Minier - "Minier (Retroarchives Edition)"

Minier - Minier (Retroarchives Edition)
1990/2017, Retroactive

1. Do Not Be Deceived
2. The Skeptic
3. Price
4. Killing of the Innocent
5. Prophecy
6. Philosophy of Man
7. The Secret Song
Bonus Tracks:
8. Do Not Be Deceived (Bedroom Demo)
9. Foolish State (Bedroom Demo)
10. Mulligan Barf (Bedroom Demo)
11. Philosophy of Man (Bedroom Demo)
12. Prophecy (Bedroom Demo)
13. Sowing Life (Bedroom Demo)
14. Interview w/ Tempered Steel Radio Show, Part 1
15. Interview w/ Tempered Steel Radio Show, Part 2

I've long wanted a copy of Minier for the vault but it seemed like the original REX edition was too pricey. Especially for only seven songs. Retroactive once again stepped up and released this little gem and gave it a proper reissue. It's got six demo tracks from the bedroom of Greg Minier himself. The quality is rough as is befitting a four-track recording but not unlistenable. They've also included a couple of interviews for posterity's sake. Greg even writes some liner notes to give a little insight into the recording. All in all a pretty good package and definitely recommended if you liked the raw and thrashy original.

Useless Fact: Apparently there was supposed to be a full length "Minier" album, but The Crucified and Applehead both got in the way.

Minier - "Minier"

Minier - Minier

1990, REX

1. Do Not Be Deceived

2. The Skeptic

3. Price

4. Killing of the Innocent

5. Prophecy

6. Philosophy of Man

7. The Secret Song

Sometimes record companies actually know what they're doing. REX wanted to release this collection of songs from The Crucified's Greg Minier as is... so that's what they did. This is straight-up thrash and it's pretty dang good. Greg is a decent vocalist in his own right and his trademark penchant for awesome riffs is there. I wonder how this would have sounded if they'd have thrown a bunch of money at it? The world will never know.

Useless Fact: Greg played all the parts on this disc and there is no bass guitar.

Applehead - "Meaning"

Applehead - Meaning

1992, Ocean

1. Revolutionary

2. Six Feet Under

3. Thoughts

4. Eyes of a Foolish Man

5. Sot

6. Intermittent You

7. Radical Departure

8. Monkey On My Back

9. Crutch

10. Meaning

11. Revelation

Greg Minier's (of The Crucified) second solo album is different from the thrash demo REX records released. I guess you could call it pre-grunge? There's a lot more melody here, especially in the slower songs like "Thoughts," "Intermittent You," and the title track. However, the riff in "Monkey On My Back" almost sounds like it could have been a riff from Pillars of Humanity. This isn't too hard to find these days so definitely check it out.

Useless Fact: This is the only album Applehead released. Sad isn't it?