I managed three days’ worth of a diary when the album was being recorded. Then I got distracted. – Jim
22/01/10 The day before the onslaught:
The smell of new strings, skins and undergarments wafted into Hellfire Studios as SLAB prepared itself for the second long player instalment. Weeks of pre-production work were on the cusp of being tested. Kimbo had travelled down from Sheffield and was taking up residency in Chateau De Cowing over the weekend; Big Jim was cherishing the prospect of escaping ‘sunny’ Dudley for a couple of days.
Line checks checked, headphone volumes set and a quick blast of Thylacine: SLAB was ready.
23/01/10 (09:02 AM)
A quick switcheroo of bass amp locations meant that Big Jim could hopefully lay down his bass tracks at the same time that Kimbo’s drums were being recorded. First off, Pigshifter, one and a half minutes of complex punked-up anarchy. With a silver bullet through its skull, it was Tetradon’s turn. The combination of getting the tracks down in difficulty order first and the glint of Kimbo’s prize beer swinging from the rafters (the rule being that this could only be quaffed when all the drum tracks were complete) had paid-off and by early Saturday evening seven of the ten songs had been well and truly SLABBED. Kimbo and Big Jim had reached their threshold of both sanity and mental exhaustion; and one of Kimbo’s legs was refusing to cooperate.
24/01/10 (9:15 AM)
Three tracks to go for SLAB’s rhythm section. Kimbo was firing on all cylinders, so Physeteric was caught kicking and screaming and shown who the master really was. Physeteric had been the last song written for the album and was scarily complex but the trio remained undaunted. AFG came next. A few false-starts and numerous apologies from Kimbo (unjustified as the drum pattern is a bastard; but then again he did write it!) and the track was sorted.
