Official press release:
Clients, the now-landmark full-length from The Red Chord, will see release on vinyl for the first time ever on October 17th via Metal Blade Records. The release comes in celebration of the record’s 20th anniversary!
The Red Chord has been cited as one of the most influential crossover bands of the hardcore, grind, and metal genres. After signing with Metal Blade in 2004, the band unleashed their second full-length, Clients, in 2005, to widespread critical acclaim. Standing among one of the most dynamic and poignant albums of that year, Clients landed Decibel’s first-ever perfect score (May 2005, Issue No. 7), the review reading in part:
“In this day and age of bands developing instant followings by pandering to the lowest common denominator… The Red Chord attained their success by throwing caution to the wind and taking their awesome songs and robust live show anywhere that would host ’em. Truth be told, it’s this quintet’s songs that have made the difference and caused their profile to explode, car bomb-style.”
In a 4/5 rating, Alternative Press wrote:
“Clients explodes with the chug of hardcore, the velocity of grindcore, the time changes of math-metal, and the guttural vocals and pinched guitar squeals of technical death metal; but ultimately, it’s the band’s finesse at weaving this stuff into a blur that’ll have you scraping your jaw off the floor when the album’s playing.”
Pitchfork concurred lauding a:
“frenzied blast of uncompromising aggression that fuses the chaos, growling vocals, and lightning-fast beats of death metal and grindcore with the technical prowess of experimental math metal and the occasional driving, mid-tempo hardcore rhythm.”
Added Blabbermouth:
“It’s extreme music that you can feel in your bones, that satisfies the primal urges, and that stimulates and/or scars the mind.”
The Red Chord‘s Clients was recorded at Planet Z in January 2005, produced by the band and Zeuss, recorded and mixed by Zeuss, with cover art by Paul Romano. The 20th anniversary vinyl edition of Clients was mastered by Zeuss and comes in a gatefold jacket, six-panel tri-fold insert, and DL card, plus a new vinyl cover, layout, and art elements that are not in the original 2005 CD layout and The Red Chord 2025 band portrait by Karen Jerzyk.
Reflects vocalist Guy Kozowyk on the release:
“Clients is such an important part of our history. There was a vision for every component. The songwriting, the concepts, the sonic wizardry of Planet Z, and the intense visual arts. There has been a specific artistic concept that [artist] Paul [Romano] and I have discussed for the vinyl layout looming since 2004. After two decades, the stars aligned and the concept of the ‘Clients Family Tree’ was finally realized through the combination of Paul and Mike Wohlberg. Paul’s new illustrations are stunning. We are so excited to present this anniversary reissue with a remaster by the almighty Zeuss. It’s been a slow and methodical process, but we feel the final product is worth the wait. Thank you, Metal Blade for tolerating our fastidious nature and allowing us to be artists first.”
Notes Paul Romano:
“Throughout my career, The Red Chord’s Clients remains an all-time favorite project for me. I worked very closely with Guy and the band while they were writing the album. From meeting with the actual Clients to hanging in the practice space while the album was being written helped me have a deep understanding that makes the artwork feel ingrained with the music. Having this comprehensive understanding lent itself to picking up where we left off 20 years ago with a dream of Clients on vinyl with new artworks that would really bring the idea to the next level. It felt like visiting an old friend and talking as if no time had passed.”
Adds Zeuss:
“I dug way deep into the archives from 20 years ago and found the original mixes. Not only are they properly prepared and mastered for vinyl, they sound even better than before!”
Clients will come available in the following color variants:
- White w/ Mixed Pink Splatter (US – Ltd. 1300)
- Neon Green w/ Black Swirl (US – Ltd. 500)
- Pink w/ Black Splatter (US – Ltd. 300)
- Ghost Effect Neon Pink w/ Off-White Color In Color (US – Ltd. 300 units)
- Glow-In-The-Dark w/ Fluorescent Pink Color In Color (US Band Tour Exclusive – Ltd. 500)
- Bone Oxblood melt (EU – Ltd. 500)
- Orange Grey-Brown Haze (EU – Ltd. 300)
- Orange Mint Melt (EU – Ltd. 200)
Find preorders at THIS LOCATION.
Clients track listing:
Side A:
- “Fixation On Plastics”
- “Lay The Tarp”
- “Black Santa”
- “Antman”
- “Clients”
- “Upper Decker”
Side B:
- “Hospice Residence”
- “Dragon Wagon”
- “Love On The Concrete”
- “Blue Line Cretin”
- “He Was Dead When I Got There”
