BONE FRAGMENT COLORED VINYL.
Was DAZZLING KILLMEN a hardcore band? A metal band?
The world’s gnarliest progressive-rock quartet?
“Yes” is the easy answer, but only because it’s easy to rewind through two decades of genre fragmentation to hear Dazzling Killmen’s influence on any number of “math-metal,” “prog-core” and similarly classified bands. At the time, however, this St. Louis quartet occupied a genre of one. When SKiN GRAFT released the Killmen’s 1994 sophomore album, “Face of Collapse”, that genre had its touchstone.“ - Excerpt from Aaron Burgess’ liner notes
"The band formed in the St. Louis, MO area, and forged its singular sound with almost no music scene support for such a fringy concept - technically impeccable playing enabling whiplash stop-starts that recalled John Zorn’s Naked City more readily than any rock group one could name, cathartic and discordant guitar stabs, a jaw-dropping rhythm section, arrangements of baroque complexity, and a harrowing, overbearing, inescapable sense of pure dread”. - Dangerous Minds
“Most of the great progressive underground bands of the ‘90s would not exist if it weren’t for them.” - Ben Weinman, lead guitarist & primary songwriter of The Dillinger Escape Plan
Loud Life at Alternative Press magazine declared it the top album of the 90's based on the following criteria: 1) Avoidance of formula or cliché. 2) Dexterity of rhythm section, 3) Quality of album’s production values, 4) Lack of predictable lyrical subjects - Satan, Straightedge, Viking folklore, etc. “Sounds like Dave Bruebeck’s Time Out played through Carcass' PA system."
Spin Magazine called Blake Fleming one of the 100 Greatest Drummers of Alternative Music; while Fact Magazine named the album one of the Best Post-Metal Records Ever. Guitarist / vocalist Nick Sakes went on to form Colossomite (with Ed and John of Deerhoof) and now performs in Upright Forms. Blake founded Laddio Boloko and then The Mars Volta; while Tim Garrigan and Darin Gray formed You Fantastic! Darin is renowned for his work with Jim O’Rourke, including their bands Brise-Glace and Yona-Kit. Currently Darin performs with William Tyler and recently appeared on The Tonight Show in the band Tweedy, alongside Jeff of Wilco. Tim went on to form the band Skryptor with David McClelland of Craw.
