Formed in 1978, Attentat was one of the earliest punk bands to start up in Sweden. Their name, as I understand it, translates to “Attacks” in Swedish, though the word also has links the anarchism movement and refers to “propagation of the deed”, often referring to terrorist attacks. I have no idea if that’s a coincidence, but associations between punks and the idea of socio-politco anarchy were not uncommon.
I picked this up at one of the Bensgans record stores in Stockholm earlier this year. Bengans is basically a chain store, so I was surprised to find this nugget in their vinyl section – though I shouldn’t have been, because Sweden has a strong relationship to both punk and metal, and the store carried a pretty robust selection, especially metal. It turns out that Jag Skall Inte Bli Som Dom(“I Don’t Want to be Like Them” in English, according to the insert) was a limited edition release in 2010 with only 1,000 copies pressed – 300 in red vinyl, the other 700 in black (mine is black). The insert is in English and provides a brief background on the band and the materials appearing on the record, which includes all their early Killed by Death singles from 1978-80 on side A, while side B has some other assorted tracks including the previously unreleased “Jag Skall Inte Bli Som Dom” and “Vad E De Jag Söker?”.
Overall this is a solid collection of early, classic European punk rock. The songs are tight and fast, and even though all the singing is in Swedish, it’s melodic and fits well with the music. Side A is the hard stuff, while side B is much more melodic and actually shows off the band’s musical talents way more than the pure punk songs do. I was looking forward to getting my hands on some early punk while in Scandinavia, and I think I scored with this disc and a CD from Finnish punks Lama (which I reviewed in my entry of Sept. 16, 2012). Attentat brings it, and Jag Skall Inte Bli Som Dom is well worth the price (I’ve seen copies on red vinyl in the range) if you’re into classic punk rock.
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