Inquisition

Revolution...I Think It's Called Inspiration [reissue] (2005)

William_David

Alright, maybe a few of you already have this album. It is ten years old after all, but now it has been re-mastered (cue collective oooh's and ahhh's). Who cares that it's just a reissue of an old album? It's great.

To compose a brief history for those not familiar, I will note just a few things. This album was originally released in 1995 and members went on to form Strike Anywhere (named after one of the songs on the album), Ann Beretta, and River City High. They are cited as an inspiration for the likes of Hot Water Music, Ensign, Dashboard Confessional, Suicide Machines, and Anti-Flag.

Enough of the BS though; how is the album? Forget about 10 years ago; it's an excellent album right now. It's hard to avoid comparisons to a more complex version of early Strike Anywhere with Thomas (now singing for said band) at the vocal front here, but it's interesting to hear what might happen when you take the Chorus of One EP and add even more well-developed ideas both musically and lyrically in the same relatively raw atmosphere.

It would be near impossible to pick key tracks from this album, as it is solid from beginning to end. Every song seems to have something special to it, and no one track sticks out as better, or worse, than the rest. Yet, if any song does stand out, it's "Hotel X (Idle Kids Part Two)," simply due to the change of pace. The rest of the album is fast and hard-hitting with a political and social tone running through it. "Hotel" slows things down, adds a little harmonica, and becomes a quasi-ballad with a heavy emphasis on the lyrics.

Aside from the music, the re-release features the same album cover as `95, but features a ton of new artwork with the liner notes, which seems to be a minor detail, but there's no reason to turn down extras.

For anyone thinking that remastering the album might hurt the sound, Thomas Barnett (Strike Anywhere) was called in to watch over the process, and everything does sound top-notch. It seems that the re-release of this album was done well, and whether you are previously familiar with their music or not, I would definitely recommend picking it up.

The band was short-lived in the 90s, but it definitely wasn't due to a lack of talent. Jay of the Suicide Machines said of Inquisition, "They were and still are everything missing in punk." This may sound almost impossible to live up to, but give it a listen and you may agree.

(Note: I'm sure it's highly unlikely, but if anyone important is reading this, a tour to support this would be awesome.)