I
NEWS:
APRIL 08 - BUSINE$$ CLA$$ DEATH (UNMASTERED PRE-RELEASE VERSION) FROM THE DEBUT ALBUM NOW UP HIER: WWW.MYSPACE.COM/METALVICTIM
VICTIM DEBUT ALBUM IS FINISHED. MASTERPIECE, A FIRESTORM OF LEAD, A FOREST THAT GETS UP AND FIGHTS NUCLEAR WARS, UTTER NOISE ARMAPLATED ENRAGED UNDEAD MAMMOTH WITH A NUN IMPALED ON EACH TUSK... PRODUCED BY THE RED KRAYOLA'S MAYO THOMPSON
PUB FIGHT..................CAR CRASH..................IRON FIST
VICTIM DISKOGRAPHY:
HARD MAG ISSUE ONE COVER CD FEATURING THREE TRACKS
LET THE CLUTCH OUT, MAMA / MIDAS JUDAS / NEARLY BREAKING HEART
ONLY 1000 WERE PRINTED, EACH MAGAZINE COMES WITH A FREE COMPACT DISK FEATURING 12 TRACKS BY: EPIDEME, THE DEVIL, VICTIM, THE COMPANY. CD - PROCESS WALLET - 3-COLOUR CD - 12-TRACKS (4-ACTS X 3-TRACKS) - 56.3 MINUTES - BURNED FROM GLASS
AVAILABLE FROM HARD MAG
DEBUT CD SINGLE ON LEITERWAGEN RECORDS
TEXAS SATAN / TOUGH ROCK / ROCK OFF
MAY STILL BE AVAILABLE AT:
DISQUE, 11 CHAPEL MARKET, LONDON N1
SISTER RAY, FORMERLY SELECT-A-DISC, BERWICK ST, LONDON WC2
SCOTLAND: AVALANCHE RECORDS, 63 COCKBURN STREET, EDINBURGH
NEW YORK: OTHER MUSIC, 15 E. 4TH ST., 10003
NEW YORK: REENA SPAULINGS, 371 GRAND ST., CHINATOWN
OR CONTACT VICTIM FOR COPIES
ALZO SEE VICTIM LIVE IN "TRENT 2 RENT" A SHORT 35MM FILM BY CASSIUS MATTHIAS / ZOOM FILMS
TWO THOUSAND AND THREE:
25TH APRIL - ARTS CAFE, LONDON (WITH FOR MY BRAIN)
25TH JULY - THE CARLISLE, HASTINGS
19TH SEPTEMBER - HIP PRIEST LAUNCH, LONDON (WITH COUNTRY TEASERS)
4TH OCTOBER - TATTY SEASIDE TOWN, WORTHING
TWO THOUSAND AND FOUR:
4TH MAY - THE PLEASURE UNIT, LONDON (WITH GLUE)
23RD JUNE - THE COMEDY, LONDON (WITH THE SCRATCH AND THE MERMAID KICKERS)
18TH JULY - THE FREE BUTT, BRIGHTON (WITH COUNTRY TEASERS AND I'M BEING GOOD)
19TH JULY - VICTIM SINGLE LAUNCH, THE WINDMILL, BRIXTON (WITH COUNTRY TEASERS)
5TH DECEMBER - LEITERWAGEN LABEL MEGAANGRIFF, BLUE SHELL, LUXEMBURGERSTR. 32, COLOGNE, GERMANY (WITH SE GOLDEN THORSTEN AND DON HOBBY)
8TH DECEMBER - THE PLEASURE UNIT, 359 BETHNAL GREEN ROAD, LONDON E2 (WITH VIVACHI, AND NOW WE'RE EVEN AND PENNY RED)
TWO THOUSAND AND FIVE:
27TH JANUARY - VICTIM HOSTED THREE BAND/NO BASS FRENZY AT THE MONTAGUE ARMS, 289 QUEENS ROAD, NEW CROSS, LONDON SE14 (WITH EPIDEME AND KILL KILL KILL)
29TH JANUARY - OUR MAJOR NEW YORK SHOWCASE AT SIBERIA (WITH VRKOLAK)
1ST FEBRUARY - TRASH, 256 GRAND ST., WILLIAMSBURG, BROOKLYN (WITH METALFIER AND SAYNONARA)
8TH JUNE - EASTEND BUTCHER AT THE RHYTHM FACTORY, LONDON (WITH CORPSING, ETHERNAL, DOMINO EFFECT AND MEGGIDO)
13TH JULY - THE UNDERWORLD, CAMDEN, LONDON. VICTIM HEADLINE (WITH SUPPORT FROM SOCIAL HEAD REMOVAL AND RISE TO ADDICTION)
23RD SEPTEMBER - "THE MACHINE ROOM" HOLLOWAY, LONDON. FREE DEATH AND PAIN PARTY (WITH NO BRA, CÜNST AND COUNTRY TEASERS)
17TH DECEMBER - VICTIM MIDWINTER PARTY, "THE MACHINE ROOM" HOLLOWAY, LONDON N7 (WITH GLUE & NOUGHT)
