Flesh Eaters (EP)

Flesh Eaters
EP by
the Flesh Eaters
Released1978
RecordedSummer 1978
StudioAlleycat House
GenrePunk rock
Length7:34
LanguageEnglish
LabelUpsetter
Producer
The Flesh Eaters chronology
Flesh Eaters
(1978) 		No Questions Asked
(1980)

Flesh Eaters, also known as Disintegration Nation[1] after the title of its opening track, is the four-song debut EP by American rock band the Flesh Eaters.

Background

At the beginning of 1978,[2][3] just a few months after being formed, the Flesh Eaters, in an early lineup composed of their founder, the singer and songwriter Chris Desjardins (pka Chris D.), guitarist Tito Larriva,[2][3] bassist John Richey, and drummer Joe Nanini, went into a studio for their first time, with Randy Stodola of the Alley Cats as producer and engineer, to record early versions of the songs "Disintegration Nation", "Agony Shorthand", and "Twisted Road",[2][3] which, as they were supposed to be demos only,[3] remained unreleased until 2004, when they were featured as bonus tracks on the CD reissue[nb 1][4][5] of No Questions Asked,[2] the band's first full-length album originally released in 1980.[nb 2][6]

Shortly after, still in 1978, Chris D. would come back to Stodola's studio for a second session, this time backed by the members of the pioneering punk rock band the Flyboys,[nb 3][1][7][8] to record what would be the debut release of his band.[9]

Production and release

The Flesh Eaters EP, produced and engineered by Randy Stodola at Alleycat House, his four-track home studio,[9] was released in 1978 on Upsetter Records, in 7-inch vinyl disc format.[nb 4][10]

Critical reception

In his biography of the Flesh Eaters for Perfect Sound Forever, Jay Hinman said that:

"... [The Flesh Eaters EP], with just a hint of the ferocity of the LPs to come, is full of jagged, blazing glory, with a touch of rockabilly adulation and an up-front, slashing guitar sound that laid down a subsequent trademark."[1]

Trouser Press, for its part, commented:

"... to record the first Flesh Eaters EP", "[Chris] Desjardins ... borrowed an existing band – LA's flower-punk Flyboys —". "'Twas a wise choice: the trebly, hyperkinetic playing matches him lunge for lunge on four breathless numbers, including the well-beyond-Costello conflagration "Radio Dies Screaming.""[8]

Disintegration Nation EP

Disintegration Nation
EP by
the Flesh Eaters
Released2011
RecordedEarly 1978
StudioAlleycat House
GenrePunk rock
LanguageEnglish
LabelTKO
ProducerRandy Stodola
The Flesh Eaters chronology
Miss Muerte
(2004) 		Disintegration Nation
(2011)

Disintegration Nation is an archival 7-inch EP featuring, for the first time on vinyl,[3] and as a stand-alone release, the first studio recordings by the Flesh Eaters. It consists of demo versions[3] of the songs "Disintegration Nation", "Agony Shorthand", and "Twisted Road",[2][3] recorded at the beginning of 1978,[2][3] just a few months after the band was formed, at the four-track home studio of Randy Stodola, who produced and engineered the session, with Chris D. on vocals, Tito Larriva on guitar,[2][3] John Richey on Bass, and Joe Nanini on drums. The three songs would be re-recorded soon after, with revamped lineup, for the band's 1978 self-titled debut EP.[9]

The Flesh Eaters's first ever studio session was first released in 2004, as bonus tracks, on the CD reissue[nb 1][4][5] of No Questions Asked,[2] the band's 1980 first studio album.[nb 2][6]

The Disintegration Nation EP was released on July 15, 2011, on TKO Records,[nb 5][3][11] as a limited edition of 500 copies,[3] featuring cover art by Chris D.[3]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Chris Desjardins, except where noted

Side A
No.TitleLength
1."Disintegration Nation" 
Side B
No.TitleMusicLength
1."Agony Shorthand"Joe Ramirez 
2."Twisted Road"  

