Derek Raymond’s groundbreaking illustrated-word recording with James Johnston and Terry Edwards of Gallon Drunk receives a welcome reissue, 15 years after it was first released by West London independent label Clawfist. Abridged by Nurse With Wound & Current 93 collaborator Geoff Cox this deluxe edition reunites the six tracks on the original release with the out-take Roatta which was previously only available on a §artorial compilation.

Haunting melodies, sound effects and menacing soundscapes underpin Raymond’s unlikely Etonian accent. In fact the author likened his own voice to that of ‘an iron parrot’! The musical content lays the foundations of the work Edwards was to create with Lydia Lunch some years later, and in which she now incorporates Johnston when he is not on the road with the likes of Faust and Nick Cave.

Suarez is the fourth of Raymond’s ‘Factory’ series of books narrated by a nameless avenging dark ‘angel’ of a detective. Brutal murders are described in gut-wrenching detail (Raymond’s editor actually threw up when reading the finished draft) and the rage of the detective who had, presumably seen it all before, is palpable - the deranged soundtrack screaming in unison with him in equal measure.

Released to coincide with the reprint of the novel by Serpent’s Tail, this album will take the
listener to places where s/he hoped never to be...