Cruel Guards is the third studio album by Australian indie rock band, The Panics. It was released on 13 October 2007 by Dew Process. The album debuted and peaked at number 18 on the ARIA Charts and was certified gold in 2008. The album was Triple J's feature album for the week of 8 October 2007. At the J Awards of 2007, the album won Australian Album of the Year. Drew Wootton said "It was amazing to win that award. We celebrated for days with the Triple J staff and then just fell over."