### Victims: Divide and conquer

#### 14/02/11 || Habakuk

Sometimes, things are real simple. Breathing for example is something I consider quite manageable when above sea level. Writing about Crust bands does not come far behind. Not because my writing skills are so awesome that they almost surpass my ability to fill my lungs with refreshing, healthy air constantly, but because this genre just speaks for itself.

See, it’s easy: I saw these guys open for Municipal Waste on their tour about a year ago and their full-on crust performance made me pick this here album up. I still listen to it and now, finally I spill its secrets to you, the esteemed GD reader.

Hailing from Sweden, Victims set out to take no prisoners on “Divide and conquer” from back in ’06, and crash and burn their way through 15 songs rarely exceeding two minutes in length. As opposed to their more recent stuff that went for a more “metal” production, this one here retains a good DIY grit with thumpy kick drums, snarly bass, splashing cymbals and an awesome, mud-scraping guitar tone. When I say “DIY” here, it’s decidedly not meant as an excuse for the band sounding like shit, but rather to describe a well-balanced, solid production grounding that manages to keep a great lo-fi feel. It suits this music like a tailor-made, Discharge-patched leather jacket – And the music, with tight instrumental performances, a singer screaming his lungs out in best Disfear/At the Gates fashion and songs containing the occasional simple punk guitar hook and sing-along chorus makes sure to wear it in the pit where it belongs.

A lot of crust outfits can produce 20 minutes of constant d-beating. What puts this album above many of them is the Victims’ ability to keep things catchy without sacrificing speed or intensity, put the right amount of heaviness into their punk-based sound and last but not least to mix in absolute smash hits like “Who the fuck are we?” and “Running for escape”.

Bottom line: This is a highly recommended purchase for genre aficionados or those planning on becoming one, as well as visual artists looking for an example how not to design an album cover: raining bombfish from a lacerated yellow sky.

- Information
- Released: 2006
- Label: Havoc
- Website: Victims MySpace
- Band
- Johan: vocals, bass
- Jon: guitars
- Gareth: guitars
- Andy: drums

- Tracklist
- 01. Another way to die
- 02. Who the fuck are we?
- 03. Your life is red
- 04. Lydande sma dockor
- 05. Your division
- 06. The night-driving toll
- 07. Another mission
- 08. Ruined
- 09. Darkness blinds you
- 10. Captured
- 11. Running for escape
- 12. You make me fight
- 13. Livlösa Kroppar
- 14. Refuse to feed the machine
- 15. Endless