''Misguided'' is

Argyle Park Argyle Park was an underground industrial rock supergroup founded in New York City in 1994 and active until 1996. Members of the group reformed under the name AP2 in 1998, and were active under that name until winter 2000. Signed to Christian m ...

's only album under that name. The album was released on March 21, 1995, by R.E.X. Records into the

Christian rock Christian rock is a form of rock music that features lyrics focusing on matters of Christian faith, often with an emphasis on Jesus, typically performed by self-proclaimed Christian individuals. The extent to which their lyrics are explicitly Ch ...

market, and sits alongside other early 90s work by

Circle of Dust Circle of Dust is an industrial music project from New York City created by Klayton, who later became known as Celldweller. The project was active from 1988 to 1998 and then re-started in 2015 after Klayton gained back ownership of his old albu ...

and

Mortal Mortal means susceptible to death; the opposite of immortality, immortal. Mortal may also refer to: * Mortal (band), a Christian industrial band * The Mortal, Sakurai Atsushi's project band * Mortal (novel), ''Mortal'' (novel), a science fiction ...

as being instrumental in introducing

industrial music Industrial music is a genre of music that draws on harsh, mechanical, transgressive or provocative sounds and themes. AllMusic defines industrial music as the "most abrasive and aggressive fusion of rock and electronic music" that was "initiall ...

to the Christian music scene. The album was nominated for Best Metal/Hard Rock Album at the 27th Annual

GMA Dove Award A Dove Award is an accolade by the Gospel Music Association (GMA) of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the Christian music industry. The awards are presented annually. Formerly held in Nashville, Tennessee, the Dove Awards ...

s in 1996. ''Misguided'' is a diverse album that combines elements such as

techno Techno is a genre of electronic dance music (EDM) which is generally produced for use in a continuous DJ set, with tempo often varying between 120 and 150 beats per minute (bpm). The central rhythm is typically in common time (4/4) and often ch ...

metal A metal (from Greek μέταλλον ''métallon'', "mine, quarry, metal") is a material that, when freshly prepared, polished, or fractured, shows a lustrous appearance, and conducts electricity and heat relatively well. Metals are typicall ...

guitar,

ragtime Ragtime, also spelled rag-time or rag time, is a musical style that flourished from the 1890s to 1910s. Its cardinal trait is its syncopated or "ragged" rhythm. Ragtime was popularized during the early 20th century by composers such as Scott ...

piano, horns, samples, and dark vocals. Members cited influences such as Portishead and

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

being responsible for the experimentation on the album. It also features a wide variety of guest appearances by other alternative Christian bands and mainstream industrial bands of the mid 90s. The lyrics generally center around themes of betrayal, bitterness, and emotional pain, with band members and associates at various times hinting that the album was acting as catharsis for a child abuse situation at the church they all attended while growing up. The resultant thematic darkness of the album caused its reception to be mixed, with many Christian listeners protesting the lack of positive content, even going so far as to call it "anti-Christian". R.E.X. themselves attempted to censor the band before the album's release, deeming the outro verse of the song "Doomsayer" as being too controversial and cutting it from the song. The band, however, inserted the cut snippet onto the end of the album master tape before R.E.X. noticed and the outro now appears as a hidden track at the very end of the CD. The controversy and backlash caused the band members to shut Argyle Park down two years after conception.

Tommy Victor Thomas M. Victor (born 1961/1962) is an American guitarist, singer, songwriter, and producer. He is best known as the lead singer and guitarist for heavy metal band Prong, which he founded in New York City in 1986, as well as the guitarist for ...

Prong Prong or Prongs may refer to: * Prong, synonym of tine (structural), a branch or spike of various tools and natural objects * Prong (band), an American metal band * Prong (company), an iPhone accessories company in New York City * Prongs, British ...

wrote the main riff for the song "Doomsayer", and later used this same riff in the Prong song "Controller". Originally released on R.E.X. Records, the album was re-issued as a limited run in 2005 by Retroactive Records with bonus tracks, additional booklet information, and enhanced ROM material on the disc.

