No Echo might have recently included Modern Guilt in a New Hardcore Band Spotlight, but the group has deeper roots than many of the other acts featured in the series. The members of the Gothenburg-based outfit have also played in such bands as Eyes Shut, Subject to Change, and Division of Laura Lee throughout the years.
Modern Guilt's debut EP, Do Not Panic!, recently dropped via Quarantined/Monument Records, and they also released a cover of ”Född För Att Dö," a song originally written and recorded by '90s Swedish straight edge hardcore band, Reconsider. But more on that below.
For now, check out a killer track from Do Not Panic! called "Be Nice" below to get a taste of what Modern Guilt is about:
The aforementioned Reconsider cover song got me thinking about the scene Peter and Modern Guilt were raised on, so I asked the vocalist for his expertise on the subject.
With that in mind, Peter put together a '90s Swedish straight edge hardcore bands primer that hopefully will serve as a useful tool for anyone trying to learn more about the era and region. -No Echo
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I got into hardcore in the mid-'90s; the gateway for me was punk and skateboarding.
I started actively going to every show I could find in 1995. Besides Earth Crisis, Ignite, Snapcase, and Sick of It All, I discovered all the local bands in Sweden and Scandinavia. Straight edge was a huge part of the scene at that time, and I guess 1995 was the very peak of hardcore in terms of how many kids came to the shows, great bands, and straight edge kids all over the place.
I suppose everyone knows about the pioneers of Swedish hardcore and SXE from this era: Refused and Abhinanda. Even Doughnuts and Final Exit are quite well known. All these bands came from Umeå, which is considered the hardcore capital of Sweden.
There were quite a few bands in Sweden during this era that were just as good or, in my eyes, sometimes even better than the well-known bands, but they either existed for too short a period of time or, for other reasons, didn’t get the same recognition.
I hope you enjoy my look at some of the best '90s, with a short bio/story on each band (in no particular order, they are all important and amazing in different ways).
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Step Forward
One of the first Swedish straight edge bands! (There are earlier examples like Black Parade, etc.) They were active from '89-'90, so they were well before my time, but still very influential on Swedish hardcore in many ways.
Step Forward was fronted by Dennis Lyxzén, whom we all know from Refused, Final Exit, The (International) Noise Conspiracy, INVSN, Fake Names, and so on. Since Step Forward is where Dennis’s journey began, they are invaluable to Swedish hardcore.
They were clearly influenced by Minor Threat, 7 Seconds, Government Issue, and early/mid-'80s hardcore, but there are also a lot of '88 influences, like YOT Insted, and GB. Just really good hardcore!
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Ultimate Concern
They were from Vänersborg, the vice capital of Swedish hardcore (HC) in the '90s. They always put on an amazing live set, very skilled musicians even back then, which allowed them to channel their influences extremely well. I’d say early '90s U.S. West Coast HC was their main influence during their peak—bands like Inside Out and Chain of Strength, but also 108 and Worlds Collide.
Their 1995 EP Shield Between is a classic. They had a full-length album recorded, probably more influenced by Quiksand and Helmet, but it was never released before they broke up in '97. The members went on to form other bands like Outstand and Division of Laura Lee—Modern Guilt guitarist Per, was in Ultimate Concern.
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Start Today
Another band from the same scene as Ultimate Concern is Start Today. Given the name you might think of melodic late '80s hardcore, but this was something totally different. They played quite metallic '90s-flavored hardcore with two insane screaming vocalists.
Their demo, Nature, that came out in 1994 is possibly the most sold Swedish hardcore demo tape trough all time. One of the singers, Don Ahlsterberg aka Don the Demon, was the main producer at Swedish Mental Hospital Studios, where he recorded most bands at this era. He’s now the live sound engineer for Refused and other Swedish acts.
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Eyes Shut
Modern Guilt recently covered Reconsider, an early Swedish old-school-sounding hardcore band. In '97, the band took on a more Youth Crew-sounding style of hardcore and re formed as Eyes Shut, which came to be Sweden’s first Youth Crew hardcore band.
There was already plenty of great fast hardcore like Outlast and Section 8 but none that really ticked the Youth Crew and straight edge box.
