Another Victim Apocalypse Now

Another Victim 'Apocalypse Now' (Equal Vision 1998)

Jason is not only a genius drummer, but also an excellent artist. In 2004 I commissioned him to draw an apocalyptic scene where modern day yokels face the end of the world. The brief used words such as 'Deliverance', 'Lovecraft' and ' Destruction' and I'm sure you'll agree that he has encapsulated the scene that such reference points should bring to mind.

The white trash have been messing with forbidden powers and their world is being brought to a fiery end at the hands of those who have dwelled for too long in the bowels of the earth, slowly driven insane by their unfathomable loathing for mankind. It was meant to be a tattoo, which was never undertaken. Someday perhaps, although the more premiership footballers I see with full sleeves, the more I go off the 'ink'.

Another Victim hailed from the metallic hotbed of straight edge hardcore, Syracuse, New York. Syracuse was, of course, the home of the mighty Earth Crisis who were the epitome of Militant Straight Edge. These guys were vegan, animal rights activists and Earth First direct action poster boys. All laudable causes and ones worth supporting. What made them all the more attractive in the '90s was the fact that these bands mixed their powerful political and clean living messages with stripped down almost barbaric metal and intense, roaring vocals.

Another Victim kick off this release with 'Judgement's Coming' which ticks all the right boxes with earnest, almost biblical lyrics about the fate that will befall those who are slaves to lust instead true harmonious love. Great stuff, which I have always taken with a pinch of salt, for fear that if I took it too seriously I may look back and become a pillar of salt!

'Threat' is another straight edge anthem with vocalist Andy almost ripping his lungs out with passion as he proclaims 'I wear the X as a guide, to brighten the path..' the 'X' being the large black mark many edgers wore on their hands or would have tattooed elsewhere. The soundtrack to these homages to abstinence is simplistic, heavy riffing that chugs along at a nifty pace and is definitely smile inducing.

However, the rot begins with 'Free in Constraint', which features some truly awful Sepultura 'Roots' style tribal drumming. You can only imagine the video to this track with halfwits doing their idiotic brutal dancing whilst dressed in capoeira trousers. Unforgivably, Vicars of Glutton (Apocalypse Now) continues the despicable trend, despite its quite frankly awesome title, and an ill judged outro, which again reeks of Sepultura at their very worst, all dissonant down tuned bass and aimless industrial/tribal drumming, is just the rancid icing on a particularly putrid cake.

'Roots' signaled the end of an era and brought with it the dawn of the horror known only as nu-metal. This is nu-metal hardcore, possibly the illegitimate child of Sepultura's tour with Strife, and the product of a scene losing its direction as its creators, namely Earth Crisis, began to release nonsense like 'Breed the Killers' and 'Slither'.

Peace