''Killed by Death'' is a series of

bootleg Bootleg or bootlegging most often refers to: * Bootleg recording, an audio or video recording released unofficially * Rum-running, the illegal business of transporting and trading in alcoholic beverages, hence: ** Moonshine, or illicitly made ...

albums compiling rare punk rock songs primarily from the late 1970s and early 1980s. The first four of these compilations, (''Killed By Death #1-#4''), were issued in 1989 by the Swedish label Redrum Records and featured tracks by obscure North American and European punk groups, as well as a few more well-known acts such as

The Wipers Wipers was a punk rock band formed in Portland, Oregon, in 1977 by guitarist and vocalist Greg Sage, along with drummer Sam Henry and bassist Dave Koupal. The group's tight song structure and use of heavy distortion were hailed as extremely in ...

, Zero Boys, Subhumans and the Beastie Boys. In the years since the release of these first compilations, more than 50 other albums have been added to the series by various anonymous publishers.

Origins

The curators of the ''Killed by Death'' series followed a tradition of other album series that compiled tracks from rare punk 45s onto LP. In the early 1970s, musician Lenny Kaye had codified the term "

punk Punk or punks may refer to: Genres, subculture, and related aspects * Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres * Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...

" in reference to a genre of music with his compilation '' Nuggets: Original Artyfacts from the First Psychedelic Era, 1965–1968''. The album highlighted minor 1960s hits by groups like

The Standells The Standells are an American garage rock band from Los Angeles, California, formed in the 1960s, who have been referred to as a "punk band of the 1960s", and said to have inspired such groups as the Sex Pistols and Ramones. They are best kno ...

The Seeds The Seeds were an American psychedelic garage rock band formed in Los Angeles, California in 1965, best known for their highest charting single " Pushin' Too Hard". The band's classic line-up featured frontman Sky Saxon, guitarist Jan Savag ...

The Count Five Count Five was an American garage rock band, formed in San Jose, California in 1964, known for their hit single " Psychotic Reaction". Background The band was founded in 1964 by lead guitarist John "Mouse" Michalski (born 1948, Cleveland, Ohi ...

and

Electric Prunes The Electric Prunes are an American psychedelic rock band, formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1965. Much of the band's music was, as music historian Richie Unterberger described it, possessed of "an eerie and sometimes anguished ambiance." T ...

mixed with similar-sounding tracks by lesser-known bands. Kaye's original ''Nuggets'' compilation sparked a wave of similar records, notably the '' Pebbles'' series of LPs, that sought to unearth rare music from the 1960s. Tim Warren's

Crypt Records Crypt Records is an independent record label founded by American-born Tim Warren in 1983. The label has been headquartered variously in Hamburg, Germany and in several locations in the United States. Crypt is perhaps best known for issuing the ten- ...

followed up with even rarer and rawer 60s punk rock recordings on its '' Back from the Grave'' albums released during the mid-1980s, as did many other small labels the world over. Meanwhile, a new generation of musicians had picked up on this music and, unlike their 1960s rolemodels, were conscientiously self-describing their music as "punk rock." For many, this went hand-in-hand with a do-it-yourself aesthetic of recording one's own music and releasing one's own records, resulting in low budget productions and limited pressings. Not long after their release, the records were rare and as sought-after as many vinyl releases from punk's progenitors of the 1960s. Taking a cue from ''Nuggets'', ''Pebbles'' and especially ''Back from the Grave'', ''Killed By Death'' filled a niche for those desiring to hear this music at time when it could not be otherwise heard.

