Reissues. Odds and Ends. Rarities. Don't miss out.

Artist: Boy Sets Fire
Album: Before The Eulogy
Label: Equal Vision
Tracks: 20
Reviewed By: Chaz

Boy Sets Fire was been one of the most powerful, passionate and influential hardcore, and I use that term loosely, bands of the past ten years. They have been one of my favorite bands since 1998. I have probably seen them more than any other band in my life. They put on an amazing live show and they are one of the few bands I will cut loose and go nuts for when they hit the stage. They have always seem to be on the forefront of leftist politics and ahead of the games when it comes to originality and the turns within the ins and outs of the punk scene (except for maybe their last album), They have a slew of releases under their belt and are on the verge of releasing their fourth full length album and first in three years called The Misery Index: Notes From The Plague Years. On the brink of their new studio album, Equal Vision Records and Boy Sets Fire decided to re-release two very important albums of Boy Sets Fire. The first being Before The Eulogy.

Before The Eulogy is a collection of all their rare demos and EPs. The first four tracks are from their very rare demo. I have never heard these songs before it was indeed a treat to finally get a listen. They have all the raw and bad recording quality that made me fall in love with Boy Sets Fire seven years ago. Solid songs and a lot more hardcore than what many of their fans are used to. The next three tracks are from their second demo which is also rare but it includes one my favorite songs Vehicle which was on their This Crying, This Screaming, My Voice Is Being Born EP on Magic Bullet Records. The other two tracks are again songs I have never heard but are still raw and powerful. The next two tracks are from their Consider seven inch which is actually their only solo seven inch. This is still hard and raw they still have yet to find their familiar Boy Sets Fire sound but they are just about to come into their own. This was actually one of the first seven inches I ever bought.

The next five tracks are some of best Boy Sets Fire material you will ever hear. They are taken from their explosive and extremely popular EP In Chrysalis. It was released after The Day The Sun Went Out but was worlds apart from that sound but they will still able to keep their identity and their fans. The recording quality from the two records were also drastically different. In Chrysalis feature two amazing tracks and one of them have meant more to me than just about any other song in my collection. Cavity is that song and I still find it amazing and inspirational. The other track would be their cover of the Dead Kennedys classic Holiday In Cambodia.

The next two tracks are from their Suckerpunch Training EP. This was a solid EP but the liner notes and track listing are wrong. They listed that put their cover of Sir Elton John's classic Rocket Man and instead it's a slower but still a good song and I think it will become a favorite of mine after a few more listens. The title track for this EP is a lot closer to their sound on Tomorrow Come Today. Still solid but apart from what I loved from Boy Sets Fire.

The next four tracks are all songs taken from compilations and if you don't have all the compilations than it will hard for you to get them all...unless you get this album. The one is from this LP compilation that I have had for years called Dad, I Can't Breathe. These four tracks show the great diversity of Boy Sets Fire through the years.

I have a few problems with this release but all of them have to do with songs that I wish they had put on here. Where are the splits with Coalesce and Snapcase? What about the Metallica, Elton John and Bad Brains covers? I think that's it. You win some and you lose some. This is a MUST HAVE for any Boy Sets Fire fan. You can't turn your back on this one. It is all that made Boy Sets Fire on one album.