Flesh Eaters (EP)

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Flesh Eaters
EP by
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[edit]

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[edit]

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[edit]

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[edit]

Disintegration Nation
EP by
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[edit]

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[edit]

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[edit]

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[edit]

The Flesh Eaters

Production

Notes[edit]

  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[edit]

  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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