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Toxic, mystical, and deranged. The dark bleeding edge of LA, with screaming nightmare vocals. Songs include "Radio dies screaming", "Disintegration nation", and "Police gun jitters". Chris D. is backed up by John Doe, Exene, and DJ Bonebrake from X. 24 blood curdling tracks not for the squeamish.
 
45 Cover Sleeve for the Flesh Eaters first single
45 Cover Sleeve for the Flesh Eaters first single
45 Cover Sleeve for the Flesh Eaters first single
45 Cover Sleeve for the Flesh Eaters first single

BACK TO PUNK ALBUM COVERS

The Flesh Eaters were one of LA's earliest punk bands, and the image at left appeared as the cover art for the band's first single, released in 1978. Chris D., founder and lead singer of the band, also put together the photomontage artwork. The punk aesthetic abhorred apathy, and a constant target of punk rage was society's smothering indifference. Chris D. nicely sums this up in his artwork by portraying happy diners in a restaurant enjoying their meal, while outside... desperate soldiers fight a bloody battle with fixed bayonets.

The very name Flesh Eaters, sends a shiver up one's spine. It conjures up images of outer space monsters, ghouls, or cannibals... yet most people never stop to think of their own daily consumption of meat in those terms. That is the brilliance of the name Flesh Eaters... it instantaneously repulses yet defines who we are. Like the diners in the artwork, we are not innocent bystanders. The songs on the 45 further exposed an unhappy reality... Disintegration Nation and Radio dies screaming spoke of a coming apocalypse.

I met Chris D. while working briefly at SLASH Magazine, and found him to be a kindred spirit. He adored the genre of horror and science fiction writing, and it was through him that I was introduced to the works of Philip K. Dick, the man who wrote Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep (later adapted to the screen as Bladerunner). Chris D. now works for the American Cinematheque in Hollywood and is writing a book on Japanese yakuza/gangster films.

www.art-for-a-change.com is owned and operated by Mark Vallen © All text by Mark Vallen.