Eyes Shut put out a 7” On Keep it Alive/Dead Serious Records and got a song on the Supersoul Rebirth of Hardcore compilation. Eyes Shut members later formed Another Reason, Subject to change (Crucial Response Records), Out of Vogue (Desperate Fight Records) and Modern Guilt.
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Eclipse
A heavy, chaotic hardcore band hailing from Umeå. Their sound was aggressive and raw, pushing the boundaries of what hardcore could be, Converge would probably the best reference to their sound. In 1997, they released The Bona Fide EP on Premonition Records, a 7-inch that remains an underrated gem in the hardcore scene.
The band’s members would go on to make significant contributions to the music scene after Eclipse disbanded. Some of them went on to form influential bands like Cult of Luna and Khoma, both of which carried forward the intensity and innovation that Eclipse was known for.
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XstabX
XstabX had a sound that was distinctly their own. They cited bands like Helmet for their heavy, riff-driven intensity, and even name-dropped stoner rock band Kyuss as songwriting inspiration. But the most obvious elements in their sound came from late Unbroken and Quicksand, with a more uptempo and groovy approach.
They were known for their strong and vocal stance on straight edge and veganism which was core to their identity and were conveyed with intense passion. Their live performances were nothing short of explosive.
I’d say XstabX was one of the band with the greatest potential but unfortunately only recorded one demo and played two handful of shows.
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Shield
Most of the more known bands had members who were a bit older when I got into hardcore, but these guys were my age—around 15 at the time—which was very inspiring. They released their debut EP, Build Me Up… Melt Me Down, on Desperate Fight Records in 1994.
The opening riff to the song "Flow" is iconic and pretty much sums up the band for me. Musically, they had a more melodic and emotional touch while still maintaining that '90s Umeå sound.
Shield's second album, Vampiresongs, further developed their melodic sound, with lyrics covering topics ranging from animal rights to friendship, and even growing up as a kid finding porno mags in the forest [laughs]. The band called it quits in 1996, and some of the members went on to form Plastic Pride, which had a more rock-oriented sound.
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xThe Burning Flamesx
From Gislaved Sweden, xThe Burning Flamesx released their demo in 1996 and their first 7”, Project Hardcore, in 1997. Their sound was in the Swedish old-school lane, influenced by Outlast in combination with the melodic US hardcore bands of the '80s like 7 Seconds and Gorilla Biscuits, spiced up with some Strife-style riffs here and there, which was more or less mandatory at the time.
The members of xThe Burning Flamesx would later go on and play in bands like Rentokiller, 8 Days of Nothing, and Set My Path.
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By No Means
By No Means was an early straight edge band from Umeå. They released a demo, Straight, in 1992. They played raw and simple hardcore without any frills. The most interesting thing about this band was that it was a big part in the foundation of Umeå Hardcore.
Members of By No Means included Jonas Lyxén (Abhinanda, Separation) and David Sandström (Refused, Final Exit). Plenty of hardcore history right there!
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Another Reason
Another Reason was sort of an “all star” straight edge band with members from Outlast, Eyes Shut, Forced Into, and Start Today within their lineup. This was really the last breath of the '90s hardcore scene at home.
They formed around late 1998 and went on for about 2 years. Another Reason was very Floorpunch and Judge-influenced both in music and attitude. Just great, fast songs performed with raw attitude with Daniel Larsson on vocals and Carl Outlast on guitar there wasn’t much room for letdown.
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Sportswear
Well, this isn’t a Swedish band, so I’ll add them on top as my honorable mention
At the time, the scenes were so intertwined, and Sportswear had such a huge impact on the Swedish hardcore community in the late '90s. Sportswear encapsulated the essence of the Youth Crew revival.
As my friend Jockum always used to say, “Norwegians are like the Japanese, when they get in to something they really get in to it." And the people in the Norwegian scene knew everything there was to know about hardcore and had very essential records in their collection.
In a time when stuff wasn’t as available as it is today, we could spend hours with Peter, Espen, Anette, Tor Erik and the people from the Oslo scene deep diving in to '80s hardcore.
The Swedish scene history was still very '90s-driven while they were more connected to the “older” American scene through Tim McMahon and the Hands Tied crew. Espen from Sportswear was even in Hands Tied for a while.
Tagged: eclipse, modern guilt, shield, sportswear