Track listing

Note: Following track 18, there are 3

hidden track In the field of recorded music, a hidden track (sometimes called a ghost track, secret track or unlisted track) is a song or a piece of audio that has been placed on a CD, audio cassette, LP record, or other recorded medium, in such a way as t ...

s and 13 silent tracks. The final hidden track, Track 34, is a

spoken word Spoken word refers to an oral poetic performance art that is based mainly on the poem as well as the performer's aesthetic qualities. It is a late 20th century continuation of an ancient oral artistic tradition that focuses on the aesthetics of ...

piece intended as the true ending to the song "Doomsayer".

Vinyl pressing

There were only four pressings of the album on vinyl (technically acetates), all of which were given to members of the band. One of these acetates was eventually purchased by a fan, who confirmed on the (now-defunct) FiXT Forums that the vinyl edition of the album contains a bonus track, named "Babylon", which is not on the CD version of Misguided. This same song ended up being included on Klay Scott's 1998

album '' Disengage'', and presumably would have been one of the songs included on Buka's Backwoods Records compilation.

Release history

Contributors

Most of the contributors to ''Misguided'' appeared under aliases or alternate spellings of their commonly known names. Their real identities, if known, are listed here.

Main members

* Buka: alias of Chris Martello, at the time a producer at MTV Sports. * Deathwish and Dred: aliases of

Klayton Klayton Albert (born Scott David Albert; June 17, 1969) is an American multi-instrumentalist from New York City who currently resides in Los Angeles, California. Klayton has led several bands and has performed under a variety of stage names sin ...

, who also produced the album using the name

Celldweller Celldweller is an American electronic rock project by multi-musician Klayton. Celldweller songs have been featured in many films, movie trailers, television shows and video games. Career Precursors: Circle of Dust and Angeldust (1992–1999) The ...

Guest appearances

Jim Thirlwell James George Thirlwell (born 29 January 1960), also known as Clint Ruin, Frank Want, and Foetus, among other names, is an Australian musician, composer, and record producer. He is known for juxtaposing a variety of different musical styles. ...

Foetus A fetus or foetus (; plural fetuses, feti, foetuses, or foeti) is the unborn offspring that develops from an animal embryo. Following embryonic development the fetal stage of development takes place. In human prenatal development, fetal develo ...

, Wiseblood,

Steroid Maximus Steroid Maximus is a musical project led by Australian composer J.G. Thirlwell. Mostly instrumental music, Steroid Maximus contains elements of jazz, big band, avant-garde, soundtrack and exotica styles. Thirlwell is best known for his rock-oriente ...

, and

Manorexia James George Thirlwell (born 29 January 1960), also known as Clint Ruin, Frank Want, and Foetus, among other names, is an Australian musician, composer, and record producer. He is known for juxtaposing a variety of different musical styles. ...

- narration on "Refuge" * Klank: Daren Diolosa of

Klank Klank, also stylized as kLaNk or KLANK, is an American industrial metal and groove metal band that originated out of Long Island, New York in December 1993. The project began after Daren Diolosa, the brainchild of Klank, departed from the fe ...

, and Left Out - vocals on "Headscrew" * Gyro:

Jyro Xhan Jyro Xhan is the stage/pen name of Filipino American musician GD La Villa. He lives in California. He is a singer, songwriter, producer, guitarist and keyboard player. He has been in several bands such as Jyradelix, Cush, Juggernautz, but mos ...

and

Fold Zandura Fold Zandura is an alternative rock band from California. They released four albums between 1995 and 1999, plus one white 7" vinyl. Each album was released under a different label. The two premier members also founded the industrial band Mortal. ...

- vocals and shouts on "Agony" * Tedd Cookerly, of

Every Day Life Every Day Life, later simply known as EDL, was a Christian rapcore group. The band became identified with the straight edge movement, which advocates abstinence from sex, drugs and tobacco. The band's first two albums were pulled from Chris ...

- shouts on "Agony" * Lauren Boquette of

Drown Drowning is a type of suffocation induced by the submersion of the mouth and nose in a liquid. Most instances of fatal drowning occur alone or in situations where others present are either unaware of the victim's situation or unable to offer as ...

