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    HM Magazine #73/Mad at the World
    Mad at the World — World History cover

    Mad at the World

    World History

    (1998)

    Reviewed by Doug Van Pelt

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    Label KMG RecordsHM Magazine #73September 1998
    alternative rockhard rockmodern rocknew wave

    In a great move for Christian music enthusiasts, the KMG label purchased the back catalog of Frontline (including the Intense and Alarma sub-labels), allowing classic metal and alternative releases to see the light of day again. Besides the double-disc re-issues that skimp on original artwork/packaging, a few "best-of" albums have been released. Mad At The World gets the treatment here. 14 tunes are picked for this collection, and the song selection was good. What's interesting about this release is how it sounds. It appears that many of these tunes were re-recorded or massively re-mastered. "Fearfully and Wonderfully" and "Dry Your Tears" sound slicker and dramatically slower than their urgent original versions. Is this what happens when music leaves California for a Nashville release? For some of these songs it helps, but for many it polishes off some of that cool "edge."

    Other coverage for this album

    The Phantom Tollbooth 1998Reviewed by Sam HagedornIt's about time. I've been waiting for this album since 1988. Now I must admit a huge bias here, I absolutely fell over backwards after hearing Mad at the World's self titled debut and was totally disappointed by their change in music styles on their next few albums, until Dreamland Café. The first album was totally unlike any album in the Christian marketplace and only Tears for Fears came close…

    Similar sounding releases

    1989Peter MurphyDeep1993Hoi PolloiSpin Me1994JerusalemProphet1992The Seventy SevensThe Seventy Sevens1996Geoff Moore & The DistanceGreatest Hits1994Steve TaylorNow the Truth Can Be Told

    More from Mad at the World

    1995The Dreamland Cafe1990Seasons of Love1992Through the Forest1991Boomerang1988Flowers in the Rain

    Also in HM Magazine #73

    1998Various ArtistsRIM v. beta1997Thre3Souleve Tout1998Jesse & The RockersT.I.N.1998NewsboysStep Up to the Microphone1998EmbodymentEmbrace the Eternal1998Curious FoolsElectric Soul