Decima Victima

Décima Víctima revolutionized the spanish musical scene in 1981 with their dark deep musical offer and reached their peak with songs such as "Tan lejos". The spanish-swedish quartet was undoubtedly the most representative band of the 80's spanish "dark wave".

In 1981, madrid pop began a phase of "dark" reflections. You could see lots of people wearing black clothing and listening to bands like Joy Division, Bauhaus, Killing joke,etc. which eventually influenced many of the new emerging bands in spain. Post punk was making its debut in spain and in the gigs of the new bands, "mourning" black clothes were a dress code, there was no room for joy anymore. On the other hand, there was a return to the dark side of psychedelia with the rediscovering of Doors and the velvet underground.

Decima victima was formed in 1981 from the ashes of several bands such as "clausula tenebrosa", "Ella y los neumáticos" ( Lars and Per mertanen.), "Ejecutivos agresivos", "Automaticos" (carlos Entrena). The name of the band was inspired by the Robert Sheckley novel "the tenth victim". The line up was: Carlos (vocals), Per (bass) and Lars ( guitars, keyboards, drum machines).

After some shows in Madrid, the trio decided to replace the drum machines for José Brena's drums. In 1982 and With the four member, the band recorded their first single for GASA. The single included "El vacío", "sumido en la depresión" and "la razón de la discordia", three songs with tortured, angst ridden lyrics, dark tunes and dominant Joy Division like basslines.

It was 1982, when decima Victima , became one of the most interesting bands on their local scene.They recorded a second ep, which included "Tan lejos" a captivating, deep and melancholic song.The EP closes with the dark "november" and "el signo de la cruz". in this same year they entered the recording studio to work on their first album.

The first decima victima's album ('décima Víctima, GASA, 1982) consisted of 12 tracks; gloomy atmospheres, a bit of social criticism ('otro futuro'), a glimpse of optimism ('fé en tí mismo') and subjective descriptions ('desde el acantilado'). It also included a great instrumental composition: 'más allá del silencio' .However the band did just a few shows that year . In 1983 they released the single "algo en común" in 7" and 12" versions.

Unexpectedly the same year, some circumstances threatened the career of the band.( the possibility of the mertanens moving abroad). decima victima even announced their split up in a "final" concert at "Rock-o-la" at the end of 1983. During the first months of 1984 , there were plans to change the line up , but that same year (and for the joy of fans) the band returned with the original line up and released their second album "un hombre solo", a collection of ten songs with a more mature sound,( even The critics were favourable.). unfortunately this was the end of the band. They splited up because the mertanens were finally moving abroad.

A couple of years after the dissolution of the band, the song "tan lejos" was included in several 80's spanish pop compilations. In 1994 , the label DRO released a cd called "Resúmen", a compilation of the D.V music.