Propagandhi: Supporting Caste

Well this will be my first album review for this forum, I'm going to make an attempt at analyzing this cd with subjective evidence proving why this album is more than just another amazing cd without shoving my opinions down your throat. *fingers crossed*.




[Official release date 3/9/2009] Lable: G7
Propagandhi - Supporting Caste

1 Night Letters
2 Supporting Caste
3 Tertium Non Datur
4 Dear Coach's Corner
5 This is Your Life
6 Human(e) Meat (The Flensing of Sandor Katz)
7 Potemkin City Limits
8 The Funeral Procession
9 Without Love
10 Incalculable Effects
11 The Banger's Embrace
12 Last Will and Testament




Propagandhi released their newest installment to their archive of "progressive thrash punk" (who really cares what its called just as long as its good right?) on 3/9/2009 reconnecting to some of their old roots from Pre-Today's Empires, Tomorrow's Ashes. The album starts off with a ridged, driving song that has abrupt changes in the style of rhythm and guitar lines that honestly took me by surprise. Propagandhi's craftsmanship in this song shows with their innate ability to jump out and grab your attention with Night Letters. When the lyrics roll into your ears it sounds like a storm of instruments, and then fading back into easy 4/4 driving rock again, throughout this opening track you will discover Propagandhi's unbelievable low toned guitar lines that sound similar to southern influenced hardcore/metal. This unlike many of Propagandhi's songs is mainly sung by Jord Samolesky in his lung busting power in his voice.

The title track to this album creeps in on your with an atmospheric instrumental intro and kicks open the door with the classic sounds of lead vocalist Chris's '58 Explorer with his Marshall full stack. Chris's aggressive voice has a passionate soft spot that can be almost startling to new listeners. Along with Night Letters their are the low head banging guitar riffs with well timed palm mutes to get that rhythmic power that Propagandhi has been showcasing for years. Three fourths the way through you find your self lost in a slow guitar filled instrumental and then yet again pulled into a ripping guitar riff and finishes with a fast paced loop from the beginning. Third on the list Tertium Non Datur pops out with an interesting guitar line showing the unique qualities from a band in a genres that sometimes overlook craftsmanship and just give you breakdown after break down, fast paced (sometimes inaudible) guitar lines and careless vocals. Again Chris is put in the spotlight for his ear pleasing range with enough aggression to satisfy Gorgoroth fans (hehe I mentioned Gorgoroth).

Fourth on the list, Dear Coaches Corner is personally my favorite on this album. With an intro from the popular Canadian weekly show Coaches Corner and a wild 20 some odd seconds of thrash music followed by a quiet dirty toned chord progression alongside Chris's voice. Still quiet and then full out head banging Propagandhi that will send a chill down your spine. With a descending outro of Dear Coaches Corner provides the perfect build up/decline.

This is Your Life is more or less a filler song, an aggression driven song belted out by the perfect match, Jord. Human(e) Meat (The Flensing of Sandor Katz) has a humorous intro, with a follow up of full chord introduction to this track. This is listeners first glimpse of a solo delivered in full Propagandhi style. Potemkin City Limits is a reference to their 2004 album
Potemkin City Limits (by the way ****ing amazing, ill give a review on this cd soon) with high range vocals and major chord progression seems as though its created in some sort of punk ballad that shows off Propagandhi's synergy in the studio.

The Funeral Procession breaks in with crisp guitar lines in the midst of a powerful company on the bass and drums that reminds me of KISS for some reason (lol). Chris delivers a lower tone presents blended in his brilliant lyricisum. There is a hidden little acoustic track at the end that leads into Without Love that has a beautiful fade. Quick hammer-ons with thundering drums jump out at you in the beginning of this track. Chris's voice is amazing yet again...so on and so forth, not a stand out on the album but it's still amazing.

Incalculable Effects has Jord's last lead vocal appearance on the album, with a unique guitar line that reinforces their ability to continue to push the genre's boundaries along with their own. The galloping beat of The Banger's Embrace pulls you into your own world while being smothered in Propagandhi's sarcastic humor of their own youth. (At this point if any of you are reading still I'm shocked haha but thank you very much.) This track slapped me with the realization that Propagandhi had touched base with each of their own grooves of music throughout their music career within this entire album, even though (I believe) this isn't their pinnacle album, this is the greatest album to show the range of musical genius that a gang of hoodlums from Winnipeg posses.

For the closer of this album the creeping ambiance trails into clean toned guitar lines and a two and a half minute intro that will have you on the edge of your seat ever second of it. After the slow, progressive build up the driving beat establishes and yet again you are put at mercy by the unreal strength of Propagandhi's music. There is a hidden track at the very end of this fifteen minute long song (6:00 is about how long the first song is) but it's nothing really to note, just some random **** that the guys put on for a joke.

The lyrics of this album could spark me to write 10x as I just did about the music alone so I'm just going to post some of my favorite captions.

Dear Coaches Corner

Dear Ron McLane, I wouldn't bother with these questions
if I didn't sense some spiritual connection.
We may not be the same, but it's not like we're from different planets.
We both love this game so much we can hardly ****ing stand it.
Alberta-born, and Prairie-raised.
It seems like there ain't a sheet of ice north of Fargo I ain't played.
From Penhold to the Gatinaeu, every fond memory of childhood
that I know is somehow connected to the culture of this game.
I just can't let it go. this is talking about hockey and growing up in Canada, I just put it because I ****ing love hockey haha.

Supporting Caste

When the credits finally roll
for this, the worst story ever told,
don’t bother sifting through the names
for yours or anyone you know.
Unless they were by chance a shepherd king,
a virgin birth, a resurrection, a messianic prince
or some such childish thing.
You can storm the edit suite
or move to block its theatrical release,
but I think we can safely guarantee
that there will be no revisions to the script
made on behalf of a supporting cast(e).



Cause history exalts
only the p0rnography of force–
that of murderers and psychopaths
(the rest of us, of course,
stricken from the narrative wholesale:
a back drop to the tale)–


And so in these days,
in this terminal phase,
it’s all left to chance.
A piece of advice:
if you’re cast on thin ice,
you may as well dance.

Do what you feel you must,
but as for me I was not
put upon this earth
to subjugate or serve.


'Nuff said.


Go out and discover Propagandhi, it will change you.


[SIZE="7"]9.5/10[/SIZE]


thanks for reading!


-EMS-

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