Medusa First Step Beyond Silver Countertop Vinyl Edition

You must physically hold this album, kneel at its altar; we willfail to describe it. Medusa's First Step Beyond might have forevershifted the perception of Chicago rock history had it managedto make the leap from tape to its never-realized vinyl pressing.Instead, the confl agation of Sabbath, Hawkwind, and Amon DuulII remained petrifi ed in the Corycian Caverns_otherwise knownas the drummer's basement. Self-produced on four track in 1975,this lone transmission from Medusa's repertoire appeared on theextremely mysterious Pepperhead label, whose proprietor allegedlydisappeared after a bad trip and was never been seen again. Forgedin ceremonial mock-velvet, custom embossed in Gorgon-goldand blood-red, and art directed in accordance with the band'selaborate original stage props and artwork, we have positionedthis unreleased opus to fi nally reach its destination: the stereosof pot-smoking and leather-clad teenagers, young and old. Theexpanded CD version (also ensconced in ceremonial mock-velvetwith embossed artwork) boasts a wealth of new band photos andephemera as well as three additional tracks not available on the LP.Prior to tracking First Step Beyond, Chicago proto-metal quintetMedusa headed three miles west to the Village of Oak Park and cuttheir debut 7" at Stephen Wilcox's Pepperhead custom studio. Theresulting versions of "Strangulation" and "Temptress" are a touchfurther unhinged than their sororal album twins, as phased-outscraps of psychedelia and bleeding solos maxed out Pepperhead's8-track rig. Pressed in a strictly limited quantity of 1000 copies.