Has it really been six years since Swedish crossover exponents Obnoxious Youth delivered their debut album? Apparently it has, but time doesn’t seem to have wearied the band any in that time. They’re still delivering high-energy crossover on Disturbing the Graves like their lives depended on it, producing a beautiful noise over the course of twenty six minutes and twelve at times face-melting tracks.

Other than that there’s really not much more to add. The band’s basic modus operandi is to make everything on Disturbing the Graves sound like a record that might have been put out by the Manic Ears label in about 1987, with maybe a little more time and thought put into the recording process. This brings most dividends on tracks like the motoring Sadistic Death which sounds absolutely thrilling, but doesn’t leave much room for variation or surprises.

Actually there is one surprise – the creepy, gothic keyboard interlude on Bleeding the Freaks was totally not expected– but then again you never see anybody stopping a moshpit dead in its tracks and bemoaning the lack of a bit of uplifting trance, so I’m probably alone in bemoaning the single-minded nature of the material.

Quartered and Swallowed has a bit of Motörhead (or even, dare I say it, old Saxon!) creeping through, which is nice, but for the most part it’s names like A.O.D., Sons of Ishmael and The Accüsed – try listening to Need to Destroy without succumbing to the urge to leap about and sing the chorus to Fucking for Bux – that will keep entering your head as the album progresses.

Nothing new, or even remotely close to new, then, but when the band can come up with such raw-powered ravers as I.F.I.K. that’s really neither here nor there; Obnoxious Youth are the real deal, and they guarantee good times for lovers of thrashy, punky crossover everywhere.

 

Obnoxious Youth’s Disturbing the Graves will be released by Critical Mass Recordings on May 12th. Start diverting some of your cider money now.