Review: Society 1 - 'A Collection Of Lies'

SOCIETY 1
'A Collection Of Lies'
SLACKER JESUS PUBLISHING

After several years in the wilderness, the fortunes of controversial industrial rockers Society 1, once again look to be on the up. The return of founding guitarist, a new comic book, single and album to promote show that there is light at the end of the tunnel. The band's new album 'A Collection Of Lies' unites rarities, b-sides and some cuts from the albums that never quite made it from the studio to print in order to draw a line under the quintet's wandering years.

It's great that songs such as 'Lifeless', 'I Got You', 'Scream Out Your Breath' and 'Kill Me', which had only been available to watch as promotional videos on the band's YouTube page until now, are finally getting an official release. Indeed these alone show what the band was capable of during this period and why it was a shame that no official releases saw the light of day. Each one embodies the different angles to the band's sound, whether it is the relentless thrash of 'Lifeless' and 'Kill Me', the slow and groove laden 'I Got You', or the poignant emotional 'Scream Out Your Breath'. Any of them would have made a strong lead single for their respective albums.

The rest of the tracks expand on these angles with songs such as 'Never Been One', 'All My Pain', 'Hard To See' and 'Open Cries' in particular really serving to whet the appetite at what could have been. While simultaneously building the anticipation to see what the band's forthcoming studio effort will bring.

'A Collection Of Lies' being a compilation of tracks doesn't have the same flow to it that a unified studio album would do. But the arrangement of the songs and the mastering job has done it's best to create as sense of continuation throughout the track list that makes it an easy listen. There are a couple of songs such as 'I Will Dominate' and 'Still Alive' that don't quite fit with the rest of the album's sound, but it's not a major issue.

This album will provide the band's fans with some closure and finally allow them to own a piece of what has only been hinted at of the past several years. It does, however, raise further questions as to how the full albums the band had been working on in this time would have sounded. But with Matt and co's sight set firmly on the future it nevertheless represents a shedding of the skin and a new start.  

Posted in: a collection of lies,music,Society 1