![]() | Victims "Killer" CD getting great reviews, available now everywhere!!! Aversionline.com: "Killer" is the latest full-length from Sweden's almighty Victims, coming to the US this week from the always top-notch Deathwish Inc. Victims is one of those bands that really stood out right from the start for me, and I've been a big fan ever since. Their take on heavy and aggressive Swedish hardcore always seems to have a little more energy and memorability, and the 16 tracks in 24 minutes cranked out here only continue down that path - though with more variety and punch than ever before! The backbone is still very much the same (only a handful of the songs top two minutes, so everything's still pretty fast and in your face), but the songwriting is catchy as fuck this time around, and really does cover a lot more ground in order to provide individual identities for many of the compositions. From the 25-second blast of thrashy melody in "Try?" (which kinda reminds of me The Exploited or something); to the fiery, rocked out dual guitar bursts of "Destroy and Rebuild"; to the straight-up punk rock attack of tracks like "Holy Shit"; and of course plenty of the driving, bass-heavy Motörhead-inspired runs and classic D-beat rhythms you'd expect from such an album. It's definitely some of their finest work to date, and should absolutely please anyone who may have complained of the band's material sounding too similar from song to song in the past. Very well done… Lambgoat.com: "...Bottom Line: There is absolutely no surprise here. Victims' Killer is a perfect reminder of how modern crusty hardcore can still be memorable -- fans of Disfear, Perth Express, Cursed, and Trap Them will love every minute of this. And a big thanks to Deathwish for giving this record a release more accessible to stateside kids (Killer was originally put out on Finnish label Combat Rock Industry last year). This kicks ass...8 out of 10..." SMNnews: The folks at Deathwish Inc. do it again! This time the Massachusetts label is issuing Killer, the latest full-length from Swedish d-beat terrorists VICTIMS. Fans of Dropdead, Skitsystem, and most of the bands down with Profane Existence will absolutely lap this shit up! There’s nothing fancy here. What you get here are short, driving, and punked up songs that are economic and direct in their intent. Johan Eriksson delivers each vitriolic lyric with the focused rage they deserve. Jon Lindquist’s guitars thrash forward like nobody’s business, bringing to mind Pete Koller’s (Sick of it All) tone. Another strength of Victims is their penchant for making this stuff still come off catchy. Songs like “No Reason” even have gang chorus parts that are instantly memorable yet absolutely crushing in the same moment. For this North American re-release of Killer, Ryan Patterson (also of the might Coliseum) hands in a classic looking layout that compliments the band’s anarchic spirit. This is the kind of fast punk that will surely also appeal to the death metal hordes...8 out of 10..." Hardtimes.ca: "...Not everything must be innovative to retain integrity and be artistic. Swedish hardcore crust punk veterans Victims are case in point, having had their fifth full-length “Killer” just licensed in the U.S. by Deathwish Inc., and simultaneously being on the verge of yet another wild year of bringing their Discharge-inspired hardcore punk to greater audiences worldwide. Victims are billed pretty high up at this year’s highly-touted Maryland Deathfest, an impressive feat considering the technicality of the bands they will be sharing the stage with, not to mention the fickle nature of death metal audiences. But all death metal initially came from fast, downtuned punk that Motorhead and then Discharge pioneered, so with Victims’ reputed live ferocity and buzzsaw riffing, they shouldn’t have a problem being one of the standout acts at the festival. Their sound also just got a whole lot thicker, having added prized guitarist and songwriter Gareth Smith to their lineup, formerly of the long-running UK doom sludge monsters, Raging Speedhorn. Victims fits in perfectly to Deathwish’s roster and their Swedish lineage will only help in the label’s quest of expansion into the dark, desperate undergrounds existing across the ocean, where so many of the label’s bands have wowed crowds for years. From their fitting beginning on a Discharge compilation on which they tackled “Doomsday,” to their following years releasing album after 7” on the Yellow Dog, Havoc, and Scorched Earth Policy labels, Victims have proven themselves just as worthy of the hype accorded in recent years to the Tomas Lindberg-fronted Disfear as one of the most convicted and viable nihilistic, primitive hardcore bands emanating from Europe. Musically, Victims have their feet firmly planted in the early days of hardcore and punk, whether it be the British scene of the late 70’s and early 80’s, the ensuing early-to-mid 80’s movement in New York, or the more recent but equally influential nowadays early-90’s Swedish hardcore crust/punk scene that was born shoulder-to-shoulder with the fabled Swedish death metal scene..." Lambgoat.com Review SMNnews Review Hardtimes.ca Review Victims Releases in the DW Estore |