A straight reissue of an out of print 1996 compilation on bandleader
Sam McPheeters
' own
Vermiform
label -- although for some reason it lacks one track, the negligible
hardcore
blurt
"Albany Academy"
--
The Rebel Sound of Shit and Failure
is the definitive
Born Against
document. Collecting all of the band's single and compilation sides -- the very roots of the D.I.Y.
ethos for any band and usually the place where a band like
makes its most cogent and direct statements -- this 24-track compilation ranges from a hyperspeed 16-second blast of righteous anger like
"The Nail That Sticks Up Gets Hammered Down"
to even more venomous mosh pit anthems like the seething
"Witness to a Rape."
It also contains lighter moments like the pair of
Screeching Weasel
covers,
"Janelle"
and
"Go Fuck Yourself,"
that
contributed to a split single with that band, as well as a stunningly effective cover of
X
's
"Riding With Mary"
that somehow manages to make the anguished original sound almost tame. ~ Stewart Mason