First released on Friday, February 13th, (40 years to the day after Black Sabbath’s debut LP), Vol 1 was the first efforts of unknown songwriter, Kevin Starrs. Pressed in small numbers for a non-existing fan base, the album took several months to shift all 30 CD-R copies and provided a small platform to fund it’s follow up, Blood Lust (2011). .
Recorded on a tight budget of stashed dole money and with little knowledge or regard for conventional recording techniques, the chaotic results speak for themselves. Distorted vocals, out of tune harmonies, ragged musicianship and everything pushed to the red. The clatter of mic stands falling over mid performance, the rustling of lyric papers, the missed key changes and flubbed lines. Everything you would want to avoid is here. Self-funded, self-recorded and self-released to a fanfare of silence, Vol 1 was a true D.I.Y. effort from start to finish. No great ambition, no target audience, no press support. Just a collection of songs for anyone who would listen. With its mix of budget horror lyrics, Everly Brothers obsessed harmonies, downer rock riffs, overly long guitar solos and bizarre high pitched vocals, Vol 1 had very limited appeal outside a small group of underground fanatics.
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In the years following, the album became something of a cult curiosity.
Despite the shoddy work of bootleggers and impatient collectors, Starrs refused to re release the album until he could work on its remix and oversee the mastering. “It was a D.I.Y project from the beginning so I wasn’t going to give it up and let someone else mess with it. I also wasn’t going to cash in on something for the sake of it. I wanted it to sound the best that it possibly could. The record deserves my full attention, so with no new album to distract anyone in 2017, it was the perfect time to work on it and release it on CD and Vinyl. It can stand on its own…flaws included.”
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So here it is, Vol 1 in all its ragged glory…finally mastered and mixed for this release, available via Rise Above Records.
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Vol 1 track listing:
1. “Crystal Spiders”
2. “Witches Garden”
3. “Dead Eyes of London”
4. “Lonely and Strange”
5. “Vampire Circus”
6. “Do What Your Love Tells You”
7. “I Don’t Know”
8. “Wind Up Toys”
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[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6zDT_uGYdVs[/embedyt]
