via our YouTube channel.
Link: https://youtu.be/K28Gvt0xul8

COVER OF THE MONTH 2025: SEPTEMBER

Cover of the month 9/12: “Wargasm” (L7), Bricks Are Heavy, 1992.

They say it’s important to make a strong first impression, and L7 certainly did. Can still see those rabbits being skinned and slaughtered by the town sheriff while the song “Shitlist” fades in on the horror movie Pet Sematary II.

The time machine is set at destination LA ’92, and what might be the furthest away from what we normally consider our primary influences that we’ve ever ventured before. To our conservative (and perhaps a bit narrow-minded) traditional metal obsessed teenage selves, as much as approaching anything considered being the slightest part of the whole grunge-thing would be seen as a mortal sin. Instant irrevocable poser/sell out/commercial wimp-alert all the way. At the end of the day though, who cares? A great song is always a great song as we all know.
As soon as the suggestion of Wargasm came up, everyone felt very intrigued by doing an interpretation of this song. It truly has this sort of 90’s black metal vibe going on with its mid-tempo riffing, and the lyrical themes are obviously (and unfortunately) as relevant these days as always.

L7 has truly accomplished a lot, and influenced many, over the years. Celebrating their 40th anniversary in 2025. What primarily appeals to us is their uncompromising “we don’t give a fuck” saucy attitude, wild sounds and approach to the industry in general. Without apologizing, they rightfully took their place in a male-dominated elitist world and unknowingly most likely empowered a lot of young inexperienced and insecure musicians/creators to dare to believe in themselves. They should be highly commended for that.

Recorded by Jocke D-takt at Studio Mangel, April-August 2025. Mixed and mastered by Kenko at Communichaos, September 2025.

Note: the songs are only available via our YouTube channel.
Link: https://youtu.be/6a9faOaX25Q

COVER OF THE MONTH 2025: AUGUST

Cover of the month 8/12: “Werewolves On The Hunt” (Stormwitch), Walpurgis Night, 1984.

Already two thirds into this year’s cover of the month project, time flies by! For August we’re going southbound, heading towards the land of bratwursts and lederhosens. A bit strange that it took this long for us to make a cover of a German band, considering their such extensive musical heritage. But now, at last, the time has finally come.

As traditional heavy metal and the good ol’ teutonic thrash might be what they do best down there (along with kraut!), we chose to go for this little speed metal tune that could be seen as sort of a bridge between them. The debut album of Stormwitch is truly a forgotten gem that shouldn’t have surpassed anyone with some kind of interest in hidden 80’s-metal obscurities. Although they might have been lacking the most impressive falsettos, shredders and such more commercially appealing traits, few contemporary bands could match their strong songwriting and melodies.

We gave it a shot rehearsing Dead City by Violent Force as well, but unfortunately had a hard time finding the right vibe, Werewolves just felt like a better fit. We actually had Violent Force as a suggestion back in 2015, obviously along with style-defining bands like Sodom, Living Death, Kreator, Exumer, Running Wild and so on as well. The list can be made infinitely long when it comes to not only good German hard rock and metal bands but also that have influenced us over the years. Die by teutonic steel!

Recorded by Jocke D-takt at Studio Mangel, July 2025. Mixed and mastered by Kenko at Communichaos, August 2025.

Note: the songs are only available via our YouTube channel.
Link: https://youtu.be/YErOyBT8Cdo

COVER OF THE MONTH 2025: JULY

Cover of the month 7/12: “Slaughter Of The Innocent” (Repulsion), Horrified, 1989.

For July’s cover we’re going for a cut from one of the nastiest, gnarliest and most relentless albums to ever be put on wax. The term “all killers no fillers” have seldom felt more accurate. The way it grabs you in a stranglehold from the first riff of Stench of Burning Death (what a song title!), to the very last note of the title track is simply matched by very few. They somehow managed to mix an unpolished blend of grindcore, death metal and hardcore. A total meltdown previously unheard.

