
Quicksand’s ‘Slip’ at 30: members of Thursday, Thrice, Cave In, Rise Against & more reflect
Quicksand's classic, massively influential debut LP Slip turns 30 next week (2/9), and to celebrate, it's getting a 30th anniversary reissue via Iodine Recordings. The reissue includes the bonus track cover of The Smiths' "How Soon Is Now?", and it was remastered from the original tapes by Jack Shirley (Deafheaven, Joyce Manor, Jeff Rosenstock, etc).
We've got an exclusive "red with black and yellow marble" vinyl variant of the reissue, limited to 1000 copies. Pre-order yours while they last. Here's a mock-up:
There's also a deluxe edition of the reissue that comes with a limited 64-page hardcover book featuring commentary on the album by members of many bands that have crossed paths with Quicksand or were impacted by their music in some way. We're thrilled to be sharing some excerpts from the book by members of five bands that Quicksand had a clear influence on: Thursday, Thrice, Rise Against, Hot Water Music, and Cave In (whose Stephen Brodsky has actually been touring as a member of Quicksand recently). Here are those quotes:
Geoff Rickly (Thursday)
The first time I got jumped I was 14 years old. I was a small kid and got my ass kicked. But then I heard this record, Slip, at a record store — and I had to know all about the band. Quicksand. From the moment I heard the name, from the moment I heard "Head to Wall," I knew I needed that record. I had one of those Walkman tape players that used to automatically change direction and start playing the next side of the record. I listened to it back and forth in my headphones, walking around, feeling like no one would touch me with "Omission" blasting, with Walter shouting that he had my back, as the guitars rushed by like the squeal of the 6 train, as Alan Cage pounded his drums like a thousand basketballs against the street court’s blacktop. And Sergio Vega… that bass, my God, that’s what New York City sounded like in the 90s: pure adrenaline, menace and cigarette smoke. I’ve never stopped worshiping this record.
Riley Breckenridge (Thrice)
I’ll never forget hearing “Fazer” for the first time on a skate video I was watching with Ed (my brother and Thrice’s bass player). We ran out and bought Slip the next time we’d saved enough allowance to do so, threw it in our CD player, and proceeded to have our minds’ blown. Quicksand had somehow managed to take the best elements of all the genres that were blowing up our sonic palettes and bundle them up cohesively in three-to-four minute songs. There wasn’t really anyone like them, and that remains true to this day. There’s only one Quicksand, and the mark they’ve made on my journey as a musician is indelible.
Stephen Brodsky (Cave In)
I discovered Quicksand at Newbury Comics in Salem, NH in the summer of ’93. “Baphomet” was blasting through the stereo speakers. Heavy, dark, mystical, kinda grunge — that checked all the boxes for me. I’ve probably studied Slip more than listening to it. Quicksand brought drop D to hardcore before I even knew what hardcore was.
Fast forward 20+ years to learning Quicksand songs at home, and not just playing air-guitar to them. Walter had asked me to pick a few to jam on, and I showed up to their rehearsal space with a whole set list ready to go. After running through some stuff, he said to me “If we had to play a show tonight, I think we’d do alright.” I remember thinking that if nothing more comes of it, at least I could say that I jammed with Quicksand. The chiming bell-like harmonics in “Dine Alone” still give me chills, and the guitar solo in “Fazer” feels like lightning in my hands.
Tim McIlrath (Rise Against)
Writing a song, much less an album, is the product of an unending number of micro-decisions. Whether you’ve made the right or the wrong decision is decided later if, and when, people connect to your art. When I heard Slip for the first time, it sounded to me like a series of perfect decisions. At every crossroads, the songs take turns that were so satisfying to my high school freshman ears. I was starting to dabble in songwriting, but this album was so good that I remember thinking to myself, “Why bother?”
Jason Black (Hot Water Music)
Quicksand had already started to flip the script with the s/t EP. The combination of groove, melody, and aggression was unique and filled a void that you didn’t even realize was there as a music fan. When Slip finally hit, it was game over. Whatever cool thing you thought you were listening to or playing, forget it. There are a few records that truly altered the landscape of my general word of music — records like Nevermind, Fugazi’s 7 Songs EP, and Slip. 30 years later, "Fazer" is still the best lead track going (yes, including "Smells Like Teen Spirit") and remains one of my top 10 records of all time.
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The book also features commentary from members of Refused, Snapcase, Earth Crisis, Helmet, Anthrax, Sepultura, Youth of Today, and more. Take a deeper dive into the reissue and the book in the promo video below, and pick up our "red with black and yellow marble" vinyl variant while it lasts.
SLIP TRACKLISTING:
"Fazer"
"Head to Wall"
"Dine Alone"
"Slip"
"Freezing Process"
"Lie and Wait"
"Unfulfilled"
"Can Opener"
"Omission"
"Baphomet"
"Too Official"
"Transparent"
"How Soon is Now?"