Resplendent cityscapes carved into glacial recesses, record stores stocked with innumerable rarities from abroad and buxom, modern-day valkyries frolicking in city parks are a few of the mental pictures invariably conjured up when conversation turns to Sweden. Withdrawn from the parameters of good company, however, images of viking buggery, tainted reindeer meat and soiled erotica quickly flood the brain. An electrical storm of similar synaptic misfires must’ve exploded down neural pathways, scraping and searing every available receptor in the art-damaged duo known as Vicious Visions.
LOUD, demented and possessed of some of the most inspired drum machine battering ever committed to vinyl, Vicious Visions’ sole 45 has remained a perennial wantlist item for the better part of two decades. Released in a micro-quantity of 150 copies in 1983, this record also boasts the dubious distinction of being my absolute favorite scando punk single. I Beat You, a seamless Stooges / Metal Urbain amalgam, has to be the seasick apogee of countless nights spent shivering on the fjord.
A Swedish collector recently recounted that a member of the band had attempted to lure him to his remote cabin under the pretense of having unearthed a test pressing. As far as I know, he still hasn’t taken him up on his offer to enter the woods after midnight + with a bottle of vodka for further ‘negotiations’.
Special thanks to BC for passing this disc along to another appreciative home. It's still in need of an original silkscreened sleeve, so drop me a line if you can help. AA Songs: I Beat You / No-No's
