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Shai Hulud

A Comprehensive Retrospective (2005)
Revelation Records

Reviewer Rating:

Contributed by: pwfanatic
(others by this writer | submit your own)

Published on January 28th 2005

Hardcore bands come and go faster than the crappy Mexican food I just ate. Most take the form of one of those revolving doors with members joining and leaving and forming new bands that half the time sound the exact same as the old band they were almost involved in. For the most part, Shai Hulud is one of those bands. The only difference is that they have been busier since their demise than they were throughout their short but sweet career.

A Comprehensive Retrospective... is just that, a collection of early recordings, a few live tracks and a few demos. It includes songs recorded for their first demo with their original original lead singer Damien Moyal as well as the first demo with their original vocalist Chad Gilbert from Hearts Once Nourished With Hope and Compassion fame.

The first couple tracks were recorded in 1995 with Moyal on vocals. Early Shai Hulud resembles all the Shai Hulud that some of us learned to love. Moyal has a biting, bark-like scream and although the songs itself aren’t nearly as complex as more recent Shai Hulud songs, it is still a familiar song. The lyrics are brutally honest and intensely angry, and the guitars reflect this. However, the guitars do not do their standard guitar-hook-leading-into-yet-another-guitar-hook-into-another-guitar-hook etc. thing nearly as much as they did before their demise. It’s an unpolished sound, but in the world of hardcore, nothing works better.

The most interesting part about A Comprehensive Retrospective... is to watch the slow progression of Shai Hulud into what they became before they died: by far one of the more intense hardcore acts in existence. A lot of times, when bands release B-sides of sorts, they release songs that got most of their way through the recording stage, almost to the point of mastering..not with this album. The Chad Gilbert demos are hideous sounding and the tracks of Matt Fox recording his guitar riffs are even worse sound quality. But this is a view into the band that now we only see on little DVD extras showing the band behind the scenes, and for a band now defunct, it is a bit hard to do that. Likewise, the live songs have a poor quality, but this fits the overall scheme of the whole album.

It is a retrospective album: nothing more, nothing less. This is an album for the tried and true Shai Hulud fans that have nothing better to do than eagerly await the new Zombie Apocalypse release like me. Shai Hulud may sort of live on in the Warmth of Red Blood, but the hardcore world will probably never see such a fine-tuned machine of pure rage in a long while.

[originally written for readysteadyjedi.com]

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Anonymous (February 10, 2005)

This is the worst record I've heard in my entire life.
Don't buy it, it's unlistenable.

Anonymous (February 3, 2005)

Neve Campbell will give you a copy if you go down on her. That's what I did.

Anonymous (February 1, 2005)

where can i get this at??

swingline (January 31, 2005)

i wish i was in new found glory

Anonymous (January 31, 2005)

I never really got into this band.. probably because they suck dick

Anonymous (January 31, 2005)

this band fucking sucks.
i'm glad they're gone.

Anonymous (January 31, 2005)

Take a quick trip to the store and find a long, smooth object - the greengrocer is often useful

Joe

Anonymous (January 31, 2005)

What happens if they don't have anything to stick in your ass?

Anonymous (January 30, 2005)

I just say 'Hi, you wanna come back to my place and have anal sex'
The bluntness works a charm.

Anonymous (January 30, 2005)

"I'd do her anal for sure"

I'd love to know how you chat up girls when you're out

Joe

Anonymous (January 30, 2005)

"Neve Campbells nipples are most certainly not ugly. you could spend hours on them having fun"

Damn straight you could. She is so hot. I'd do her anal for sure.

p-fresh (January 30, 2005)

Score is for the cover art.

Anonymous (January 29, 2005)

Shai Hulud covered Linoleum and Anesthesia by Bad Religion. Evergreen covered Dying Degree. Yeah. Get your shit straight.

SHai Hulud and Evergreen...two very shitty bands

IheartAdam (January 29, 2005)

Help fight gum disease that can lead to tooth loss.

Anonymous (January 29, 2005)

All I have to say, like them or not, is that Shai Hulud is one of the most creative, different bands in a very generic genre.

jamespastepunk (January 29, 2005)

Zombie Apocalypse has 4 minute long song on there.

That's longer than 5 tracks of the EP. 6, if you count the intro.

Anonymous (January 29, 2005)

Shai Hulud covered Linoleum and Anesthesia by Bad Religion. Evergreen covered Dying Degree. Yeah. Get your shit straight.

Anonymous (January 29, 2005)

Neve Campbells nipples are most certainly not ugly. you could spend hours on them having fun

Anonymous (January 29, 2005)

shai halud can eat me-

the other baldwin brother

ThriveToFailure (January 29, 2005)

Shai Hulud was the name the Dune natives gave to the giant sandworms in Frank Herbert's 'Dune' books.

Not the only band to get their name from 'Dune' - see also Harkonen...

Score, by the way, is for the forthcoming Zombie Apocalypse/Send More Paramedics split (although I haven't heard ZA's half yet)

Anonymous (January 29, 2005)

Any hardcore band that takes their name from a movie with Sting in it has to earn some respect....or not, I dunno if Sting is cool anymore.

