The other day while updating the 2022 Hardcore Releases playlist on Spotify, I realized that Swedish outfit 偏執症者 (Paranoid) had new material out. If you aren't familiar with them yet, now's your chance.
"I had a friend, Åke Henriksson, visiting and the idea was actually that we would record with another band called Desperat, which we both also played in at that time," 偏執症者 (Paranoid) bassist Joakim Staaf-Sylsjö tells me. "Unfortunately, my grandmother passed away and her funeral took place in connection to his visit and I had no desire or energy for our main purpose.
"I just wanted to jam out and play something brain dead at very high volume to release the tension and keep my grief away and busy. But also because Åke's 16-hour journey up here wouldn't be completely in vain. That's how 偏執症者 (Paranoid) was born. We released a 6-track demo tape, Hardcore Addict (2012), that fall and we later replaced Åke with Henrik, switched to the kanji band logo and started more seriously. The rest is history."
The latest blast of hardcore punk from 偏執症者 (Paranoid) comes courtesy of a 2-track release called Kill the Light:
Hardcore? D-beat? How would Joakim describe his band's sound? "It's very difficult as we, and our releases, often sound a bit different based on what we're influenced by at the moment. People would probably say that we're somewhere in the crossover between punk and metal, with elements of other extreme subcultures.
"We're not inspired by any specific band(s) and we've never liked the idea to put a label on what we do. We also try not to limit ourselves from being influenced by a certain genre, or only music for that matter. It's so individual and completely dependent on where you are in life, so we'd rather leave it to our listeners to determine our sound instead."
偏執症者 (Paranoid) is based out of Jämtland County in Sweden. So, what else is happening over there at the moment? "There's not much to talk about because there is no strong and vibrant punk, or metal, scene going on where we live right now. Including no alternative places or venues for like-minded people and similar bands like us.
"The truth is that we've barely done any gigs in our hometown during all these years. People in our region couldn't care less about us and what we do. We had a great, united and lively scene in the mid/end '90s, but I would say it was nationwide and not unique to Frösön/Östersund only. It should probably also be added that we live in a generally small isolated town in the northern parts of Sweden surrounded by nothing but forests, lakes and mountains. But that's mainly what we love about living here."
Despite the setbacks of being located in an isolated region, Joakim and his 偏執症者 (Paranoid) cohorts are determined to press on doing what they do. "2022 marks our 10th anniversary, which we intend to celebrate to the fullest.
"The fire is lit, it will be spread wild and grow bigger. This is just the beginning of a new era as the nightmare continues. One decade down, forever to go!"
Check out www.pndftw.com to keep up on all things 偏執症者 (Paranoid).
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Tagged: international hardcore bands, paranoid
