Every Record Has A Story
Every record has a story.
His Hero is Gone — Fifteen Counts of Arson.
I still love how angry and venomous this record is. Somehow both bleak and hopeful.
I found this at Wooden Shoe Books in Philadelphia in January 2003. I was 18. I remember the volunteer telling us there was a recent fire at Wooden Shoe, there were still some visible signs of damage throughout the store.
I was excited about all things radical politics and hopeful about my contributions to a better world, hopeful for a world without oppression of any kind.
My friend Daniel and I drove up for Relapse Records Contamination Festival at the Troc in Philly. A 2 day fest of Relapse bands. We saw Neurosis, Burnt by the Sun, Dillinger Escape Plan, Today is the Day, Mastodon, and other metal bands.
We slept fitfully in my car in the freezing Philadelphia winter that weekend.
Daniel was vegan and shared my interest in anarchism, animal liberation and radical politics and a desire to fight and break the law for what we believed in.
I would see Daniel a lot the next year or two. At giant protests against the IMF/World Bank where we joined the Black Bloc. My first police beating. Cops on all sides hitting me with batons. Bruised ribs. Gashes to the face. Fractured…
