On a cool evening in Boulder, Colorado, circa 1992, the seeds of Angel Hair were sown, germinating in a soil rich with the spirit of hardcore punk and chaotic screamo. Emerged as a five-piece ensemble, carving out a unique space in the chaotic, inventive San Diego scene of the early nineties, they were part of a lineage, yes – connected to bands like Heroin and Antioch Arrow – yet they possessed an unmatched intensity that set them apart.
Fast forward to the present, and we find ourselves revisiting this seminal band not through a reunion or a new album, but through a reissue that breathes new life into their legacy. ‘Insect Immortality,’ slated for a digital and vinyl release on Three One G Records, represents a fusion of Angel Hair’s past works, meticulously remixed and remastered. It’s a project that’s not about nostalgia, but about recontextualizing their artistry for a new era.
The journey of Angel Hair is marked by significant milestones.
Their initial formation was followed by lineup changes until it solidified in early 1994.
With members like Andy Arahood, Josh Hughes, Todd Corbett, Paul Iannacito, and Sonny Kay, they embarked on tours, sharing stages with notable peers and recording pivotal EPs and tracks like the ‘Gravity EP’ and ‘Insect Mortality.’
View this post on Instagram
But as all stories go, theirs was not without its abrupt ending – a departure of their drummer and an ensuing disbandment in 1995.
But what makes ‘Insect Immortality‘ noteworthy is the transformation of their raw, passionate tracks into polished gems, courtesy of Pete Lyman’s mastering expertise and the original recordings by Matt Anderson. This reissue is a testament to how their sound has evolved, yet stayed true to its core.
As part of this special feature, we not only premiere the full stream of ‘Insect Immortality‘ but also delve into the inspirations that shaped Angel Hair’s sound. Check it out below.
From the intense playing of Black Sabbath to the emotive depth of Echo & the Bunnymen, from the shockwaves sent through the underground by Heroin to the influential presence of bands like Swiz, Pinhead Gunpowder, and Jawbreaker – each played a role in crafting the unique sonic landscape of Angel Hair.
Their influences were diverse, spanning genres and artists. The hypnotic allure of Clikatat Ikatowi, the militant attitude of Paris, the deranged energy of The Birthday Party, and the undeniable impact of Nirvana – these elements combined to create a sound that was at once familiar and distinctly their own.
Top influences and inspirations behind the craft of Angel Hair:
Black Sabbath
When I was 10, I got really into Blizzard of Ozz and Diary of a Madman, and even though I still love those records and especially Randy Rhoads, I lost interest in metal pretty quickly.
I found myself rediscovering Black Sabbath around the time Angel Hair started and realizing just how well their music had endured.
There are so many great songs, so much inspiration and intense playing. Every member is iconic and to me, Bill Ward is so underrated. I convinced everyone to try and cover their song, “The Writ”, which I think we did live exactly once and it collapsed, so we let it go.
Echo & the Bunnymen
I discovered this band just as they were peaking, around 1984, and something about their particular chemistry put a spell on me that lasted for decades, if we’re being honest.
Strangely, little of the music they made after 1984, and none at all since 1987, means very much to me. It’s literally as though it were two different bands, which it basically was (and continues to be).
Anyway, their first 4 albums, every cover, are thoroughly dissolved into my DNA. I know Josh was into them, too, particularly Heaven Up Here. Years later we covered a song from that era in The VSS.
Heroin
Seeing Heroin play totally changed the kind of music I wanted to make. They sent shockwaves through the underground in ’92 and ’93, particularly for kids into stuff that would eventually start being called “emo”, but at that point was still just DC-inspired hardcore.
They had a unique combination of great songs, explosive performances, and a very endearing modesty that seemed at odds with what hardcore had become by then.
They delivered what felt like a totally new kind of intensity. Their label, Gravity, quickly became one of the most influential of the nineties.
Swiz
Swiz and their other incarnation, Fury, were both big influences on Angel Hair.
I got to see Swiz play in Boulder twice and still say Shawn Brown was one of the best punk singers I’d ever seen, not to mention the band just ripping. I thought Swiz was way better than Dag Nasty, who I never warmed to. Swiz as Fury, with Chris Thomson on vocals, is just next level great.
There is so much more music we loved associated with these bands – Circus Lupus, Shudder to Think, Fugazi, Ulysses, the list goes on and on.
Pinhead Gunpowder
My band right before Angel Hair, Savalas, had toured with Monsula and played with Chino Horde. We’d all seen Fuel when they toured the US, we loved Crimpshrine after the fact, we’d even played with Green Day. So when the sum of all those bands, Pinhead Gunpowder, began dropping EP’s, Andy and I both kinda geeked out on them for a while.
We were definitely listening to those records in the winter of ’92-’93, writing the earliest AH songs, with a rotating lineup.
Jawbreaker
Jawbreaker was a band everyone came to in their own way. I’d seen them in California in the summer of ’92, and then Andy and I had seen them play in Boulder after Bivouac came out and loved them.
They had such great songs and just the right amount of grit. It was pop music with teeth and when 24 Hour Revenge Therapy came out in early ’94, it seemed like everyone we knew everywhere we went loved it.
On tour that summer, we listened to that tape literally every day for 6 weeks.
Clikatat Ikatowi
Clikatat grew out of Heroin and so a certain degree of intensity was expected from the get-go but they just exceeded every expectation.
Every show felt like witnessing something great and timeless. Lots of music gets called “hypnotic” but this band really is, to me. Playing with them I’m certain pushed us into new sonic territory and made us better.
Sometimes a band comes with a kind of mystique already attached to it and Clikatat were that way. Their presence on a lineup gave a show a kind of seriousness and focus that was unique.
Paris
Paris is a rapper from Oakland whose militant attitude totally chimed with us. We loved his album The Devil Made Me Do It and even took to calling our drummer, Paul, the “P-Dog” after Paris’s nickname for himself.
We would blast the tape whenever we rolled into Oakland and would always be on the lookout for the real P-Dog, but we never crossed paths. Stuff like this, Eric B and Rakim, Public Enemy and Paul’s Boutique was nearly all I listened to for a while.
The Birthday Party
Once Angel Hair started hanging out in San Diego every few months, it became apparent that everyone there was into the Birthday Party, a band I’d somehow never heard of until then.
All of us, I think, found ourselves kind of enamored with that band. They were so close musically to so much we loved and yet so completely deranged feeling, it was pretty remarkable.
Their influence can maybe be felt more in The VSS, but they were a band Angel Hair was listening to together.
Nirvana
If someone says they weren’t into Nirvana in the nineties they’re full of shit. Everyone loved that band, even the hardest people I knew. They were just a big part of the whole world in 1993 and ’94, and their presence never felt that far away, even though we didn’t know them.
I missed seeing them in Colorado a bunch of times, but their records and Kurt’s lyrics had a big influence on me.
Angel Hair and Unwound played together in Boulder on April 8, 1994 and the show felt almost like a wake for him. The sky was gray and people were sobbing. It felt as though someone in everyone’s family had died.