Joe

Anonymous (January 29, 2005)

no thanks.

-!GreenVandal!

Anonymous (January 29, 2005)

Neve Campbell's nipples are ugly.

SethCohen (January 29, 2005)

"I think Shai Hulud never got too popular because:
1) Their haircuts weren't cool enough
2) Their jeans weren't fashionable enough
3) And, theirs songs didn't consist of: BREAKDOWN, BREAKDOWN *"you broke my heart...wwwhhhaaa...slit my wrists..wwwhhhaaaa"* BREAKDOWN "Fucckkk youuuuu" BREAKDOWN

Hell, Atreyu is making a killing off this recipe."

Copycat

http://www.punknews.org/comments.php?op=sh owreply&tid=271453&sid=11430&pid=271452&mode=&order=&thold=#27145 3

Anonymous (January 28, 2005)

as much as i didn't care one way or the other about this band i would have rather seen them get big than say sworn enemy. i'll take thier style over macho touch guy crap any day

Anonymous (January 28, 2005)

Actually, I think it's safe to say they never got very popular because THEY WEREN'T VERY GOOD!

Anonymous (January 28, 2005)

I think Shai Hulud never got too popular because:
1) Their haircuts weren't cool enough
2) Their jeans weren't fashionable enough
3) And, theirs songs didn't consist of: BREAKDOWN, BREAKDOWN *"you broke my heart...wwwhhhaaa...slit my wrists..wwwhhhaaaa"* BREAKDOWN "Fucckkk youuuuu" BREAKDOWN

Hell, Atreyu is making a killing off this recipe.

Anonymous (January 28, 2005)

Yep. Shai Hulud covered 'linoleum' back in 98..99? It was one of second (and last) singer Geert Van Der Velde's first recordings with the band.

Anonymous (January 28, 2005)

actually hulud covered the same song years before evergreen existed

Anonymous (January 28, 2005)

dude it was evergreen terrace who covered that NOFX song. they made it sound truly awful

jamespastepunk (January 28, 2005)

How does Shai Hulud and oi go together?

Icapped2pac (January 28, 2005)

WHAT THE HELL!?!?! NO SHAI HALUD REVIEW!?!?!

OI OI OI

backupdork (January 28, 2005)

the name comes from the movie Dune. Shai Hulud was the name of some snake creatures or something akin to that.

slippy (January 28, 2005)

I agree with sickboi, the last vocalist was the best.

Anonymous (January 28, 2005)

nice how you didn't mention damien or chad's more popular bands. if nothing else this stuff shows how much damien's voice improved by hte time as friends rust released "won"

theevilmonkey (January 28, 2005)

I think it means "Say Hello" in gibberish speak.

Anonymous (January 28, 2005)

I can't stand this band

Anonymous (January 28, 2005)

Commercial success breeds my disgust

Anonymous (January 28, 2005)

Drive-Thru blows

Anonymous (January 28, 2005)

Didn't these guys try to cover linoleum by nofx? Can't you legally be shot in the testicles for covering nofx?

Anonymous (January 28, 2005)

Vagrant Records sucks

Anonymous (January 28, 2005)

Victory Records sucks

Anonymous (January 28, 2005)

This isn't punk!

Anonymous (January 28, 2005)

Rules

Anonymous (January 28, 2005)

Sucks

ElVaquero (January 28, 2005)

my favorite sand worms.

Anonymous (January 28, 2005)

I'm surprised Dan didn't review this.

I haven't heard much from these guys but I enjoy their cover of anesthesia.

jamespastepunk (January 28, 2005)

http://www.truepunk.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?/topic/82/3227.ht ml

Search for Kal-el, that's Fox's name.

Anonymous (January 28, 2005)

Where is their name from? What does it mean?

I was told a few years ago, but have since forgotten.

innocentbystander (January 28, 2005)

i can't wait to get mine!!

Medley (January 28, 2005)

I have to agree, that's some terrible cover art.

Anonymous (January 28, 2005)

shai hulud is good and all, but GODDAMN that is some bad cover art.

sickboi (January 28, 2005)

I think the last vocalist was the best.

Anonymous (January 28, 2005)

Anchors, you're the fuckin' shit!

adamfromohio (January 28, 2005)

I hope you did not just call Shai Hulud 'the band with that guy from New Found Glory'......

-adamfromohio

Anonymous (January 28, 2005)

is this the band with that guy from new found glory.

they suck

jamespastepunk (January 28, 2005)

ITS NOT A B-SIDES CD.

The release, as Matt Fox put it, is entirely songs that were not meant to be released.

That said, I'm looking forward to picking this up.

Anchors (January 28, 2005)

My favorite song of theirs will always be 'My Heart Bleeds The Darkest Blood.' Sadly, I never got to see it live.

Score's for that song.

theundergroundscene (January 28, 2005)

I would give this six stars. The Moyal tracks and first live show is phenomenal, but after track eleven or so, it starts to get not so good.

Whose bright idea was it to put on a bunch of 4-track sounding guitar only tracks on this?

Anonymous (January 28, 2005)

I used to scoff at SH until I picked up "That Within..." on a crazy whim and realized it might be the single best hardcore album ever recorded.

OC