Devilution Info

For Immediate Release
Drummer Extraordinaire LONDON MAY Exhumes 15 Killer Cuts From His Vault Featuring Unreleased Tracks by SAMHAIN, DAG NASTY & CIRCLE JERKS!

Los Angeles, CA - Cleopatra Records proudly presents a devilishly good sampling of eleven different bands from the early years of renowned stickman London May, drummer for numerous seminal punk/noise bands in the ‘80s, ‘90s and beyond! Scheduled for release on July 1, Devilution: The Early Years is a thrilling look at the career of this talented nomad, what May calls “My first 12 years of broken sticks and lucky breaks,” featuring rare and unreleased tracks by some of hardcore punk’s most pioneering acts.

May started out drumming in 1981 for smaller Baltimore bands such as Rat Patrol and Reptile House, the latter of which saw May teaming up with Minor Threat’s Ian Mackaye who produced the band and released them on his own Dischord Records imprint. Later, May would find himself smack dab in the middle of the raging D.C. hardcore scene drumming for Dag Nasty and soon after handling drum duties for some of Dave Grohl’s pre-Nirvana band mates. This experience eventually gave him the chops to get noticed by California singer/songwriter Tim Swenson with whom he formed Lunch Box (later to include TSOL’s Ron Emory) who were on the verge of breakout success before their deal with Capitol Records went south. The group’s contribution to Devilution, the track “Nuthin’,” is the band’s only official release but just “a taste of their amazing 50 song repertoire.” May crushed his next challenge, replacing a drum machine in the noise rock band Distorted Pony, the results of which can be heard on the two Steve Albini-produced tracks “HOD” and “Dept. Of Existence.”

In 1985, May received the opportunity of a lifetime when he was offered a gig with Glenn Danzig’s first post-Misfits band, the horror punk group Samhain. This dark and gritty band released two full-length albums during their three-year career as an active band. Their second studio release, November-Coming-Fire, is regarded as one of the most influential albums for both punk and thrash bands, and the track “Mother of Mercy” appears in the 2009 video game, Guitar Hero: Metallica. For this fully remastered compilation, May digs out an unreleased live performance of “To Walk The Night” from Samhain’s reunion tour in 1999. All of this PLUS a live audition for the Circle Jerks in 1992! Devilution comes packaged with an extensive full-color booklet including never before seen photos and ephemera, an introduction by Will Oldham (Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy) and a track-by-track commentary written by London May himself. Available on CD and vinyl!