Millencolin
Life on a Plate

THE REVIEW

Let's admit it right away, Sweden, but let's also say Scandinavia, is certainly not the homeland of the punk & hardcore genre. How many of you have ever heard of or listened to records by Misconduct, Satanic Surfers, and Vanarea? Rather, it is clearly the homeland of metal, and in particular Swedish-made melodic death, Finnish power, and Norwegian black. Come on, what do you blast in your car? Take This Life, The Siren or "Friend 'Till The End" (whooo? whattt? As the good Mosca would say).

After the good debut album "Same Old Tunes" which allowed the group to make a name for themselves and climb the charts in their homeland, Sweden, they try again just a year later with "Life On a Plate". Although I consider it two steps below the excellent two subsequent albums, this full-length, despite not bringing excessive novelties to the listener, can be said to be a clear turning point, yes, but at a strategic level. It is indeed a decisive turning point in their career, which naturally can be affirmed years later. In fact, with this record, Millencolin began to make a name for themselves outside of Sweden, obtaining the first glimmers of success.

One thing led to another, and their fame reached the States, so much so that Brett Gurewitz (you know him, right?) owner of Epitaph noticed them and proposed a contract to the group to publish their album on the American market as well. And so it will be.

A noteworthy fact to reflect on is that Millencolin was the first non-American band to sign a contract with this label. Although their mother label remains Burning Heart Records, which handles the European market, it will be Epitaph that distributes their records in the stars and stripes market from now on (1996). It might be a coincidence, but all this would lead a few years later to the creation of a milestone of 90s melodic hc and then another great more melodic record to follow.

But leaving aside all these theoretical discussions, which will interest the few, let's get to the facts by talking a bit about the album.

14 songs (13 if you exclude the track "Ace Frehley," a shout just to fill five seconds of space!) ranging from melodic hc derived as per the best Californian tradition and in less part ska and punk.

The most interesting tracks are "Buzzer," a true pogo anthem with a frenetic rhythm and a chorus already to hum along to on the first listen (note a second version of the track, namely "Buzzer long version" included as a b-side in the No Cigar single, in which it is slightly extended from the first version), "Replay" and "Dr. Jackal & Mr. Hide." More melodic in this sense is the single "Move Your Car" and the good "Story Of My Life" where there are trumpets and the ska influences I mentioned earlier. The other tracks follow this script like the fast opener "Bullion" or "Olympic" and "Friend ?till the end".

Upon closer listening, however, one notices some details that differentiate the album from the previous one. Namely a decrease in ska inserts and less use of trumpets than in the past. And above all, you can feel that part of the anger is missing, which will make "For Monkeys" a classic of the band.

In conclusion, it is recommended listening for lovers of the illustrated sounds, however, if you are not familiar, you should start with the next two LPs. Be clear that they are not In Flames nor Nightwish, so forget about growl voices, orchestras, and lengthy solos. Do you care about now?