Victims "Killer" review

VICTIMS "Killer" Deathwish, inc.

So, Deathwish, inc is releasing this. Good. They deserve it. This album is 'killer'. (Zing!) I am realizing too, that i omitted it in my "best of '08" list. There is one reason alone for that. I am a moron with no memory. Anyway - now this can be in both lists. I picked up this CD last year (about 11 months ago) when Victims and Coliseum came around together. Holy Shit. Incredible. I have loved Victims since their split with From Ashes Rise. I have loved their following two albums. So when i got a chance to see these Swedes absolutely crush and obliterate Providence in a small club, with less then 100 fools to absorb their ferocity and volume, on some March Tuesday night, I was up front like a pedophile at cheerleader tryouts. I picked up a shirt, this CD; and thanked them for visting our homeland. So, by the time of this writing, this was recorded 16 months ago - released last spring on Combat Rock Industry (Finland). I do not know what people said or how much distro it got; but i re-played it again and again in my closed world. THEN, i see that Deathwish is releasing it. Fuckin' A, Bubba! That rules. I hope it gets them more exposure and some coin to tour more. If people missed their Havoc releases, or this then gets to surprise attack Converge and Blacklisted fans, i raise a glass. Exceptional Choice DW! The music: again, "killer"! just incredible. This release sees our heroes slightly less in the drop-D/Tragedy/FromAshesRise mode - again, only slightly less so....Wait, as i am writing this, the song "The Burning Fire" is on and it sounds just like Tragedy, exceptionally executed. Tracks like "Fade Away" and We're Fucked!" have a more punk sound - maybe the whole side A; with its - heavy punk, but still i could do the pizza maker or pick-up-change dance in place to it... a splash of Poison Idea, with a definite majority of Motorhead and Discharge controlling the aural attack. "Ett Svart Ar" is playing now - with its pummeling force, NYHC bassline. I feel i am all over the place in talking about this. With good reason, i suppose. There are an amalgam of creative influences - ignited by a true Hardcore spirit fueled from necessity to scream at this "Fucked" world. A plea to pay attention, and hey, the squeeky wheel, or in this case, the loud, angry, brutal, chaos-controlling Swedish Band, gets heard. Please listen to this album. Please buy it. If you like Black Flag, Poison Idea, Motorhead, Discharge, Tragedy, The Bones, Wisdom in Chains; or wish Inhuman and GBH and Slang would have a kid and dress him in a Social D shirt....this is for you. Again - Side A is a touch more catchy, not at all, slower - but 'punkier' - while side B carries the same torch as their previous output. The production is tight - good allowance of distortion and speed and a little dirty 'ungh' to it - but accents the highlights of this record very well.