World/Inferno unearth early demos for limited Halloween comp (stream it)

It wouldn’t be Halloween in NYC without The World/Inferno Friendship Society‘s annual Hallowmas show, and the 22nd edition happens at Warsaw tomorrow, Halloween night. World/Inferno often put out special, limited edition, Halloween-only releases for these shows, and this year, they’re putting out a collection of demos recorded between 1993 and 1995, when World/Inferno was just two people (Jack Terricloth and Scott Hollingsworth) and more of a studio project. Here’s more:

When originally handed out, there were about 50 homemade copies passed out to friends at shows which were entitled “A Collection of Works in Progress”. Other than that, most of these songs remained ‘lost’ as they never made it to the live show when the band “reset” and started putting out the releases that are now canonically known as their early discography. These demo songs are in a style that might be unrecognizable to people who have been familiar with them for the past 20 odd years. Most of them were written and performed as a two piece and are slower, moodier, more ethereal tunes that we hope fit the vibe of this season that we are in. Back when these songs were written, singer Jack was still in New Jersey punk band Stick & Stones (which he & Scott originally started) so they were experimenting with other styles. When Sticks and Stones broke up, he no longer had that punk outlet so they ditched these wimpy songs and changed course to be what the band eventually became. Like Bram Stoker’s widow, who tried to burn all known copies of Nosferatu, the band thought they were successful in destroying every single last copy but unfortunately for them, a fan unearthed one in Germany a couple of years ago which has allowed us to release these B-Sides in physical cassette form once again. Since its rediscovery, only the band’s diehard fans that trade music on the dark web have had these tracks but we thought to share them as an extra special Halloween treat this year. The band found it appropriate to ask Don’t Panic Records from Chicago to put the release out, as they are an all cassette label.

World/Inferno will have A Recollection of Works In Progress available on limited edition cassette at the show (and you can pre-order it here), but first, we’re premiering an online stream of the full compilation right here in this post. As the quote above points out, this is a very different World/Inferno than the one you’ve come to know and love, and it’s very cool to hear this side of them if you aren’t one of the diehard fans who already have. Listen to the whole thing below.

World/Inferno are also planning to release a proper new album, All Borders Are Porous to Cats, on January 17 via Alternative Tentacles. Stay tuned for that.

Tickets for Hallowmas are still available. World/Inferno also have West Coast shows coming up next month. All dates are listed below.

The World/Inferno Friendship Society — 2019 Tour Dates
10/31 : Warsaw, Brooklyn NY (Hallowmas)
11/18 : The Chain Reaction, Anaheim, CA
11/19 : Morroccan Lounge, Los Angeles, CA
11/20 : The Casbah, San Diego, CA
11/21 : Intrigue & Mystery
11/22 : TENTACLES FEST, Berkeley, CA
11/23 : Cafe Colonial, Sacramento, CA