INTEGRITY Systems Overload (A2 / Orr+ Mix) LP

INTEGRITY Systems Overload (A2 / Orr+ Mix) LP

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(Organized Crime)
*** This is a new and unplayed item, direct from the CRUCIAL BLAST shop. ***

DESCRIPTION FROM CRUCIAL BLAST:
  Regular readers of the C-Blast list have no doubt noticed my diehard love of that certain strain of metallic hardcore from the mid-90s known as "Holy Terror"; combining esoteric and occult concepts with a sound that took the most violent aspects of American hardcore punk and the searing Satanic thrash of Slayer and early death metal, the rather vague "Holy Terror" aesthetic originally emanated from the Cleveland band Integrity, who reigned in the early 90s as masters of evil, esoteric metallic hardcore. Signed to Victory Records in 1995, the band would release their second album Systems Overload to worldwide acclaim, the album featuring a ferocious mixture of noisy Japanese hardcore influences, Septic Death worship, sinister post-punk and extreme electronic elements, thrash metal, arcane religious visions, eschatological prophecy, and a serious infatuation with Charles Manson and apocalypse cults. That was one of the few albums that truly defined the feel of that Holy Terror aesthetic, and it crafted a violently raw sound that was totally unlike anything else the label had ever put out. Systems Overload quickly became known almost universally as one of the best metallic hardcore albums of the 1990s, and now, seventeen years later, former guitarist Aaron Melnick and current member Robert Orr teamed up to dust off the original recording for Systems Overload and recreate the band's original vision for the mix for the album. The original Victory version of Systems came out on Organized Crime a while back, but this version presents a new re-mix of the album that more closely captures the sound that they were originally going for, with a much more raw and blown-out production that does sound a lot more savage than the Victory version that we're all familiar with. In fact, hearing this new revision of Systems is revelatory; samples that were previously buried deep in the original album's murky mix now clearly cut through the songs, bringing a newfound unease to certain moments of the album, and bits of electronic noise and ultra-distorted guitar solos that were either buried in the mix or else removed entirely have been restored, and anyone who has listened to this album as many times as I have will definitely notice the difference. This is a much uglier, more crazed sounding beast than ever before.
   Of course, beneath the strange evil vibe that Coursed through Integrity's veins, beneath the blown-out production and noisy edge, we're reminded of just how good this band was at writing memorable heavy songs at this point in their career. Later Integrity albums would veer into artier, more impenetrable songcraft, but in the early 90's, this band wrote some of the catchiest, most powerful metallic hardcore songs of all time, music that has stood the test of time, making these guys one of the very few metallic hardcore bands from this era to sound just as relevant and powerful now, more than twenty years later. The original twelve songs that made up the album were tied together with Aaron Melnick's weird bluesy guitar solos and Dwid's inimitable, gravel-throated howl, the album opening with the massive doom-laden crush and apocalyptic sample-collage of "Incarnate 365", one of the band's most recognizable riffs/intros, filled with squealing divebomb solos and monstrous metallic crush, leading into a new segueway of looping drones that introduces the anthemic thrash of "No One". That's followed by the punishing title track, and the pure metal crush of "Armenian Persecution"s, a perfect fusion of sorrowful doom-laden heaviness and speed-fueled malevolent hardcore, while songs like "Grave Of The Unholy" layer haunting acoustic guitar strings beneath the crunchy riffage. Systems Overload is one blast of memorable, malevolent aggression after another, enhanced by those excavated elements, the fist-pumping mid-tempo power of "Salvations Malevolence" now laced with additional electronic noise, and the final song "Unveiled Tomorrows", which now unfolds into chugging heaviness and sampled processed voices and electronic noise, a layered noisescape layered over crushing metallic dirge.
   Essential dark hardcore, initially released as a suer-limited Record Store Day release, but now available in a slightly larger pressing, put out in advance of the one-night-only reformation of the Systems Overload-era lineup of the band that will be appearing in January 2014 at the annual A389 Recordings anniversary bash in Baltimore. Which you can be sure to see me at. Includes a digital download code as well as liner notes from both Melnick and Orr.   © CRUCIAL BLAST
THIS IS A NEW, UNPLAYED ITEM. Please note that for LP vinyl orders, we usually remove the vinyl from the jacket prior to shipment in order to avoid seam splits or any other kind sleeve/jacket damage that might occur during transit. This may require that we open the shrinkwrap on the record in order to carefully remove the vinyl from the inside of the jacket (if the record was originally shrinkwrapped). Feel free to contact us with any questions regarding this policy.

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