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Hot Animal Machine
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| Hot Animal Machine | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 1987 | |||
| Recorded | October 1986 at Off Beat Studios, Leeds, England, UK | |||
| Length | 35:33 | |||
| Label | Texas Hotel | |||
| Producer | Chris Haskett, Henry Rollins | |||
| Henry Rollins chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   [1] |
Hot Animal Machine is the debut solo album by Henry Rollins which served as a precursor to the Rollins Band. It is only available now in the same 2-in-one package as Drive by Shooting. It is notable for a number of cover songs; Suicide's "Ghost Rider", Richard Berry's "Crazy Lover" and The Velvet Underground's "I'm Gonna Move Right In". The cover art was drawn by Mark Mothersbaugh, the frontman of the popular 1980s group Devo.
Track listing
[edit]| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Black and White" | Henry Rollins, Chris Haskett | 3:01 |
| 2. | "Followed Around" | Rollins, Haskett, Bernie Wandel, Mick Green | 2:48 |
| 3. | "Lost and Found" | Rollins, Haskett, Wandel | 2:04 |
| 4. | "There's a Man Outside" | Rollins, Haskett | 3:13 |
| 5. | "Crazy Lover" | Richard Berry | 2:33 |
| 6. | "Man and a Woman" | Rollins, Wandel | 3:59 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Hot Animal Machine 1" | Rollins, Haskett | 3:01 |
| 2. | "Ghost Rider" (Suicide cover) | Martin Rev, Alan Vega | 2:27 |
| 3. | "Move Right In" (The Velvet Underground cover) | John Cale, Sterling Morrison, Lou Reed, Maureen Tucker | 2:43 |
| 4. | "Hot Animal Machine 2" | Rollins, Haskett | 3:31 |
| 5. | "No One" | Rollins, Haskett | 6:03 |
Accolades
[edit]Personnel
[edit]
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Release history
[edit]| Region | Date | Label | Format | Catalog |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Germany | 1986 | What's So Funny About... | LP | SF 54 |
| United Kingdom | 1987 | Fundamental | LP | SAVE 24 |
| United States | 1987 | Kill Rock Stars | CS, LP | TXH 002 |
References
[edit]- ^ Heibutzki, Ralph. "Hot Animal Machine". Allmusic. Retrieved April 26, 2015.
- ^ "Albums of the Year - 1987". Spex. Archived from the original on March 14, 2007. Retrieved April 26, 2015.
External links
[edit]- Hot Animal Machine at Discogs (list of releases)
Hot Animal Machine
View on Grokipediafrom Grokipedia
Background
Rollins after Black Flag
Henry Rollins departed from Black Flag in August 1986, following the band's final performance on June 27 in Detroit, amid escalating internal tensions and personal burnout after six years of grueling international touring and prolific recording.[5] The relentless schedule, including the infamous "Kill Everything Now" (KEN) tour, exacerbated conflicts within the group, particularly as band members grew uneasy with Rollins' emerging solo endeavors overshadowing the collective dynamic.[6] In the immediate aftermath, Rollins channeled his energy into spoken word performances and poetry writing, activities he had begun experimenting with during his Black Flag tenure around 1985 but which now became central to his artistic outlet.[6] These pursuits allowed for a more introspective and narrative-driven expression, contrasting the high-energy constraints of punk performances, and he soon published his first post-band collection, One from None, in 1991, compiling prose and poems from 1987 reflecting his raw emotional state.[7] Rollins experienced profound emotional and creative frustration from Black Flag's rigid structure and interpersonal strains, which stifled his desire for unmediated personal output free from band politics.[6] This dissatisfaction propelled him toward solo projects emphasizing authenticity and vulnerability, marking a pivotal shift in his career toward independent creative control.[7]Project origins
Following his departure from Black Flag in 1986, Henry Rollins decided to pursue a solo album in late 1986 as a precursor to forming the Rollins Band, seeking to explore experimental and noisy elements beyond the constraints of his prior band work.[8] This initiative allowed Rollins to channel his post-hardcore energy into a more personal and introspective format, marking an early step in his transition to independent artistry.[9] Rollins initiated collaborations with guitarist Chris Haskett, a longtime acquaintance from the Washington, D.C. punk scene dating back to the early 1980s, whom he reconnected with during a visit to the UK that summer.[9] Their partnership, forged through mutual punk connections including shared influences like The Birthday Party, focused on developing a raw, aggressive sound that diverged from Black Flag's rigid structures, emphasizing improvisation and intensity in songwriting.[10] After Rollins traveled by bus from London to Leeds to join Haskett, they quickly composed material using demos and studio rehearsals, laying the groundwork for the project's noisy, unbound aesthetic.[11] Hot Animal Machine functioned as a pivotal transitional project on an independent label to maintain creative control, and specifically aimed to integrate Rollins' spoken-word performance intensity—honed through poetry readings—into a musical context for broader expression.[12] This approach bridged Rollins' hardcore roots with future band endeavors, capturing a chaotic energy that foreshadowed the Rollins Band's evolution.[8]Production
