V.A. – Demons Inside Us (20 Years of Phobia Records)

Phobia Records started at the beginning of the new millennium in Velký Osek, Czech Republic and have put out a lot of fantastic releases. This compilation LP, released in the tailend of 2021, celebrates two decades of label activities with 21 tracks of pure d-beat and crust mayhem.

The record starts punishingly with the wall-shattering sound of some of my all-time favorite Swedish bands, namely Crutches, 偏執症者 (Paranoid), Myteri, and Dissekerad. The country of Sweden is also represented by the scathing riffs, gravely vocals and of course redraw d-beat all the way, ranging from ‘90s legends like Warcollapse to newer bands like Chörnobyl, Makabert Fynd, Slutet, Ursut, Svaveldioxid, and Voidfiller. Other bands on this compilation include the abrasive noise earslaughter of Germany’s Earth Crust Displacement, Macedonia’s Disease, Malaysia’s Appäratus, and the brain cranial drilling d-beat lobotomy of Fear of Extinction from Czech Republic. The North American scene is also featured with excellent new tracks from Minneapolis, MN’s War//Plague and Toronto, Ontario’s Absolut. I didn’t bother to check how many of these 21 songs were exclusive for this compilation, but I’m sure that’s not the main point. In its entirety, this compilation is striking evidence that the crust/d-beat scenes are still alive and kicking, and Phobia Records plays an important role in bringing the noise to your stereo.

The LP comes with an A2 poster, large booklet and killer artwork from crust punk veterans Stiv (Visions of War) and Sean Fitzgerald. Whether you’re an avid Phobia Records consumer or have been living under a rock in the last twenty years, expect a maelstrom mix of hard-hitting crust, d-beat, and bleeding-raw noise from all over the world.