Band:	Agnostic Front
Album:	Victim In Pain
Style:	Punk, Hardcore
Release date:	1984
A review by:	omne metallum

01. Victim In Pain
02. Remind Them
03. Blind Justice
04. Last Warning
05. United And Strong
06. Power
07. Hiding Inside
08. Fascist Attitudes
09. Society Sucker
10. Your Mistake
11. With Time

One of the most prominent albums that helped plant the flag for NYHC in the 80's, Agnostic Front's debut LP Victim In Pain is not so much a trailblazer as a searing inferno that will melt your face should you even get close to it, leaving only a path of scorched earth in its wake. The album lights the match from the off with the title track and you follow the fuse as it snakes through the other ten tracks that make up the album.

Each track is a rallying cry for a cause and against an enemy, you can hear the experience from the band members flow through their instruments and into your ears. If you ever want a history lesson in how it was to be in a NYHC band in the 80's then listen to "United And Strong" and "Fascist Attitudes"; the comradery is born out of necessity in the face of an "us vs. them" world. Rather than read or watch the slew of documentaries about the subject, just get the information from the horse's mouth.

"Victim In Pain", "Power" and "Your Mistake" would be the tracks I pick as the best ones of the album; it is a closely run race and I can see why people would choose other tracks, as each track is equally full of quality for you to ingest. The war cry for individuality and against conformity of the title track, the unrelenting attack of "Power" and the hardcore classic "Your Mistake" just edge it for me.

Stigma's guitar is like an angle grinder to steel; it may not be pretty but watch those sparks fly, searing his way through the album before a brief respite on "With Time" sees him take mercy on his guitar. Miret is the key player in the band, he is able to channel and convey both the aggression of the music though an emotional conduit that separates him and the band from the slew of one dimensional shouters that came to flood NYHC.

The drums do sound very muffled even for 80's hardcore standards, though when you are able to hear them they do seem very muted and limp (though funnily enough his cymbal work sounds vibrant and full of power). The snare in "United And Strong" jumps thumbs along while the band whirl like a hurricane around it; as a result, through no fault of his playing Jones feels like the weak link in the band.

If you are on the fence I would recommend you give it a try, while it may have inspired a deluge of copycat rip offs don't let them taint your opinion of Victim In Pain. While others may imitate, few come close to matching what Agnostic Front did on their debut.