1993–1997 (2015)

Northern Spy reissues the first three records by Cleveland, Ohio, post-hardcore band craw in a limited-edition vinyl box set, 1993–1997. All out of print for two decades or more, these full-lengths—1993’s self-titled debut, 1994’s Lost Nation Road and 1997’s Map, Monitor, Surge—complete a story that concluded on Bodies for Strontium 90, released in 2002 by Hydra Head Records. The new box set lovingly reintroduces these records in a deluxe package including three remastered double LPs and an exhaustive 200-page book. The book, designed by the team behind one-of-a-kind visually driven label Aqualamb—who have also overseen visuals for the entire release—includes a wealth of unpublished photos and ephemera, an exhaustive oral history of craw drawn from newly conducted interviews, and a detailed timeline of band activities, shows and releases, stretching from craw’s 1988 formation to their 2002 break-up.

Listen / Buy

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"Craw’s music is explosive, eerie and downright riveting, combining the visceral rush of metallic post-hardcore, the compositional majesty of progressive rock and the purposeful abstraction of experimental improv, while at the same time achieving a rare, insular coherence all its own." — Hank Shteamer, writer, musician and producer of 1993–1997

"Craw was one of those things where the first time I saw it, it just completely blew me away. I'd never heard anything quite like craw up to that point. They were this strange mixture of noise-rock and metal with this very eccentric preacher-type character doing these weird pseudo sermons over the top of the music. It was just a very potent concoction of elements. Having a seen a band like that expanded the horizons of what was possible, so in that way, craw definitely rubbed off on Isis." — Aaron Turner, Isis and Hydra Head Records

"What craw will use as a moment in one song, another band might use as a theme for a whole album. Craw's sound is spread out across a universe of disparate musical genres. They never imitate. Other bands imitate them." — Steve Albini

Personnel

Chris Apanius - bass (on craw)
Rockie Brockway - guitar (on all)
Neil Chastain - drums (on craw and Lost Nation Road)
Zak Dieringer - bass (on Lost Nation Road and Map, Monitor, Surge)
David McCellaland - guitar (on all)
Joe McTighe - vocals (on all)
Will Scharf - drums (on Map, Monitor, Surge)