Quicksand are sharing their new promo of “Slip,” which is remastered for vinyl from the original 1993 master tapes, including bonus track “How Soon is Now?”. Limited edition LP and 64-page hardcover book chronicles the release of this influential album. Includes a foreword by Walter Schreifels, never-before-seen photographs, original art, rare concert posters, show flyers, and ephemera from 1990-1994. Written contributions from members of Anthrax, Helmet, Sepultura, Thursday, Rise Against, Refused, Youth of Today, Thrice, Agnostic Front, Snapcase, Earth Crisis, Cave In, and more.
Watch the video here:
In 1993, just weeks after Bill Clinton was sworn in as president, but long before he started getting pervy with a White House intern, New York’s post hardcore band Quicksand delivered Slip, one of the genre’s most defining albums, and a record that would launch a generation of hardcore bands, from Thrice to Thursday.
“From the moment I heard the name ’Quicksand,’ from the moment I heard “Head to Wall,” I knew I needed that record,” says Thursday’s Geoff Rickly. “I had one of those Walkman tape players that used to automatically change direction and start playing the next side of the record. I listened to it back and forth in my headphones, walking around, feeling like no one would touch me. I’ve never stopped worshiping this record.”
lodine Recordings is reissuing this classic in three configurations, including a hardcover book with contributions from members of Anthrax, Helmet, Sepultura, Rise Against, Refused and Agnostic Front, among others.
“Quicksand’s Slip is one of those rare albums where there isn’t any wasted space. Every note, vocal line, snare hit and guitar lead is in the right place,” says Shadows Fall’s Brian Fair. “Nothing superfluous added. All the fat, trimmed to perfection. It takes simplicity and directness to its artistic peak without losing any of the power and heaviness that defined the band… In a word? Flawless.”
The configurations include:
Standard: Remastered for vinyl using the original 1993 master tapes, it includes the bonus track “How Soon is Now?” The jacket artwork was reconstructed using original art elements and color improvements.
Deluxe Gatefold: This Limited Edition includes a gold foil embossed Slipcase, a gatefold jacket, and a bonus triple gatefold poster.
Deluxe LP + Hardcover Book: The Limited-Edition LP and hardcover book chronicles the release of the album and includes never-before-seen photographs, art, rare concert posters and show flyers from 1990-1994. Presented on a Yellow and Red Swirl Vinyl. It’s limited to only 2000 copies.
A bunch of artists have shared their views on the impact of the album:
“’Slip’ came out in 1993, four years before I was born… And it took a following 22 years for Quicksand to fall into my radar. Slip is an angst-ridden record, crunchy guitar and whining melodies flooding your mind as you listen. I’m grateful to have stumbled upon “Slip” when I did, I’ve only learned to appreciate its composition more and more as I develop as a musician (with only a fraction of the talent). Sometimes it feels like I was there in ‘93 experiencing that exact same burst of energy.” – Kat Moss / Scowl
“I’ll never forget hearing ‘Fazer’ for the first time on a skate video I was watching with Ed (my brother and Thrice’s bass player). We ran out and bought Slip the next time we’d saved enough allowance to do so, threw it in our CD player, and proceeded to have our minds blown. Quicksand had somehow managed to take the best elements of all the genres that were blowing up our sonic palettes and bundle them up cohesively in three-to-four-minute songs. There wasn’t really anyone like them, and that remains true to this day. There’s only one Quicksand, and the mark they’ve made on my journey as a musician is indelible.” – Riley Breckenridge / Thrice
“I discovered Quicksand at Newbury Comics in Salem, NH in the summer of ’93. “Baphomet” was blasting through the stereo speakers. Heavy, dark, mystical, kinda grunge — that checked all the boxes for me. I’ve probably studied Slip more than listening to it. Quicksand brought drop D to hardcore before I even knew what hardcore was. Fast forward 20+ years to learning Quicksand songs at home, and not just playing air-guitar to them. Walter had asked me to pick a few to jam on, and I showed up to their rehearsal space with a whole set list ready to go. After running through some stuff, he said to me “If we had to play a show tonight, I think we’d do alright.” I remember thinking that if nothing more comes of it, at least I could say that I jammed with Quicksand. – Stephen Brodsky / Cave In / Mutoid Man / Old Man Gloom From the moment I heard the name ’Quicksand’, from the moment I heard “Head to Wall,” I knew I needed that record. I had one of those Walkman tape players that used to automatically change direction and start playing the next side of the record. I listened to it back and forth in my headphones, walking around, feeling like no one would touch me. I’ve never stopped worshiping this record. Even as the band became my friends, I’ve never stopped wanting to be them.” – Geoff Rickly / Thursday
