Imprint Merch

Track list:

1. Poison Root
2. Proud
3. County
4. Bobby
5. Witch
6. Horse
7. Brick
8. Sportstar
9. Judge
10. Rocket
11. Powerful Man
12. Alina
13. Big Fish
14. Guilty

This is a pre-order item with a release date of June 27. Anything else purchased in the same order will not be shipping until this in stock and ready to ship.

In the spring of 2019, a new rock band made up of four otherwise ordinary Okies emerged seemingly out of nowhere, swiftly turning heads with a grotesque new take on noise rock—one fueled by the existential anguish that has defined the 21st century. Taking its name from the towering mounds of toxic waste that stand as monuments to capitalism’s cruel hubris across its home state, Oklahoma City’s Chat Pile made an immediate impression. That momentum culminated in the release of its landmark 2022 debut album, God’s Country, and its expansive 2024 follow-up, Cool World.

While the massive success of God’s Country propelled the quartet from underground favorites to international sensation, Chat Pile’s mission to push rock music to new zeniths of intensity was part of the plan from the very beginning. In fact, during the first few months of its existence, the band began writing and recording some of the heaviest, most hellish, and harrowing material in its entire catalog—laying the foundation for the themes and sonic traits that would later define their debut LP. The result of these early sessions was a pair of EPs: This Dungeon Earth and Remove Your Skin Please, released in the summer and winter of 2019, respectively.

Originally issued by Reptilian Records in 2020, The Flenser is proud to present a special reissue of Chat Pile’s pivotal first two EPs, now compiled onto a single disc. This dual-EP compilation captures the earliest moments of the Oklahoma City quartet’s discography—a snapshot of the band’s pre-Flenser days and the eight tracks of noxious, nihilistic noise rock that helped propel them from local oddity to globe-spanning underground heavyweights.

Track Listing:

1. Face
2. Rainbow Meat    
3. Rat Boy
4. Crawlspace
5. Dallas Beltway
6. Mask
7. Davis
8. Garbage Man

****THIS IS A PRE-ORDER ITEM AND WILL SHIP IN MID AUGUST****

In the spring of 2019, a new rock band made up of four otherwise ordinary Okies emerged seemingly out of nowhere, swiftly turning heads with a grotesque new take on noise rock—one fuelled by the existential anguish that has defined the 21st century. Taking its name from the towering mounds of toxic waste that stand as monuments to capitalism’s cruel hubris across its home state, Oklahoma City’s Chat Pile made an immediate impression. That momentum culminated in the release of its landmark 2022 debut album, God’s Country, and its expansive 2024 follow-up, Cool World.

While the massive success of God’s Country propelled the quartet from underground favourites to international sensation, Chat Pile’s mission to push rock music to new zeniths of intensity was part of the plan from the very beginning. In fact, during the first few months of its existence, the band began writing and recording some of the heaviest, most hellish, and harrowing material in its entire catalog—laying the foundation for the themes and sonic traits that would later define their debut LP. The result of these early sessions was a pair of EPs: This Dungeon Earth and Remove Your Skin Please, released in the summer and winter of 2019, respectively.

Originally issued by Reptilian Records in 2020, The Flenser is proud to present a special reissue of Chat Pile’s pivotal first two EPs, now compiled onto a single disc. This dual-EP compilation captures the earliest moments of the Oklahoma City quartet’s discography—a snapshot of the band’s pre-Flenser days and the eight tracks of noxious, nihilistic noise rock that helped propel them from local oddity to globe-spanning underground heavyweights.

Track Listing:

1. Face
2. Rainbow Meat    
3. Rat Boy
4. Crawlspace
5. Dallas Beltway
6. Mask
7. Davis
8. Garbage Man

The third installment in this ongoing series bears another intense collection of new tracks from some of the leading acts of the current scene. "The Extermination Compilation: Volume III" features nine brand-new tracks entirely exclusive to this compilation. Represented on the collection are four bands from the US West Coast including Terror, Take Offense, Piece By Piece and Disgrace, East Coast acts Friend Or Foe, Manipulate, Countdown and D.C. Disorder, as well as a song from UK-based Higher Power. Vinyl version includes digital download.

