Album Review: Victims – The Horse and Sparrow Theory

Victims
The Horse and Sparrow Theory
Relapse
★★★

To relish in a modern day UK crust punk sound, we have to travel north to Stockholm, Sweden and the band Victims. One of the aspects that impressed me during the ‘80s hardcore movement was how bands like Agnostic Front could light a match to their music and the entire venue would erupt in a fury of moshing kids in solidarity. The intensity is not just sparked from loud sounds and how fast rhythms could be played. It’s about the emotion and drive. Something is wrong in society. Our release and public outreach comes through bands like Victims and The Horse and Sparrow Theory.

I thought I was getting a lecture on climate change during a lengthy intro on “We Fail.” As important as the band views this, shortening it down to a statement would have been more effective. Yet, it’s the songwriting that remains the album’s core, and the element we pay most attention to. Written in the emotion of epic literature, the postmodern battle for awareness weighs heavy.

Victims – The Horse and Sparrow Theory Official Music Video

The way the band cranks up the intensity of the title track reminds me of early Dead Kennedys and how they would launch into utter chaos. We know this feeling through previous efforts like Divide and Conquer. It’s a stengthening base that allows this band preserve validity in the hardcore scene.

And “Hell Is Full of Good Intentions” is a full on romp of traditional linear driven hardcore. It’s as beefy as beefy comes. Here is where volume is used as a positive weapon to lash out against things like greed and corruption. Victims build up Dante’s Inferno, and either we burn it all to the ground or use the power of tornadic hardcore fury to preach on what they consider the downfall of socio-political realities that are worthy of discussion.