RELEASES:
Tunnel of Love "Rockin' Rollin' Bi***es" LP (BG 01 / 702-93)
Our first release, and the inspiration behind this label, is a reissue of the single greatest punk album of the 2000's, Tunnel of Love's "Rockin' Rollin' Bi***es." Equal parts Guitar Wolf (the noise & fury, man!), early Flamin' Groovies (the pinnacle of trad rock'n'roll in a post '55 world), and the Electric Eels & Slayer (fo
r pure f**ked-upedness and extreme Satanism), this 14 track LP clocks in at a modest 25 minutes, yet delivers more devastating music than most bands' entire discographies. Tunnel of Love never practice, but every now and then they assemble in public, decked out in black and white striped tights and black capes, ripping apart punk clubs and leaving audiences stunned. This is truly the most bad-ass rock'n'roll band on earth. You can either get down or you can get out of their way. Vex Ruffin and the Lo-Fi Jerkheads "Jerkhead Anthem" 7" EP (BG 002 / 702-94)
Our second release is the debut from Chino, CA's Vex Ruffin and the lo-fi Jerkheads. This four track 7" EP is going to be the most talked about 45 in every scene around the world focused on crazed music, from underground hip-hop circles (Vex is also recording an album to be released on STONES THROW this year) to the jaded know-it-alls at the garage/ weird-punk message boards. Vex Ruffin and the lo-fi Jerkheads is a one man unit armed only with a basic sampler, a smokin' stack o' wax ranging from early rhythm & blues to the crème de la crème of punk killers, an electric guitar and a mic. Imagine if Tipsy met The Spits and was severely underproduced, and what you get is a primo batch of lysergic slop ripe to be freaked at any good party. Electric Crush "Dropouts In a Drug Haze" 12" 45 RPM EP (BG 003 / 702-103)
Totally deranged 12" 45 RPM e.p. from defunct one-man unit Electric Crush: a long lost cassette only release from Las Vegas circa Y2K. Originally a 10 song tape titled "Dropouts In a Drug Haze," we opted for the perfect first side only of the original release to bring you three tracks of stone cold punk rock headache sandwiched between two slices of drum breaks and bent guitars slathered with methamphetamine psychosis. Electric Crush represents the sound of Black Gladiator before it even existed, and we couldn't be happier we located him after all these years! Musical parallels to Muddy Waters classic late 60s fuzz guitar driven, break-beat ridden "Electric Mud" are plenty, so we came up with this take on the elusive & bold black cover of "'Mud." Limited edition of 300 copies! The Lo-Fi Jerkheads "In Your Stereo" 7" EP (BG 004 / 702-104)
The new Lo-Fi Jerkheads 45 is crammed to the deadwax with four more tracks of sample-heavy punk-slop overloaded with distortion, stupidity and raw funkiness. This e.p., just like the last one, will damage your speakers, make your ears bleed and your ti***es swing! As with all Black Gladiator releases, this is an ultimate tool for warped underground rock'n'roll DJ's that are hell-bent on wreckin' shop. The Psyched "S/T" LP / CD (BG 005 / 702-118)
Black Gladiator is back on the map with the only album that’s ever made me want to grow my hair and shake it about: the debut, mucked-up and hella f**kin’ cruddy long player from Brooklyn, NY’s THE PSYCHED! Psyched soul members Anthony Macbain (from Black Gladiator alumni & Brookline, MA devil worshippers TUNNEL OF LOVE) and Paul Weil (ex-DC legends THE APES), smash 9 tracks of huge, mid-tempo boom & thud over the top of your skull, adding a filthy, next level doom-metal element to the OG Tunnel of Love raw rock’n’roll blast, like a total punk version of Electric Wizard. The album is a souped-up version of the primitive, two-piece live show, and both are necessary for the total Psyched experience. What else can I say other than I hate your guts for having to convince you that this record is the s**t. GET IT or SUCK IT (on LP or CD, BITCH)! The H***y "Way With Words" EP (BG 006 / 702-131)
Black Gladiator is making with the freak freak with a new EP from Madison, WI garage turkeys THE H***Y... and FINALLY! This dude / dudette duo has been lighting s**t on fire for a few with three full lengths, more than a handful of singles, and a brutal live show that they’ve taken across the USA a hundred times over. We put the gangsta lean on ‘em to deliver a single that fits the truly unruly BG grime agenda, so they knocked out two hyper, nasty break having punk rock nugs for the A-side. “Way With Words” and “Yr Stupid” clock in breakneck at less than three minutes total. But this single is ultimately built around a track for the DJ’s that the Black Gladiator Sound Lab spent over a year perfecting for the dancefloor. We snagged the swinging, Heather H***y led “Wrong Right” off their debut LP on Slow Fizz and hooked up with Cleveland, Ohio’s E.REACT to remix this s**t FRESH as a double vision four-on-the-floor shaking bbbllluuurrr with a funky fly Bo Diddley soul clap. Cool. Obnox "Canabible Ohio" 2x 7" EP (BG 007 / 702-132)
It's the newest latest from Bim Thomas' one man soul-punk bomb OBNOX, and Black Gladiator is psyched like a mug to be part of this expanding, dark dope cloud. This “Canabible Ohio” double 7” joint features five new tracks of dank punk stank with a level of pure b-boyism unfelt since the golden era of the Def Jam days. Dig “Deep In The Dusk (Redux)”* for the Jeep beat, replete with a broke ass MAGNETIX sample. Three of the four cover songs in this set represent the sordid history of Ohio rock and soul: GAUNT’s twisted “Flying,” KING JAMES VERSION’s “He’s Forever,” a tore up, one-in-a-million 60’s shouter which no one even knew about until the recent release of Numero Group’s Boddie Recordings box - a song which no other need attempt after this, and the all time MCCOYS classic “Hang On Sloopy” gets the ‘NOX treatment proper. A cover of the URINALS “I’m A Bug” rounds the set out, cuz we’re stupid like that. Records are housed in a full-color gatefold jacket in a limited edition of 500 copies.
* “Deep In The Dusk (Redux)” to be featured on the upcoming “Corrupt Free Enterprise” double LP on 12XU.
