Victims "Neverendinglasting" LP
[Dead Alive]
Oh yeah, this is some raging Swedish hardcore/punk with a little bit of that crusty Skitsystem/Wolfpack sound going on, but not quite as heavy. There's plenty of speed, raging chord progressions, and throaty vocal screams/shouts, as well as some moderately paced rhythms, brief classic lead breaks, etc. "Bloodspill" is a fucking classic, complete with a driving, rhythmic tempo, forceful vocal arrangements, etc. It's short as hell, but damn if it doesn't pack more of a wallop than just about any other track herein. At times there are subtle undercurrents of melody (see "Deny My Will"), but just barely... "Försent" is heavier and has some riffs that I'd probably classify as metal, but they're manipulated very well so as not to stick out like a sore thumb. Also included are one previously unreleased track and the two tracks from the band's split 7" with Acursed - a nice bonus that makes the all too brief LP a little bit longer. The production isn't that bad at all. As with a lot of the stuff that comes out of Soundlab Studios a little more low-end wouldn't hurt at all, but I can deal with this. The vocals and guitars tend to dominate, with the drums holding down the rhythm section (the bass is there, but it's distorted so it falls in line behind the guitars in most cases). The LP comes on amazing, fucking insanely awesome purple vinyl in a full color sleeve with an insert printed in red on white. The cover of the sleeve has a pretty bleak collage of imagery, I'm all for it. One side of the insert has photos and lyrics, and the other has a huge emblem of a spiked skull with the band logo and the phrase "what's the meaning what's the point" circling it - all in high contrast. Very cool. I can't say the lyrics (most of which are in English) do much for me as they're pretty succinct and simple, not really offering anything new or interesting. "So cold inside so full of shit, You need a dose of common sense, Lack of tolerance and respect, A narrow mind holds you back." This is a strong record. Not the best I've heard by any means when it comes to this style, but this band could very well be right up there with Skitsystem if they had a more powerful recording and honed their writing a little bit. (7/10)
Running time - 18:00 (approximately), Tracks: 15
[Notable tracks: Lost, Bloodspill, Försent, I Can't Stop, My Revolution]
Dead Alive Records - http://www.deadaliverecords.com

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