Fanatism from Stockholm, Sweden are part of the same collective that spawned the psych improv bunch Kungens Män, but musically it is a different beast. You will meet Fanatism somewhere on the crossroads between Stooges Street, Can Road, Sabbath Blvd and Morricone Avenue. You are in classic rock territory with a psychedelic twist.

Fanatism started out in 2013 after Tomas Bergstrand (guitar, vocals) and Mikael Tuominen (bass, vocals) decided to continue making music together after their old band Switch Opens disbanded after 13 years. Soon they were joined by synth wizard Peter Erikson and drummer Jonas Yrlid, and a few years later Gustav Nygren sharpened the edge with his guitar and saxophone.

After a couple of recordings under a different name and some sporadic gigging, they finally released the debut album “The Future Past” on Drone Rock Records (UK) in 2018. This is what Echoes and Dust said of the record:

“If you have any inclination towards mind-bending music then this album must certainly lie at the top of your wishlist. Not content with taking you on a trip, Fanatism also want to turn your mind inside out whilst doing so. Throw in a hefty dose of ecstatic reverie and you have an album which sounds nothing quite like what you may have heard before. There are ghosts of familiar sounds, but made while through the mindset of these musicians, it sounds like nothing you have heard before. It’s been a strong year for psych music in general, but nothing has come close to the originality of this album. A remarkable achievement.”

The time has come for the next treat – “Inverted Evolution”. Once again released by Drone Rock Records, this time around in collaboration with Centripetal Force (US). While the first album had some loose ends, this is a more structured and disciplined affair – but still in a mind bending way. Every song on the album has a strong identity and celebrates the almost forgotten art of making eclectic albums where every song fills a different function – or you could also call the album a house of mirrors in which the listener can get lost