The Swarm a.k.a. Knee Deep In The Dead

The easiest way to identify a true Hardcore kid: ask what's his/her favourite "Chris Colohan band" is. If the answer is "who is Chris Colohan" the conversations over before it even begun. If the answer is Cursed, chances are good you're talking to someone who bought a Cursed CD because he/she saw it at the Deathwish e-store. I mean, not the worst person on the planet, but you know, if the answer is Ruination or Left For Dead, the person is REALLY cool and worth your time, and most probably true to the bone. But if the answer is even The Swarm, you've found a dead true Hardcore kid with a great taste in music. To be honest, this is quite subjective, but I can't think of any other 90ies Hardcore band being that influental for me, besides Unbroken of course. But there're even two things The Swarm and Unbroken have in common: Slayer riffs and the straight edge. Well, now I'd go for the Slayer riffs haha. So it all makes sense. Take the heaviest breakdowns, the most brutal speed, the meanest Thrashmetal parts, the most insane vocals, and you may be able to picture out how The Swarm sounds like. I've uploaded everything I could get my hands on in the internet, since I do not have the equipment to rip vinyl myself. I know that there is some stuff missing, for example there is a track by The Swarm on a 7" compilation called "Prevent This Tragedy - Skate-Core Compilation Vol. 1", which was released on Element Records from Cleveland by the end of the 90ies. But like I said, I cant't rip it. And then there may be compilation tracks, or demos I don't know nothing of. So if you know (or even have) some tracks that aren't uploaded here, please let me know. Please click on the pictures to get them biiiiiiiiig. 

Please note: I deleted all the downloads a while ago, but if you know how to use Google you should be able to find everything quite easy.

So here we go:

Old Blue Eyes Is Dead
Arguably my favourite record by The Swarm. Sick production, insane packaging (you have to flip the head on the frontcover away do get the inner sleeve out and fancy stuff like that) and top song writing.A killer record everybody should have.




Parasitic Skies
I guess this 10" is nearly as perfect as the OBEID 7". Only "nearly" because the packaging isn't that insane, and I think the songs on the 7" are a little bit more to the point. But still an awesome record for damn sure. We even paid an homage to the cover with the cover of our first full length on vinyl.




Split 7" with Mörser
This split 7" was released on Per Koro Records from Germany, and symolizes the clash of Canadian brutality and Bremen's insanity. Both bands deliver something completly unique, The Swarm their known fast Hardcore meets Slayer meets darkness madness, Mörser their Grindcore meets Bremen Hardcore. Mörser features members of 90ies bands like Systral; imagine their music mixed up with Terrorizer to get the picture. Although not the best songs both bands ever recorded, definetly above the average other bands have set. Great artwork as well, so this is definitely an item to get your hands on if you get the chance.



Split 7" with Force Fed Glass
Well, to be honest this is weakest release of The Swarm I know. In general the songs are a little less metallic and lack the sick ideas of others. The Black Flag cover (Revenge) is pretty cool anyway. Force Fed Glass are ok, but there were (and are) better bands imo.

Compilation tracks:
This track called Lament was released on a compilation called "The Sound And The Fury" on a label called Redstar records (that has nothing to do with the New York based label Red Star), that features also songs by Chokehold and Another Victim plus a lot more of bands I've never heard of, most of them playing some kind of metallic Hardcore. I've decided to upload only the track by The Swarm anyway, which is actually really good and could've been released on the OBEID as well, so it's definitely worth a listen. On the same compilation is a hidden track also by the Swarm, just a few seconds, just for fun haha.

Another exclusive compilation track can be found on the Prevent This Tragedy Vol 1 Compilation (like I mentionend above). The song itself is rather simple, only 40 seconds long, and the lyrics deal about the Ollie impossible. Yeah.