There’s plenty to be angry about in Russia, and Norrbrand harnesses all of that anger on their new album, Den Nordliga Galenskapen. Combative, brutal and aggressive are just a few adjectives that can be thrown around to describe this thing, but mostly, it’s just relentless. It’s aggressively brutal from the first chord to the final beat, less than half an hour later. Den Nordliga Galenskapen is a welcome homage to the more straight-ahead style of D-beat from the late ’90s and early ’00s — and while they may not yet be at the level of Martydöd, Norrbrand is definitely worth a listen.

Despite hailing from St. Petersburg, the band certainly has an affinity for Sweden. The titles for both the album and most of its songs are in Swedish, (e.g. “Från det mänskliga helvetet” or “Söder är skit”) and musically, the band borrows heavily from the Swedish crust and D-beat genres. At times, they sound as assaultive as Swedish legends Victims on their angriest album, …In Blood. In fact, Norrbrand would not be out of place on Havoc Records, which should be taken as a compliment to the highest degree. Their songs range from two-and-a-half to around four minutes—each second an assault on the listener’s eardrums and conscience.

Two of Norrbrand’s four members — Wurst and Red — are both also in black metal act Nebelwerfer, which itself borrows heavily from Marduk. But other than that, it seems unclear why these Russians are so obsessed with Sweden and the North. Regardless, the result is an absolutely killer album with all the rage and drive of Swedish D-beat bands like Victims, Disfear and Skitsystem. So whatever the connection is, keep it coming.

The guitars are thick and down-tuned, giving the impression of a larger band than actually exists. The drumming is full of classic D-beat fills, and Wurst’s exasperated vocals are pushed to their very limits. Together, the blend creates one of the more hard hitting D-beat experiences of the last few years. They even include a cover of Martyrdöd’s “Hör Varningen,” which isn’t as out of place as you might think. Norrbrand owes much of its sound to bands like Martyrdöd, who succeeded so well in crossing over to crust punk and metal fans alike.

It’s a welcome sight to see so many crusty bands getting play on the metal side of the aisle. And it certainly helps when members of metal acts ply their trade and frustration in the punk genre. Whatever Norrbrand is doing over there in Russia, let’s hope that they continue to do more of it. As this band evolves, they could become a serious contender on the D-beat scene.

-Manny-O-War

Den Nordliga Galenskapen is available now via Bandcamp. For more information on Norrbrand, visit the band’s Facebook page.