From 1996 to 1999 Philadelphia’s Ink & Dagger burned like a roman candle, blurring the lines between punk, hardcore, and psychedelia, an enigma wrapped in rumors, vampire lore, and blood-spattered theatrics. Equal parts chaos and prank, their ever-shifting all-star lineup fed on the energy of others and spit it back out as something entirely their own. Controversial, influential, and long out of print, their complete legacy has finally risen again—now reissued in their definitive editions by Trust Records.
DEVIL CHILDREN UNITE
In 1996 Philadelphia hardcore stalwarts Sean McCabe (Crud is a Cult, Mandela Strike Force) and Don Devore (Frail, The Icarus Line, The Lilys) drew up a maniacal manifesto for a new kind of band, a century-ending statement that would push underground music beyond the confines of genre and into something completely new.
It was to be an unholy marriage of punk and hardcore that blended theatrics, mischief, and occult mystique, launched through a coercive campaign of misinformation and misdirection. They mixed myth and metaphor, presenting rock & roll as a psychic vampire that obtained immortality by stealing energy and making it their own.
Their ranks were filled out by an ever-rotating cast of Philadelphia’s finest, including members of Guilt, Prema, Frail, Dave Wagenschutz (Lifetime, Kid Dynamite, Paint it Black), Gregg Foreman (Delta 72, Cat Power), Eric Wareheim (Elements of Need, Tim & Eric), Josh Brown (Crud is a Cult, Lenola), and Jennifer Layne Park.
For four years they operated tirelessly, from the chaotic blister of their first 7” records, the frenetic sleaze of their first LP, to the dense psychedelic swirl of their final posthumous album.
During what was supposed to be a temporary hiatus for the band, frontman Sean McCabe died in 2000 at the tragic age of 27. As in life, so in death, the story was forever shrouded in mystery, putting an unfinished capstone to a short-lived but brightly burning legacy that never faded.
For decades the band and their long out of print discography existed only as legend, prized by collectors and shared among enthusiasts. Tales of their decadent, debauched tours continued to circulate like sinister scripture.
Their lasting impact continues to reverberate; they remain a band’s band. That legacy lives on within every single individual who was privy to witness their incendiary performances. Those who were there were forever changed. An incredibly disparate bevy of bands were launched directly as a result; bands as notable as American Nightmare, Thursday, Botch, AFI, and My Chemical Romance have all cited Ink & Dagger as a core influence.
Trust Records is proud to announce that they are bringing this long-lost darkness back into the light.
Painstakingly remastered by David Cooley (M83, Tame Impala, Jimmy Eat World), these recordings represent the definitive version of Ink & Dagger’s complete discography.
The shock and awe of Ink & Dagger’s bloodthirsty barrage is as relevant today as it ever has been. A caustic keystone of hardcore history, these re-releases present a portal to the past, while continuing to pave the way forward into a wilder, more feral future.
It’s coming full circle.
Late December 2020 found Soul Glo holed away in an unfinished warehouse, beginning to find drum tones for their upcoming full length, Diaspora Problems. They had just begun to accept that they would be in talks with Epitaph Records, and that it was likely they were going to go with the label as they hadn’t even begun to reach a place where they could consider shopping it to other record labels. Working with Epitaph was far and away the best case scenario that the band could’ve hoped for, but they simultaneously wondered if the label had any understanding of what they were getting into.
From 2016 to 2021, Soul Glo conceptualized and produced Diaspora Problems nearly completely alone. The demo and tracking process was handled exclusively by the band’s bassist GG and engineer/close friend Evan Bernard. The final tracks were recorded in that same unfinished warehouse and the band’s practice space during the hottest parts of summer 2021.