Song of the Day: Integrity, “I Know Where Everyone Lives,” from Suicide Black Snake (A389/Magic Bullet, 2013)

You'll encounter a lot of grumbling out there to the effect of: "No Melnicks = no Integrity." But that's such a stubborn, short-sighted mentality. Hey, yeah, that era of the band yielded some of my all-time favorite albums, too; but to flatly discredit everything Integrity has recorded since then simply because of who is or is not participating in the lineup is silly. As time wears on, that fact becomes more and more apparent to me.

Appearing first on the split 7" with Gehenna and then re-recorded for Suicide Black Snake the following year, "I Know Where Everyone Lives" is hands down one of the finest songs Integrity has ever written—and arguably the catchiest. Check out that first verse alone (0:34 – 1:06)!? The pounding midpaced rhythms coupled with the hooky lead melody gets stuck in my head constantly. And the way everything then breaks into an explosive pace that touches on the fire and immediacy of the band's early material, but from a totally different perspective? Flawless. Just incredible.

I remember reading a review of Suicide Black Snake that specifically called out "I Know Where Everyone Lives" as one of the worst songs on the album, and my head almost exploded, 'cause that's total bullshit. It's a masterpiece. Not unlike "Incarnate 365" nearly two decades prior, this song immediately gave me chills the first time I heard it, and now holds a place right up there with any number of Integrity classics as far as I'm concerned.