In 2000 the 800th issue of Kerrang! magazine came out with a list of the 100 most influential bands since it had been a magazine (along with a piece on the new Deftones LP and a 5K review of Worship and Tribute). I've always loved lists and read it over and over again, learning about these bands I'd mostly never heard of, let alone heard. Gorilla Biscuits made it in at number 98 and Quicksand appeared at number 77. That was almost certainly the first time I heard Walter Schreifels' name and the fact that it claimed Quicksand influenced the Deftones was enough to intrigue me.
At some point in the following year, Rival Schools exploded onto the scene and for the first time I heard a song Walter was involved with. I became a huge fan of Rival Schools (something I still am today) and set about finding music by his older bands that I'd read so much about. Just after Christmas nearly ten years ago I decided to explore the record shops of Reading. I'd been for the festival but never to the town center and figured they might have some decent record shops. The first one I found was in this arcade near the station, and was still open when I was in Reading a few years ago. It was pretty good, and had plenty of second hand records by bands I was interested in, but sat high on one of the shelves was not one but two copies of Manic Compression. Both were in decent enough condition and only a tenner, so I added one to the armful of records I was buying and took it home.
Hugh had somehow heard Landmine Spring and told me a number of times how great it was (to this day I still don't know how he heard it, because streaming music on the internet was a long way off). On the first listen it was Delusional, Simpleton and Skinny (its Overflowing) that caught my ear the most and I thought Supergenius was pretty cool too. The lengthy It Would Be Cooler if You Did stood out but listening to it now, I can see what Kerrang! meant in their comment about Deftones - Pink Maggit was their equivalent to this song. If I had to make a list of the best final songs on a record, this one would be up there. It took a few listens before I realised how awesome Landmine Spring was, and even longer before I appreciated how brilliant the lyrics were ("There is no pain in death / It only hurts to die" and "Loading my questions like a shotgun" are two favourites).
Quicksand are another band on everyone's tongues at the moment - they've been playing a handful of shows and both the albums are getting re-issued (I only have Slip on cd so plan to pick up a vinyl copy sometime). I'd love to see them live. I've seen Walter and Rival Schools countless times, and they're always great. To hear these songs live would blow me away. Last time Rival Schools were over Walter said he was going to play a song he used to play with Quicksand and my heart jumped to think I might hear any of these songs, only to be dashed a second later when he announced it was a Smiths cover. Hopefully one day they'll make it over again.
Whilst I haven't bought Kerrang! (or any music magazine) in years, I still have the copy that introduced me to Quicksand and Gorilla Biscuits and so many other bands. It's quite fun reading it again now; I have albums by over half of the bands and the rest are all so familiar its hard to think that they were once entirely new names to me. Luckily, when I was 16 the name Quicksand caught my attention because it's still exciting listening to them today.
Format: 12", insert
Tracks: 12
Cost: £10 second hand
Bought: Reading
When: 27/12/02
Colour: Black
Etching: Side A: "Who pissed in Lyle's Snapple" Side B: "Sundahl's getting married?"
mp3s: no
