Dazzling Killmen "Crow Head" T-Shirt with SKiN GRAFT back logo

Dazzling Killmen "Crow Head" T-Shirt with SKiN GRAFT back logo Artwork by Paul Nitsche

This is a black t-shirt, available in Men's Small, Medium, Large, X-Large, XXL, and XXXL. - Unisex Short Sleeve Jersey Tee 4.2 oz., 100% combed and ring spun cotton, 30 singles combed and ring spun cotton/polyester Side seams, retail fit Shoulder to shoulder taping and Unisex sizing*

*This is an OFFICIALLY LICENSED LTD release. With consent from the band: Blake Fleming, Darin Gray, Tim Garrigan, and Nick Sakes.  SKiN GRAFT back logo approved by Mark Fischer.

Was DAZZLING KILLMEN a hardcore band? A metal band? The world’s gnarliest progressive-rock quartet? “Yes” is the easy answer, but only because it’s easy to rewind through two decades of genre fragmentation to hear Dazzling Killmen’s influence on any number of “math-metal,” “prog-core” and similarly classified bands. At the time, however, this St. Louis quartet occupied a genre of one. When SKiN GRAFT released the Killmen’s 1994 sophomore album, “Face of Collapse”, that genre had its touchstone.“ - Excerpt from Aaron Burgess’ liner notes in the Nick Sakes, Darin Gray and Blake Fleming formed Dazzling Killmen just outside of St. Louis, Missouri in 1990. The following year SKiN GRAFT Records made its debut with a 7” single and comic book set from the band. Shortly afterward, Tim Garrigan joined the group, and the quartet began writing and refining material for what would become the label’s first, and the band’s second and final full-length, “Face of Collapse”. Loud Life at Alternative Press magazine declared it the top album of the 90's based on the following criteria: 1) Avoidance of formula or cliché. 2) Dexterity of rhythm section, 3) Quality of album's production values, 4) Lack of predictable lyrical subjects - Satan, Straightedge, Viking folklore, etc. "Sounds like Dave Bruebeck's Time Out played through Carcass' PA system.” “Most of the great progressive underground bands of the ‘90s would not exist if it weren't for them.” - Ben Weinman / Dillinger Escape Plan Spin Magazine called Blake Fleming one of the 100 Greatest Drummers of Alternative Music; while Fact Magazine named the album one of the Best Post-Metal Records Ever. Guitarist / vocalist Nick Sakes went on to form Colossomite (with Ed and John of Deerhoof) and now performs in Xaddax. Blake founded Laddio Boloko and then The Mars Volta; while Tim Garrigan and Darin Gray formed You Fantastic! Darin is renowned for his work with Jim O’Rourke, including their bands Brise-Glace and Yona-Kit. Currently Darin performs with William Tyler and recently appeared on The Tonight Show in the band Tweedy, alongside Jeff of Wilco. Tim has started a new band, Skryptor, with David McClelland of Craw. In 2016, SKiN GRAFT reissued “Face Of Collapse” as a deluxe special edition double LP. About SKiN GRAFT Records: From genre-defying to genre-defining, over the last 25 years SKiN GRAFT Records has curated a collection of music that would seem at home nowhere else. SKiN GRAFT initially sprang to life in 1986 as a punk-infused comix zine, but with a move to Chicago in 1991, SKiN GRAFT reinvented itself as a quirky, aesthetically-driven record label. SKiN GRAFT Records debuted with a collection of seven-inch singles packed inside comic book sleeves that defined its irreverent, multi-disciplinary approach. With the now defunct distribution arm of Touch and Go, the label began churning out a stream of innovative releases from uncategorizable acts ranging from Jim O’Rourke’s post-rock harbingers Brise-Glace, to the grindcore noise-pop of Tokyo’s Melt-Banana, to Chicago’s “rock re-defining” U.S. Maple. Headquartered in Vienna, Austria, and with shipping facilities just outside of St. Louis, in May of 2016, SKiN GRAFT moved its entire catalog, including recent releases from Sax Ruins, Yowie, Cellular Chaos, Arab On Radar, Lovely Little Girls and Doomsday Student to distributor Redeye Worldwide.