Black Heart - The Swamp Babies

ONCE THEY WERE ALMOST HUMAN

Growing out of their own noise-infested, beer-stained record collections, The Swamp Babies from Bergen erupted in 1987, influenced by early bands like MC5 and The Stooges, and newer stuff like Killdozer, Scratch Acid and others, but they never copied anyone else. The band had an instantly recognizable sound all of their own.

An inferno of distorted vocals, up to three guitarists playing at the same time, with their feet seemingly glued to the trusted wah-wah pedals, a bass that drove the tune forward just as often as the guitars, and an energetic drummer, The Swamp Babies made an unholy racket, impossible to ignore.

Rarely has a band worked that hard for so long, with such little returns in the form of money or fame. They were truly driven by their own momentum and vision, regardless of whether anyone was bothered to pay attention to them or not. The band played their final gig in their hometown in 1993.

Their vinyl-only records were all self-released, all had scarce distribution, but the records still sold out, and the band maintain a solid cult following to this day.

Once they were ALMOST human, and now they’re back! If you missed the reunion gigs you’ll always have this place to remind you of what was, is, and may never be again. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.