Misguided

Believe the Hype! This was better than expected. Music production-wise, this is stellar sound mixing and genre blending. Metal, Industrial, Rap, Hard Rock, ELectronica, and more, with many samples from movies from the 80s and 90s (Aliens, Predator, Blade Runner, Lawnmower Man, and more).Great for working out at the gym to get the blood pumping!Only thing I don't like is the lyrics can get a bit dark and negative, for a Christian band; that not a good thing in my opinion. Christian music should bring some light and hope to the listeners despite the dark topics. This record was very controversial when it first came out if the mid-90s, particularly for this reason.The band members have their backstory as to why the lyrics are dark as some may already know,Another album similar to this is Circle of Dust: Brainchild. One of my favorite Christian heavy metal bands with more positive and biblical lyrics is Living Sacrifice.

I saw AP back in 1995 at the Cornerstone Festival. Loved them then, and still love them now.

I have a 15 year old cassette of this album but no cassette player!! You can hear a few of their songs on the Argyle Park myspace page so SOMEONE must have put some of their songs in digital form... This was easily one of the greatest albums of my youth. You guys need to get over any religious connections to this album. Argyle Park is for HUMANS, not christians!

So many memories restored by this cd!

I remember when this disk first came out. I thought it was great. But now many years later I must say that I'm a bit disappointed. I might recommend this album to hardcore industrial fans of Christian industrial music but I would suggest Chatterbox or Circle of Dust.

I am very, VERY happy to receive this CD so quickly, can't wait till I listen to it!!!Bit of a shame the CD case is a bit munted so good thing I can replace it if I want to.

Probably one of, if not THE, most anticipated rerelease in this series, the remastered 2016 version of Misguided delivers a monstrous outpouring of musical and emotional energy. Not only have the original release songs had new life breathed into them, but there is an unprecedented amount of bonus material here spanning 2 whole discs. Fans of mid 90’s industrial/electronic heavy music will celebrate the resurrected version of the controversial original release, which included an all-star line-up of artists (from both the secular and Christian scenes) and which featured a collection of songs that were deemed (at that time) as too “dark” and a bit too negative for mainstream Christian media. I’d say it will go down in history as one of the most misunderstood but musically brilliant collections of song from the era, yet it was (and remains) a great sampling of all the best qualities of heavy electronic music circa 1995. With the exception of the somewhat cliché narrative “Refuge,” which painted an overly exaggerated and grim picture of what followed, these songs still sound vital 20 years later. Sure Misguided dealt with tough emotional issues and the disillusionment with authority figures (parents, church and government), but musically speaking, while aggressive and angry, these songs certainly don’t have a malignant vibe. In fact, the up-tempo and melodic nature of many of the songs pushes in the direction of catharsis/action rather than a spiraling into depressive destruction. And as with all things Klayton, the lyrics contain a ton of truth well worth heeding. Clearly the most eclectic and diverse project up to that point in time for Klayton, Misguided represented true collaboration (Buka), experimentation, and it would pave the way for the genesis of Celldweller and the more collaborative approach of the FiXT label he would found a few years later. Songs like "Headscrew” and “Doomsayer” (Mark Salomon), “Agony” (Jyro), “A Burden’s Folly,” “Violent,” “Gutterboy” (Chatterbox/Jeff Bellew) and the Prong-infused “Skin Shed” (Tommy Victor) are just brutal in pace, rhythm and intensity. There are just so many different styles here, so many different sounds. And the ethereal “Circles” has been re-done here, the perfect “intermission” soundtrack reflecting on the perfection of the circle and its significance to everything Circle of Dust/Celldweller. And then there was “Uffern” – the song that I think best depicts musically the dark and haunting world JG Thirlwell articulated in “Refuge.” Its sci-fi soundscape was truly ominous. Overall, the sound quality is exceptional. I had forgotten how heavy this album was. Yes, Misguided contained a lot more dance and punk vibe than COD up to this point, but the remaster brings the guitars out of the mud, and all of the background samples, sound-bytes really come out as well.There is a lot to like about the bonus discs as well. “Fanny Pack” (new Mark Salomon vox!) is the featured new track on disc 2, but the other 2016 songs smoke as well. “The Communist Masters of Deceit” has a distinctively COD meets Rob Zombie vibe, while the make “cover” version of Michael Sweet’s “Lonely” showcases a more pop friendly side of the spectrum. The instrumental demos are awesome as well, especially the metallic “A Burden’s Folly” and “Skin Shed” (love this version). “Once Great Leaders” features Mark Salomon’s controversial epilogue to “Doomsayer,” the scathing rant (the one REX didn’t want to publish) against those in positions of authority. Disc 3, with the exception of the acapella version of “Refuge” and the “sans guitar” version of “Doomsayer,” is an all instrumental affair. Many bands are doing this nowadays and Klayton is no stranger to publishing instrumental versions of his own masterpieces. Here we aren’t treated to an all-inclusive instrumental disc, but merely some of the best songs from Misguided. It makes for an incredible collection of tunes for powering down the highway or muscling through a tough work-out. Interestingly, those songs on disc 2 that have instrumental “demos” are not included on the disc 3 “instrumental” disc so there is little to no duplication. In other words, this 3 CD package is well worth the cost.