Track Listing:

1. Terror - Other Worlds
2. Countdown - Average Man
3. Disgrace - Hunt/Reprise
4. Manipulate - Shadow Walker
5. Piece By Piece - Hating You
6. Take Offense - Enter The Center
7. Higher Power - World Gone Mad
8. Friend Or Foe - Invincible
9. D.C. Disorder - Naive To A World

Midwife is the moniker of multi-instrumentalist Madeline Johnston. She lives and works in San Miguel, New Mexico by way of Denver, Colorado, where she spent the better half of the past decade developing her experimental pop project. As a self taught guitarist and recording engineer, Midwife explores dark subject matter in her anthemic, soft-gaze hits. Self-described as “Heaven Metal,” or emotive music about devastation - catharsis.

When 2020 began, Johnston had several national and international tours planned, but the pandemic shifted her focus back to recording, and back to her internal landscape. Midwife’s third full length record, Luminol, was written and produced during quarantine.

Luminol is a chemical used by forensic investigators to reveal trace amounts of blood left at a crime scene. When it reacts with blood, luminol emits a chemiluminescent blue glow that can be seen in a darkened room. In the same way this chemical reveals evidence at a scene, Midwife is interested in profound truth - turning trial and tribulation into sources of light.

Luminol navigates themes of incarceration, locus of control, clarity, self harm, confinement, agency, and truth-seeking, all erupting in a bioluminescent Rothko color-field of blue.

The Luminol album cover shows a dark figure standing at the edge of a body of water. It symbolizes the way humanity had been on a precipice throughout 2020, to later find out they had been there all along. Being one of Midwife’s most personal records, Luminol's cover artwork is a picture of Madeline Johnston's mother taken in the 1980’s, when she was the same age as Madeline at the time of recording. By redacting the figure, Johnston hopes that anyone could see themselves there, by the water, as a form leftover when all the elements of their lives are stripped away and what is left is a host.

Luminol features collaborations from Tucker Theodore, Angel Diaz (Vyva Melinkolya), Zachary Cole Smith, Ben Newman, and Colin Caulfield (DIIV), and Dan Barrett (Have A Nice Life).

Track Listing:

1. God is a Cop
2. Enemy
3. 2020
4. Colorado
5. Promise Ring
6. Christina's World

Midwife’s No Depression In Heaven, her fourth studio album, was written primarily in the back of vans while on tour, endlessly, over the course of the past few years. The record engages with the contemplative spirit of rock n roll from within a body in motion.

No Depression In Heaven explores themes of sentimentality, the interplay between dreams, memory, and fantasy, and a familiar subject seen throughout all of Midwife’s work: grief. Madeline Johnston takes a look at the tender and transcendent underneath a hard exterior of leather and studs, exposing a different side of the heavy music scene, where Johnston’s project has been living and evolving.

Recording at home in New Mexico between 2021 and 2023, Johnston aimed to create something that was rough around the edges, returning to a free recording process that was less focused on perfection and more attuned to expressing the spirit that lives inside of the songs. The album features collaborations with Chris Adolf and Michael Stein of American Culture, Ben Schurr and Tim Jordan of Nyxy Nyx, Angel Diaz of Vyva Melinkolya, and Allison Lorenzen.

Inspired by ephemeral moments that make up life on tour, the totemization of vehicles, outlaws, and the psyche of America’s underbelly, No Depression In Heaven affirms Johnston’s existential status as a woman of the highway.

