The ''Sawblade'' EP (also called the ''Buzzsaw'' EP) is a handmade

CD-R CD-R (Compact disc-recordable) is a digital optical disc storage format. A CD-R disc is a compact disc that can be written once and read arbitrarily many times. CD-R discs (CD-Rs) are readable by most CD readers manufactured prior to the in ...

made by

Isis Isis (; ''Ēse''; ; Meroitic: ''Wos'' 'a''or ''Wusa''; Phoenician: 𐤀𐤎, romanized: ʾs) was a major goddess in ancient Egyptian religion whose worship spread throughout the Greco-Roman world. Isis was first mentioned in the Old Kingd ...

for their tour with

Neurosis Neurosis is a class of functional mental disorders involving chronic distress, but neither delusions nor hallucinations. The term is no longer used by the professional psychiatric community in the United States, having been eliminated from th ...

and

Candiria Candiria are an American progressive metal band from Brooklyn, New York. Formed in 1992, the band was part of the second wave of New York hardcore, but subsequently expanded its performance to also play jazz, hip hop and progressive rock. The ...

, limited to 200 copies (the first 40 with red blade inserts, the remaining 160 with black). It was sold at these shows at a limit of 15 per night, and the leftover copies were given to friends of the band as a year-end "thank you" gift. The vinyl run of this release was limited to 250 copies. As such,

Aaron Turner Aaron Turner (born November 5, 1977) is an American musician, singer, graphic artist, and founder of label Hydra Head Records. He is most widely known for his role as guitarist and vocalist for the post-metal bands SUMAC and Isis, while also pa ...

doesn't consider this an 'official' Isis release, describing it as “more like a special artifact for us and the few converts we had at the time”. "Emission of the Signal" and "House of Low Culture" were both constructed by

and

Jeff Caxide Jeff Caxide is an American bassist, best known for his time with post-metal band Isis, of which he was a founding member and present until its dissolution in 2010. He was also a founding member of Red Sparowes, but left after the release of thei ...

at home. "Streetcleaner" and "Hand of Doom" are both covers of

Godflesh Godflesh are an English industrial metal band from Birmingham. The group formed in 1982 under the title Fall of Because but did not release any complete music until 1988 when Justin Broadrick (guitar, vocals and programming) and G. C. Gree ...

and

Black Sabbath Black Sabbath were an English rock music, rock band formed in Birmingham in 1968 by guitarist Tony Iommi, drummer Bill Ward (musician), Bill Ward, bassist Geezer Butler and vocalist Ozzy Osbourne. They are often cited as pioneers of heavy met ...

, respectively. The former was recorded for Isis' 2000 split release with

Pig Destroyer Pig Destroyer is an American grindcore band formed in 1997 in Alexandria, Virginia. The band was formed by vocalist J.R. Hayes, guitarist Scott Hull, and drummer John Evans. Throughout the band's earlier history, they were a three-piece group u ...

; both were recorded during the ''

Red Sea The Red Sea ( ar, البحر الأحمر - بحر القلزم, translit=Modern: al-Baḥr al-ʾAḥmar, Medieval: Baḥr al-Qulzum; or ; Coptic: ⲫⲓⲟⲙ ⲛ̀ϩⲁϩ ''Phiom Enhah'' or ⲫⲓⲟⲙ ⲛ̀ϣⲁⲣⲓ ''Phiom ǹšari''; T ...

'' sessions in 1999. The CD version of the release was a genuine sawblade with a CD physically attached to it, which several venues prohibited from sale. To the best of Turner's knowledge, “no one was ever injured by one of these”. The

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

ese double release of ''

Mosquito Control Mosquito control manages the population of mosquitoes to reduce their damage to human health, economies, and enjoyment. Mosquito control is a vital public-health practice throughout the world and especially in the tropics because mosquitoes spr ...

/the Red Sea'' features both cover songs as bonuses; "Streetcleaner" appears at the end of disc 1 (''Mosquito Control''), and "Hand of Doom" appears at the end of disc 2 (the ''Red Sea''/1998 Demo); both tracks were later selected for inclusion on posthumous

b-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record compan ...

album '' Temporal''.

Track listing

Tracks 1 and 4 written by Aaron Turner and

. # "Emission of the Signal" – 4:53 # "Streetcleaner" – 5:42 ( Broadrick) # "

Hand of Doom "Hand of Doom" is a song by the English heavy metal band Black Sabbath, originally appearing on their second album ''Paranoid'', released in 1970. Background The song was conceived after the band had observed a growing number of US soldiers a ...

" – 8:36 ( Iommi/ Osbourne/

Ward Ward may refer to: Division or unit * Hospital ward, a hospital division, floor, or room set aside for a particular class or group of patients, for example the psychiatric ward * Prison ward, a division of a penal institution such as a pris ...

Butler A butler is a person who works in a house serving and is a domestic worker in a large household. In great houses, the household is sometimes divided into departments with the butler in charge of the dining room, wine cellar, and pantry. Some a ...

) # "House of Low Culture" – 11:09

Personnel

;Band members *

– bass * Aaron Harris –

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

* Michael Gallagher –

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

– vocals, guitar, design * Jay Randall – electronics, vocals *

Bryant Clifford Meyer Bryant Clifford Meyer (sometimes credited as Clifford Meyer, BC Meyer, Cliff Meyer or Bryant C Meyer) is a keyboardist, guitarist and vocalist, best known for his tenure with Los Angeles, California-based post-metal band Isis. He was with the ban ...

;Other personnel *

Kurt Ballou Kurt Ballou (born February 1, 1974) is an American musician and producer based in Massachusetts, best known as the guitarist for hardcore punk band Converge and for his prolific recording and production work at his own GodCity Studio. Early and ...

–

audio recording Sound recording and reproduction is the electrical, mechanical, electronic, or digital inscription and re-creation of sound waves, such as spoken voice, singing, instrumental music, or sound effects. The two main classes of sound recording te ...

and

production Production may refer to: Economics and business * Production (economics) * Production, the act of manufacturing goods * Production, in the outline of industrial organization, the act of making products (goods and services) * Production as a stati ...

* Greg Moss – live sound

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sawblade (Album) 1999 albums Isis (band) albums Hydra Head Records albums Albums with cover art by Aaron Turner Albums produced by Kurt Ballou