I’m always intrigued by the odd random record appearing in the midst of a “New Arrivals” bin. How did this mid-80s Swedish hardcore rarity (only 1,000 copies pressed) end up nestled between the Carpenters and Neil Young over at Easy Street Records in West Seattle? It’s a fairly valuable record (and was priced accordingly), so how did it come to be here? It feels like the kind of record you’d only find in a more specialized collection, and absolutely nothing in the New Arrivals bins seemed to fit. But there it was (with the insert!), hanging out in West Seattle, waiting for someone like me to take it home.
Strebers are described as hardcore, and certainly there’s truth to that. But there is also a very metal feel to their debut Ur Led Är…, particularly in instrumental bursts when the guitar drives to the front, giving things a thrash feel. And the songs are catchy as hell – the rhythm section has a bit of swing to it, allowing the songs to alternate between pushing forward and grooving. As I don’t know any Swedish I can’t speak to the lyrics, but the vocals have a slight growl to them and feel quite clear. So often in hardcore the speed can make lyrics indecipherable, but I suspect that I’d have no trouble following along with singer Ulke Johansson… and this was sort of confirmed on the track “Ronnie Wants War” when my ears perked up because the chorus is in fact sung in English, something I had no trouble recognizing or understanding.
Strebers were fairly prolific, putting out a half dozen albums and a handful of singles between 1986 and 1991. Unfortunately founding member Johnny Rydh died in a car accident in 1992 (aged either 26 or 27). The remaining members put out Till En Vän that same year, but then disbanded with the surviving members forming Dia Psalma. They reunited for a show in 2000, which was so well-received it led to a tour in 2001 and a live album entitled Meningslöst Liv(e).
At the end of the day, Ur Led Är… simply feels more metal to me. Do the genre labels matter? Not really… though I suspect there are people who would reject the album out of hand and not listen because it was tagged as one versus the other. If you’re a hardcore fan you probably already know it, or at lesat of it. But if you’re a metal fan, give this one a chance – you won’t regret it.