Hate Songs in E Minor is the debut studio album by British rock band Fudge Tunnel. It was released in May 1991 through Earache Records,[2] and issued in the United States on 20 August 1991 through Relativity Records.[3][4] It followed in the wake of two critically acclaimed singles ("Fudge Tunnel" in 1989 and "The Sweet Sound of Excess" in 1990, both on Pigboy/Vinyl Solution), after which the group were signed to Earache.[5] The album consists of 11 songs, 9 of which were written by the band and 2 covers: "Sunshine of Your Love", originally recorded by the band Cream, while the last track on the disc, "Cat Scratch Fever" was originally recorded by Ted Nugent. The album is also dedicated to Nugent.[1]
Hate Songs in E Minor presented a new and broader approach by the label following the success of more experimental and electronic Godflesh. Fudge Tunnel could also be considered a British response to the sound of bands like Melvins, Nirvana and Swans in the US. Early pressings of the LP edition of the album included a bonus 7" containing the track "Joined at the Dick".[5]
Cover artwork and police raid
The originally-planned cover art was a "ridiculous" drawing of a man being decapitated that the band's Alex Newport later described as "quite silly and not very offensive". However, following a raid on Earache Records' offices- relating to a photo intended for use by another artist- the band's artwork was confiscated by police. As a result, the album- whose release date was imminent- had its cover replaced at short notice with a live photo.[6]
Charges were later dropped and the artwork returned. However, this was too late for the original album release, and the band later used the original design on t-shirts instead.[6]
Spin wrote that the album is "hardcore meets guitar rock at its loudest and finest."[15] The Calgary Herald determined that "Fudge Tunnel's trying to negotiate that well-travelled, guitar-grungy, Sub-Pop highway, but with a dearth of real energy and an abundance of redundant, spongy riffs".[16]The Gazette opined that "these Brit Soundgarden wannabes and their smartass noise miss the one key ingredient: virtually none of it is believable, and the giveaways are witless covers of 'Sunshine of Your Love' and 'Cat Scratch Fever'."[17]
In 2005, Kerrang! ranked the album at number 92 on its list of the "100 Best British Rock Albums Ever".[18]
Track listing
All tracks are written by Alex Newport, except where noted
In April 2007, Earache Records included "Hate Song" on a six-disc, 100-plus-track box set titled Metal: A Headbanger's Companion.[19] In September 2007, "Gut Rot" and "Soap and Water" were included in the compilation's sequel, Metal: A Headbanger's Companion II.[20]
^ ab"earpollution profiles: alex newport". Archived from the original on 26 January 2024. [The musician John Zorn on the same record label] had a particularly nasty photo he was using for his Painkiller CD [and] decided to fly to England with it. [British customs] alerted the Nottingham Vice Squad, who then proceeded to "raid" the Earache offices, looking for anything "offensive." [..] They took all our artwork, which was really quite silly and not very offensive. Our LP was due out in three weeks [so we used] some live photos instead. A few months later, all the charges were dropped, we got our artwork back, but it was too late to release it. We ended up using it for T-shirts instead. [..] [The picture] was a ridiculous drawing of a stickman being decapitated, from a book called "How to Kill," by this ex-CIA agent
Green, Nick (March 2021). "Cutting a Rope: The Making of Fudge Tunnel's Hate Songs in E Minor". Decibel. No. 197. Red Flag Media, Inc. pp. 30–32, 34, 36, 38.