TWO THOUSAND AND SIX:
27TH MAY - PARTY FOR THE OPENING OF "AFTER THE BUTCHER", LICHTENBERG, BERLIN (WITH DIE BAND)
30TH DECEMBER - THE BUFFALO BAR, LONDON, (WITH THE REBEL AND SHIT & SHINE)
TWO THOUSAND AND SEVEN:
12TH JANUARY - THE NEW DOME "KULTURKAMPF" EVENT, STRATFORD, EAST LONDON.
1ST MARCH - THE ONE O'CLOCK GUN FUNDRAISING EXTRAVAGANZA AT THE WEE RED BAR, EDINBURGH COLLEGE OF ART, SCOTLAND (WITH THE RUBY TUESDAYS' 'OFF THE CUFF' AND POETRY)
22ND MAY - THE WINDMILL, BRIXTON, LONDON (WITH DIE DIE DENEUVE AND JUNKYARD CHOIR)
7TH JUNE - THE HEAVY METAL WEDDING, ALTRINHAM, CHESHIRE
26TH NOVEMBER - "THE BRAIN-IDIOTS MIND-THOUGHTS", THE MACBETH, 70 HOXTON ST, SHOREDITCH, LONDON N1 (WITH CHARLOTTEFIELD AND PLUG).
TWO THOUSAND AND EIGHT:
CUMIN SOON
INTERVIEW, DEZEMBER 2004
WITH CHRISTABEL STEWART, IN TANK MAGAZINE FEBRUARY 2005
Iron Fist: Our ambition grows and changes as the possibilities arise. One ambition is to do an album. We have songs for about two or three albums. Another is to play in a larger context, whether it's a festival or something, to see how it works with an audience of a couple of thousand people.
Car Crash: It feels like we've been doing big gigs in small venues and I think it would be good to do some big gigs in bigger venues. Because it's just so enjoyable for both us and the audience.
Iron Fist: Another is to really put our music in a metal context, in terms of constantly playing metal clubs. This is very difficult actually being based in central London, because there's not much metal in the middle of London.
Christabel Stewart: Why is that?
Pub Fight: It's not really fashion-related music, it's a fan-related activity, so the Metal scene is all out of town and in smaller cities. And that's another ambition. Because we're getting so much from the metal scene, is to also be a more conscious part of that scene. Though we did send our single off to some people and it was actually played on Radio One on 'The Rock Show' alongside Slipknot and mainstream metal bands. That happened purely on the basis that the record had some kind of ambition, something different going on in it. There's a sense of not being a parasite on the metal scene, but being part and parcel of its re-invention.
CS: What do you look to for the aesthetic of Victim, as it has been such a driving force in the development of all metal genres?
Iron Fist: In a sense we do take a bit of a liberty in accessing metal as we see it. We don't see ourselves as part of a particular metal genre, so in terms of the aesthetic - like how the flyers look - it's more to do with harnessing some sort of aggressive, evil feel, and also trying to channel that into how we look on stage and in the backdrop. It does feel to me often very, very right when we're on stage, really grinding it out, screaming, being as loud as we can - there's a sense of validation.
