Satanic Surfers Taste the Poison

The sixth album (and first in three years) from one of Sweden’s pre-eminent melodic hardcore bands finds them striking back with a renewed sense of mission. Having previously tossed of rote skate punk, the hiatus seems to have done them some good. Older and wiser, their musical direction has become a more clearly defined. Sounding like a pissed off cross between SNFU and Pennywise, the album’s 13 tracks are relentless. There are no token mid-tempo numbers or ballads — it just rocks from start to finish. And it helps that the production on this disc is clean and punchy without being too polished. (Bad Taste)