''Two Snakes''

THE LAMB AND THE GOAT MUST COME TOGETHER. PURE LOVE DESCENDED FROM THE PINNACLE OF HEAVEN. UNITED WITH PURE HATRED FROM THE DEPTHS OF HELL.
(Message on Insert)

Sleeve - Front (North American Press)
Sleeve - Back (North American Press)
Vinyl (North American Press)


Stats:

General:
Tracks: A - Two Snakes Part 1 / B - Two Snakes Part 2
Year: 2006 / 2007 (B&W sleeve versions) & 2008 (Colour sleeve versions, pressed 2008, released 2009)
LabelHG Fact (Japan version) All others self released - FUR-006,  
Matrix A: FLV-205.680 A  SST  Fucked Up
Matrix B: FLV-205.680 B   SST  Two Snakes for the World

Pressing Info:
  • White label tour press (B&W sleeve)  -300 (Of which 100 or so UK Tour variant, 200 or so Euro Tour variant)
  • North American Press (B&W sleeve) - 200
  • German Version (*Colour sleeve)  200 or 250
  • Greek Version (Colour sleeve) 350
  • Japanese Version (Colour sleeve) 350
Inserts:
North American version does not have a regular insert
All other versions have lyric sheet, printed in language specific to region

Variants:
There are three B&W-sleeve and three colour-sleeve variants:
  • UK Tour 06 - Black & White sleeve, white stamped labels, English lyric sheet
  • Euro Tour 07 - Black & White sleeve, white stamped labels, German lyric sheet
  • North American - Black & White sleeve, printed labels, No lyric sheet
  • Δύο Φίδια - Colour sleeve, printed labels, Greek lyric sheet
  • Zwei Schlangen - *Colour sleeve, printed labels, German Lyric sheet
  • Japanese - Colour sleeve, printed labels, Japanese lyric sheet

*German versions - Discogs refers to 50 copies with paper sleeve, which apepars to be based on the HG blurb on the LFG post -  it is assumed the Euro tour version is being mistaken as a variant of  ''Zwei Schlangen'' as both have German lyric sheets. Please advise if you know otherwise.



Variants:

Black & White Sleeves:
There are two variants of this; the Tour Pressing and the  North America pressing. The Tour Pressing also has two label variants. These are all discussed below:


Black & White Sleeve: (Folded Out) - Front
Black & White Sleeve: (Folded Out) - Back


1. Tour Press: There is a UK & a Euro Tour variant. Both have the same sleeve, white-label vinyl and dust covers numbered out of 300.

UK Tour version has the labels stamped: ''UK Tour 06'' and comes with a double-sided English lyric sheet





Euro Tour version has the labels stamped ''Euro Tour 07'' and comes with a single-sided German lyric sheet.






From a total of 300, it seems the first hundred or so where used for the UK version and the remainder were given a different stamp and insert and used for the Euro version. These numbers are based on the highest number UK version found during ''research'' being # 99/300 and the lowest Euro version being # 114/300.

Tour Press Variants: These are numbered out of 300
Left: UK Tour 06  # 096
Right: Euro Tour 07 # 114
Tour Press Inserts - Front
Left: UK Tour version is double-sided and written in English
Right: Euro Tour Version is single-sided and written in German
Tour Press Inserts
Left: Reverse of UK version
Right: Front (again) of Euro version (reverse is blank)


2. North America Press:
The sleeve is similar to the tour version, but the text on the front cover is slightly smaller and the image quality is sharper. The labels are printed and there is no insert.

North America Press:
B&W Sleeve, printed labels, no insert.
Tour Sleeve Compared with North America Sleeve:North America sleeve has slightly smaller text and sharper image quality than Tour sleeve.
Left:
Tour Sleeve
Right: North America Sleeve


Colour Sleeves:

There are three variants (Greek, German & Japanese). The sleeves and inserts are all alike, but differentiated by the text, which is translated into the language of each of the three countries. The sleeve artwork comprises the original image, but is screen printed with a reflective silver background and red snake silhouettes.

