Well, this year may be no different than any other, but we have to live for the little things, don't we?
The latest Hate Dept. release has come out through their merchandise people, Mars Colony, and is a demo-and-unreleased-track compilation. Overall, it stands out as a great double-CD set and is a must for completists, but for those who rue buying unnecessary albums (such as non-Hate Dept. fans), this could be a harder sell.
The first disc is a run-down of demos, mainly from Hate Dept.'s debut, "Meat.Your.Maker", giving insight into the origin of such tracks as "More Like Me", "Beat Me Up", "Drew", and "Start Digging". Also featured are demos for "Anger Impulse", "Won't Stay Lit", "Bitch", "New Power", and "Release It".
Also contained on Disc One are two live tracks, "The Dead Peddler" and "I Am Truth".
The only track that shows much divergence from the finished product is the demo for "Won't Stay Lit", which displays a more melodic tone than its final version. Some would imagine this to be an improvement, but it came off as a severe detriment, sounding too happy and lacking the biting emotion of the version appearing on "Omnipresent".
The demo of "Technical Difficulties"' "Anger Impulse" is the same as the "metal version" appearing on the "Coldwave Breaks 2" compilation, having a more rock-oriented style and pushing the song to a new level. I always preferred this version and was a bit surprised when the album version dropped most of the guitar in favor of a more electro sound.
The second disc is the more interesting of the two.
It begins with a track from the upcoming CD "Ditch", "California", which is probably one of the best things I've heard in the past few years. I can never understate how impressed I am with Steven Seibold's knack for being able to write consistently insightful, witty, humorous, biting, and good songs.
This is followed by "Countergrowth"... I was floored. Apparently a B-side for the "New Power" single, "Countergrowth" doesn't sound like Hate Dept. It comes off like a Funker Vogt song, hard EBM and distorted vocals. I was truly blown away. Seibold never allows Hate Dept. to pain itself into a music corner.
"Tough Guy" is a strange little "Technical Difficulties"-era construction, consisting of stolen guitar bits from "Seedling" and drums from "Superdrama" wrapped around what I felt were initially childish and sub-standard lyrics. I was fearful that this was a new song and the current state of the Hate Dept. sound, but my fears were assuaged and I've come to love the song for what it is. "Tough Guy" IS a fantastic, mocking outstretched middle finger to the type of fast-driving, tattooed, pierced hard-ass guys that the song characterizes. (You've just got to hear it... You really do.)
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