Twenty years ago, Strange Matter was still called Twisters and VCU Basketball couldn’t even sniff at the Final Four. It was 1995 and a band called Flesh Eating Creeps was churning out hardcore punk. Over the next five years, the Creeps would produce a number of demo tapes, live sessions, 7-inch records, and a final album’s worth of material that was never officially released. Members of the band subsequently spawned or contributed to other higher profile projects like City Of Caterpillar, Light The Fuse And Run, Municipal Waste, and Worn In Red. In retrospect, some might say the Flesh Eating Creeps were Richmond’s own Minor Threat.
Fifteen recording sessions, descending chronologically (and in quality), are collected on this comprehensive 58-track release that clocks in just shy of 77 minutes. Only six tracks exceed the two-minute mark, so be prepared for quick, loud, angry music that melts ear drums. Thirteen songs were recorded multiple times, such as “Lovelace,” “www@armageddon.com,” and “Fuck It Up, Richmond Style.” If you listen to The Book About The Movie backwards, in ascending order, you can hear the band get faster and more intense, slowly emphasizing the hardcore aspects over the punk. It’s the fiercest history lesson you’ll ever get.