Colour Sleeve: (Folded Out) - Front
'Text Bars': This picture shows the tops of the three different sleeves for comparison. The sleeves are otherwise identical.
Top: Greek
Middle: German
Bottom: Japanese
Colour Sleeve: (Folded Out) - Back
Inserts:
This picture shows the inserts of the three variants for comparison.
Left: Greek
Middle: German
Right: Japanese
Vinyl:
This picture shows the disks of the three variants for comparison.
Top Left: Greek
Bottom: German
Top Right: Japanese




Notes:

Mircea Eliade Quote (intro to Two Snakes lyrics on Hidden World album insert / inlay - 2006):
''To be no longer conditioned by a pair of opposites results in absolute freedom''

LA Record Interview (June 28th 2007):
Was ‘Two Snakes’ inspired by Snakes on a Plane? 
Jonah Falco (drums): Definitely not. Maybe subliminally, like maybe a fleeting relationship to that film. Although Mike does have a severe fear of flying, so maybe that influenced it. That was a very intuitive question on your part.

AU Interview - LFG Post (Jan 3rd 2008)
AU- Was the song ‘Two Snakes’ inspired in any way by Conan The Barbarian? *adopts Arnie voice* “two snakes……..facing each other!” 
10KM- Ha, no, I have never seen that movie. Its from the medical staff - the caduceus. The song is just supposed to be about the entwinement of opposites, and snakes were just the coolest symbol we could think of - it could have been about the double-helix. While we were recording we had an article about this two headed snake that had just been born somewhere.


LFG Post (Jan 12, 2009)
Two Snakes

Hello fans. The "Two Snakes" 7" has just been released in Japan on HG Fact. For those keeping track, that makes it: England, Germany, Greece, North America, Japan issues for this single. Still waiting on Israel, Yukon, Azerbaijan and Kiribati editions in the future. Here is the blurb from the label, so you can try to order one (there are 250 copies only):

(ps you aren't gonna get one)






HG Fact release blurb

FUCKED UP - Two Snakes HG-236 (7"EP) ltd 350 copies!

The track is originally on the 2xLP Hidden World released by Jade Tree but was re-mastered and separated on two 7inch sides. Probably the most powerful track on the Hidden World 2xLP. Fucked Up are from Toronto Canada and play tuneful hardcore. On the records they expanded the bondaries of hardcore with a lot of cool arrangements and ideas and bring in many other influences but live all songs are shorter and in the face, just plain hardcore. A band with a  lot of ideas, humor, content and success!


Two Snakes:  
Snake 1: Why are me measured in inches?
Snake 2 We don't have feet






Sleeve Notes:

Two Snakes Mermaids image in art nouveau reference book





PINK EYE



(Damian Interview - ''Lifes a rape" issue 2  - 2006?)


I just read a Pink Eye interview with you and Jonah from the band and you came across as really in touch with a personal and like therapeutic side of your self - how come this doesn't come across in Fucked Up?

Pink Eyes: Fucked Up serves a different purpose for me. The lyrics I write in fucked up address broader themes. Pink Eye is a very selfish thing for me. It's a lot of fantasies and personal ranting set to music. I hope that Fucked Up reaches more people and people can take something away from it. With Pink Eye it is not important that anyone gets anything more then a surface level enjoyment. I read a review of it that alluded to it being some kind of joke band and at first I was hurt that it would be misinterpreted, which is not to say that I didn't have some humor intended in the lyrics but that some one could so easily dismiss it as a comedy thing when there are parts which I am serious as a heart attack about, but I quickly realized that it doesn't matter. With Pink Eye, it is something so personal that I can't expect anyone else to get what I meant.
(from Fucked Up Interview - Heartattack Fanzine 2006)



Fold out sleeve (folded out) - reverse has school shooter game
Regular pressings are on pink and white vinyl with pink being the most common. The gold vinyl is a limited version, usually hand-numbered on the 'B' side label; the labels are otherwise the same for all pressings. The orange is limited to 10, but its not the rarest version...



