Chaos in Tejas

Breakdown “The 87 Demo” LP - $15.00

Tue, 11 Oct 2016 09:20:12 +0000

540 Records and Painkiller have teamed up once again to bring you the other half of the legendary “Breakdown; Both Demos” series: the legendary ’87 Demo. Breakdown’s original 1987 lineup was only together for a few short months, but in that time they produced one of the most legendary and influential recordings in the history of New York Hardcore. Paving the way for every hard and heavy band to follow, Breakdown’s take on hardcore was balanced with the perfect mix of hip hop’s bounce, the power and dynamics of heavy metal, and an unmistakable New York accent laced across a tough, streetwise sound that could only have come out of 1980’s New York City. This LP contains the full 9-song ’87 Demo, released here for the first time on vinyl in its entirety, backed with a crushing live set recorded on WNYU radio’s Crucial Chaos during the summer of 1987. Both recordings have been faithfully restored from original sources and sound better than ever. Includes a full color 12”x24” poster insert with extensive notes and anecdotes from members of the NYHC scene. Color vinyl available for mail order only, while it lasts. Pressing Information: 400 yellow/black splatter vinyl 1500 black vinyl

Torture Chain “Wasting Syndrome” LP - $13.00

Thu, 15 Sep 2016 10:26:35 +0000

For the better part of the last decade, Torture Chain has consistently, if infrequently, released a succession of tapes, each more captivating than its predecessor. While garnering considerable praise from those who have taken notice of the band’s activities, Torture Chain has kept the scene at arm’s length, affording the band considerable latitude for its musical explorations while also ensuring a degree of mystery and anonymity surrounding the project. Having honed its approach, Torture Chain now presents “Wasting Syndrome,” the first proper full-length vinyl release in its catalog. This recording consists of just three tracks, and, like the band’s previous material, each one is sprawling, multi-dimensional, and variegated. Indeed, this album reflects the band’s most ambitious work to date. Stylistically, Torture Chain effortlessly bridge the chasm between the dramatic harshness of Second Wave European Black Metal and the compositional rigor and focused precision of traditional American Death Metal. One gets the impression when listening to Torture Chain that the band draws upon a far broader range of musical influences that add depth and complexity to the songwriting; however, the music remains appropriately tethered to tradition. The instrumentation on “Wasting Syndrome”—particularly the guitar work—is superb; melodies are strategically woven through a densely arranged latticework of riffs and percussion, and interspersed throughout the songs are sharply delivered and well-positioned guitar leads that forestall any compositional monotony. Effortlessly, the band navigates seemingly incompatible time signatures and shifts in tempo. Shifts in mood are equally abundant. At times, the band revels in depressive and melodious atmospherics, while other passages are frenzied and unhinged, stretching to the edge of chaos—disparate pieces artfully stitched together with masterful precision. For Torture Chain, these extremes are not merely endpoints on a linear continuum. Rather, they represent vertices about which the band constructs a more complicated structure, the shape of which—indiscernible up close—reveals itself most clearly when observed from a distance. Though the performance is often abrasive, the production on the album is warm and sharp, owing to the role played in the recording by Arthur Rizk, known for having recorded Inquisition and Prurient among others. Darkest Heavy is honored to release “Wasting Syndrome” in this single edition of 500 copies featuring artwork by Josh McAlear and Will Boone.

Mike Rep "Darby Creek Drifter” LP - $8.00

Fri, 04 Jul 2014 12:31:22 +0000

The name Mike "Rep" Hummel means many things to different people. Many equate Rep with 70's "Proto-Punk", 80's"D.I.Y." or a pioneering founder of 90's "Lo-Fi" (Rep prefers the term "Mega-Fi" himself). Along with his bands Mike Rep & The Quotas & the seminal (Ohio) True Believers, he was also a a cohort in the 90's Columbus "supergroup" Ego Summit among a plethera of other Ohio band involvements. Also known for recording and/or mixing ("Lovingly Fucking With") such bands of note as Guided By Voices, Times New Viking, Jim Shepard, The Gibson Brothers, Strapping Fields Hands, Mount Carmel and dozens of others, mostly in their formative garage/basement incarnations. "I prefer deflowering to retooling. Both present worthwhile challenges but working with virgin talent won't get you an STD" he once infamously said. Still others remember him for his groundbreaking Columbus Ohio homegrown label "New Age Records" (named before there was such a thing as New Age music) which evolved into the 80's/90's cassette pioneering signpost to new space "OldAge/NO Age" label through the 90's. And so the name Mike Rep Hummel has a polarizing effect on many who either admire or deride his body of work. Hummel's new record "Darby Creek Drifter" is one that is sure to draw the line even deeper into the sand. Rep sez; "As my pal Bob Pollard" once quipped, "this does not rock". But it rolls baby, it rolls. "Brand new LP from legendary Midwest underground hero Mike Rep: Rep, alongside buddies like Jim Shepard, Tommy Jay, Ron House, Don Howland and Nudge Squidfish, pretty much invented American basement rock/roll DIY via his work with The Quotas and True Believers and his New Age and Old Age/No Age imprints and he was one of the first to fully take rock/roll at its word, coming out of fandom to release some of the most purely focussed avant garage of any age. Darby Creek Drifter presents a series of beautiful new recordings from Rep that range across Velvet Underground covers (a tear-choking version of “Pale Blue Eyes”) through the kinda blasted folk/country of Tommy Jay’s classic Tall Tales Of Trauma. With a cast of many, many friends Rep transmutes Lou Reed-style drug ballads, stoned Michael Hurley-esque slow-mo folk, beautiful paeans to last stands before oblivion and the kinda intuitive grasp of rock/roll form that could easily be a Peter Laughner or Perrett. Another great one from Rep and a necessary addition to the Columbus, Ohio shelf. Very highly recommended." - VOLCANIC TONGUE https://soundcloud.com/540records to hear a few songs!

