Misguided

Description

Misguided is the sole album by the American industrial project Argyle Park, released on R.E.X. Music in March 1995, distributed in the US by RED Distribution. The album was recorded and mixed at Circle Studio in New York. Digital editing at Sound Scape Studios in New York. Vocals on “Headscrew”, “Agony”, “Leave Me Alone”, “Gutterboy”, “Skin Shed”, and guitar/vocals on “Doomsayer” recorded at Moonsong Studio in Riverside, California.

Argyle Park created a concept album with the theme of collective sorrow. It is based on a mysterious incident in New York which the band themselves refuse to identify, to ensure that the album remains general for listeners in different circumstances. Several members of the CCM community (including Circle of Dust’s Scott Albert, the Crucified’s Marc Salomon and Jeff Bellew, Jeni from Sill and Jyro from Mortal) contributed to the project, which lends the tribal/punk album an even greater degree of balance than Argyle Park’s three members give it. [John Bush, AMG]

It’s not often that I hear this kind of techno based industrial metal and really like it, but this really is an exception. Whereas Circle Of Dust, brainchild, etc sometimes become a bit predictable, this album always keeps you listening because they aren’t afraid of experimenting. This music doesn’t beat around the bush. When I first heard «Headscrew» I was totally mesmerised, as it is such an amazing start to the CD. The band also reel in some excellent guest vocalists and instrumentalists. I bought this album almost purely due to the fact that Mark Salomon does lead vocals on two tracks and Tommy Victor (of prong fame and currently in Danzig) doing lead vocals on «Skin Shed» and guitar on «Doomsayer» which features a rap by ‘King’ Saloman which is just brilliant. This song also became “Controller” on Prong’s latest album. Jeff Bellow of Chatterbox also contributes as docs Gyro of Mortal. As well as there being some totally cool songs there are also lots of fillers in between tracks, such as the hypnotic “Circles”. There are loads of great guitar and techno riffs like «Headscrew», «Violent», «Agony», «Doomsayer», «Skin Shed», «Scarred For Life» and «Leave Me Alone». Not all of the lyrics are provided on the inlay card, but they are mostly about pain and despair and are not usually explicitly Christian, though Saloman’s are if you listen well enough. However, as the hidden track on the end reveals, they aren’t scared to speak their minds about what they believe. A painful and challenging view on the end of an extremely heavy and brilliantly inspired album. [Jon Wilson, Cross Rhythms, April 1997]

Misguided (Limited Edition Re-Release), Retroactive Records

In the spring of 1996, I first heard an Argyle Park song on the radio. «Doomsayer» intrigued me, and I immediately went out to try to find the album. Unfortunately, by this point, R.E.X. Records had closed their doors, and the ‘Misguided’ CD was already difficult to find. While I continued to search used music stores and the like, I settled for a dubbed cassette copy, courtesy of a fellow youth group member, the guy responsible for introducing me to both Mortal and Circle of Dust.

Finally, nearly nine years after its release on an unprepared Christian music community, Argyle Park’s classic album ‘Misguided’ is back on CD, in a release that is even better than the original R.E.X. version. New bonus material includes full lyric sheets, a definite plus when listening to music that is this instrumentally intense; some AP facts, including the real names of the whole cast of characters found in the credits; Flaming Fish Music’s review of the CD; and HM Magazine’s interview with Buka.

The industrial music community tends to appear everywhere on each other’s albums. Members of Mortal, Chatterbox, and Klank all make appearances here. Tommy Victor of Prong collaborates on both «Skin Shed» and «Doomsayer», while “King” Mark Salomon (Stavesacre, Outer Circle, The Crucified) lends his vocal talents and lyrical skills to a couple of tracks.

This re-release is mistracked; «Skin Shed» is spread over three tracks rather than a single. This doesn’t affect play on a normal CD player, but if you have a player that inserts silence between tracks, this will become very annoying. The re-release includes the bonus tracks from the original version, minus the blank tracks. A couple of these tracks are merely fun stuff, like Circle of Dust bassist Og’s rendition of «Bang a Gong». The real gem among the hidden tracks is the spoken word piece that was excised from the end of «Doomsayer».

My favorite track on the album is still the first one I heard. «Doomsayer» is powerful, blunt, and heavy. As the world is falling all around him, Mark Saloman cries out for the Spirit of God to move in him, mobilizing him for the time at hand.

This album was never intended to speak to everyone, and it still won’t. It’s dark and depressing at times. AP was accused at the time of glorifying the enemy rather than God. But, as tracks such as «Doomsayer» bring out, there is a glimmer of hope. The world may be dark and cold, but the light and fire of God are coming.

For those who have been long-time fans of Klay Scott’s work and who haven’t heard this album, or for those who have been waiting for its re-emergence on CD, go get this one. [Josh Marihugh, The Phantom Tollbooth, 6/7/2004]

CD tracklist:

01. Refuge – 1:13
02. Headscrew – 4:57
03. Agony – 5:14
04. Futile – 1:40
05. Scarred For Life – 4:17
06. A Burdens Folly – 2:28
07. Circle – 3:04
08. Leave Me Alone – 5:31
09. Violent – 4:28
10. Diesel – 1:02
11. Gutterboy (iamiam) – 4:00
12. OG – 1:18
13. Misanthrope – 4:37
14. Skin Shed – 2:19
15. Skin Shed – 2:28
16. Skin Shed – 2:47
17. Doomsayer – 4:23
18. Uffern – 4:45
19–25. (no audio)
26. Untitled – 1:58
27–28. (no audio)
29. Untitled – 1:47
30–33. (no audio)
34. Untitled – 0:59

Note: Simultaneously released on cassette and CD by R.E.X. Music. (“Skin Shed” is split over 3 tracks on the CD. No indication of this is on the sleeve.) Re-issued by Retroactive Records as a Limited Edition CD in 2004. Remastered and re-issued by FIXT Music in 2016 (a label founded by Klayton of Celldweller) as a Deluxe Edition 3CD featuring new cover artwork.

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