Therapy? - "Infernal Love" (1995)

Northern Ireland’s might have been amongst the vast number of bands who benefited from the rise of and grunge in the early '90s, but they proved their worth by outlasting that trend and any number of sub-strains that followed throughout the subsequent two decades. They might have frustrated the unit shifters who banked on them to follow the pack and hit the charts, but they never felt the need to cash in. By constantly expanding upon a frame of influential references that included the usual suspects () and the not-so-usual for a metal band (, , ), released a number of records that constantly challenged themselves and their fans. The band carried a melodic sensibility that also separated them from their alternative metal peers, and although Andy Cairns' lyrical exorcisms were often clichéd, they were never innocuous. As the bridge between and , they never played it straight or safe.

Andy Kellman (Allmusic.com)

*****

was the third major label album by the band . It was released on 12 June 1995 on A&M Records. The album was a major shift in direction from previous album , moving away from punk-metal to create a broad epic cinematic soundscape, with the songs being linked by ambient music pieces from Belfast D.J. David Holmes. The album also contains a vocals-and-cellos version of "Diane" by American punk band , which also became a single. It was the final album to feature the original 3 piece line-up, as drummer Fyfe Ewing departed in January 1996 following the European leg of the tour. The album reached number 9 in the UK Albums Chart.

Wikipedia

*****

The final vocal line on might be "There is a light at the end of the tunnel," but there's no denying that is anything but optimistic; it's an unrelentingly dark and sometimes bluntly turgid record. Anyone familiar with the band had grown accustomed to Andy Cairns' spins on depression, anger, bitterness, and self-destruction, but even the most devoted listener probably screamed "Snap out of it!" while first listening to this third record. It's almost as if went on a preemptive strike, just to make sure mainstream popularity slipped from its grasp. The band had a fair amount of momentum after the success of , but seemed to leave that concept in the dust. Darker chords and slower tempos prevail, and the pop-punk hooks are all but washed away. The sequentially buried, bouncing "Loose" is an anomaly, sounding like a refugee from that reads like a dystopian "Jack and Diane." Other than that, it's nothing but despair and heartache. What makes misunderstood is the musical depth, which is easy to miss from the endless doom. It's not one-dimensional at all, buoyed by mournful strings and stylistic curveballs. "Bad Mother" and "Stories" skank along in staccato rhythm, with the verses of the latter aided by swanky saxophones. "Bowels of Love" sounds like . If that's not enough of a departure, a cover of 's "Diane" is nothing but voice and strings. David Holmes stitches everything together masterfully, employing numerous atmospheric effects and random trickery to give the record a cinematic flourish. If this is what had in mind, the band hit the bullseye.

Andy Kellman (Allmusic.com)

Biography | Review | Wikipedia | Official Website | Official Merchandise (please support the artist, if you can afford it)

Listen to the full album on YouTube.






Not My Rip. Many thanks to the original releaser marr.

: As you can see in the EAC log, the person that ripped this CD used some settings that make "secure mode" much less secure: use of C2 pointers, use of cache, 1-pass rip (no test). Further, "Combined read/write offset correction" set to "0" probably means there are some missing samples (but it does not mean these differences are audible - it just means the copy is not "exact"). I carefully listened to this rip and . CUETools database contains 4 different pressings of this album and all the checksums are different to this rip. I suppose it means this release is from another pressing (or maybe it's the result of the wrong offset set in EAC?).

Tracklisting:
01. Epilepsy - 3:50
02. Stories - 3:11
03. A Moment of Clarity - 6:02
04. Jude the Obscene - 3:32
05. Bowels of Love - 2:53
06. Misery - 3:40
07. Bad Mother - 5:46
08. Me Vs You - 6:24
09. Loose - 3:00
10. Diane - 5:00
11. 30 Seconds - 5:25

Personnel:
Andy Cairns - Vocals, Guitar
Fyfe Ewing - Drums, Percussion, Backing Vocals
Martin McCarrick - Cello
Michael McKeegan - Bass, Backing Vocals, Guitar on "Bowels of Love"
Simon Clarke - Saxophone
Al Clay - Backing Vocals, Producer, Engineer
David Holmes - "Insanity" (as listed in the booklet)
Anton Corbijn - Photography
Lewis Mulatero - Photography
Jeremy Pearce - Design
Simon Carrington - Design


Pay the artists directly. They do not profit from CD sales. If you buy brand new mainstream albums in regular record stores (no matter whether online or offline, CDs or downloads), almost all the money goes to the recording industry mafia and is later used for committing crimes such as unlawful harassment of fans and bribing authorities to implement changes in law, which would infringe basic human rights. If you really want to support mainstream artists (and you should, if you love their music!), go to concerts or buy merchandise off the official websites. If you can afford buying music, but it is not possible to pay a particular artist without a mafia tribute, consider supporting some independent artists instead. You can find many great acts all over the Internet. Supporting independent artists helps fight the recording industry mafia.

More by Therapy?:
Therapy? - "Iron Man"...irenze, Italy, 1994) {bootleg}
Therapy? - "Lonely, Cryin... (CDS) (1998) + Official Video


I may easily upload this release to any file locker that offers a (with popular NetLoad being one of shameful exceptions). If I omitted your favorite service and it has this feature, just ask in a comment or PM me.