mainliner: mellow out

Mellow Out is, perhaps, THE classic Japanese underground album. Since it was first released in 1996 on the now-defunct Charnel Music label, its legend has grown and grown, and is still talked about by lovers of all things loud, noisy, and Japanese as the definitive Japanese noise-rock statement. Upon release it was instantly dubbed "the pinnacle of achievement for guitar-driven, brain-crushing madness," and with good reason. Rarely has an album contained such fierce/brutal battering, and speaker-shredding, in-the-red levels. Mainliner were a Japanese trio consisting of Asahito Nanjo (High Rise), Makoto Kawabata (Acid Mothers Temple), and Hajime Koizumi. Originally released on CD back in '96 on Charnel, the pressing quickly disappeared and had been unavailable until Riot Season re-released it in 2003 in a limited CD and vinyl run, both of which sold out quickly. With the 2013 rebirth of Mainliner, now dubbed Kawabata Makoto's Mainliner, the time felt right for a re-release of the much sought-after vinyl. So here it is, on the back of excellent press on their Revelation Space comeback album. This vinyl pressing is limited to 500 copies for the world and comes in two (250 of each) translucent colored vinyl editions. The music has been remastered and the sleeve artwork has been tweaked from the original vinyl pressing, too -- now with 350gsm card sleeve with metallic silver ink print.