Misery "Next Time/Who's the Fool..." CD
[Profane Existence]
This is yet another collection type of disc from this extremely long running crust punk act out of Minneapolis. In a sense it's almost like a reissue of the original "Who's the Fool... the Fool is Silence" CD pressing, but instead of tacking on the tracks from their split LP with SDS, the "Who's the Fool..." material is sandwiched between songs from the "Next Time" 7", the split 7" with Assrash, and a 1988 recording session that includes one unreleased track. Expect a pretty typical dose of high quality mid-90's crust with just the right amount of hardcore/punk and an atmospheric metal tinge - just check out the sweet clean intro and dark ‘n' dingy melodic undercurrent of "Who's the Fool" - that's my kind of crust right there! There's a very good range of tempos included, both musically and vocally, from chunky and chugging palm-muted heaviness to faster and more traditional chord progressions, while the vocals alternate between powerful shouting and a few lower snarls (definitely more of the former, though). The "Who's the Fool... the Fool is Silence" full-length is admittedly extremely fucking good. Not only is the recording a little crisper than a lot of this stuff was in ‘94/'95 (though make no mistake, it's quite aptly raw), but there's absolutely no denying the brilliance of five-minute opening track "Who's the Fool" - which kicks off with an extended instrumental intro (consisting of the aforementioned slow paced clean guitars and melodies) before plowing into a thrashy blast, which leads into the similar and very Amebix-esque intro to "Fear to Change", which solidifies this as one of the best crust punk records of all time in my opinion. It's been awhile since I listened to this album and I have to say, it stands the test of time well, and I'm thoroughly enjoying the fact that the songwriting is more intricate and metallic than I recall (but not without tact, mind you). For every straightforward blast of hardcore/punk there's a chilling atmospheric element or subtly atypical nuance that really balances things well and creates a more interesting and dynamic songwriting approach. "Almighty Dollar" is even a little catchier and more punk oriented, which is a huge change of pace from all of the slower and eerily sinister pieces like "Godsquad" or the incredible "Abandoned". The old tracks from '88 are longer than might be expected, with "Midnight" (originally a B-side on the "Next Time" EP) topping a dirge-ily midpaced six minutes and coming across far more like total Amebix worship than I remember... but who could complain about that!? They nail it! And the previously unreleased "New Years" is right along those same lines, which rules. As mentioned, yeah, the sound is raw. But come on, what would you expect from punk rock recordings that are no less than 10 years old, and of course desired to be less than polished in the first place? The 7" tracks are a little dirtier and harder to grasp dynamically, but the LP, while muddy, definitely has just the right amount of punch to be truly effective. I wish the guitars were mixed a little louder, but the clean passages sound great and even though the drums often lean towards the front, it all works out in the end. I actually think the 1988 tunes sound thicker and more evenly organic than the "Next Time" session as well, so that's cool with me. In addition to your typical black and white and red artwork with plenty of punk aesthetics, the packaging includes a few photos, recording credits, all of the lyrics, and full panels of the CD booklet each devoted to the original artwork for the releases chronicled herein. The lyrics cover your standard topics of, well, misery... be it from the political realm, or social ills, or simply personal hardships in day to day living. "You know deep inside you're losing in life, You pray for riches and you fight to survive, You work on dream on believe on you're shit upon, Fear the power of high society, Who drives the slaves, you and me, We work on dream on starve on die on..." Anyone who doesn't already own some form of "Who's the Fool... the Fool is Silence" would be very much recommended to buy this disc for those 13 tracks alone, as that one's a true classic. But there's no weak material here, and the early session with the original lineup is a great addition thanks to the formerly unreleased song. This is a damn fine collection here. (8/10)
Running time - 61:44, Tracks: 19
[Notable tracks: Full, Bitter End, Who's the Fool, Fear to Change, Godsquad, Abandoned, Midnight, New Years]
Profane Existence - http://www.profaneexistence.com

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