Here's the second Concrete Sox re-release from Speedstate, this time their second record from 1987 with bonus tracks consisting of a slew of live songs recorded in Italy in 1989, one unreleased song, and one compilation track. The songs on "Whoops, Sorry Vicar!" are significantly stronger than the "Your Turn Next" material, though definitely in a similar vein. The biggest differences are that the music is even more metallic, and the vocals are a bit more aggressive, possessing a bit of a sneer and dropping some of the hints at singing. The message and overall attitude still have a hardcore/punk feel, but musically much of this stuff is leaning more towards metal, with plenty of simple breakdowns and note-based metal runs (check out the intro to "Rumour Well Out of Hand"). But they make better use of the lengths of the tracks, so it's not as boring. The songs have a bit more direction and cohesiveness, despite a few unexpected twists or a few areas that do drag a bit. The 1:17 blast of "Scientific Slaughter" is definitely a crossover keeper, though... so they didn't totally shed that angle. But then, there is the last piece, "Moustache (Acting Like a Maniac)", which is a brief joke on Metallica's "Whiplash". Once more I'd say the remastering probably could have been taken up a few more notches as far as output volume, but no big deal. The recording on the LP tracks sounds similar to "Your Turn Next", but not quite as raw. There's still a lack of low-end, but the slightly cleaner tones do help a little. I don't think the live tracks are a necessary inclusion because the sound is pretty shoddy, and I couldn't make it through more than a couple of the songs. Plus, at 70+ minutes the disc is too much to take in one sitting. Not at all unlike the first Concrete Sox reissue, the CD comes in a nice digipack with original LP art and tons of band photos and such, with the lyrics included in both English and Japanese on a foldout insert. The content this time around is very similar to the songs from the first LP, as is the manner in which the topics are tackled. "Religious brainwash is now full frontal, Not just the hour on the odd Sunday, Down on their hands and knees headbutting the floor, Peeling off the brain to a closed door..." Another killer Speedstate job well done. And it's awesome that they included the raging "Speak Japanese or Die" from the "Crust & Anguished Life" compilation! I'll be very curious to see what the label does next...
[Speedstate]
Running time - 71:03, Tracks: 21
[Notable tracks: Prophecy, Scientific Slaughter, Rumour Well Out of Hand, Salt of the Earth, Speak Japanese or Die]
Speedstate Records - http://www.speedstaterecords.com