“Vanessa” is a love song for Johnston’s dying van, while “Killdozer” is an ode to a city lost in the aftermath of gentrification. The latter centers on the story of Marvin Heemeyer, a muffler repair shop owner who went on a demolition spree in a modified bulldozer before killing himself in a small Colorado town in 2004. “Droving” is a memorial to departed souls, particularly those who in their lives were pillars of the music community which Johnston herself has helped to hold up for more than a decade. “It’s about the transient nature of what we do,” Johnston says. “Our bodies are vessels –– our bodies are, together, a vessel, a vehicle, and that togetherness allows us to become something larger than ourselves in the slipstream of the unconscious, droving.”

The fleeting moments are beads which might otherwise sit separate or scatter, but something like collective participation in an underground scene, or a series of 25 performances in 25 cities over the course of a month, has the power to string together these otherwise disparate or spectral elements.

The album’s title was inspired by The Carter Family song, “No Depression In Heaven,” which speaks about the Great Depression and the mental state of depression interchangeably, drawing a direct line between the human condition on earth and emotional depression. Johnston may or may not believe that it’s literally possible to leave depression behind in the act of passing on, but she certainly believes that to thread the string, to weave and link the memories of lost friends, scenes, songs, and experiences: one has to trace the highway.

Track Listing:

1. Rock N Roll Never Forgets
2. Autoluminescent
3. Droving
4. Vanessa
5. Killdozer
6.Better Off Alone
7.No Depression In Heaven

With the broader adoption of the internet around the turn of the century, how people would engage with and discover underground music would change forever. As a result of the new digital era, DIY was now worldwide, and no band embraced this new frontier better than Have A Nice Life. Formed in 2000 by duo Dan Barrett andTim Macuga, the Middletown, CT-based pair would, throughout the 00s, self-release and share a number of demos and home recordings via early social media channels as well as establish its in-house label ENEMIES LIST HOME RECORDINGS.These first steps set in motion Have A Nice Life’s rise to renown as an icon of underground music in the internet age, culminating with the release of its pivotal 2008 debut album, Deathconsciousness. Through word of mouth and online discussion, Deathconsciousness became subject to viral praise thanks to its synthesis of bleak post-punk, lo-fi shoegaze, and carpets of hypnotic drone music. Eventually, this humble self-released project would attain the status of a post-internet cult classic, amassing Have A Nice Life a fervent online following that the band would interact with in kind.

In an effort to thank and continue to engage with Have A Nice Life’s internet cult following, Barrett and Macuga would regularly share links to old demos, works in progress, and outtakes from the recording of Deathconsciousness.Over time, a group of fans would compile these demos into an unofficial release. Dubbed Voids, this fan-made compilation several alternate takes of tracks from Deathconsciousness,as well as a handful of early versions of songs that would appear on Have A Nice Life’s two following albums, The Unnatural Worldand Sea of Worry. While undeniably reminiscent of their final album version counterparts, the earlier versions of these tracks each feel distinct in a way that makes the moody, decidedly lo-fi aura of Voidsan essential slice of the Have A Nice Life discography. Hungry for more from the enigmatic duo, fans swarmed around this compilation, accompanied by loud calls for it to receive a physical release. Seeing that demand and with the band’s blessing, a pair of fan-made tape pressings of Voids would be released via Music Ruins Lives, a DIY label run by Have A Nice Life superfan Thom Wasluck, also known for his band Planning for Burial. Between both instances of the tape swiftly selling out and the compilation’s long absence from streaming services, Voidshas historically been an elusive release to track down, only available in the obscurest corners of the internet or physically on the secondary market at eye-wateringly high prices.

Over a decade since its initial, unofficial release in 2011, The Flenser is proud to reissue Have A Nice Life’s Voids for the first time ever in an official capacity in physical form. Originally released digitally in early 2023 and freshly remastered for the occasion, this reissue of the beloved compilation will receive its first-ever wide release on physical formats (CD/LP/Cassette). This release also marks the first time fan-favorite tracks from Voids “Sisyphus”, “I’m Doctor House”, and “Human Error” will be available on vinyl and CD. Like a symbolic passing of the torch, the physical versions of the 2023 Voids reissue come with a foreword essay written by Wasluck, the previous custodian of Voidsduring the Music Ruins Lives days.

