Customer Reviews

Misguided

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Take yourself to a time in your life when everything came together, when for a single day, for a brief snapshot of your life, everything fell in line just for you. The concept that was Argyle Park is that moment in the history of Christian Industrial. For one brief moment in 1994, a who's who of a small, emerging niche scene got together to conceive what might be considered by some as the best electronic industrial to stand the test of time.

More of a consortium than a band, Argyle Park was in itself a concept that joined together to create a concept album. The roster of VIPs included members from bands such as Circle Of Dust, Klank, Chatterbox, Prong, Feotus, EDL, and Mortal. The influence of each artist can be heard in this association of perfection, with a major influence and primary production credit coming from Circle Of Dust front man Klay (AKA Scott Albert) under his pseudonym and current band name Celldweller. The album represents a critical piece of scene history, with it's release prior to, and perhaps contributing to, certain contributor's declaration of disassociation with the "Christian artist" label and associated implied stigma.

The message throughout the album is as heavy as the music. While the cliché is often abused, it is apparent that the material was ahead of its time. The songs express the complete range of what can be perceived as negative emotions, including hate, violence, anger, doubt, and violence.

The release was more than much of the "Christian" music industry could bare, as they tried to apply an "Amy Grant" silver lining to every fuzzed-out riff and distorted vocal. Indeed, much of the animosity on Misguided can be interpreted as directed towards the church, or those in the Christian faith. No punches are pulled as song after song takes lyrical stabs at hypocrisy. The release was in a no-win situation, with fans of the scene liking the music but distrusting the lyrics, and those who would embrace the music at face value shying away from the Christian label.

Part of the appeal of the album is its implied intimacy. The album is very personal, with the songs coming across as directed at a specific individual from a first person perspective. From "You make me Violent" to "You never showed me what I would face out there", the album is a balm for anyone who has been hurt through the actions of someone else. For those who could relate, the album is a welcome relief. For those who couldn't (which were perhaps some of who the album was directed at), it could be seen as a threat.

While the content and their implications are worth noting, the impact of the lyrics stand out on the album due to the exceptional quality of the music. The 18 tracks flow together seamlessly. A few tracks become favorites, but it's like singling out a specific brush stroke on a painting masterpiece. It's beautiful on its own, but experienced as part of the whole, its fantastic. The opening spoken word track sets the stage, and from there it's a wild ride filled with the crunch of guitars spread over and under layers of hard synth, samples and electronics. Beyond the first actual 18 tracks, track 26 contains what sounds like a conceptual studio discussion pertaining to the awesome techno/industrial 'Skin Shed' tracks, track 29 has some guy doing a poor job of singing a low quality version of T. Rex's 'Bang A Gong', and track 34 closes the album in similar fusion to the opening with a fuzzed out spoke word warning.

After all this praise for the album, you want it, right? Good luck. Your only hope is the second hand stores such as radrockers.com or ebay. Either way, expect to be shy no less than $50US. Having paid the bean, I will attest to the value. Argyle Park is the sum of all its parts. It is Klank. It is Circle of Dust. It is early Mortal. It was... Argyle Park. It will be missed.

--Chad
--The Edge On-Line

Its been along time since i've listen to this. The premier music services do not offer it for dowload, so i broke down and brought the album...Still sounds awesome. Klay Scott/Scot albert or whoever he is on this album, shows his uncanny ability to mix the most opposite of sounds to produce a very powerful mix. As you can imagine from the cd cover art (the term "dont judge a book by its cover" does not apply in this case) indicates that the overall feel is one of retribution and bitterness. If your not overly sensitive to this and love metal/industrial/samples, this cd is for you.

I had this CD several years ago, until some poorly endowed schmo broke into my car and stole it (along with my stereo and about 20 other CDs). Enough of the sob story; ever since that time I've been hunting the stores and hoping to find another copy. I ordered one through amazon from an independent seller by the name of "Topmusic", and he sent me a reissue (after promising me the original R.E.X. version) that had silence breaks between all of the tracks. Granted this is not the end of the world, but it does alter the effect of this work of art, not to mention the added disrespect of being lied to. He then proceeded to ignore about 15 of my most polite and professional e mails regarding the matter. (Insert maternal profanity here)

But enough about the perils of trusting independent sellers, Misguided is a once in a lifetime collection of raw anger, dark atmospheres, buzzsaw synth patches, pummeling drums and chunky guitar riffs. This album sits right up there with the best of them, and is worth the heavy price tag given the fact that it's near impossible to find, and I should know because I've been searching for about 10 years now. For fans of the "industrial" sound, metal, or just honest artistic expression presented in a seamless dreamlike manner, you owe it to yourself to check this album out. Just make sure you are getting the R.E.X. version for the full effect...

10 stars.

This album was a mega-project by celldweller (or whatever his name is now) and many, many artists, most of whom were christian. (Don't let that throw you--it's deeper than that.) This album was written for youths who were molested by priests in NYC, or so I was told back when I first picked it up. The lyrics and darkness throughout the album are not what you'd expect from christian pseudo-industrial acts like Mortal. Tommy Victor from Prong even makes an appearance and used the riff on 'doomsayer' on the first track of his main work "Rude Awakening." It has emotional depth, and it never once goes preachy on you. It blends styles of metal and industrial and achieves a truly original sound that defined an era of my life, and helped me deal with some of my own issues.

If you want a real treat, there is an Argyle park song on a tribute to (Stryker, i think) that is the only reason to buy that cd. It's that good.

I have a 15 year old cassette of this album but no cassette player!! You can hear a few of their songs on the Argyle Park myspace page so SOMEONE must have put some of their songs in digital form... This was easily one of the greatest albums of my youth. You guys need to get over any religious connections to this album. Argyle Park is for HUMANS, not christians!

First of all, I don't own this album (yet). Okay, I have heard a few songs off it, and I do own AP2, and various other Klay Scott and Celdweller works, so that gives me a right to say something. Okay, here's the news that no one has yet told you. Part of this band and AP2 is Mark Soloman. If that name doesn't mean anything to you, he is the lead sing of Stavesacre, a Christian artist that writes music that borders goth, hard rock, punk, and alternative (very unique,. but very good). He has a haunting voice, and when you couple that with Scott Klaytons genious in writing you end up with a mindblowing band. By the way, buying this cd WILL make you want to throw a louder stereo system in your car. Enjoy