Shellac
Rock enfant-terrible Steve Albini (ex-Big Black/Rapeman) formed this trio on an informal basis in 1993. Bouyed by the attention garnered in the wake of his producting IN UTERO for Nirvana, Albini (velocity), Bob Weston (mass) and Todd Turner (time) issued The Rude Gesture A Pictorial History, the first of two limited-issue singles to appear on the trio's own label. It offered all the trademarks of Albini's previous groups—awkward time changes, thundering bass lines, screaming guitar and frantic vocals. Uranus followed in similar, exciting fashion. A thrid single, The Admiral, came in a sleeve covered in Albini's caustic remarks referring to how it should be designed. A different version of the 'A' side appeared on AT ACTION PARK, which developed Albini's distinctive style without subverting its power and direction. His work remains as challenging as ever.