UMUR
"A Facist State… In Disguise" is an EP release by Swedish hardcore act Acursed. The EP was released through Distortion Records in June 1998. As the case is with many Swedish hardcore/crust/punk releases from that time, "A Facist State… In Disguise" was recorded at Soundlab studios and produced by the late Mieszko Talarczyk (Nasum, Genocide Superstars, Krigshot) and Mathias Färm (Millencolin), who co-owned the studio.
"A Facist State… In Disguise" features 7 tracks, and a full playing time of 12:51 minutes, so it´s one of those releases that is almost over before it began. It´s a suiting lenght for a release with this type of music though, because the aggressive and predominantly fast-paced hardcore tracks featured on the EP tend to become a bit one-dimensional. Other than that the material is well written, well played, and well produced. The rawness and aggression of the delivery is enough to tilt an elephant and you´re never in doubt that these guys mean business. It´s 1, 2, 3, 4...and never look back. Bloody knuckles, sour sweat, and broken limbs. There´s a political message in there somewhere, but the words aren´t easily intelligible as a result of the raw shouting vocals.
The music is not the most original sounding in the genre, but the burning passion behind the delivery more than makes up for it, and upon conclusion "A Facist State… In Disguise" is a pretty good hardcore release and a 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.