If you were alive in 2003 and got this album when it came out that October there is no way you can deny the impression this made on you when you gave it the full listen. Almost every circle buzzed about it. Countless bands I played with raved about the band’s ability to write ballads sandwiched between brutal thought-provoking death metal infused with emotional hardcore and everyone knew this was a game changer. I remember being in a band as the first of five on a Dead to Fall/From A Second Story Window bill, and all the guys in the bands were talking about it. No one had really gotten into their debut yet, but this was definitely the record that put the band on the map outside of their regional circles.
••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
It was the ultimate hybrid of every metal genre in existence and helped me go even deeper in the underground hardcore community. Even though the lyrics are littered in gibberish, the creativity that is packed into the album feels like an artists composition notebook come to life. The writing is at times similar to an Irvine Welsh or Easton Ellis novel, where the narrative talks over itself, and also pinpoints itself for often being unreliable. But the personnel on the album is a critical highlight. The elasticity of Mark Castillo’s drumming that graced the record, Paul’s first true epic performance, and Giles’ elaborate persona were slowly coming to life out of what felt like comic book pages. This lineup was short lived, but most impactful in an extreme way.
••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
My first impressions were impossible to describe. One track bled into the next as I listened to the album for the first time in a pre dawn ride to school. All of these elements from a wide range of genres executed in the most proficient way fired off one by one and before I made it through the record I couldn’t wait to start it over and hear it again. Their ability to shape-shift endlessly was a huge highlight for me, and speaks to why I hold that covers album in such high regard when the rest of their fanbase seems to chastise both records. Hearing this remastered edition to an album I no doubt helped promote endlessly for the following two years after it’s release as I crashed parties and moved away to college is refreshing as it is welcoming. It’s highly effective in it’s ability to elevate an already personal favorite.
••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
After its release, my brother and I spent the next three years following BTBAM, riding up and down the east coast watching the band try and find a home for this soundtrack as they got confusingly billed on Stretch Arm Strong or Cattle Decapitation tours during my senior year of high school. I burned dozens of copies of this album and took them with me wherever I went and always left them behind. I remember countless moments on people’s faces when they heard “Mordecai” or the ballad in “Ad a Dglgmut” for the first time. Moments that certified the band’s genius as each human reaction to the songs mirrored my own to the explosive, animated elements of each track. Kids who were previously into Dashboard or Thrice, and even the brainiacs who were into Blood Brothers and City of Caterpillar took notice and gave the album the nod of approval.
••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
I consider this record one of the best of our times due to the overall presentation of the album and just how far left of center it was in an era where records like “Calculating Infinity” were super hard to come by. Records like this weren’t just readily available and this was still a few years before MySpace. It accomplished what many underestimate. It was one of the first few records that did it all. Blast beats with emo. Who would’ve thought?
••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
The band has obviously come a long way since this release, and this album is buried deep into the band’s iconic catalogue. But it was remastered for a reason and the release highlights the key elements in the album and it’s evident the band thinks highly of it’s release to give it this well deserved polish. Even after they’ve spoken at length about avoiding tracks from this era live, it’s clear they spent a lot of time investing into this work that would essentially bloom the prolific catalogue they’ve crafted. It’s also important to note that this was the gateway record that led me to discover Bury Your Dead in 2003, who were hardly an established act at the time, as well as Rifles at Recess, Undying, Prayer for Cleansing, and Premonitions of War. All bands who now just seem to be a part of this myth of the “origins of metallic hardcore.” Long live The Silent Circus!
No comments
Post a Comment