Wikipedia entry for The Icarus Line’s first ever release… Highlypuncturingnoisetestingyourabilitytohate!
Highlypuncturingnoisetestingyourabilitytohate was the first release of the Hollywood-based rock band The Icarus Line. It was released in 1998 as a vinyl 7-inch, and was limited to 1,000 copies. The songs are very short, and the most reminiscent of the band’s earliest output, which was heavily influenced by groups such as Born Against, Void (band), and Universal Order of Armageddon.
All of the songs were originally written and performed by their previous band, Kanker Sores. When the Kanker Sores drummer, Tim Childs, died in a car accident, the Kanker Sores disbanded. The core of the group then changed their name for a brief time to “No Hearts Hurt”, and slimmed down to a quintet. This four-piece line-up did not include Alvin DeGuzman, with only Aaron North as the sole guitar player. They played shows under this name with At The Drive-In and Ink & Dagger among others. The drummer for this new band, who also performed on their first two records, was Aaron Austin, formerly of the band Naked Aggression. Bizarrely and tragically, Naked Aggression had also just broken up within days of Kanker Sores, when their guitar player, Phil Suchomel, also suddenly passed away. Coincidentally, Phil was a good friend of the band’s, as was Aaron and the rest of Naked Aggression. When the four members came together to form a new group, the mourning of their friend’s deaths was still very palpable, and had a direct influence on the music created.
When the opportunity to tour with Ink & Dagger arose, the band quickly re-christened themselves The Icarus Line. However, due to his job at a porno video store, Aaron Austin was unable to commit to the tour. The band quickly enlisted the then current drummer of The Criminals, “The Nooch”, to fill in on the tour, even though by the time they’d hit the road for the east coast, they had never even once rehearsed with him.
After teaching “The Nooch” the songs in the car en route to Philadelphia, this four-piece lineup played its first show in the summer of 1998. Their first show was in New Brunswick, New Jersey in support of Ink & Dagger at a place called “The Melody Bar”. The band had not yet recorded any material as The Icarus Line, but sold a four-song cassette on the tour, which had been the last recorded session of Kanker Sores, which included Tim and Alvin. Among the songs on this tape was an earlier version of “Survival Of The Fittest”, which was later recorded for this debut release. Upon returning to Los Angeles, the band reunited with Aaron Austin on drums, and also asked Alvin to join the new band. After about a week’s worth of rehearsal, this five-piece lineup began the sessions for this release.
A copy of this EP circulates in low quality around the Internet, but without the B-side Stooges “cover”. The cover was a result of the band feeling they should put SOMETHING else on the record besides the four very short songs, so as not to just have one side of the record left blank. It is a very rare record to come by, and has never been issued on CD. The songs have also never been available for sale in any digital form. All copies of the 7-inch were pressed on black vinyl, with blank black labels. (Except for the Test Presses, which came on clear red vinyl)
Track listing
Side A)
1. “Fuck The Scene”
2. “Adam & Eve”
3. “Swallow”
4. “Survival Of The Fittest”
Side B)
1. “L.A. Blues” (Stooges Cover)
Personnel
* Joe Cardamone – Vocals
* Aaron North – Guitar
* Lance Arnao – Bass
* Alvin DeGuzman – Guitar
* Aaron Austin – Drums
Production
* Recorded at Room 222 Studio in Hollywood, August – September 1998
* Recorded and mixed by James Bennett
* Artwork and Layout by The Icarus Line