Armed Audio Warfare

Last updated

Armed Audio Warfare
Armed Audio Warfare.jpg
Studio album by
ReleasedSeptember 14, 1990
Recorded1987-1988
Genre Electro-industrial, experimental
Length52:05
Label Wax Trax!
Producer Jack Dangers
Meat Beat Manifesto chronology
Storm the Studio
(1989)
Armed Audio Warfare
(1990)
99%
(1990)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [1]

Armed Audio Warfare is the second full-length release and first compilation of electronic music group Meat Beat Manifesto. It was originally scheduled as the group's first album for release in May 1988, but the master tapes were damaged in a fire, necessitating the rewriting and recording of the material, which was released as Storm the Studio . Armed Audio Warfare is actually a compilation of unreleased and rare tracks that give an insight as to how that first album may have sounded had it been released as planned. [2]

Contents

Composition and background

The album contains rare tracks from, or related to, various releases of the band from its inception to late 1988. According to the liner notes, "Genocide" is a "burnt" remix of "God O.D.", recorded in December 1988. The song is composed of part of the lyrics from "God O.D." but with darker, more industrial instrumentation and a lack of sampling. "Repulsion" is a track previously released on a compilation by Sweatbox, the band's first record label, in May 1988. [2] "Mister President" is a previously unreleased, sample-heavy track recorded in February 1988 with a notable clip from the introduction of Monty Python's Previous Record . The fourth track, "Reanimator", contains significant dub influences. It was to be released as part of the "Re-Animator" single in August 1988, but the single never had a commercial release. [3]

Tracks 5, 6, and 7 are part of the band's first release, the November 1987 Suck Hard EP, as an A-side and two B-sides, respectively. On almost all releases of Armed Audio Warfare, there is a misprint that inverts the titles of tracks 6 and 7. "Kneel and Buzz" has a raw, live sound, plus samples from the communications of the Apollo 11 mission. The title itself is a pun on the names of astronauts Neil (Armstrong) and Buzz (Aldrin). "Fear Version" is a very short, yet intense track recorded in January 1988 that was intended to be on the Suck Hard CD reissue, but the single was subsequently never released in that format. "Give Your Body Its Freedom" is cited, in the liner notes, as the original version of the track "Strap Down (Roar of the Underground)", from the June 1988 single Strap Down. [2] The lengthy song contains live vocals, heavy sampling and distinct sections, including a rather intense buildup and climax contrasted with a calm final minute.

The tenth track, "Marrs Needs Women", is the first of two tracks added to the CD reissue of Armed Audio Warfare. It is an extended version of the B-side "Mars Needs Women" from the November 1988 God O.D. single. It has a funk-oriented sound, along with samples from the films The War of the Worlds and Mars Needs Women . The eleventh and final song, "Cutman", is a previously unreleased track, with five distinct parts, densely layered samples and soul, jazz and hip-hop influences.

Track listing

  1. "Genocide" – 5:17
  2. "Repulsion" – 3:23
  3. "Mister President" – 5:58
  4. "Reanimator" – 4:10
  5. "I Got the Fear" – 4:59
  6. "Kick That Man" – 5:25
  7. "Kneel and Buzz" – 4:33
  8. "Fear Version" – 1:07
  9. "Give Your Body Its Freedom" – 7:28

Additional tracks on the CD release:

  1. "Marrs Needs Women" – 4:11
  2. "Cutman" – 5:34

Personnel

Related Research Articles

Punk-O-Rama was the title given to a series of ten compilation albums published by Epitaph Records. The first volume was released in 1994, the second in 1996, and the rest annually from 1998 to 2005. The albums included artists from Epitaph's roster as well as from its subsidiary label ANTI- and its partnership labels Hellcat Records and Burning Heart Records. In total the series included 257 songs contributed by 88 different artists.

Colourbox were an English electronic musical group on the 4AD label, releasing a number of records between 1982 and 1987. The band was formed by brothers Martyn and Steve Young, Ian Robbins, and vocalist Debbion Currie. Currie and Robbins left the band in 1983, and Lorita Grahame joined as singer.

<i>In Time: The Best of R.E.M. 1988–2003</i> 2003 compilation album by R.E.M.

In Time: The Best of R.E.M. 1988–2003 is the second official compilation album released by R.E.M. Issued in 2003, it includes tracks from their Warner Bros. Records era, from 1988's Green to 2001's Reveal, as well as two new recordings and two songs from movie soundtracks. The album was the tenth-best-selling album of 2003 in the UK, and the 50th-best-selling album of the 2000s in the UK.

The Cuban Boys are an English electronic group and production team, currently composed of Skreen B and Ricardo Autobahn; the band formerly also included B.L. Underwood ("Blu") and Jenny McLaren. Their music is characterised by fast electronic beats, heavy reliance upon samples and the repetition of the name drop "the Cuban Boys" in the background of many of their tracks. They achieved success after being aired on John Peel's BBC Radio 1 show with sample-heavy dance tracks and cut-ups and were responsible for the UK No. 4 hit single "Cognoscenti vs. Intelligentsia" which was released through EMI.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Meat Beat Manifesto</span> British electronic music group

Meat Beat Manifesto, often shortened as Meat Beat, Manifesto or MBM, is an electronic music group originally consisting of Jack Dangers and Jonny Stephens that was formed in 1987 in Swindon, United Kingdom. The band, fronted by Dangers, has proven versatile over the years, experimenting with techno, breakbeat, industrial, dub and jazz fusion while touring the world and influencing major acts such as Nine Inch Nails, the Chemical Brothers and the Prodigy. Some of the band's earlier work has been credited with influencing the rise of the trip hop, big beat, and drum and bass genres.

