Choking Victim were an American ska-punk and crustcore band formed in New York City's Lower East Side squat scene in 1992 around Stza and Ezra Kire. No Gods/No Managers (1999, Hellcat) — released after the band had already dissolved — remains a foundational political punk record, and members went on to Leftöver Crack and Morning Glory. Shop Choking Victim vinyl, CDs, and reissues at Wax Trax Records.
Choking Victim formed in New York City's Lower East Side in 1992 around Stza (Scott Sturgeon, vocals, guitar) and Ezra Kire (bass). The band emerged from the squat-punk and street-punk scene of 1990s New York and became central figures in American ska-punk, crustcore, and anarcho-punk. Their landmark album No Gods/No Managers was released in 1999 on Hellcat Records (Tim Armstrong's Epitaph subsidiary) after the band had effectively dissolved. Members went on to form Leftöver Crack (Stza, Ezra Kire) and Morning Glory (Ezra Kire) within the same broader anarcho-punk scene.
Choking Victim's sound combined ska-punk, crustcore, hardcore punk, and anarcho-punk with explicitly political lyrical content addressing anti-capitalism, anti-religion, and squat-culture themes. The band's work is widely cited as a foundational influence on American crust-ska and political punk scenes.
Original Hellcat pressings of No Gods/No Managers and the Crack Rock Steady EP are widely collected in the crustcore and ska-punk scenes. Multiple repressings have been issued by Hellcat across the decades.
Listeners new to Choking Victim typically start with No Gods/No Managers (1999).
