Alarm! – Alarm! Review

In 2022, Victims released a short, perfunctory statement: “THIS IS END – WE ARE DEAD.”

And to put it in rather unpoetically, well… that pretty much sucked, because for the 25 years leading up to that, those particular Swedes had been one of the most consistent and consistently interesting purveyors of crusty d-beat bashing. Across seven albums and a handful of EPs, they churned out a thick and punchy filth, built on the classics of Discharge and Anti-Cimex while handily holding their own alongside heavyweights like Wolfpack / Wolfbrigade and Tragedy.

Though Victims itself may be dead, there’s still d-beats left to bash, and to that end, three-quarters of the final lineup returns here, in a new outfit named Alarm! with an album called Alarm! (Note: The exclamation points are theirs, though I admit that I share their excitement, as you’ll soon find out.) The obvious and easiest touchstone is Victims itself, but the difference between the two bands is important here, as well, and that comes in the form of former Outlast vocalist Henrik Lindqvist. For this one, Henrik rejoins his ex-Outlast bandmate and surnamesake Jon (also of grind killers Retaliation, and ex-Nasum, ex-Sayyadina), who moves from guitar to bass in this transition.

All that addition and subtraction shakes out in the band’s self-appointed description: “75% Victims, 50% Outlast, 125% Hardcore!,” a summation that is mathematically sound on a level even beyond just personnel. Building on Victims’ crusty, crushing d-beat base, the addition of Henrik pushes the band into territory between that and Outlast’s more traditionally styled hardcore punk. His bark is an edgier, shoutier snarl, a bit more emotive than the typical full-throated roar of d-beat. Alarm!’s attack is still more in line with Victims’ than with Outlast’s, but there’s a noticeable, if still somewhat subtle, shift towards the more 90s hardcore approach of that earlier band.

Most importantly in all this, of course, is that across these nine songs, Alarm! hasn’t forgotten the part about 125% hardcore. Opening number “Into The Dark” rips and rages, as does follow-up “Alerta!” with its world-sized chorus hook and chunky B-section, and throughout it all a flurry of smashing chords from guitarist Gareth Smith and hammering drive from Andy Henriksson. Both of those opening tracks acquit themselves strongly, and are perfect openers for a hardcore record, but it’s really with the third song, “Bring Books,” that Alarm! starts to truly spread its wings. Dark hints of apocalyptic melody weave themselves through Smith’s changes; Jon Lindqvist and Henrikkson are locked in tightly, the latter pushing it all along with cracking energy, and the former stepping out more, letting the bass glide along beneath with melodies of its own. From “Bring Books” forward, each song builds on the last, spiraling upwards into a certain crusty hardcore majesty, and even adding a decided post-punk element in the slower cacophonous crush of “Ancient Cycles” and the Swans-y stomp of “Me And Failure.” “Never Enough” brings us full circle, closing the album more akin to its beginning, but what a fun twenty minutes it’s been, so let’s just move the needle back (or the laser, or the mouse) and do it all again…

So, yeah, losing Victims pretty much sucked, but Alarm!’s here now to take that empty space in your hardcore heart, and fill it with their own brand of anger, pulling hints from both incarnations of themselves, plus all the giants they stood with. A total ripper, this self-titled offering, and one any punker should love.