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Rating: Nasum. A name that probably means nothing to many, but those well-versed in extreme underground know they were one of the most ferocious and ground-shattering bands in the history of grindcore.
Formed in Sweden in the distant 1992 by Mieszko Talarczyk (screaming vocals, guitar), Anders Jakobsson (drums), Jon Lindqvist (bass, growl), and Urban Skytt (second guitarist), the band began its glorious journey through a series of splits and EPs, including "Industrislaven" and "Blind World", which already highlighted the band's distinctive features: a powerful grindcore influenced by Swedish death metal and hardcore, learnings from the masters Napalm Death, but without becoming a mere carbon copy, personalized by the corrosive guitar sound, the singer's piercing screams, and the obsessive and super-fast rhythms.
In 1997, they got a contract with Relapse, which allowed the band to record the 4 albums they released over 6 years, before the leader tragically died in the Tsunami at the end of 2004: this "Human 2.0" is the second album by Nasum, released in 2001, three years after the first "Inhale/Exhale".
25 tracks in 38 minutes, short, super-fast, crushing, corrosive, inhuman, which in few cases reach 2 minutes long, while resembling more sound shards than real songs, manage to be intricate and less assimilable than one might think. Within a single song, there are several tempo changes: blastbeats, crust-hardcore rhythms, melodic death metal parts perfectly amalgamate to create a rigorous, cold, perfect and twisted sound, as well as furious and tending to chaos. Scattered throughout the album, we find true little masterpieces like "Shadows", "Multinational Murderers Network", the slowed (so to speak) "The Professional League" and the concluding "Sometimes Dead Is Better" (the longest on the album, 2:58 minutes) which confirm what has just been said.
The shortest tracks ("Fatal Search", "Sick System" and a few others under a minute) are also the less valuable, but they disappear compared to tracks like "A Welcome Breeze Of Stinking Air" (which starts with a purely grind-death section only to transition into a devastating mid-tempo at the end), "The Idiot Parade" and "Nar Dagarna", which all maintain a decidedly high quality level.
In essence, "Human 2.0" is a grand album of a now-historic grind band, which rewrote the rules of a genre that was on the verge of being forgotten and brought it to enviable levels of evolution and perfection. Mieszko will always remain in the hearts of those who loved the band, their songs, and their political commitment, and we like to remember them as such: ferocious, aggressive, full of rage and energy to spare. An obligatory album for the group's fans, highly recommended for lovers of the genre.
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
02 A Welcome Breeze of Stinking Air (01:40)
Now the balance is set
We're changing foot from left to right
Eager and with false hope
We gave them our trust
Speech on speech
Lies on top of lies
Empty Promises
The guys are having such a blast...
But nothing's changed
It is just a different set of lies
Nothing's changed
It is just a different set of lies...
Attempting to win
It's a race without a finish line
They're all relay-runners
And you're left behind
Thank you, come again
It has been nice shitting you
Improvement's around the corner
Your vote made a difference...
But nothing will change
It is just a different set of lies
Nothing will change
It is just a different set of lies...
03 Fatal Search (00:28)
Millions of human lives to sacrifice
They were born to die now they're dead at last
Millions of human lives to sacrifice
Born to die...
Wished for death all their lives
Searching for truth on the other side
Darkened souls to purify
Dead and buried...
Millions of human lives to sacrifice
They were born to die now they're dead at last
Millions of human lives to sacrifice
Born to die...
04 Shadows (02:24)
Tell me where these shadows came from
What clouded our reality?
Was is it just too easy, or was it just the pain?
Was it all enough for you to bring us to the end?
Covered up by motion blur
There were no mistakes - yet I feel it burn
Qualified to measure my own misery
I cannot believe there is nothing left for me
Tell me why I even bother, tell me why I sit and cry
You said every word so clear yet I sit here wonder why
Darkness struck by lightning
Divided into half's
No reason nor a purpose
The end just came so fast
All that's left is shadows
Cast by our shallow dreams
But the fire is still burning
So deep inside, inside of me...
I will not give up until
The truth's nailed to the wall
The lies won't serve our purpose
In corruption lies our fall
The overmind is dying
Its eyes can't see us all
But I'll be here when you are gone
I'll make it through the storm...
05 Corrosion (02:08)
Corrosion
Corrosion
Corrosion
Like water corroding metal
Your world is withering
All you had you have lost
Never to return again
Your life, will rust
Particles that used to be you
Falling down like dead skin
What once shone is now matt
It can never be saved
Rusting from the inside out
Dead and dry you fall apart
You're nothing but corrosive waste
So what's the point of trying?
Corrosion... no devotion
So tied up with no devotion
Your life is falling apart
You've lost your sense of color
Everything is in shades of red and brown
06 Multinational Murderers Network (02:18)
[Music/lyrics: Mieszko]
A broken promise
Unmeasureable strength
Those feeble lies
Spread an awful fucking stench
A juicy profit and millions lying dead
An attempt to conceal the stench of putrid decay
A profit made from death
These huge organizations harvest lives
The Multinational
The Unstoppable
Unscrupulous
Dead
They paint a picture
And retouch away the pain
No grief, no sorrow
There was just too much to gain
Squeeze it out now
Squeeze out the last drop of fucking cash
Bury it beneath
Our very private stash...