Track Listing:

1. The Big Gloom
2. Waiting for Black Metal Records to Come in the Mail
3. The Future
4. Earthmover
5. Who Would Leave Their Son Out in the Sun?
6. Human Error 
7. Trespassers W 
8. Defenestration Song 
9. I’m Dr. House 
10. Sisyphus
11. Destinos

Oklahoma’s Chat Pile have had an exciting 2022; they released their album God’s Country, toured the midwest and east coast in support of the album, announced their appearance at Roadburn Festival 2023, and while the band is working on LP2, they're revealing details for their score for the indie film Tenkiller.

While not a proper full-length album, the Tenkiller score was written and recorded in the winter of 2020, and it waxes and wanes from the signature Chat Pile sound but also ventures into new ones— including arena country music.

The band comments, “The music we made for Tenkiller is quite a bit different than what you may come to expect from us. We were given the freedom to really experiment and explore territories that we’ve never done before.” They continue, “It’s not going to be for everyone, but we hope some of you connect with what we set out to do.

Track Listing:

1. TAH
2. Badman
3. Dad’s Drunk
4. The Fabulous Shitheads
5. LE
6. The Return of Badman
7. Lake Time (Mr. Rodan)
8. Kids
9. QUAH
10. Badman 3: Die Badman Die
11. B4dm4n
12. Punishment Box
13. Beck’s Theme
14. OK
15. Badman V: A New Beginning
16. Bleeding Out
17. Tenkiller

The Flenser is pleased to announce the release of "Living is Easy," the latest EP from ecstatic black metal band Agriculture. This new EP will be paired with the band's debut EP, "The Circle Chant." For the first time, both EPs will be pressed together on a single 12-inch vinyl record as well as a cassette format

”Living is Easy," an EP by Agriculture, represents a significant new statement from the band. With their debut self-titled, Agriculture embarks on a journey to explore how heavy music can provide insights into the joys of life, both everyday and divine. Their extensive touring with this material led to a profound experience of ecstasy, surpassing expectations as they shared the intensity and joy of these songs with audiences worldwide. This experience was a catalyst for Agriculture, inspiring them to delve even deeper into the realm of 'ecstatic black metal' music. The band believes that with "Living is Easy," they have pushed this concept to its limit, resulting in a transformative explosion of sound and meaning.

The record delves into themes of community connection, holiness, violence, and the cycles of life. The title track is especially notable, featuring a retelling of a story from one of the Buddha's past lives. In this narrative, the Buddha encounters a starving family of tigers and sacrifices himself to save them, a tale of serenity and selflessness. This story resonates deeply with Agriculture, reflecting the humility and inspiration they find in their collaboration and echoing the generosity and interconnection they strive to explore through their music.

"In The House Of Angel Flesh," another pivotal track, focuses on collective struggle and connection. The song's title is inspired by "The Faggots & Their Friends Between Revolutions," a 1977 book by Larry Mitchell. Like the book, the song depicts scenes of community support and pleasure amidst political, social, and socio-economic challenges. Agriculture interprets Larry Mitchell's description of the house of Angel Flesh as a metaphorical place of healing and transformation, using it as an allegory in their music to convey messages of support, care, and communal joy.

Touring holds a special place in the heart of Agriculture. It brings them immense joy to share their music, visit new places, and meet new people in cities around the world. This constant interaction with diverse audiences serves as a continuous source of inspiration for this work. Agriculture is eager and excited to share "Living is Easy" as well as give new life to the first vinyl pressing of “The Circle Chant.”

Track Listing:

For something to be “ecstatic,” the feelings and emotions it evokes must transcend what we tend to experience most regularly in our lives. Ecstatic joy isn’t just happiness; it’s a feeling of jubilation which impacts us emotionally and in a metaphysical, arguably spiritual sense too. Although it has long been associated with connotations of the dark and macabre, extreme music has the ability to be a powerful mode of expression for these feelings of absolute bliss, overwhelming love, and awe-inspiring sublimity. Extreme emotions no less and those which black metal quartet Agriculture evokes with its ecstatic subversion of the subgenre’s tropes. 

