Lost Nation Road (1994)

Also recorded by Steve Albini, one year after the session that yielded craw, Lost Nation Road came out on Choke, Inc., in November of 1994. craw's second full-length finds the band distancing itself somewhat from the metal and post-hardcore elements that featured prominently on its first LP. The sound here is murkier, more shaded and arguably richer and even more menacing than what came before. Driven by conservatory-trained drummer Neil Chastain and virtuosic new bassist Zak Dieringer, the band pushed their esoteric compositional sense into deeply outlandish realms, incorporating saxophones, samples, strange vocal effects and a heightened sense of dynamics. 

"It's like this constantly surging, undulating thing that sucks you in," says Isis frontman and Hydra Head Records cofounder Aaron Turner of Lost Nation Road. "All the little guitar lines and intricate drum fills feel like these little tendrils that interlock with each other and overlap and wrap around inside your skull."

Songs

Sound of Every Promise
Strongest Human Bond
Bypass
Botulism, Cholera + Tarik
Lifelike
I Fought Dirty
All This Has Made Me
Shocklight
Feesh Crik
As Long as the Turnpike

Personnel

Rockie Brockway - guitar
Neil Chastain - drums
Zak Dieringer - bass
David McCellaland - guitar
Joe McTighe - vocals