Vengeance

Vengeance is definitely Tragedy’s “fun” album. For their sophomore, Tragedy goes whole hog on the melodic aspect of their sound. While it may not be Tragedy’s most furious slab of crust, it’s no lightweight either. It balances out the melodic leads and fun, energetic riffs are a savage drum performance and thoroughly unhinged vocals. Everything seems to gel together more than the debut and Vengeance shows Tragedy rising to become one of modern crust’s most dependable bands.

Vengeance does sound reasonably different from the debut, but they build upon what they started with that initial offering of irate crust. The same fast-paced crust leaning on the more hardcore punk side of the genre is there, but this time it feels like a much more cohesive work and they really go to town with the melodic guitars. The riffs generally aren’t Tragedy’s hardest hitting, but fury isn’t really the point. They’re fun and they work well with the melodies. There are two vocal approaches employed and both provide some welcome aggression. We have a deep groggy bellow and an intense hardcore yell, both which prove to be hard-hitting. The drumming is great and a definite high point. Paul gives a boisterous and enthusiastic performance but also knows how to lay back and build tension when needed. I’m particularly a fan of his hardcore beats where he’ll play the tom drums where the hi-hats and cymbals would usually be hit.

While the album is routinely awesome, it definitely has its highlights. The first time I heard the main riff in the title track I thought it was essentially going to be the iconic riff in Amebix’s “Arise!” played verbatim, but they do take it in a different direction while using it as a springboard. Vengeance finishes on an incredibly high note, which is refreshing given how many albums are front loaded. All three final songs are album highlights and have incredibly memorable song writing. “Revengeance” has perhaps the catchiest chorus Tragedy has ever mustered, “To the Dogs” absolutely slays with its unbridled fury and “No Words” is an incredibly well written song that ends the best melodic work on the whole album.

I know a fair amount of people consider Vengeance Tragedy’s magnum opus, but as far as I’m concerned Nerve Damage is where they made their definitive statement. That isn’t to say Vengeance isn’t incredible. The only reason I wouldn’t rank it that high in their discography is due to the immense quality of work they achieved after this. Vengeance was a necessary stepping point for them to reach their peak, and a fantastic crust album in its own right. It’s without a doubt on the more accessible and fun side of crust, but I don’t see why all crust needs to sound as filthy as the average member of the crust scene smells.