Releases

Colors= id:lightgrey value:gray(0.9) id:darkgrey value:gray(0.8) id:sfondo value:rgb(1,1,1) id:barra value:rgb(0.6,0.7,0.8) ImageSize = width:900 height:300 PlotArea = left:50 bottom:50 top:30 right:30 DateFormat = x.y Period = from:0 till:12 TimeAxis = orientation:vertical AlignBars = justify ScaleMajor = gridcolor:darkgrey increment:5 start:0 ScaleMinor = gridcolor:lightgrey increment:1 start:0 BackgroundColors = canvas:sfondo BarData= bar:1988 text:'88 bar:1989 text:'89 bar:1990 text:1990 bar:1991 text:'91 bar:1992 text:'92 bar:1993 text:'93 bar:1994 text:'94 bar:1995 text:'95 bar:1996 text:'96 bar:1997 text:'97 bar:1998 text:'98 bar:1999 text:'99 bar:2000 text:2000 bar:2001 text:'01 bar:2002 text:'02 bar:2003 text:'03 bar:2004 text:'04 bar:2005 text:'05 bar:2006 text:'06 bar:2007 text:'07 bar:2008 text:'08 bar:2009 text:'09 bar:2010 text:2010 bar:2011 text:'11 bar:2012 text:'12 bar:2013 text:'13 bar:2014 text:'14 bar:2015 text:'15 bar:2016 text:'16 bar:2017 text:'17 bar:2018 text:'18 bar:2019 text:'19 PlotData= color:barra width:20 align:left bar:1988 from: 0 till:1 bar:1989 from: 0 till:3 bar:1990 from: 0 till:0 bar:1991 from: 0 till:0 bar:1992 from: 0 till:0 bar:1993 from: 0 till:5 bar:1994 from: 0 till:0 bar:1995 from: 0 till:2 bar:1996 from: 0 till:6 bar:1997 from: 0 till:5 bar:1998 from: 0 till:9 bar:1998 from: 9 till:11 color:blue bar:1999 from: 0 till:5 bar:2000 from: 0 till:3 bar:2000 from: 3 till:4 color:blue bar:2001 from: 0 till:1 color:blue bar:2002 from: 0 till:1 bar:2002 from: 1 till:2 color:blue bar:2003 from: 0 till:2 bar:2003 from: 2 till:4 color:blue bar:2004 from: 0 till:1 color:blue bar:2005 from: 0 till:0 bar:2006 from: 0 till:0 bar:2007 from: 0 till:0 bar:2008 from: 0 till:0 bar:2009 from: 0 till:0 bar:2010 from: 0 till:0 bar:2011 from: 0 till:0 bar:2012 from: 0 till:1 color:blue bar:2013 from: 0 till:0 bar:2014 from: 0 till:1 color:blue bar:2015 from: 0 till:0 bar:2016 from: 0 till:2 color:blue bar:2017 from: 0 till:1 color:blue bar:2018 from: 0 till:1 bar:2019 from: 0 till:0 TextData= fontsize:S pos:(20,10) text:Light color indicates the number of albums released each year under the ''Killed by Death'' moniker. Darker color indicates number of albums titled with a variation thereof. The ''Killed By Death'' series was started by Swedish record collector Johan Kugelberg with the first volume's release in 1988, its name borrowed from a song by the British band

Motörhead Motörhead () were an English rock band formed in London in 1975 by Lemmy (lead vocals, bass), Larry Wallis (guitar) and Lucas Fox (drums). Lemmy was also the primary songwriter and only constant member. The band are often considered a precu ...

. Inspired by Tim Warren's ''Back from the Grave'' series, Kugelberg was encouraged by Warren to start his own series documenting early punk rock. Among the more obscure tracks by non-mainstream bands was the entire first EP by the Beastie Boys who had since switched from punk to hip-hop. When this first KBD record came out, the Beasties were topping the charts with their album ''

Licensed to Ill ''Licensed to Ill'' is the debut studio album by American rap rock group Beastie Boys. It was released on November 15, 1986, by Def Jam and Columbia Records, and became the first rap LP to top the ''Billboard'' album chart. It is one of Columbia ...

