Brainstorm – Just Highs No Lows: 12 Years of Persistence

artist website

publisher

impulse buy

Metal Blade
Produced by various producers

Obviously with one release to go in their contract with Metal Blade, but wanting to sign a new deal for their next album (Memorial Roots, released on AFM Records a week prior to this), this double-disc set is a classic case of contract fulfilment, but when done well that’s not always such a bad thing. And in the career retrospective compilation stakes rare/unreleased/new tracks are the dividing line between label-serving and fan-serving release.

This release treads the line, but doesn’t quite win out in the fans’ favour. The set focuses on the five-album run on Metal Blade, from Ambiguity in 2000 through to Downburst in 2008 in reverse order, and includes between four and six tracks from each one, remastered where appropriate. All are obvious selections that can’t really be faulted, including recent singles Fire Walk With Me and All Those Words, hard hitters like Worlds Are Coming Through, Falling Spiral Down and Inside The Monster and popular ballads like Heavenly. Then the last eight tracks of disc two are the fan-tempting section, all proudly claiming to be unreleased or rare. While an admirable effort, it isn’t complete, which means fans are still in the position of having to track down limited editions and EPs to get all of the non-album bonus tracks available.

Despite the opportunity to do so, this doesn’t complete the picture, and in most cases the bonus tracks included here are only half the story. Three are included from Downburst, for instance, but one of the European limited edition bonuses is missing (Hold Tight). As are both the live tracks and the remix from the Fire Walk With Me EP. One of two Liquid Monster non-album b-sides, Shades And Shadows, is missing, as is Ambiguity‘s bonus track Revenant, and two of the three bonuses from Metus Mortis (Judas Priest cover Before The Dawn is the only one here). Yet ridiculous Tony Christie cover Amarillo from Soul Temptation‘s limited edition (which also included a 45-minute live DVD) made the cut, which defies belief.

The closing two tracks are unreleased live versions of tracks from the first two Brainstorm albums, Voices from Unholy and Liar’s Edge from Hungry, and are the only unreleased songs on this album. The sound quality is superb, so fans are going to want these. In short, buying this doesn’t eliminate the need for any of the limited editions or EPs, as they all contain at least one track not present here.

So as ever with a release like this, anyone new to the band should probably start here, even if Crush Depth is surprisingly absent, but existing fans really only benefit from the excellent two live tracks and Downburst‘s Japan-only track Drowning.

“ doesn’t complete the picture ”

Tracklist:
CD1 – Falling Spiral Down / Fire Walk With Me / End In Sorrow / How Do You Feel / Stained With Sin / Worlds Are Coming Through / All Those Words / Inside The Monster / Painside / Heavenly / Highs Without Lows / The Leading / Doorway To Survive / Shiva’s Tears / Fornever / Soul Temptation
CD2 – Blind Suffering / Hollow Hideaway / Shadowland / Under Lights / Tear Down The Walls / Maharaja Palace / Beyond My Destiny / Demonsion / Face Down / Breathe / Drowning / Crawling In Chains / Before The Dawn / Amarillo / Voices (Live) / Liar’s Edge (Live)

Written by Andy Lye
More: Compilation Albums, Heavy Metal, Brainstorm