Skip to content
偏執症者 (Paranoid): S.C.U.M. 12" (Beach Impediment Records) The latest 12” EP from Swedish d-beat veterans 偏執症者 (Paranoid) signals a significant shake-up in their sound. In many ways, though, it extends what 偏執症者 (Paranoid) has been up to for the past several years, continuing to widen their music’s scope, which takes in d-beat, noise, heavy metal, black metal, Japanese hardcore, and plenty more. It’s hard to deny, though, that S.C.U.M. includes more raw, straightforward hardcore in the mixture than the past few records. 偏執症者 (Paranoid) sounds aggressive as fuck here, playing hard and fast and generating fucked-up tones that, like the best noise-punk, push past grating into the terrifyingly sublime. S.C.U.M. is hardly a back-to-basics record, though, as the sonic hallmarks of their past several records are all over this new EP, which has plenty of rocked-out riffs, soaring melodic lead guitar, and ambitious song structures… they’re just served on a plate of sandpaper. I’m sure plenty of people will say S.C.U.M. is the best record 偏執症者 (Paranoid) has made in years, and if you’ve lost touch with them over the past few albums, it’s time to check back in. And if you’ve been along for the entire ride, you’ll love how S.C.U.M. synthesizes sounds from across the band’s ever-growing discography.