Today Is the Day - Live Till You Die

I Am The Enemy

#76) Today Is the Day - Live Till You Die

 1. The Color of Psychic Power
 2. Pinnacle
 3. Feel Like Makin' Love
 4. Temple of the Morning Star
 5. Wicked Game
 6. Crutch
 7. Ripped Off
 8. High As the Sky
 9. In the Eyes of God
 10. Users
 11. TDA
 12. Blindspot
 13. Why Don't We Do It In the Road?
 14. Afterlife
 15. The Man Who Loves to Hurt Himself

this record is a collection of live recordings and unreleased studio stuff.

tracks 1, 2, 8, 9, 14 & 15 were recorded in October '99 throughout Europe. i was worried that the sound quality was going to be terrible like on the Die By the Wolf dvd but it was actually pretty good.

tracks 3, 6 & 13 are covers recorded at Austin Enterprises in Clinton, MA during the Eyes of God sessions. these covers are TITD through and through. i actually prefer the demo of Do It In the Road but this version is good too. Feel Like Makin' Love is awesome and you can never go wrong with a Chris Isaak cover, especially if it's been warped TITD style.

tracks 4 & 12 were recorded live on 10/30/97 at 91.1 WRVU. these tracks consist of Austin screaming and playing an acoustic guitar over some bongos and what sounds like a shitty Casio keyboard. it's pretty rad.

track 6 was recorded live in June of '98 at Middle East in Boston, MA. the quality is pretty terrible yet it's still better than the Wolf dvd.

track 7 is an acoustic demo that was recorded in '96 at Austin Enterprises in Nashville, TN. pretty cool to hear how that song started.

track 10 is an electronic loop created during the Eyes of God sessions. it sounds like he took a clip of some old like 1930s or 40s music and reversed it. one day i'll test this theory out.

track 11 is an instrumental dedicated to Austin's father which was recorded in '98 in an apartment in Nashville on 1/4 inch reel to reel.

besides the covers, which are definitely the best part of the record, there's not much here for the casual listener. i dug it a lot but this is probably a record best recommended to completists.

Today Is the Day - In the Eyes of God

We'll Walk The Stars Unashamed Of Who We Are

#75) Today Is the Day - In the Eyes of God (1999/2010)

 1. In the Eyes of God
 2. Going to Hell
 3. Spotting a Unicorn
 4. Possession
 5. The Color of Psychic Power
 6. Mayari
 7. Soldier of Fortune
 8. Bionic Cock
 9. Argali
 10. Afterlife
 11. Himself
 12. Daddy
 13. Who is the Black Angel?
 14. Martial Law
 15. False Reality
 16. The Russian Child Porn Ballet
 17. The Cold Harshness of Being Wrong Throughout Your Entire Life
 18. Honor
 19. Worn Out
 20. There Is No End
 21. Afterlife
 22. Argali
 23. In the Eyes of God
 24. Martial Law
 25. Possession
 26. Why Don't We Do It In the Road?

originally released in '99, this is TITD's 5th album and it continues the sample laden experimental craziness found on Temple of the Morning Star. there's not really much to say about the sound that i haven't already said. the biggest thing to note is that Austin completely reorganized the band for this record, recruiting Brann Dailor on drums on Bill Kelliher on bass, who would go on to form Mastodon shortly after leaving TITD.

the version of the album i have is the 2010 Relapse reissue that comes with 6 bonus tracks and a dvd. tracks 21 - 26 are bonus demo tracks that were recorded live in the studio. it's cool to hear the demos but the highlight is definitely the Do It In the Road cover.  apparently they recorded the whole album in one take during that session. the dvd, called Die by the Wolf, is a video diary of the band while they toured with Napalm, Death, Neurosis, Voivod and Soilent Green.

i'd definitely recommend checking it out.