Stats:
Side A: How To Rob An Indie Rock Star / 1 Pink 2 Blues
Side B:  In Praise Of School Shooters / Behind The Shoe / THC0
Released: 2005
Label: Slasher (MURDER 004)

The gold vinyl were for me Damien and Jonah to use as gifts/traders etc. I certainly sent a bunch to Slasher members, however the white vinyl were the ones made for club members. The mixed colours were just a bit of an added bonus. Kind of surprising they made so many orange ones usually the blends only take two three records. 
(Matt Bickle - Slasher Records)
Pressing Info:
(Thanks to Matt Slasher for info and pics)
Test Pressings  - 8 on black
Pink Vinyl - 1350  (regular version - some are a little darker than others)
White Vinyl - 110 (slasher club version - some have streaks)
Gold Vinyl - 88 (numbered copies retained and used for trades / giveaways - officially 20 were destroyed, though it was actually more like 32. Pieces of the broken records were used in the Pink Eye box-set)
Orange Vinyl - 10
*Puke - 4
White /Pink swirl - 2
Grey /White swirl - 2

*All variants except puke shown in picture above.



Puke vinyl - picture taken of record laying on sleeve - vinyl is translucent



Inserts: 


Inserts are single-sided xerox prints on different coloured paper. The pink vinyl comes with white paper, white vinyl comes with pink. Gold comes with goldenrod paper stamped on the back. 






Variants: 
  • Seven variants (of whole disks)  - different colours as above.
  • Pink Eye Box Set version - as below

Pink Eye portrait on gold encrusted box, containing regular pink vinyl in stamped dust sleeve and a piece of the exclusive gold vinyl. 


The boxes are big, flimsy, difficult to store / transport and were given to punks; some of them look a little squashed these days... 
The rest of the space in the box is filled with a special long-sleeve shirt,  pack of button pins, and the School Shooter Pack comprising plastic (Glock-type) pistol, 3 rounds of ammunition and a target.






12" Version

In 2006 there was a 12" 'repress' which has an additional track and some different song titles...

Pressing Info:
14 test press (These were NOT on square vinyl).
First press 300 on clear vinyl.
2nd press 700 on black vinyl.


Sleeves are the same for both versions of the main pressing



Black and clear vinyl showing 'A' and 'B' side labels


Clear vinyl comes with a yellow insert, black vinyl comes with white. Basically larger versions of the 7" design but, the layout has been updated and there are a few alterations.

Yellow insert has artwork on reverse, white is blank.


Love this decorated dust sleeve - have no idea how it came to be.




Pink Eye CD

Limited to 50 CD with ''Songs from the upcoming Slasher Records 7" as well as other rare grooves" including tracks intended for the first Criminally Insane LP and a couple of interesting Fucked Up numbers...
DIY CD with numbered inlay

School Shooter Game on reverse of inlay



Notes:

Live band had Mark Hurst (Punch In The Face) and a dude who was in Unit Pride (Tim Monroe) Both of them lived in Chicago. I think one show in Toronto and one in Chicago and that was it.
(Matt Bickle - Slasher)

Jonah and Mark Hurst
(Photo courtesy of Matt Bickle)

L-R: Damian, Tim Monroe, Neal Dyrkacz, Mark Hurst, Jonah Falco
(Photo courtesy of Matt from Chicago)


Neal Dyrkacz is credited as bass player on the recordings - Neal and Mark Hurst also played a few shows with Career Suicide








''Litany'' (12")

...AND AGAIN

Sleeve - Front: Folds out to form poster as per 7' 
Sleeve - Back
Vinyl: Blank silver / grey labels on both sides


Stats:

General:
Tracks - A: Litany / What Could Have Been  B: Colour Removal / Reset The Ride + 1 additional song (see below)
Released: 2005
Label: Test Pattern Records TPR 108
Matrix A: TEST PATTERN-108A
Matrix B: TEST PATTERN-108B

Pressing Info:
1000 (The pressing numbers on that source seem a little 'confused'. Relative availability on second-hand market suggests there were less than 1000)

Inserts:
No regular insert

Variants:
At least one has hand-written labels.