Merchandise / Destruction Unit / Milk Music "USA '13" LP - $12.00

Mon, 17 Mar 2014 17:23:25 +0000

The Milk Music / Merchandise / Destruction Unit split LP is a document of a 2013 US tour which drew worldwide attention from those interested in the modern US rock underground from a seemingly unlikely combination of bands. When we say “unlikely” it is because these bands are from the geographical fringes of the country: from the far corners (the other East and West coast corners) we have the despondent and desperate Merchandise (Florida) and the freedom freak jams of Milk Music (Washington), and from the depths of the Sonoran desert the majestic psychedelic assault of Destruction Unit. When we say “unlikely” we don’t want to suggest they are ill-fitted. While the songs occasionally scrape against one another in disparate tone and pace, the resulting sparks thrown off do little to affect the overall congruency of these bands, a communal trip and a beautiful come down: we move from the introverted warmth of Merchandise to the sensory overload of Destruction Unit into a blissful, careering drift in the capable arms of Milk Music. The booklet that accompanies the record, designed by Destruction Unit’s J.S. Aurelius, collates some of the fliers and photos from the road, and gives one pause to consider: is this is a document of the best of the American psych underground in 2013/2014? That’s high talk. But let’s get high: these bands have a relentless work ethic and their members tour continually in these and many other high quality bands, and if they’re not in your city tonight they’ll probably be there tomorrow, so start the party tonight, here, with this record, a perfect place to get acquainted with some of the energy of the heavy current that is flowing through the underground right now.

Ego Summit "The Room Isn’t Big Enough" LP - $10.00

Fri, 07 Dec 2012 14:26:41 +0000

I can almost remember the day that Rep sent me the first issue of this LP. Taking it out of the package I glommed the title, looked at who was participating and snorted appreciatively. Ego Summit – perfect! Don Howland, Jim Shepard, Ron House, Tommy Jay and Michael Hummel were all guys whose impact on the world of music (as it is known) was questionable, but all of them were well-known at the sub-underground level, and it was damn certain they all felt like kings! Between them they had created sounds and records that were legendary and influential, but the fact that they were all bums dedicated to living in Columbus, Ohio made the reality of their impact something that was hard to appreciate if you lived further away than Dayton (home of GBV). But as the years peeled away, oddball record collectors (and perhaps, even, the women who love them) have come to appreciate the insane form-moves this cabal of record collectors was up to. By the time of this release, they’d been putting out records for years, with bands as diverse as Gibson Bros, Bassholes, Vertical Slit, V-3, Great Plains, Mike Rep & the Quota, True Believers (OH), and in various solo incarnations of one form or another. Each had evolved a dinstinctive sound, redolent of every goddamn record he’d ever heard – from Ramblin’ Thomas to the Twinkeyz to Armand Schaubroeck Steals to Destroy All Monsters, and they were ready to roll it all out. Ego Summit functions like a download of everything they’ve ever really loved, from the VU’s Live ’69 to Quicksilver’s cover of Buffy Ste. Marie’s “Codine”, all piled up in a beautifully loose garage band jumble. I’m never sure whether my fave track is Ron House’s “Rise Sherry” (with its lazy approximation of the original Contortions’ slide guitar/bass dualism), Jim Shepard’s abosultely blown talling-blues, “We Got It All” (the best experiment in the form since the Minutemen’s “History Lesson Part Two”), or Don Howland’s “Wife Blues” (a track that makes every motion by Spencer’s Blues Explosion extraneous), but the whole goddamn thing is great. A totally superior listen, by a bunch of clowns who were their own best fans. And knew why. Now you do too. --Byron Coley