'' while their hardcore punk catalog was out-of-print and selling for large sums on the collectors market, prompting Kugelberg to write in his KBD liner notes, "What do you do when a record becomes filthy expensive? Stick it on a comp." By the end of 1989 Kugelberg's Redrum Records' had released the first four volumes of ''Killed By Death'', after which a fifth and sixth ''Killed By Death'' emerged in 1993, issued by an Australian record collector. Over 30 subsequent volumes of ''Killed By Death'' were released during the 1990s, all assembled by various anonymous compilers and released independently of one another. This resulted in the records' diversion from any strict numbering system as no one could predict where and when a particular volume of ''Killed By Death'' would hit the streets. Many volumes of ''Killed By Death'' were limited to as few as 500 copies, resulting in these compilations of hard-to-find records becoming collectors' items in and of themselves. Many volumes of ''Killed By Death'' resembled mixtapes of assorted singles from people's personal collections seemingly with no particular rhyme or reason connecting them. Other volumes focused on bands from particular countries, such as

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

, the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

. Several ''Killed By Death'' album sleeves boasted "All American punk, no foreign junk," while others homed in on punk rock from a specific U.S. state, such as punk singles from

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

demo tapes A demo (shortened from "demonstration") is a song or group of songs typically recorded for limited circulation or for reference use, rather than for general public release. A demo is a way for a musician to approximate their ideas in a fixed for ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

n punk bands.

"Fake" volumes and spin-offs

With no consistency to their production nor regulation of their release, some volumes of ''Killed By Death'' were critiqued as being of low quality or dubious origin. All the music on ''Killed By Death #16'' is purported to be traceable back to early recordings made by Phantom Surfers bassist Mike Lucas performing cover versions of 1960s rock and

protopunk Proto-punk (or protopunk) is rock music played mostly by garage bands from the 1960s to mid-1970s that foreshadowed the punk rock movement. The phrase is a retrospective label; the musicians involved were generally not originally associated wi ...

bands such as

The Kingsmen The Kingsmen are a 1960s rock band from Portland, Oregon, United States. They are best known for their 1963 recording of R&B singer Richard Berry's "Louie Louie", which held the No. 2 spot on the '' Billboard'' charts for six weeks and ...

The Sonics The Sonics are an American garage rock band from Tacoma, Washington that formed in 1960. Their aggressive, hard-edged sound has been a major influence on punk and garage music worldwide, and they have been named inspirations to the White Str ...

, Steppenwolf,

Velvet Underground Weave details visible on a purple-colored velvet fabric Velvet is a type of woven tufted fabric in which the cut threads are evenly distributed, with a short pile, giving it a distinctive soft feel. By extension, the word ''velvety'' means ...

and

The Stooges The Stooges, originally billed as the Psychedelic Stooges, also known as Iggy and the Stooges, was an American rock band formed in Ann Arbor, Michigan, in 1967 by singer Iggy Pop, guitarist Ron Asheton, drummer Scott Asheton, and bassist Da ...

. ''Killed By Death #11'' boasted tracks by 10 unheard-of punk acts who had names constructed from an adjective and a plural noun (such as Sexy Fits, Curly Fries, and Grumpy Winos), complete with sleeve art reputed to be from the bands' original singles shoddily pasted (as was tradition on all ''Killed By Death'' releases) on the album's back cover. However, only one of these groups was real—the then contemporary Frothy Shakes from

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and ...

—and all the music on the record was theirs. As the series grew, several spin-off albums and series emerged borrowing the recognizable "Killed by" moniker and logo but replacing "Death" with another signifier. The ultra-rare (200 copies) ''Killed by Dentistry'' featured many tracks that appeared on previous ''Killed By Death'' collections. It came in a blood-spattered sleeve and is rumored to have been put out by an actual dentist. In the early 2000s an American enthusiast of Scottish punk and DIY music issued three CDs compiling tracks from rare Scottish singles under the name ''

Kilt A kilt ( gd, fèileadh ; Irish: ''féileadh'') is a garment resembling a wrap-around knee-length skirt, made of twill woven worsted wool with heavy pleats at the sides and back and traditionally a tartan pattern. Originating in the Scottish ...