Reissues

In 1979, a remixed version of "Disintegration Nation" was featured, retitled as "Version Nation", on the Tooth and Nail compilation album.[nb 6][1][12]

In 1989, the Flesh Eaters EP was repressed featuring yellow disc labels[13] instead of the original in white.[10][14]

In 2004, the EP, in its entirety, was included as bonus tracks, on the Atavistic Records' remastered CD reissue[nb 1][4][5] of the band's first studio album, No Questions Asked, originally released in 1980 on Upsetter.[nb 2][6]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Chris Desjardins, except where noted

Side A
No.TitleMusicLength
1."Disintegration Nation" 1:52
2."Agony Shorthand"Joe Ramirez2:01
Side B
No.TitleMusicLength
1."Radio Dies Screaming"John Curry, Scott Lasken2:07
2."Twisted Road" 1:34
Total length:7:34

Personnel

The Flesh Eaters

Production

Notes

  1. ^ a b c Atavistic #ALP143CD
  2. ^ a b c Upsetter #UPCJ 34
  3. ^ Who by that time had become a power trio because of the death of David Wilson (aka David Way) in a car accident in early 1978.
  4. ^ Upsetter #UPSET 8
  5. ^ TKO #Round 183
  6. ^ Upsetter #UP WR 1&2

References

  1. ^ a b c d Hinman, Jay (January, 2001). "The Flesh Eaters: Heavy Punk Thunder from the Lake of Burning Fire" Archived 2014-04-20 at the Wayback Machine. Perfect Sound Forever. Archive index at the Wayback Machine
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h Jelly, Kames (July 27, 2009). "L.A. Punk Vol. 3- The Flesh Eaters". New Jersey Noise. Retrieved May 20, 2016.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l TKO Records (November 19, 2011). "Chris D. of the Flesh Eaters Pizza Party". TKO Records. Retrieved May 20, 2016.
  4. ^ a b c The Flesh Eaters, No Questions Asked, 2004 CD reissue. AllMusic. Retrieved February 24, 2016.
  5. ^ a b c The Flesh Eaters, No Questions Asked, 2004 CD reissue cover art Archived 2016-03-14 at the Wayback Machine. Record Collectors of the World Unite. Retrieved May 23, 2016.
  6. ^ a b c The Flesh Eaters, No Questions Asked, 1980 LP release cover art Archived 2016-03-14 at the Wayback Machine. Record Collectors of the World Unite. Retrieved May 23, 2016.
  7. ^ Neff, Joseph (July 24, 2014). "Graded on a Curve: The Flesh Eaters, A Minute to Pray, a Second to Die". The Vinyl District. Retrieved October 24, 2015.
  8. ^ a b Young, Jon; Sprague, David. "Flesh Eaters". Trouser Press. Retrieved October 24, 2015.
  9. ^ a b c Bernadicou, August (January 8, 2015). "Just an Alley Cat: Randy Stodola Speaks!". Teenage News. Retrieved October 24, 2015.
  10. ^ a b Flesh Eaters, 1978 7-inch EP release cover art Archived 2016-03-15 at the Wayback Machine. Record Collectors of the World Unite. Retrieved May 22, 2016.
  11. ^ Disintegration Nation, 2011 7-inch EP release cover art Archived 2016-03-14 at the Wayback Machine. Record Collectors of the World Unite. Retrieved May 23, 2016.
  12. ^ Various artists, Tooth and Nail, 1979 LP cover art Archived 2016-10-20 at the Wayback Machine. Record Collectors of the World Unite. Retrieved May 23, 2016.
  13. ^ Flesh Eaters, 1989 7-inch EP repressing cover art Archived 2016-03-08 at the Wayback Machine. Record Collectors of the World Unite. Retrieved May 22, 2016.
  14. ^ The Flakes (October 25, 2007). "Flesheaters – S/T E.P 7″". Killed By Death Records. Retrieved August 5, 2016.

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