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2LP
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DC 858LP
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"In May of 1996, with a handful of releases under their belts, the kings of the insanity sound, then known simply as: The Champs, began recording their magnum octopus, III. This time their sights were set beyond the still diminutive cassette format and trained squarely on a gatefold double album -- the perfect medium for Total Music. Over the next year, in between touring up and down the west coast, the band molded the Kubrickian monolith known as III. In May of 1997, after lugging a console, tape machines, speakers and a smattering of outboard gear up three flights of stairs, the band mixed the album in the bedroom of a third-floor apartment, directly overlooking the 280 freeway. The noise floor was such that all windows remained closed for the duration of the process. Over the next six weeks they played wherever people thirsted for something compelling and different, something to rock out with their Bach out, in a word, well two words, Total Music. While on the road, the band also searched for a suitable record label willing to make the financial commitment a gatefold double album requires -- a tall order for a band virtually unknown outside of the west coast and the borough of Manhattan. Ultimately, the eclectic San Francisco label, Frenetic, took the plunge and generously emptied their modest coffers to fund the manufacture of III, which was released under the legally distinct band name: C4AM95. In print, the name was easily decoded by use of the ubiquitous 'devil horns' or 'maloik', with the index finger covering the awkward section of the 4 and the underrated pinkie finger covering the southern portion of the nine. This deliberate obfuscation shielded the band from increasingly ominous communications emanating from Nashville concerning the similarity in name to a certain band from the 1950's. After the release of III, The Champs continued to tour the US, embarking on (and completing) six tours before the turn of the millennium . . . The Fucking Champs left an indelible mark on the musical consciousness of the second to last and final millennia. For this special 26th anniversary edition of III, the album was remastered by the band from the original master tapes, lacquers expertly cut by John Golden and artwork restored by forensic experts in Drag City's employ..." --Dale Nixon, April 15, 2022
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CD
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DC 333CD
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"It is oft opined that to the victor go the spoils; truly then, the world belongs to the Champs. The Fucking Champs, that is. In the four years since the release of V, they have roamed their domain endlessly, holding concerts when and where they desired. As ever, the neck-choking guitar acrobatics that are The Fucking Champs' signature are in place. The pummeling of tom-toms reaches dizzying, spiritual heights. Their almost clairvoyant guitar interplay and ferocious drum attack is captured in transparent sterling detail. Their grand and benevolent (yet playful) sense of humor (that has no relationship to irony whatsoever) arcs above the melee, creating song titles such as 'A Forgotten Chapter in the History of Ideas,' and 'That Crystal Behind You? (Are You Channeling).' Yes, humor has its uses."
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CD
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DC 197CD
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"The Fucking Champs are not a metal group. They claim to make 'total music'. No one knows what the fuck they mean by this, but when you play IV, you will know that it's totally fucking awesome. Largely instrumental, their new full-length alternates between 'let's-squeeze-every-Queen-riff-into-one-song' rockers, ultra-pretentious mellotron-laden space-outs, and strange attempts to outdo Billy Gibbons' after-school-special-of-the-extreme-future sequencing."
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