Bödel - Välkommen Till Avrättningen

The front cover of Välkommen Till Avrättningen

A lot of people talked about Bödel last year, and their debut cassette "Välkommen Till Avrättningen" (translation: Welcome to the execution). I'm not really sure as to why that is, since there's no shortages of d-beat driven hardcore punk in these parts, but if I had to take a guess it'd be the combination of the somewhat young female vocals and the comparatively well known gang of older guys backing her up. Anyway, here's what I think about "Välkommen Till Avrättningen"!

Leya (vocals) did guest vocals on a Chørnobyl recording, Mattias (guitar) plays in The Crown, Deny and Mähälium, Henrik (bass) plays in Pastoratet, Liptones and Vänsternäven while Masken (drums) have bands like Sub Alert, Antabus and Hellshit up his sleeve. Their seasoned history shines through pretty well, they know how to handle their instruments, and Leya has a powerful voice that really lends itself to fierce screaming. Therefore the final result is a mix of just that; competence and fierceness.

The tape version of Välkommen Till Avrättningen, laid out in a horisontal manner

So, what's on the tape in more detail? It starts off (excluding the intro because I don't care for intros) with 'Bilan Faller' (translation: The broad-axe is falling) which was one of the most frequently played tracks on their social media platforms before the release. It's a solid track with a catchy d-beat rhythm. Then we have 'På Andras Bekostnad' (translation: At the expence of others) which increases the pace a bit, it's more aggressive which I like. Then we arrive at "the slow one"; 'Grisarna Och Snuten' (translation: The pigs and the cops). It's a heavy hitter both in terms of sound and lyrics - exactly as "the slow one" should be. 'Ett Folkmord Till Frukost Och En Kopp Kaffe Tack' (translation: A genocide for breakfast and a cup of coffee thanks) picks the speed back up again but also adds a few shifts in momentum. 'Håll Ut, Håll I' (translation: Persevere, hold on) is a second slow one on the same release, believe it or not, but this one isn't as interesting as 'Grisarna Och Snuten' and is my least favorite of the bunch. The last track, 'Född fri?' (translation: Born free?), is on the other hand my favorite with a good amount of primitive d-beat grinding.

Overall the lyrics are refreshingly straight to the point. They keep the "it could be about this, it could be about that, it's up to the listener to interpret the message~" to a minimum and bring up things like the brutal murder of an innocent autistic boy and the sexual abuse of a suspect by the swedish police force (crimes for which none of the involved police officers recieved any legal repercussions), the ongoing genocide, the importance of sticking together in times where the people in power have everything to gain from us being divided and the overexploitation of forests and our natural resources.

The tape being played in a cassette deck

The cassette is roughly 11 minutes long over six tracks (again, excluding the intro) which is commendable in this day and age where a lot of bands release two or three tracks per tape and charge 8-9 euros plus shipping for it (because apparently punks are rich now...?). In Bödel's case you essentially get a full EP for the price that an EP should be and you get it in great quality and professionally recorded/mastered. And there's, by the way, one of my only demurs when it comes to this release: it's almost a bit too professional, too... comfortable? Apart from Leya's vocals there's not that much that stands out, really. It's not harsh to the point where you remember it that way, it's not brutal enough to make you go "oh wow, this is something extra", it's just right. Dare I call it a bit safe? Well, no, not really. There's no significant bells and whistles to sweeten the deal, it's "just" a slab of unapologetic d-beat hardcore - and that's not playing it safe if you ask the contemporary punk crowd (which, if anything, has been asking for new and different things in punk for a while now). But there's definitely room for more outbursts and ruckus if you ask me. Leya's vocals are at their best when she's on the verge to outright screaming and I'd love for the drums to be louder and take up more space. I'm guessing a rough demo recording of this would truly be like (brace yourselves) music to my ears (I'm funny, leave me alone).

So, how would I summarize this? Three words: I want more! Both as in "it's great, more of this please" and in terms of going overboard in the noise levels department to achieve further texture.