Saidiwas – Self-Titled LP

The northern Swedish city of Umeå immediately rings a bell for generations of hardcore kids who have combined a firm belief in revolutionary social change with a lifestyle that promotes youthful rebellion and an insatiable desire to make a positive impact on the world. However, with the exception of Refused and Abhinanda, most of the original Umeå Hardcore bands of the ’90s didn’t get much recognition and only released a handful of records.

Saidiwas was a hardcore punk band from Umeå that was only active for two years between 1996 and 1997, but also one of the most interesting bands to come out of the Swedish town. Despite their young age, the band didn’t shy away from their anarchist political beliefs and were really passionate about veganism and straight edge, while staying away from both the machismo and metallic sound of bands like Earth Crisis that were at the forefront of the scene. Instead, Saidiwas were more influenced by DC’s “Revolution Summer” and early emo or post-hardcore bands that were not as popular in Europe at the time.

In 1996, Saidiwas played the legendary Vort’n Vis festival in Ieper, Belgium, known as one of the epicenters of the legendary H8000 scene and its violent crowds at hardcore shows. The band certainly had a lot to say, both about their political beliefs and what they didn’t like about the not-so-revolutionary, violent, and tough-guy straight edge scene they encountered in Belgium, but despite all the controversy and discussion their set inspired (for example, their drummer played completely naked), the crowd really liked them and Saidiwas was the cornerstone of the festival.

Legend has it that after the event, they kicked out their original singer, who had dropped both straight edge and veganism, so the same naked drummer took over vocal duties for the rest of their career.

Yes, some of the members played in bands like Final Exit and Separation, and in 1997 Saidiwas toured Sweden with Refused. However, the highlight of the band was undoubtedly their remarkable self-titled EP, released in 1996 on the legendary Desperate Fight label. The six-track EP featured unbeatable emo-punk anthems such as “Belief,” “Punk Rock Revolution” and “Solidarity.” With this record, Saidiwas carved out a distinctive niche in the scene that was way ahead of its time.

The following year, 1997, Desperate Fight Records released Saidiwas’ sole full-length album, All Punk Cons. While it maintained the same political and forward-thinking spirit as their self-titled EP, the record also veered into a more experimental and pop-sounding territory that wasn’t what the majority of hardcore kids were looking for. I’m not that impressed with All Punk Cons either, so I’m grateful that Berlin based label Refuse Records have finally released the band’s earlier material on vinyl, as the original Desperate Fight record was only available on CD. In addition to the original six tracks, there’s also a bonus track, “In The Oceans,” which was originally released on the Straight Edge As Fuck II compilation in 1996.

In retrospect, Saidiwas occupied a truly unique position in the hardcore scene of the ’90s, and this vinyl release is another essential addition to Refuse Records’ efforts to repress classic Umeå Hardcore records, following their vinyl release of the Step Forward demos in 2020. In my opinion, Saidiwas were one of the greatest Umeå Hardcore bands of all time and these once young kids from the north of Sweden created some of the most timeless and powerful hardcore lyrics to this day. “We will raise our fists high. And stand united until oppression dies.”