IntroductionAs a huge boysetsfire-fan I was beyond stoked when I heard that this album would get a proper reissue on vinyl. Actually it was the album with which I got to know boysetsfire as it was released in 2006 just before I first heard about them (I was about 14 I guess) and they introduced me properly to Post-Hardcore. This isn't a classical review since I already know this album for 8 years and listened to it constantly since. Although it may be interesting to take a look at this album from the end of the first existence of boysetsfire, especially in comparison with their latest album.
The Music
As I already said, I can probably even recite all the speechsamples and spoken words on this album, so the focus in this part is more on the album in the context of boysetsfires discography. To sum it up it was the last album they did before they split up in 2007. In the time before this album boysetsfire had a pretty rough time as a band since their experience with the major label Wind Up (a label that is connected to Sony BMG) was horrible for them. You can already feel that throughout the album as it is a lot angrier and chaotic then its predecessor "Tomorrow Come Today". We will come back to this point later in the part where I take a closer look at the execution of this release.
Anyway, this album in retrospective reminds me on what boysetsfire were when they released "After The Eulogy" which is, in the opinion of most fans, probably their best album. Where "Tomorrow Comes Today" got softer and even more melodic than everything they did before, "The Misery Index.." hits with unexpected hardness and chaos. Of course it is still a boysetsfire album and so we still can enjoy Nathans clean vocals, especially on songs like "Empire" or "Deja Coup". Speaking of the last named song, this album is not only one that goes back to the roots but also tries something new at the same time. In "Deja Coup" you can hear a trumpet pretty clearly. This is quite unusual for an album of this genre but as "Deja Coup" is one of my favorites from this album I'd say it worked out very well. "Final Communiqué" is a song that you could title as payback. Take a closer look at the lyrics and you will definitely know who is meant when it is said "we'll bite off the fingers that feed us your shit / prepare for judgment in black masks with hearts of fire": Wind Up and all the people involved in their commercialization. For me this is the same power that you already felt while listening to "After The Eulogy".
One thing that is probably good to point out at this time is that I personally enjoy "Tomorrow Come Today" a lot and that I enjoy every single boysetsfire record despite the fact that I maybe displayed this album as the weakest that they did but that is not my intention. You can hear the forces beyond the label in this album and many people disliked it and the band wasn't satisfied with it either but they still brought an overall good album with some killer tracks on it. But this is another topic and will have to wait for a later time in 2014..
The Vinyl
The reissue was done by End Hits Records which is label based in Germany and led by Nathan Gray and a good friend of his. You should already know this label if you are in boysetsfire or Funeral For A Friend as they did releases for both of them before.
This release came in the first pressing with an edition of /300 on gold vinyl (exclusive at Greenhell.de) and an edition of /700 on blue vinyl. The gold one sold out pretty fast and the blue one is also almost gone, so hurry up if you still want one of those on coloured vinyl. I'm pretty sure that there will be a second pressing but as far as I know End Hits Records it won't be on colored vinyl. Despite the colors this is pressed on nice and solid 180g.
So far it is a solid and well executed release but there is still a difference to the original release which I, as a big fan of boysetsfire, enjoy very much. The foldable insert contains linernotes from the band as well as some from people that stand close to the band. It is very interesting to read those and gives an insight on the production time and the horrible times with the major label.
I'm completely happy with this even though I had in mind that they may could have done a remastered edition on 45rpm for this one but for this album this is not absolutely necessary.
The Verdict
This album means a lot to me and I kind of grew up with it so I may not be able to critize the music itself anymore but I think I caught a common sense when I said that it was quite outstanding after the predecessor and that it reminds me of "After The Eulogy" in some ways. The execution of the release is nicely done. The vinyl is beautiful and the sound quality doesn't lack anything other than maybe a 45rpm treatment but as already noted, this isn't really necessary for this album.
9/10
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