Just fascinating how you can achieve such perfection using only a few seemingly rather simple means. Like the crushing mid-tempo stomping (Black Breath!), faster 2-beat parts (or could it even be d-beat?) and the overall dominating total blasting grind madness. The fact that it was recorded way back in 1986, three years prior to its official release, makes the whole thing even more impressive and really shows how far ahead of their time they actually were.
Repulsion is an important cornerstone of the genre and a real game changer in the extreme metal scene who not only influenced similar bands in the 80s but also generations ahead.

Alternatives we considered were going for something slightly earlier, like Master/Death Strike, or later, like Nihilist/Entombed, but going for Repulsion really felt like the right move to make eventually. Especially considering that it’s not the first time we’ve discussed recording a cover of them. In addition to Slaughter Of The Innocent, the choice was also between Bodily Dismemberment and Radiation Sickness.

Recorded by Jocke D-takt at Studio Mangel, February-March 2025. Mixed and mastered by Kenko at Communichaos, May 2025.

Note: the songs are only available via our YouTube channel.
Link: https://youtu.be/9KLlILxJMGo

COVER OF THE MONTH 2025: JUNE

Cover Of The Month 6/12: “Faces Da Morte” (Lobotomia), S/t, 1987.

Well, don’t know how you feel, but in our opinion, any month is a good month for some South American thrash! Just like the 2015 cover series when we covered the mighty Sepultura, we’re setting our sight towards Brazil once again.

Flash forward ten years later, São Paulo’s crossover-legends Lobotomia are up next. It was really a song that felt like a pretty much perfect fit for us as soon as the suggestion came up. The metal/punk ratio here is really perfectly balanced, and it’s just such a simple yet efficient tune that catches your attention from the very first listen. It’s a timeless and classic album that we listen to a lot.

As far as what potential alternative candidates were, taking on any of the unhinged mid-80’s proto-black/death metal maniacs such as Sarcofago, Vulcano or Parabellum would have felt a little compelling. But after all it probably would’ve been quite difficult to recreate the unique atmosphere they all possess.

Lastly, to wrap it up, singing in a language you don’t speak is always a challenging task, hopefully the pronunciations and articulations aren’t way too off. Lyrics sung in spanish/portuguese really give it this certain kind of genuine vibe that always seems to distinguish it from its presumed influences in such a nice way.

Recorded by Jocke D-takt at Studio Mangel, May 2025. Mixed and mastered by Kenko at Communichaos, May 2025.

Note: the songs are only available via our YouTube channel.
Link: https://youtu.be/FoBzdCj15EM

2x Live in October

COVER OF THE MONTH 2025: MAY

Cover Of The Month 5/12: “Döda Mig” (Svart Snö), Ren, Säker och Billig!, 1989.

It was a no-brainer that we wanted to pay tribute to the early Swedish hardcore scene in one way or another this time around as well. But as you all know, there are lots of good and influential bands to choose from. Initially, SOD (Sound Of Disaster) was mentioned along with Crude SS and D.T.A.L. But finally we agreed on Svart Snö. A very underrated band that rarely gets the attention they deserve. It’s strange that there isn’t, or has been, more fuzz about them. Like, how come you never see punks around the world wearing bootleg printed Svart Snö merch or having their logo painted on the jacket? Think about it.

Some find it difficult to categorize them and that’s perhaps one of the reasons why people have such a hard time accepting the band. The fact that they don’t sound like many others makes them even more interesting and appealing. Picked up a copy of “Nemesis Divina” at the local record store in the mid-90s and been a fan ever since!

During their active years between 1987-1997 they managed to release three albums and a handful of EP’s. We narrowed down the selection of songs and ended up with three final candidates: “Klättra mot himmelen”, “Komfort” and ”Döda mig”. The first two actually represent the band’s unique sound and songwriting better, but instead we preferred a good old straight forward banger for this month.

Worth mentioning, and not to forget about, is that ”Ren, säker och billig!” is not only Svart Snö’s debut EP but also the legendary label Finn Records first release. An independent label that was also an important and very influential component of the Swedish punk and hardcore scene in the 90s.

Recorded by Jocke D-takt at Studio Mangel, April 2025. Mixed and mastered by Kenko at Communichaos, May 2025.

Note: the songs are only available via our YouTube channel.
Link: https://youtu.be/IvHKIEK1hCo