Victims

Victims, a Swedish quartet devoted to D-beat and hardcore, deliver a vicious, crusty, and brutal sound that has kept them underground favorites for more than twenty years. Multiple releases appeared on Havoc, Tankcrimes, and Deathwish before the band moved to Relapse in 2019 to issue its seventh studio album, The Horse and Sparrow Theory.

The group formed in Nyköping in 1997, its original lineup consisting of vocalist Johan Eriksson, guitarist Marcus Strandberg, bassist Andy Söderström, and drummer Andy Henriksson. Discharge, Motörhead, and ’80s U.S. hardcore supplied the decisive influences. A demo recorded soon afterward surfaced officially in 1999 as the EP Harder Than It Was Meant to Be. The debut full-length, Neverendinglasting, followed in 2001 on Yellow Dog; Strandberg then departed and Jon Lindqvist took his place. In Blood arrived in 2004 and Divide and Conquer in 2006, both on Havoc. After those albums Söderström exited, leaving Eriksson to handle bass as well. The late Mieszko Talarczyk of Nasum produced the first three LPs.

Killer, the fourth album, appeared on Deathwish in 2008, after which British guitarist Gareth Smith, formerly of Raging Speedhorn, joined. The next two records, A Dissident (2011) and Sirens (2016, Tankcrimes), represented the band’s most polished work to date. With each release Victims sought to extend the D-beat format through added melody, atmosphere, solos, and other metal elements, while the lyrics addressed political subjects from a personal perspective. Between full-lengths the quartet issued several EPs and split releases shared with Acursed, Kylesa, and From Ashes Rise. In 2019 Victims signed with Relapse to release their seventh studio album, The Horse and Sparrow Theory.