SPETSNAZ GRAND DESIGN ALBUM SUBSPACE COMMUNICATIONS, PLAYGROUND RELEASE: APRIL 24, 2003 REVIEW: MAY 3, 2003

Once upon a time there was a band called Nitzer Ebb. They made very sparse body music with fast bass lines and powerful vocals. And they were good. Very good. So good that in fact the Swedish SSC debutants Spetsnaz have decided to sound exactly like them, even though it is over 20 years since Nitzer Ebb started. If there was money to be made by doing impressions of Douglas McCarthy, the Spetsnaz singer Pontus Stålberg could quit his day job without hesitation.
This is all frighteningly unoriginal. But I like it anyway! The fast bass lines are hmm, very fast and very bassy, and the lyrics consist of more than just militant shrieking. Of course production techniques have progressed a bit since the glory days of the angry British fellows, thus making the sound more full and mature. Even though this is a debut album, Stefan Nilsson and Pontus Stålberg have been around for many years in various constellations and certainly know what they're doing.
While writing this, I have a craving to put on my Doc Martens, do a wild pogo in my living room and party like it’s 1986! And I guess that's exactly what Spetsnaz wants us to do.

JOHAN CARLSSON