Propagandhi - Today's Empires, Tomorrow's Ashes - LP

After 1993Õs How To Clean Everything and 1996Õs Less Talk, More Rock, TodayÕs Empires, TomorrowÕs Ashes was PropagandhiÕs third and penultimate album on FAT. It marked a transition period for the band. Not only was it their first record after the departure of bassist/vocalist John K. SampsonÑwho was replaced by Todd KowalskiÑbut it also saw the start in the shift towards the sound that has now come to define them.
The result was an album that, despite singer Chris HannahÕs reservations, truly set the benchmark back then, and does so even more in its new sonic form. Just listen to what opener ÒMate Ka Moris Ukun Rasik AnÓ or the caustic title track sound like now, not to mention the still-eye-opening blast of ÒWith Friends Like These Who the Fuck Needs COINTELPRO?ÓÑthe lyrical content of which remains as shocking today as it was back then. Intelligent and visceral in equal measure, itÕs a record that offers up one of the most vicious indictments of American (and, to be fair, Western) imperialism ever committed to tape.
But the band was never quite happy with how the album turned out. It was betterthan it was given credit for. While the pieces were all there, the album lacked sonically in a way the band was never satisfied with. Fast forward almost two decades, when Propagandhi was in the studio with Jason Livermore mixing Victory Lap, and Hannah brought up the issues with TodayÕs Empires, TomorrowÕs Ashes. Right there they decided that with a remix the album could be shaped into the masterpiece they intended way back in 2001. Finally, 20 years later, Propagandhi can say they are happy with how TodayÕs Empires, TomorrowÕs Ashes (Reissue) turned out.