MYSTERY BAND SERIES, PART 3
VICTIMS “HOLD ME / VICTIMS OF SOCIETY” ACETATE 7″
(NEW YORK?- ANGEL SOUND, 1978)
Welcome to another installment of the Mystery Band series! This painfully rare acetate (I am presuming that less than 5 copies exist) was first presented to the general populace when the second track on it, “Victims of Society”, was included on 2001’s wonderful No One Left To Blame comp LP. The quick liner notes said that it was by the Victims from New Jersey who did various other records well-known to KBD fans and collectors (what with an oft-comped, nice, raw EP in 1978 on the Misfits’ Plan 9 label and then an LP a year later on Golden Disc).
BUT the Summer 2008 issue of the always-great Ugly Things ‘zine had an extensive interview with The Victims (very nice piece, by the way- check it out if you haven’t already)! 
The end of the article had a discography of all of the Victims’ releases (see above). And what does it say in the said discography? The acetate on No One Left To Blame was NOT done by them. This threw me for a loop and thus moves the band back to Mystery Band status. So who the hell were these Victims? You tell me if you know anything. The back cover of the No One Left To Blame comp had a tiny picture of the labels for the Victims acetate, which showed me that it was pressed at some place called Angel Sound so I started digging…
The above photo is NOT from the labels for the Victims acetate, but is included because it shows how most of the many acetates pressed at Angel Sound looked with white labels and their name, address and phone number printed at the top of the label. The place was located at 47th Street and Broadway, which is now a blown-out touristy block near the Theatre District. In digging around for info on Angel Sound, I was surprised at the amount of information that I found on them. It turns out that they pressed up acetates for artists from various locales, including a fake punk disc with an interesting history; one by Ronnie Spector; and LOTS of disco acetates that collectors of that genre pine about. So I am not presuming that these Victims were from New York necessarily.
Perhaps these Victims were some transplanted band originally from some other city who moved to New York (like lots of bands used to do then and still do now)? This is all presumption and guessing.
What I have known since the first time I heard it is that “Victims of Society” is a slower-paced grinder of a tune and a great song! Love that high-pitched, tinnitus guitar solo! And it has this tension underlying it, which is always a good thing for me. I wanted to hear the other song on it (called “Hold Me”) for YEARS. I finally heard it about 18 months ago (thanks PR!) The first time I listened to it I gnashed my teeth in pain because it screamed “WARNING- bad bar band rock!”. I guess I wanted it to sound exactly like “Victims of Society”. But the more I listen to it, it has KIND OF grown on me and has become less annoying (I don’t gnash my teeth in pain when it comes on). The chorus is kind of catchy and there is some good guitar riffage here and there. Is this an example of “Time heals all wounds”? LOL
/files/98398-90993/02_Victims_of_Society.mp3″>Victims of Society.mp3