"Never give in & never give up. Die trying." - Steve Austin

Today Is the Day - Today Is the Day

I Am The Serpent

#74) Today Is the Day - Today Is the Day (1996/2008)

 1. Kai Piranha
 2. Marked
 3. Bugs Death March
 4. A Man of Science
 5. Realization
 6. Black Iron Prison
 7. Mountain People
 8. Ripped Off
 9. The Tragedy
 10. She is in Fear of Death
 11. I Love My Woman
 12. Dot Matrix
 13. Hands and Knees
 14. Pipe Dream Zero

TITD's 3rd album was originally released in '96 and then remastered and re-released with 2 bonus tracks in '08. the bonus tracks, Hands and Knees and Pipe Dream Zero, were originally released on the Clusterfuck '94 split with Guzzard and Chokebore.

to me this is where TITD started to really draw away from the more "noise-rock" sound. overall the songs are heavier and more experimental than the previous 2 albums (1993's Supernova and 1994's Willpower.) it's also the first record to feature electronics more heavily. this is due to the fact that while TITD had always been a 3 piece, on this record Austin didn't use a bassist and instead got a keyboardist, Scott Wexton,  to round out his sound. it's unfortunate that he was only on this album because i think he complimented Austin's songwriting/guitar playing very well, especially on tracks like Bugs Death March and the odd but awesome Black Iron Prison.
i really dug this album and i think it was a perfect lead into the experimental metal radness that is Temple of the Morning Star (for my thoughts on that record go here, as this was also our first Crossover deal you can check out adam_biedermann 's thoughts here.) and the bonus tracks are dope as well. Hands and Knees is your usual rad TITD jam while Pipe Dream Zero sounds like Austin's take on weird 60's psychedelic rock.
all in all a great re-issue, definitely worth checking out.

Today Is The Day - Supernova

                     What Is It About Me That Makes You So Mad


#57) Today Is The Day - Supernova (1993/2008)

 1. Black Dahlia
 2. 6 Dementia Satyr
 3. Silver Tongue
 4. Blind Man at Mystic Lake
 5. Adult World
 6. The Begging
 7. The Kick Inside
 8. Goose is Cooked
 9. Timeless
 10. Rise
 11. The Guilt Barber
 12. Self Portrait
 13. I Bent Scared
 14. C'mon Down and Get Saved

this was TITD's first full length. while it's more metal than their 2nd album, Willpower, it still has more of a noise rock feel overall. originally released in '93, the album was then re-issued in 2008 with 2 bonus tracks, I Bent Scared and C'mon Down and Get Saved. the tracks Rise, Adult World, Kick Inside and 6 Dementia Satyr all appeared on the band's demo EP How To Win Friends and Influence People (1992). of the album's 12 original tracks, 5 are "instrumentals", Blind Man at Mystic Lake, The Begging, Timeless, The Guilt Barber and Self Portrait. I Bent Scared and C'mon Down and Get Saved were originally released as a 7" single in a limited pressing of 1000.
as i said before, while i prefer the later metal stuff i really enjoy this early sound too. this was a really rad debut and it's great having those rare tracks on here as a bonus.

Today Is The Day - Willpower

You Don't Love Me And I Don't Care

#26) Today Is The Day - Willpower (1994)

 1. Willpower
 2. My First Knife
 3. Nothing To Lose
 4. Golden Calf
 5. Side Winder
 6. Many Happy Returns
 7. Simple Touch
 8. Promised Land
 9. Amazing Grace
 10. Execution Style

this is TITD's 2nd full length. originally released in '94, this is the 2005 remaster and once again  Steve Austin handled the remastering duties. unfortunately, unlike the remaster of  Temple of the Morning Star, this re-issue doesn't include any liner notes letting you into Austin's world at the time.
musically this is very different than the later albums. this album has a lot more clean-ish singing parts and it's overall much more of a noise rock album. the experimentation and metal influences are there, they just haven't been brought to the forefront yet. i actually listened to the first track about 3 times because it was just so different from what i was used to. tracks 9 and 10 are bonus tracks. 9 is a weird little guitar version of Amazing Grace while track 10 is a "normal" TITD track. i'm not sure if these tracks are from this recording session or were tracks from a split or comp or something as there's no info in the cd booklet and i couldn't find anything on the webz (i didn't try incredibly hard but i did try).
though i prefer the later metal-er (i'm sure that's a word) stuff i really enjoyed this album. if i would've heard this back in '94 it probably would've blown my tiny mind, in 2012 it's still a rad listen.