Notes

Sleeve is same as 7" version, but bigger. See Litany 7"  for more infos

Discogs:
Comes with an extra, unlisted and uncredited song, and with a huge b/w foldout sleeve. The extra track is a cover of The Younghearts - A Little Togetherness







Commodity Fetishism 

From the owner: 
(I purchased a copy of the Litany 12" from) a fellow from the Czech republic which has writing on the labels, now I know this isn't a hard thing to do all you need is a marker and boom there you go, but I thought maybe there was some connection with the band. On the A side labels it has written: Sudetenland give it up, and on the B side: Fuck Fr. Tiso, in red marker. 
Sudetenland is the German name for parts of Czechoslovakia mainly inhabited by German speakers, hence the (I thought) connection with the band. Again though I'm probably just a sucker for some kid with a red pen!
Fr Tiso
Sudetenland

Is it Genuine? 
The 'tour versions' of  ''Black Army'' & ''Black Cross'' often came with hand-written labels and were sold in 2005 on the first Euro Tour. The Litany 12" came out the same year. The tour included visits to the Czech Republic and Germany. The handwriting matches up and the references are typical FU. Of course it's (almost certainly) genuine!





''Black Army''



The Struggle Against The State
(Title of insert)

Sleeve - Front
Sleeve - Back
Vinyl - Side A: Printed labels (left) and 'tour' version with white labels (right)
Vinyl - Side A: Printed labels (left) and 'tour' version with white labels (right)
Insert 1: (Lyric sheet) Front and back
Insert 2: (Nestor Makhno) Front and back

Stats:

General:
Tracks: Baiting The Public B/W Circling The Drain / Municipal Prick
Released: 2005
Label: Burning Sensation Records BSC-BS001
Matrix A: 59452 1A BS 001
Matrix B: 59452 1B BS 001

Pressing Info:
First Press 1000 (Out of press)
*175 white labels. here were actually 300 white labels.
9 Test Presses

*Above info from LFG site, but believed to be incorrect, should be:
15 Test Pressings.
First Press of 1000, comprising 700 with printed labels and 300 blank with white labels. Some of the white labels have hand-witten messages. (According to a Maarten - a friend of the label owner).

Inserts:
Lyric sheet with 4 images on reverse
Portrait of Nestor Makhno with précis of the Black Army & Black Cross on reverse.

Variants:
Printed labels
Blank white labels: some of these have handwritten messages on and were sold on the European Tour.



This is the Sandy of Records
Image borrowed from Kyle Whitlow's site - check it out.








Notes: 
Black Army & Black Cross often come as a pair and are a compilation of older releases, put together for the European Market (for want of a better term), as the earlier releases were not so readily available outside of North America.

The two records have different images on the front of the sleeves and the reverse of the lyric sheet, but otherwise share the same the artwork.


Sleeve Notes:

Front Cover: (To follow). Actually, probably not. This will have to go down as 'unidentified' for the time-being. The feathered bicorn hats and red? uniforms suggest knights, but could alternatively be military or diplomats. Looks like they're in a car and being followed by soldiers with bayonets on foot. Probably has something to do with the state, or God, or something...





Back Cover: The compilation theme is followed through in the artwork: The band shot is from the ''Epics in Minutes'' CD, The 'Twin Dragon' image was used in sketch form on ''Looking For Gold'' and would be used again for the labels of ''Two Snakes''. The 'Big Fish / Little Fish' was used on''Baiting The Public''. Similarly some of the insert images are reused - the art nouveau swans from the ''Litany'' insert and one of the 'soldier' images from a ''Generation'' insert.




Commodity Fetishism:

Test Presses: Black Army (White sleeve, white labels)
& Black Cross (White sleeve, white labels)...