What was initially a meeting and subsequent series of jam sessions between Kern Haug and Daniel Meyer, two musicians in the Los Angeles underground noise scene, would eventually manifest as a shared vision to portray the sublimity of the human experience through the vehicle of heavy music. Following the additions of veteran guitarist Richard Chowenhill and bassist/vocalist Leah Levinson to the band’s lineup, this idea would crystalize into the “ecstatic black metal” backbone of Agriculture’s music, first heard on the band’s 2022 debut EP, The Circle Chant.

With Agriculture’s self-titled record and first full-length LP, it’s abundantly clear that the band’s use of heavy music to showcase the most resplendent emotions and moments of the human experience has a far deeper meaning. Woven between the flurries of soaring tremolo picking, crescendoing guitar harmonies, celebratory screamed vocals, thoughtful improvisation, and meditative atmospheric passages is the record’s mission statement to experience the wonders and joys of both the esoteric and physical world. From examinations of self-acceptance, identity, and finding strength in others on “Look Pt.2” to depictions of deep communion with nature, the self, and the people we surround ourselves with in “The Glory of the Ocean” and “The Well”, the concepts and thematic questions previously planted by the band have blossomed into powerful, fully-realized artistic and philosophical statements. To put it in the band’s words, “...Where The Circle Chant is like a finger pointing at the moon, the self-titled LP is like a whole body screaming at it with reverence.” Through the extreme splendor of ecstatic black metal and the improvisational, experimental, and cathartic elements it embodies, Agriculture illustrates these otherwise incomprehensible questions with a poignant beauty that makes its music as much of an artistic statement as it is a transcendental experience.

Track Listing:

1. The Glory of the Ocean
2. The Well
3. Look, Pt. 1
4. Look, Pt. 2
5. Look, Pt. 3
6. Relier

Uboa’s fifth album Impossible Light almost never made it out of the dark. From its initial conception in 2018, this record went to hell and back, dragging its immensity and too-big-to-hold emotion through the torturous process of translation to sound and returned triumphantly as a full-bodied record in a distinct new style.
 
Impossible Light begins where Uboa's 2019 breakout album The Origin of My Depression left off — and ends somewhere entirely different. The Origin stunned with its methodical use of doom, harsh noise, ambient soundscapes while documenting a raw, unhindered account of Xandra Metcalfe’s experiences with her transition and her struggles with mental health. Over time The Origin steadily grew a cult-like following which developed into a full-fledged internet community focused around noise, neurodiversity and transness. While Uboa’s signature style of highly polished, cinematic ‘hypernoise' is front and center in Impossible Light, there is also a daring departure into the genres of industrial metal/rock, setting it apart from any other Uboa release thus far and distinguishing it from other contemporary noise records.
 
Metcalfe kept the lyrical content of this record as a time capsule of the catastrophic ups and downs and rapidly changing environments within herself and in the world from 2018-2023. Key collaborators include Blood of a Pomegranate, Otay:onii, Charlie Looker and Haela Hunt-Hendrix of Liturgy. Impossible Light dives fearlessly into queer sexuality, trans embodiment, grief for those who couldn't make it, solidarity for those facing unimaginable discrimination, the toxic spread of transphobic hatred and misinformation, and the ultimate hope of recovery from trauma and mental anguish. This is a record about the light at the end of the tunnel and the power it takes to keep moving towards it.

Track Listing:

1. Phthalates
2. Endocrine Disruptor
3. A Puzzle
4. Gordian Worm (ft. Blood of a Pomegranate)
5. Pattern Screamers
6. Jawline
7. Weaponised Dysphoria
8. Sleep Hygiene
9. Impossible Light / Golden Flower (ft. Otay::onii)