One Minute Silence were, along with Pitchshifter, one of the most important bands of my middle-teenage years. Both bands made their first impression on me on a free cd given away with Kerrang! magazine - the now legendary (in my world at least) The Devil's Music Volume 1. Pitchshifter opened things up with Everything's Fucked, followed by my introduction to Henry Rollins (in the form of Rollin's Band), followed by One Minute Silence's Food For the Brain. That first 10 minutes changed my world in huge ways. My young mind didn't know what hit it.
That was more than half of my life ago, but it's a pleasant surprise that OMS's brand of Irish nu-metal has aged so well, although that might partly be due to the very firm place they hold in my heart. We saw them four times over three years - the most memorable was in the Astoria with Will Haven (featuring some terrifying circle pits) but I also fondly remember the last time, in an old church in Salisbury. I used to have so much fun throwing myself around at their shows - it's comforting to think that my youthful energy was not at all wasted.
I can't think when the last time I played this album was before today. I've played their third album once of twice in recent years and got moderate enjoyment out of it. However, Buy Now... Saved Later was always the classic. Their debut, Available In All Colours, had some huge songs (Brainspiller, South Central, Pig Until Proven Cop - I might have to give that album a play today too!), but didn't quite hit the same spot. I picked up a promo copy of BN...SL on cd (with alternative artwork) on holiday in the states when I was 16 but I already knew all the songs - Hugh had bought a copy a long time before and I had a very worn-down cassette of it.
I think the reason why OMS worked so well for me was that rare mix between quite smooth vocals, genuinely heavy music and a groove that you could dance (mosh) to. On top of that, there were occasional quieter moments (important for regaining one's breath in the pit), but they always exploded back into something heavy. I used to love hearing them play any of these songs, but it's worth calling out Rise and Shine, 1845, Food For the Brain, Fish Out of Water (what a side A), If I Can Change and A Day in the Light Of in particular. I loved trying to sing along to the fast-paced lyrics (with moderate success, probably adding to how knackered I was in the pit). Even the slower Words builds up to a hugely aggressive outro and closes the album in excellent style.
I picked up the LP during a trip to Selectadisc in Nottingham, which resulted in a number of incredible bargains - I was returning home after an open day at the university I'd go on to attend, but took a detour via Nottingham on the way. It was 2003 and clearly the staff there had decided that the only way to shift a OMS record was to price it at £2. I wonder how much more I would have paid for this album back then? I'm glad my desire to own everything on vinyl went so far back.
Format: 12", picture sleeve
Tracks: 14
Cost: £2 new
Bought: Selectadisc, Nottingham
When: 20/02/03
Colour: Black
Etching: none
mp3s: no