By Death''. Further afield, other albums emerged with tiles like ''Killed by Synth'', ''Killed by Glam'', ''Killed by Hardcore'', ''Killed by Meth'', and ''Killed by Deathrock'', all veering away from what had then become known as "KBD punk" instead highlighting a number of other punk/rock subgenres.

''Killed by Death'' discography by year

Albums are listed in chronological order of release. Additional information about label, country of origin, and actual artist appear in parentheses.

Original releases, 1988–89

*''Killed by Death #1'' (released by Redrum Records, Sweden) *''Killed by Death #2'' (released by Redrum Records, Sweden) *''Killed by Death #3'' (released by Redrum Records, Sweden) *''Killed by Death #4'' (released by Redrum Records, Sweden)

1990s releases

1993 *''Killed by Death #5'' (released in Australia) *''Killed by Death #6: Great Punk Shits'' (released in Australia) *''Killed by Death #7'' *''Killed by Death Vol #007'' *''Killed by Death #13: Rare Punk 77–83'' (Redrum Records) 1995 *''Killed by Death #8½'' *''Killed by Death #9'' 1996 *''Killed by Death #10: Sterling Death'' *''Killed by Death #11'' (artist: The Frothy Shakes) *''Killed by Death #12: All American Punk'' (released by

) *''Killed by Death #16'' (artist: Mike Lucas) *''Killed by Death #26: Canada'' *''Killed by Death #77'' 1997 *''Killed by Death #17: All American Punk'' *''Killed by Death #69: A Compilation of Early Worldwide Punkrock'' (Redrum Records) *''Killed by Death #100: International Punk 1975–1983'' *''Killed by Death #200: Rare Punque Francais '77–'83'' *''Killed by Death #201: Killed by Death D'Italia'' 1998 *''Killed by Death #14'' *''Killed by Death #15: Raw Rare Punk Rock 78-81)'' *''Killed by Death #18: All American Punk'' *''Killed by Death #19: All American Punk'' *''Killed by Death #40: Strictly No English or American Junk'' *''Killed by Death #41: The Punk Police Presents'' *''Killed by Death #666: Early Worldwide Punkrock'' *''Killed by Death: British D.I.Y #1'' *''Killed by Death #F.U. 2'' *''Killed By Epitaph/I'm Sure We're Gonna Make It'' (early Dutch punk) *''Killed by Florida'' 1999 *''Killed by Death #20: Young and Bold'' *''Killed by Death #22: Raw Rare Punkrock '79–'83'' *''Killed by Death #24'' *''Killed by Death #202: Five Old Spanish Punk Rock Twelve Inches'' *''Killed by Death #999''

2000s releases

2000 *''Killed by Death #33: Raw Rare Punk Rock '77–'82'' *''Killed by Death #1234'' *''Killed by Death #007'' *''Killed by Dentistry'' 2001 *''Killed by Hardcore'' 2002 *''Killed by Death #1010011010'' (released in Italy) *''Killed by Hardcore #2'' 2003 *''Killed by Death #50: Rare Swedish Punk 1978–82'' *''Killed by Death #51: Rare Swedish Punk 1978–83'' *''Killed by Hardcore #3'' *''Killed By Finnish Hardcore'' 2004 *''Kilt by Death: The Sounds of Old Scotland (1977–1984)''

2010s releases

2012 *''Killed by Synth Vol. 1'' 2014 *''Killed by Deathrock, Vol. 1'' 2016 *''Killed by Deathrock, Vol. 2'' *''Killed by Meth: Rust Belt Rockers'' 2017 *''Killed by Meth, Vol. 2: Rust Belt Rockers'' 2018 *''Killed by Death #15: New Zealand Rare Punk 77–82''

References

External links

Killed By Death Records
an online resource for rare punk 7" records {{Authority control Punk rock compilation albums Compilation album series Bootleg recordings 1980s compilation albums 1990s compilation albums 2000s compilation albums