“Quicksand’s Slip is one of those rare albums where there isn’t any wasted space. Every note, vocal line, snare hit, and guitar lead is in the right place. Nothing superfluous added. All the fat, trimmed to perfection. It takes simplicity and directness to its artistic peak without losing any of the power and heaviness that defined the band. Somehow it manages to perfectly encapsulate the era it was created in while simultaneously sounding timeless. In a word? Flawless.” — Brian Fair / Shadows Fall
“I had no idea how big an underground / hardcore band could get before Quicksand’s Slip came out. Almost overnight, Quicksand carved a new path for a marginalized music scene. Inspiring countless up-and-coming bands to break conceptional molds of music style and genre. Happy 30th Slip!” – Mike D. / Killswitch Engage
“Quicksand is one of the more fitting band names. I have no idea if it’s true, but what I always heard about quicksand is if you struggle to escape, you just die faster, so your best hope is staying chill. I feel like Walter, Alan, Sergio, and Tom figured out the rock version of that. They don’t struggle. They never sound overly concerned or aggressive. Slip is maybe the most relaxing riff-rock album ever made, and that’s one of the many reasons it holds up so well.” – Jonah Matranga / FAR / Onelinedrawing / New End Original
My obsession with Quicksand was almost unparalleled. I listened to the first 7” so much that the grooves of the record wore out. Then came Slip and it was everything I had hoped that it would be. It was a paradigm shift for me. Hardcore done differently or was it hardcore at all? I didn’t really care but we knew that things were changing. In 1993 Quicksand came to Sweden the first time, opening up for Living Colour. A bunch of friends all took the 8-hour journey down to Stockholm. Truth be told when Quicksand hit the stage at 7 o’clock there was about six people in the room that easily holds 1500 people. I was one of those six people and I loved every second of it. They played like that place was packed and they put on a truly fantastic show. Most of us however missed it and people were crying outside the venue when they realized that Quicksand already played. Sergio and Walter came out to hang and expressed their own frustration of having to play right as the doors opened. We tried to figure out a way to make a second show happen but since we were not from Stockholm it was not meant to be. Oh, how I loved and still love Slip. In a different reality Quicksand should have been the biggest rock band in the world but alas it didn’t happen. The record and the people in the band left their imprint on our lives and I’m beyond chuffed that they are still around churning out great music. – Dennis Lyxzen / Refused
“I remember being at a friend’s house who knew I was a big Gorilla Biscuits fan. He said “Hey, you know Walter Schreifels has a new band called Quicksand? I have the 7″ they just put out.” The 7” happened to be the Dine Alone/ Can Opener 7″ Quicksand released prior to Slip. I eagerly begged him to put it on expecting the next wave of hardcore, the way that Gorilla Biscuits had reinvented the genre previously. What I heard was so much more. What I heard was the future of heavy music altogether. It was unlike anything I’d ever heard, however over the next decade or so I would hear countless bands try to emulate and fail. It blew my adolescent mind that anyone could have such vision. No one sounded like Quicksand then, and no-one sounds like Quicksand now. Like all the great seminal bands, they are in a word, inimitable – as well they should be. They’re still one of my favorite bands and Slip is still one of my favorite records of all time. It’s as groundbreaking and fresh to this day as it was when it came out. Like all of the best art, its layers still present new things to me now on, what has to be, my millionth listen.” – Zach Blair / Rise Against
Quicksand’s Slip is one of the singular influences that we all share. Slip was a juggernaut of a record that “changed the landscape of our musical taste forever. The world is a better place because of it.” – L. S. Dunes (Anthony Green, Frank Lero, Tucker Rule, Travis Steever, Tim Payne)
“Quicksand had already started to flip the script with the s/t EP. The combination of groove, melody, and aggression was unique and filled a void that you didn’t even realize was there as a music fan. When “Slip” finally hit, it was game over. Whatever cool thing you thought you were listening to or playing, forget it. There are a few records that truly altered the landscape of my general word of music — records like Nevermind, Fugazi’s 7 Songs EP, and Slip. 30 years later, “Fazer” is still the best lead track going (yes, including “Smells Like Teen Spirit”) and remains one of my top 10 records of all time. – Jason Black / Hot Water Music Long Island Hardcore as we know it, and in its many forms, does not exist without Slip and without Quicksand.” Period. – Vinnie Caruana / The Movielife / I am The Avalanche
Order the vinyl here.
Photo courtesy of Michele Taylor