01/20/12: Today is the Day - Temple of the Morning Star (1997) [Crossover review 1]

01/20/12: Today is the Day - Temple of the Morning Star (1997) [Crossover review 1]

1. Temple Of The Morning Star (acoustic)
2. The Man Who Loves To Hurt Himself
3. Blindspot
4. High As The Sky
5. Miracle
6. Kill Yourself
7. Mankind
8. Pinnacle
9. Crutch
10. Root Of All Evil
11. Satan Is Alive
12. Rabid Lassie
13. Friend For Life
14. My Life With You
15. I See You
16. Hermaphrodite
17. Temple Of The Morning Star (electric)

     The rules were already roughly explained by oksentaminen but this is my first crossover review. We decided that every 20th entry we will be listening to and writing up an album from the other persons already chosen albums. Here's a quick breakdown of the "rules".

          1. I picked which of my albums to listen to for oksentaminen. I had this privilege due to the
             fact that he will be picking our first end of the month theme album.
          2. I picked one of oksentaminen's albums to listen to myself.
          3. Every 20 picks we switch. He'll pick which album of his I review for my 40th entry

     I just listened to Temple of the Morning Star by Today Is The Day. I'm not going to go into background or history because oksentaminen covered it quite thoroughly in his write up (see here: Temple of the Morning Star)
     I am not the hugest metal head, but I can always appreciate a metal album that steps outside the norm. I was able to tell almost immediately that i would enjoy this album as it opened with a very interesting aoustic track. I always enjoy a little thinking outside the box and experimentation in music and this was no exception. It had its acoustic moments, very melodic moments, and then the straight up metal and grindcore moments. I found that i enjoyed the songs that had that almost stoner metal feel to them. I really liked that this album had so many ups and downs. I like metal music, but I like to be able to take a breather sometimes. I had never even heard of Today is the Day until this project and I'm glad this was my first crossover choice. Good show Mr. Austin and good call oksentaminen. (020)

Today Is the Day - Temple of the Morning Star

Why Hold Back? Kill Yourself

#12) Today Is the Day - Temple of the Morning Star (1997)

 1. Temple of the Morning Star (Acoustic)
 2. The Man Who Loves to Hurt Himself
 3. Blind Spot
 4. High as the Sky
 5. Miracle
 6. Kill Yourself
 7. Mankind
 8. Pinnacle
 9. Crutch
 10. Root of All Evil
 11. Satan is Alive
 12. Rabid Lassie
 13. Friend For Life
 14. My Life With You
 15. I See You
 16. Hermaphrodite
 17. Temple of the Morning Star/Sabbath Bloody Sabbath

Today Is the Day - Kiss the Pig

I Hate People, I Hate You, I Fuck You

 

#7) Today Is the Day - Kiss the Pig (2004)

 1. Why They Hate Us
 2. Kiss the Pig
 3. Mother's Ruin
 4. This Machine Kills Fascists
 5. Outland
 6. Don't Tread On Hope
 7. Sympathy Junky
 8. Platinum Pussy
 9. Train Train
 10. Bee's Wax and Star Wars
 11. Birthright

experimental noise metal incorporating a wide variety of genres. this was their 7th full length and it's loud, grindy and intense. i first got into these guys back in '07 when i picked up the then new album Axis of Eden (their 8th full length). i played the shit out of that disc so i'm not sure why it's taken me so long to get through their discography. i've listened to bits and pieces of other albums by them but besides Axis this is the only other album of theirs that i've listened to in it's entirety. anyway, this and Axis are definitely both rad albums and i'll for sure be checking out more from Steve Austin and co.