- vocals on "Leave Me Alone" * Marco Forcone of Drown - extra percussion on "Leave Me Alone" *

Teenage Time Killers Teenage Time Killers is a rock supergroup formed in February 2014 by My Ruin guitarist Mick Murphy and Corrosion of Conformity drummer Reed Mullin. Guests include Dave Grohl (former drummer of Nirvana and current lead singer of the Foo Fight ...

Ministry Ministry may refer to: Government * Ministry (collective executive), the complete body of government ministers under the leadership of a prime minister * Ministry (government department), a department of a government Religion * Christian ...

, Danzig, and

Tapeworm Eucestoda, commonly referred to as tapeworms, is the larger of the two subclasses of flatworms in the class Cestoda (the other subclass is Cestodaria). Larvae have six posterior hooks on the scolex (head), in contrast to the ten-hooked Cestodar ...

- vocals on "Skin Shed", guitar and bass on "Doomsayer" * King Salomon:

Mark Salomon Mark Salomon (born 1970) is an American singer best known as the lead singer of the hard rock bands Stavesacre and the Crucified. Other bands in which he has been a key member include the punk rock Outer Circle and rap-oriented Native Son and Ne ...

Stavesacre Stavesacre are an American rock band from Huntington Beach, California formed in 1995. The band is composed of vocalist Mark Salomon, guitarists Jeff Bellew and Ryan Dennee, bassist Dirk Lemmenes and drummer Sam West. Stavesacre has released s ...

The Crucified The Crucified is an American Christian hardcore and crossover thrash band from Fresno, California that formed in 1984. Its lineup is vocalist Mark Salomon, guitarist Greg Minier, bassist Jeff Bellew, and drummer Jim Chaffin. The band are considere ...

Neon Horse Neon Horse was an American rock band from Los Angeles, California, formed by Mark Salomon, Jason Martin and Steven Dail. They were previously signed to Tooth & Nail Records with whom they have released two studio albums. Neon Horse's sound has b ...

, White Lighter - vocals on "Headscrew", "Doomsayer" and "Fanny Pack" * Dirk Lemmenes of Focused and Stavesacre - shouts on "Agony", vocals on "Gutterboy (I Am I Am)" * Jeff Bellew of

CHATTERBoX Chatterbox also styled as CHATTERbOX was a project of the Crucified's Jeff Bellew. The project has hosted many session musicians, including Stavesacre and the Crucified's Mark Salomon, and Argyle Park and Circle of Dust's Scott Albert. Bellew ha ...

, Stavesacre, and The Crucified - shouts on "Agony", vocals on "Gutterboy" * Evol Eye Jeni: Jeni of Sill Album description by allmusic.com

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

. Retrieved November 23, 2010 - vocals on "Violent" * Keith Corp - horns on "Futile" * Christy Sweet - vocals on "Headscrew" and "Circle" * Alabama King Fish: Chris Donahue of Circle of Dust and

Vigilantes of Love Vigilantes of Love is an American rock band fronted by Bill Mallonee, with many secondary players drawn from the musician pool in and around Athens, Georgia, United States. In its later manifestations in the later 1990s and early 2000s, Mallone ...

- bass on "Agony", piano on "Leave Me Alone" * Og: John Lopez of Circle of Dust - performer and writer of "Og"

Recording personnel

- Producer,

audio engineer An audio engineer (also known as a sound engineer or recording engineer) helps to produce a recording or a live performance, balancing and adjusting sound sources using equalization, dynamics processing and audio effects, mixing, reproduction, ...

mixing engineer A mixing engineer (or simply mix engineer) is responsible for combining ("mixing") different sonic elements of an auditory piece into a complete rendition (also known as "final mix" or "mixdown"), whether in music, film, or any other content of a ...

* Vin Syrek - Mixing engineer, digital editing * Bob Moon - Engineering * Duncan Standbury - Mastering * Jeff - Album artwork

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Misguided Argyle Park albums 1995 debut albums R.E.X. Records albums