Volume One: Gold Vinyl LP w/ Signed Art Card

Pre-Order Item. Release Date Subject to Change.
Label: The state51 Conspiracy
Release Date: 13th November

We gots ourselves a holy grail! One of the best kind of mythological records are the freaky psychedelic prog rock records, almost too weird and abstract for fans of Barrett, Floyd, Soft Machine and beyond. The Edinburgh psych rock band were barely around, milling about in the underground, releasing their debut album 'Volume One' on Decca before being dropped due to poor sales and never making good on Vol. 2. Decades later an OG press of this goes for 'you're either divorced or looking for one' types of money. Luckily for your relationship this one gets a proper reissuing with a super limited gold vinyl edition, which will also sell out, so get in quick.

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The 1970 crate-digging Holy Grail from Edinburgh’s unsung heroes of heavy, psychedelic rock; produced with full support and involvement of original band members Ed Jones and John Ramsay
Remastered by Grammy recognised mastering engineer Sarah Register
Pressed on 180g gold vinyl, limited to 500 copies
Exclusive art card signed by Ed Jones and John Ramsay
Full colour booklet featuring never before seen images of the band and liner notes from writer, curator, collector and Nick Drake biographer Richard Morton Jack
PRESS RELEASE
The state51 Conspiracy is pleased to announce the reissue of The Human Beast’s legendary (and sole) album ‘Volume One’ - a visceral slice of the late 60s Edinburgh underground - coming November 2026.
Recorded for Ray Horricks’ (Rod Stewart, Davy Graham, