Frigöra (Release) are a band whose name regularly pierces the mists of hardcore history, shorthand for a rarely matched ferocity.

This retrospective though was my first proper encounter with Frigöra and, even with this forewarning, nothing quite prepared me for the truly unhinged carnage that they unleashed.  It feels as if every sinew of the band was dedicated to pushing their sound to its absolute limits.  The fact that they do not implode in on themselves was you sense not due to any self-restraint, but simply the fact that they physically couldn’t push it any further.

Frigöra emerged from Kawasaki City and were active between 1995 and 1999.  During this period, much Japanese hardcore revelled in its metallic crust influences.  In contrast, Frigöra found their inspirations in Scandinavian hardcore and then took their own interpretation to its very extremities.  Harshly distorted guitars, fiercely raw drums, and desperation shredded vocals are honed into a brutally frenetic, yet skilfully layered, fusillade.  The blistering execution is matched with a lyrical directness as they address themes of war, animal liberation, and capitalist excess.

Fullständig Frigörelse (Complete Liberation) pulls together Frigöra’s entire twenty-seven track discography.  Side One captures their solitary album, 1998’s Dance Of The Plague Bearer, as well as three previously unreleased tracks that include a cover of Mob 47’s Rustning Är Ett Brott (Armour Is A Crime).  The flipside then focuses on the band’s first two releases, their 1995 self-titled EP and their split release with Diskonto from the same year.  The accompanying booklet pulls together the artwork and lyrics – which span English, Japanese, and Swedish – from the original releases.