Skip to content
First time on vinyl and with new Nick Blinko artwork. This track was originally only available as a one track CD single with the purchase of The Haunted Head book by Nick Blinko which came out in November 2009. The then newly-recorded and previously unreleased Rudimentary Peni song Wilfred Owen The Chances is a three and a half minute dark and disturbing dirge. The lyrics were originally written by Wilfred Edward Salter Owen (1893-1918) about the fortune of five British ‘Tommies’ during World War I. Hopefully the start of making all Rudimentary Peni catalogue available again.
Our take: Sealed Records digs up this obscurity from the Rudimentary Peni catalog and puts it on vinyl for the first time. As the label’s description notes, this track originally came on a CD that accompanied Nick Blinko’s book The Haunted Head. That book came out in 2009, and while there are no recording credits or other information, one must assume it comes from around the same time as the No More Pain E.P., which came out in 2008 and was Rudimentary Peni’s last release to date. Like No More Pain, “Wilfred Owen the Chances” sounds like Rudimentary Peni, a band that no other group has been able to emulate. The track is mid-paced, with a catchy riff and that trademark claustrophobic guitar sound. I am a person who celebrates Rudimentary Peni’s entire catalog, and I’m not willing to miss one second of music they make, so I’m stoked to have this track in my collection. Just as importantly, this release also features new Nick Blinko illustrations on the front and rear sleeve, printed with debossing that accentuates his striking line work. Just as no Rudimentary Peni music should be missed, so is every Nick Blinko illustration well worth your time. My only complaint is that the beautiful, full-color illustrations that came with the original CD release don’t reappear here, though I suppose they would have upset this tight packaging design. While this single may not offer as much value for money as a Mystic Records compilation, greatness is well worth paying a little extra for.