<i>Blew</i> 1989 EP by Nirvana

"Blew" is a song by American rock band Nirvana, written by vocalist and guitarist Kurt Cobain. It is the first song on the band's debut album Bleach, released in June 1989 by Sub Pop.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hellbastard</span> English crust punk/thrash metal band

Hellbastard is an English crust punk/thrash metal band formed in 1984 in Newcastle.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Suck My Kiss</span> Song by Red Hot Chili Peppers

"Suck My Kiss" is a song by American rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers. It was released as the third single from their fifth studio album, Blood Sugar Sex Magik. "Suck My Kiss" was released as an airplay single in the United States in 1991 and as a physical single in Australia and New Zealand the following year, reaching the top 10 in the two latter countries and peaking at number 15 on the US Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart.

<i>Storm the Studio</i> 1989 studio album by Meat Beat Manifesto

Storm the Studio is the debut album by English electronic music group Meat Beat Manifesto, released on 20 February 1989 by Sweatbox Records in the United Kingdom and later that year by Wax Trax! in the United States. Recorded in three recording studios, the album contains four compositions, each split into separate parts, that mostly originated as twelve-inch singles the band released in 1988. The record's inventive musical style features elements of industrial music, electro, dub, noise rock and hip hop music, and incorporates breakbeats, noise and sporadic rap vocals. The group also incorporated heavy usage of sampling in a fashion they compared to pop art. Television was a further influence on the record, and numerous items of television dialogue appear throughout Storm the Studio as samples.

<i>Once in a Lifetime</i> (Talking Heads album) Compilation album by Talking Heads

Once in a Lifetime is a three-CD box set by American post-punk/new wave band Talking Heads, released in the United States by Sire, Warner Bros, and Rhino in 2003. The set also includes a DVD containing an expanded version of the music video compilation Storytelling Giant. The discs are packaged in a wide horizontal book that recalls a CD longbox, featuring paintings by Russian artists Vladimir Dubossarsky and Alexander Vinogradov and with art direction by Stefan Sagmeister. Sagmeister would later work with David Byrne and Brian Eno on their 2008 collaborative album Everything That Happens Will Happen Today.

<i>All Systems Go 2</i> 1999 compilation album by Rocket from the Crypt

All Systems Go 2 is a compilation album by the San Diego, California rock band Rocket from the Crypt, released in 1999 by singer/guitarist John Reis' record label Swami Records. The album collects songs from 13 different recording sessions which were previously only available on 7" vinyl singles, compilations, and as B-sides, as well as some new and unreleased material.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Get the Message (song)</span> 1991 single by Electronic

"Get the Message" is a song by Electronic, the English band formed by Bernard Sumner of New Order and ex-Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr. "Get the Message" was the second single from their 1991 debut album, Electronic, and was a commercial success around the world. It is an example of Marr and Sumner's original concept of mixing the synthesizers of New Order with the Smiths' guitar sound.

This is the discography for Meat Beat Manifesto.

<i>New York Thrash</i> 1982 compilation album by various artists

New York Thrash is a hardcore punk compilation album released by ROIR in 1982.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Culturcide</span> American punk band

Culturcide was an American, Houston-based experimental punk band, active from 1980 to 1990 and from 1993 to the present day. They were notorious for their 1986 album Tacky Souvenirs of Pre-Revolutionary America, which earned the band a cult following, but also several legal threats.

The Nirvana bootleg recordings are a number of recordings of musical performances by the American rock band Nirvana, which were previously not officially released by the band, or under any other legal authority. The recordings consist of both live performances and outtakes from studio sessions unavailable as a legal release.

<i>Novus Magnificat</i> 1986 studio album by Constance Demby

Novus Magnificat: Through the Stargate is the fourth studio album by American musician and composer Constance Demby, with additional contributions by Michael Stearns. It was co-produced by Demby and Anna Turner and released in 1986 on Hearts of Space Records. In its original form, the album features a single 54-minute piece divided into two parts.

<i>Artificial Horizon</i> (album) 2010 remix album by U2

Artificial Horizon is a compilation album of remixed tracks by rock band U2. It was released exclusively to subscribing members of U2.com, replacing Medium, Rare & Remastered. The remix CD is of a similar vein to the band's 1995 release Melon: Remixes for Propaganda, which was also released exclusively to fans. A triple-vinyl edition was released to the general public until 14 May 2010; this version included an MP3 for the Snow Patrol remix of the song "Unknown Caller".

Adrenalin O.D. was an American hardcore punk band from New Jersey that existed from 1981 to 1990. They were best known for playing fast-paced music accompanied with humorous lyrics.

<i>Come and Get It: The Rare Pearls</i> 2012 compilation album by The Jackson 5

Come And Get It: The Rare Pearls is a compilation album of previously unreleased tracks by American family group The Jackson 5, which was released digitally on August 28, 2012 and physically on September 18, 2012.

References

  1. Allmusic review
  2. 1 2 3 Sleeve notes to original Vinyl pressing on Wax Trax!
  3. Miller, Christopher (October 1998). Meat Beat Manifesto Discography. Digital Chemist . Retrieved 5 April 2014.