Pub Fight: I think by concentrating on the concept of metal, we can communicate something to people in a very clear way, which we couldn't if we werent focussed on that idea. And it is a brilliant idea, heavy metal, that's why it is slowly coming back, because it really is something quite beautiful — in our eyes.
CS: How do you create music together as a band?
Pub Fight: We work very much as a band, in the sense that the three of us can write something extraordinary and we can also play together in an extraordinary way, even though perhaps were not even musicians, but the sound we make is great. That's what's been the surprise for doing the band for me, that it's so much more than the sum of its parts. The songs are written by all three of us.
CS: Can you actually play your instruments?
Pub Fight: Well, let's just say that in the old days Rolls-Royce did not give out the engine capacity of their cars. It was described as 'sufficient'.
CS: There's a history of artists being behind the forming of bands. How do you relate to that legacy?
Pub Fight: There has been a recent history of artists forming conceptual arty bands. We're not about that, although there is a kind of distance or humour in what we do, but that distance is in all metal, or all good metal, or all good music. The idea of somebody who is an artist forming a metal band might be seen as a joke, but it's not in this case. It's something that's happened by itself and it's become its own thing with its own life, against our expectations, even our wills. Iron Fist: Our context is experimental metal and the influences that we bring to the music we make, all that metal that we've already mentioned is in there, but alongside, probably equally The Beach Boys, The Vibrators, Mansun... Car Crash: Manson? Fuck that! More like WAGNER... Iron Fist: ...Bach, Beethoven string quartets, Alban Berg. We're all big music fans and it's all going to be in there. Melody is something we are very interested in but alongside terrifying heaviness, but ultimately it has to add up to metal. Car Crash: To an extent we are also working in isolation. I dont feel very influenced by other things that are going on . I feel influenced by Pub Fight and Iron Fist and just things like evil manifestations of mayhem. Pub Fight: Yes, it does actually generate itself, and it's new and we dont know what direction it's going in. Car Crash: Apart from to hell. Iron Fist: To hell, yeah. Car Crash: And it's a very, very, heavy, heavy road. Volcanic, a volcanic rock road. C: You mentioned 'harnessing an aggressive, evil feel'. The thematic of evil in music has encountered several incarnations over the decades, masquerading as scare tactic, fundamental underpinning and total sensationalism. How do you see Victim in relation to this inheritance? Iron Fist: Throughout the history of metal, certainly since the early seventies, there has been this mythical link with the occult. Hellraisers on stage, hellraisers in the hotel room and naturally hellraisers in their faith. But of course it's all a myth, from Black Sabbath to Judas Priest, Iron Maiden and Venom. They have all toyed with this evil imagery for theatrical effect. Norwegian Black Metal appeared to take it more seriously. This is '90s stuff, and can be extremely intense music, but it is connected with far right ideology and paganism - Satanism turning into Paganism. It is interesting musically because it's structured almost like classical music and it's sophisticated, but for various reasons, that has been something we've wanted to avoid, not least the political aspect, since we are not on the right... Pub Fight: In fact we're anti-Right. I'm a communist. And we don't like use of Black Metal by arty types like Harmony Korine, because Black Metal in a way ruined metal. Car Crash: Don't knock the Norwegians! Iron Fist: ...but this theatrical link with Satan can be traced back to the Blues, the music it all stems from. Robert Johnson supposedly made a deal with the devil when he vanished for six months, the mythology's all in there. Toying with this sort of mythology and the classic macho aggressive stance of Metal carries with it an appealing absurdity that feels extremely appropriate. I was talking about using that aggression and that sort of imagery in the visuals and onstage, it feels a very powerful force to be utilising. In terms of the way religious fundamentalism is used in the world today - when you hear of the American troops in Falluja speak of the faceless enemy they were attacking as 'Satan', you capture an idea of the potential power of such notions against a fundamentalist establishment. If you picture yourself as that enemy, opposing one side of that fundamentalism then you could be Satan and you are the victim. Pub Fight: Both sides are Satan in this war and we're just reflecting the out of control Satanic nature of the future... Car Crash: ...and of ourselves. PHOTO:
ANNA SCHORI. LIVE PHOTOS: SOPHIE POLITOWICZ