#soundcheck: introducing panic area, brutal metalcore from sweden

Sweden’s Panic Area is the latest purveyor of Sweden’s greatest export (and no, I don’t mean inexpensive modular furniture or socialized healthcare). The metalcore quartet is a brutal assault on all the senses. (Even proprioception… I’m not even totally clear on what that one is.) Anchored by the virtuosic drumming of Johan Westerlind, and led by Kriss Clark’s guttural howl, the band combines pieces of metalcore, black metal, and some good old fashioned hardcore for a sound that is just loud as hell.

Panic Area owes a clear debt to bands like Job for a Cowboy and Cannibal Corpse. Though their influences are pretty close to the surface, on the little material they’ve released so far Panic Area shows a serious talent for detailed arrangements and razor sharp riffs. The songs pummel at a lightning pace, but the band knows how to drop out to make the hits hit harder. And damn, do they hit. Westerlind’s blast beats are relentless. The highlight so far is the track ‘These Panic Streets’ which opens with a punishing blast of metal before dropping down to something nearly beautiful. It’s a powerful track and showcases their range as a band.
Panic Area have a split EP out now with partners in crime Doomsayer. You can get it now here.
Let us know what you think.

– Words by Nathan Leigh