Thursday, August 6, 2009

Victimized - Self Destroy EP (2009)

Yet another face in the recent international thrash-back attack, Victimized have appeared on a few splits and have one EP prior to this, Brain Damaged in 2007. Their material is throwback 80s speed metal, cleanly produced but capturing a raw edge. The most impressive element of their sound is the vocals, which have a bizarre and memorable accent to them which reminds me of so much I loved about the German speed/thrash in the 80s.

As far as the five songs, they all have some decent moments to offer but little in the way of memorable riffs. I can hear a little influence from the more obscure Teutonic thrash...early Vendetta, Deathrow and Accuser spring to mind. "Cardiac Failure" and "LSD" come and go with wild vocals, spastic riffing and little else. I enjoyed "Envy" much more, with a constant barrage of powerful quality rhythms and nostalgia. "Back to Nowhere" is the 'thrash ballad', opening with acoustics and then focusing on a mix of slower riffs and the quick build-up. Again, reminds me a lot of the band Vendetta. "Drinking Team" closes the EP with a simple, thrashing gait below some mystical leads, parting way for a fun party thrash akin to Tankard.

I've certainly heard worse than Self Destroy in the recent explosion of all things old school, so if you're in the market for more fun retro thrash you may enjoy this. I had fun with a few of the songs, but it's not something I will likely return to.

Verdict: Indifference [6.5/10]


http://www.myspace.com/victimizedmetalband

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