VICTIMS

It has been a while since I've heard a hardcore album that smacked me in the mouth with this much force. With so many fashion parade hardcore bands running around these days it is easy to forget about the legitimate contenders that have trouncing torsos and puncturing eardrums for years. On "Killer", VICTIMS plays one of the best Swedish/American hardcore crossbreeds that I've come across these past few years. More importantly, the usually short 'n sharp tracks come with a welcome amount of variety and just enough melody to make them memorable and distinguishable.

"Killer" is 24 minutes across 16 tracks and not a fraction of a second is wasted. Like a bull in a china shop, the band causes serious damage with d-beat recklessness and MINOR THREAT violence. In fact, there is something about the drumming of Andy Henriksson that charges up the music and much of it has to do with not only the energy level, but the manner in which he is able to flail away so percussively in such tight spaces. The audible bass playing, especially when the guitars drop out, is not unlike what Lemmy does in MOTÖRHEAD, but the delivery is all about SICK OF IT ALL and DISCHARGE, laced with subtle melodies (check out "Killing" and even 25-second fast blaster "Try?" ) and the savagery characteristic of the Swedish crust scene. A song like "Destroy and Rebuild" is actually rather dynamic, combining locomotive propulsion, chunky cadence, and a relatively melodic vocal changeup. But goddamn, when the boys let loose and participate in a musical wilding, such as on "Holy Shit!", "Another Me", and the shout-worthy slam fest "We're Fucked", the end result is all bloody steal-toes and broken teeth.

"Killer" is simply a righteous hardcore album and it is nice to see a band pay close attention to arranging and to that indefinable hardcore spirit that separates the men from the boys. Thanks, I needed that.