Recording sessions
The recording sessions for Hot Animal Machine took place in October 1986 at Off Beat Studios in Leeds, England, a location selected due to guitarist Chris Haskett's relocation there.[13] The studio, situated in the Kirkstall area.[13] The sessions unfolded over a compressed timeline of just a few days within a two-week stay in Leeds, emphasizing a quick and intense approach to capture live-like intensity with minimal overdubs.[13] This method preserved the album's visceral punk edge, yielding the 11 tracks of the album along with material for the accompanying Drive By Shooting EP, including originals and covers such as Suicide's "Ghost Rider." Recording and mixing were handled on-site by engineer Geoff Clout, reflecting the era's DIY ethos in a low-budget setup that strained resources—Rollins later noted they could not retain the master multi-tracks, which were rented and likely erased.[14][13] Post-production followed swiftly: editing occurred in November 1986 at Radio Tokyo in Venice, California, to refine the raw tapes after Rollins' jet-lagged return to the U.S.[15] Mastering was completed at K-Disc in Hollywood, California, split between November for the main album tracks and December for the accompanying Drive By Shooting EP material, ensuring a polished yet aggressive final sound.[15] These logistical challenges, including the tight budget and transatlantic logistics, underscored the project's urgency and Rollins' drive to channel personal turmoil into urgent creativity.[13]Personnel
Henry Rollins served as the lead vocalist, primary songwriter for most tracks, and co-producer on Hot Animal Machine, leveraging his experience as the frontman of the punk band Black Flag, which he joined in 1981 and left in 1986.[16][8] Chris Haskett handled electric guitar duties and co-production, bringing a noise rock style influenced by Jimi Hendrix to the album's raw, angular sound.[16][8] Bernie Wandel, a bassist from the Washington, D.C., music scene, provided the album's rhythm foundation on bass guitar.[16][17] Mick Green contributed drums, delivering a sparse yet pounding rhythm section that complemented the album's intense energy; Green was a member of the British band Surfin' Dave and the Absent Legends.[16][18] Engineering and mixing were handled by Geoff Clout, a local staff member at the Leeds studio where the album was recorded.[16]Musical content
Style and influences
Hot Animal Machine is classified as a post-hardcore, noise rock, and hardcore punk album, blending aggressive punk energy with experimental elements.[19][1] The record features Rollins' signature shouty vocals delivered with intense, spoken-word-like delivery over distorted guitars and driving rhythms, creating a raw and urgent sound.[20] Arrangements are minimalistic, relying on simple riffs and heavy bass lines, with most tracks averaging 3 to 4 minutes in length, emphasizing concise bursts of fury rather than extended jams.[21] This structure contributes to the album's overall chaotic and noisy aesthetic, evoking a sense of primal aggression fused with mechanical precision, as suggested by its titular phrase.[22] The album draws heavily from Rollins' roots in Black Flag, incorporating the band's aggressive, uptempo punk style reminiscent of their mid-1980s era, marked by dissonant experimentation and high-energy delivery.[22][20] Influences from Suicide's electronic punk are evident in the cover of "Ghost Rider," which adapts the original's sparse, synth-driven intensity into a gritty rock framework, highlighting Rollins' affinity for confrontational, minimal sounds.[1] Similarly, the rendition of The Velvet Underground's "Move Right In" channels the group's raw, unpolished edge, infusing the track with punk urgency while preserving its lo-fi, garage-rock essence.[1] In contrast to the more polished and sludgy alternative metal explorations of Rollins' later work with the Rollins Band, Hot Animal Machine maintains a straightforward, psychotic punk rock approach that feels immediate and unrefined, prioritizing raw expression over production sheen.[20] This noisy, chaotic vibe positions the album as a bridge between hardcore punk's ferocity and the evolving post-hardcore landscape, capturing Rollins' post-Black Flag transition.[22]Track listing
Original tracks were written by Henry Rollins, Chris Haskett, and other band members; covers are noted below. The album consists of 11 tracks with a total runtime of 35:33; some later editions vary slightly in duration due to remastering.[14]| No. | Title | Duration | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Black and White" | 3:01 | Original composition. |
| 2 | "Followed Around" | 2:48 | Original composition by Rollins, Haskett, Wandel, and Green. |
| 3 | "Lost and Found" | 2:04 | Original composition. |
| 4 | "There's a Man Outside" | 3:13 | Original composition. |
| 5 | "Crazy Lover" | 2:33 | Cover of Richard Berry's "Crazy Lover".[16] |
| 6 | "A Man and a Woman" | 2:57 | Original composition. |
| 7 | "Move Right In" | 3:39 | Cover of The Velvet Underground's "I'm Gonna Move Right In," adapted with heavier distortion.[15] |
| 8 | "Ghost Rider" | 3:30 | Cover of Suicide's "Ghost Rider."[15] |
| 9 | "Hot Animal Machine I" | 2:10 | Original composition. |
| 10 | "Neverland" | 2:38 | Original composition. |
| 11 | "In Heat" | 3:17 | Original composition. |