Let's knock out some facts right away. Fact: Crust-influenced hardcore bands have enjoyed a swell of popularity recently. Fact: The genre is far from a breeding ground for musical innovation. Fact: I will continue to gobble it up as long as bands keep hitting the high levels of excellence set by Disfear, Perth Express, Cursed, Trap Them, and the like.
Victims' Killer is simply proof that although I love new musical ideas as much as the next guy, there just isn't a replacement for short, well-written hardcore anthems. And in this case, these Swedish d-beat dudes have followed up their stellar 2006 full-length, Divide and Conquer, with another sixteen meticulously crafted tunes to work with. Every track is packed with blistering drum beats, crunchy distortion, fist-pumping chord progressions, slick little guitar leads, and insanely catchy vocal lines. It's a basic recipe, but it works each and every time.
"The Burning Fire" stands out due to its periodic sections of intense, half-time drum hits and slow moving riffs interleaved into the rest of the track's lightening-quick tempo. "Try" rips through a potent dose of thrash-punk riffing in its 25 second duration. And "Destroy and Rebuild" is the absolute definition of a punk rock anthem, driving home many an energetic chorus of "The world, the world, the world is fucked up!" Standard punk rock lyrics reign on Killer, but any staleness is removed amid a fury of intensity and ADD-friendly brevity.
If these tracks don't hit the spot and you consider yourself a fan of hardcore, it might be time to throw in the towel. Killer represents all that is good within the genre, with their blend of energy, coarse melody, and efficient songwriting firing on all cylinders for twenty-five straight minutes. It's rather basic, but it fucking destroys everything in its path.
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. |
