The Obsessed "Incarnate" CD
[Southern Lord]
Ironic, for me, that this disc would show up now, as I've been listening to and loving "The Church Within" quite a bit as of late. This reissued CD (originally among the first few Southern Lord releases ever) collects rare and out of print material dating all the way back to The Obsessed's first 7" on Invictus Records in 1983, the "Altamont Nation" 7" from 1994 (Bongload Records), and this version has a few bonus demo recordings in addition to everything else. In my opinion The Obsessed is where Wino showed his true genius, playing all out rock 'n' roll with a sinister edge, tons of feeling, and a lot of power. And this disc is a great document of that, from the oddly dissonant chord phrasings of "Mental Kingdom", to the memorable and almost catchy stylings of early classics like "Iron & Stone", or the doomier atmospheres of later material like "Decimation". There are two cover songs included, "On the Hunt" by Lynrd Skynrd, and "Inside Looking Out" by Eric Burdon, both of which fit in perfectly with the band's original material - and hey, making Lynrd Skynrd not suck is a pretty admirable talent to possess! Among the bonus tracks are a live rendition of "River of Soul" and four demo tracks, of which three appeared in different form on "The Church Within". The live cut actually sounds fucking amazing and is one of my favorite tracks herein, which took me by surprise. And since "The Church Within" is pretty much my favorite release from the band, the addition of the demo tracks is interesting as well. As far as sound quality, this fucker has one of the best remastering jobs I've ever heard, as even though there are obviously some major shifts in recording style from the '83 7" tracks to the material from the mid-90's, the volume levels remain consistent and the flow of the record is absolutely awesome. The actual sessions all sound really fucking good as well, with even mixes, full tones, etc. I can't complain. There's a CD-Rom video for "Streetside", which is a cool addition - mostly black and white live footage set to studio audio. Not bad. The booklet looks alright, with a handful of live photos, some recording information, brief liner notes, etc. I think the cover could've been stronger as compared to the rest of the booklet, but it looks pretty good for the most part. This is a great collection though, especially for someone like me who doesn't have that much from The Obsessed in my collection. 18 tracks of excellent work that provide yet another example of just why Wino is a fucking legend... (7/10)
Running time - 69:47, Tracks: 18
[Notable tracks: Yen Sleep, Mental Kingdom, Iron & Stone, River of Soul, Field of Hours]
Southern Lord Recordings - http://www.southernlord.com

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