Now out of print and hard to find in their original form, Envy's EPs and splits contained some of the Japanese hardcore bands most soul-crushing music, and these stray ends are collected here on Compiled Fragments 1997-2003, a compilation of rare tracks, singles, and unreleased material that first appeared on the bands own label, but has now been reissued through Temporary Residence, mapping out the plotlines of Envy's evolution from chaotic hardcore heroes to their current position as masters of emotionally-overdriven metallic majesty. Presented with minimal high contrast artwork of barren autumnal trees printed in metallic silver ink and no-frills liner notes that outline the source of the thirteen tracks collected here, the disc brings together Envy's tracks from the three-way split with Yaphet Kotto and This Machine Kills, the split CD with Iscariote, the split 7"s with This Machine Kills, Sixpence and Endeavor, their track from the No Fate III compilation, an unreleased track called "Connected Voice" from 2002, and two professionally recorded live tracks taken from Envy's performance at the 2004 All Tomorrow's Parties Festival. The post-2000 songs are all in that crushing wall-of-guitar assault mode that Envy has become famous for, part super-distorted metallic indie pop with keening melodic vocals, part hardcore tumult with the alternating screams, heavy and metallic but dreamy and brooding at the same time. Envy are superior to just about every other band that I've ever heard that plays this sort of metallic hardcore/indie rock mix, the heavy parts are ferocious, the poppy parts are unbeliveably sweeping and urgent, and the band builds into these different kinds of explosions with moody arrangements that sound a beefed-up math rock Mono, with atmospheric tape manipulations and dark ambience and what even sounds like cello in a few songs lurking back behind the heavily layered guitars and stuttering choppy rhythms. But even the older tracks from their late 90's releases , when the band was more straightforward melodic hardcore, even then these guys were epic sounding, with massive sky-reaching riffs and super catchy hooks over speedy, spazzy youth-crew style hardcore. A crucial collection for Envy fans.