A profit made from death
These huge organizations built on lies
The Multinational
The Unstoppable
Unscrupulous
Dead
A broken promise
Unmeasurable strength
Those feeble lies
Spread an awful stench
A juicy profit
And millions are lying dead
An attempt to conceal
The stench of this putrid decay...
09 Sixteen (01:51)
Try to purify
The well of dirty lies
Overflown with deadly sins
An attempt to pacify
With orders to comply
A calm breeze before it all begins
Often wonder why
The don't realize
Why they think I'm in their way
Leave my throne behind
Take on my empty shadows
As I finally - finally - fall from grace
A society without grief
An order with no time for mourning
10 Alarm (02:12)
A distant alarm, a sound from far away
We raised our heads towards the sky but there was nothing there to see
The restless crowd is now breaking the silence
Anxiety is rising, the sky is turning dark
A riot is emerging, men beat men to death
This is unexplainable, a fight without a battle
The alarm resounds and someone called in a speaker:
"This is not a drill, I repeat: this is not a drill..."
Today we die, today we testify
All we do must come to an end - this is the end
Reversed evolving, turning people into beasts
They're feasting on eachother, strong consume the weak
Flaming ruins, society is lost
Shattered city streets filled with blind, nameless creatures
The sky cracks open, dust is descending
Breath the black air, feel darkness in your lungs
Silence - nothing makes a sound
But we can still hear, the sound of the alarm
Today we die, today we testify
All we do must come to an end - this is the end
A distant early warning
A sound from far away
We raised our heads
Towards the sky
Towards the alarm...
15 The Idiot Parade (01:33)
Thought you were deaf
Yeah, I thought you were blind
When you just stood there
While the idiots walked in line
In the idiot parade
You are taking their side
You are holding their hands
You stupid motherfucker
This must come to an end
Come to an end!
Your senseless thoughts of racial pride
Have infested your weak mind
Will you ever realise?
It's not you or them - it's us!
Protected by laws
Made by your own kind
It's the system in progress
It's the death of the free mind...
It's the idiot parade!
Deaf, dumb and blind
May be your only excuse
Not how much you have suffered
Not the years of abuse
The truth is foolproof!
Your senseless thoughts of racial pride
Have infested your weak mind
Will you ever realise?
It's not you or them - it's us!
Face me
Convince me
And show me
How I am wrong, what I have started
Blame me
Seduce me
Convict me
Decide my fate and end my struggle.
Nothing went wrong
There is no one to blame
Yet no one is safe
When the idiots are on parade!
17 We're Nothing but Pawns (00:51)
In the world where we live
We're nothing but pawns
A tool of their trade
A brick in the wall
- Nothing but pawns
We are nothing - only tools
Disposable and easy to get
We got fucked, we are such fools,
We saw the hook and swallowed the bait
They fool us, seduce us, buy us, use us
Defuse us, smash us, kill us, trash us
In the world where we live
We're nothing but pawns
A tool of their trade
A brick in the wall
- Nothing but pawns
19 Sick System (00:19)
Sick - system built on suffering
Sick - system built on pain
It's a bullet in the head of every happy boy and girl
20 The Professional League (02:38)
Violence - is it your answer, is it your plan?
Your heritage
A crossover between life and death
It's a must-be fan
Raging in its' cage
And I can see it coming
Now can you?
No - I play it safe
One step ahead, two steps aside
Yeah, and I forget
It was reality that made you blind
Struggling - one breath of air that is all I ask
You're choking me
And I am stripped down to the core
I am a must-be fan
Raging in my cage
And I can feel it moving
Now can you?
No - I play it safe
One step ahead, two steps aside
Yeah, and I forget
It was reality that made you blind
No - I play it safe
One step ahead, two steps aside
Yeah, it made you bleed
It made you come to sense and realize...
Start by being honest
And realize your potential
Make a bed out of colorful flowers
Plant a seed, paint a picture - it's all you!
Bury your regrets and
Cast your anchor where you like
And while you're at it you can
Bury all your sorrows
Feel you heart growing inside
No - I play it safe
One step ahead, two steps aside
Yeah, and I forget
It was reality that made you blind
No - I play it safe
One step ahead, two steps aside
Yeah, it made you bleed
It made you come to sense and realize...
24 The Meaningless Trial (01:02)
I try to realise
Dis-romantisize
I try to take it all in
I try to clear my mind
Read between the lines
Just before it all begins
The true pacifist
I know he does exitst
But will he dare to take the stand?
Will he bare the pressure?
Survive this ugly session?
Will he make it 'til the end?
There's no justice
Not even a scrap
A meaningless trial
Has finally come to an end
There's no justice
So why bother being fair?
The time has come
And the pacifist's dead
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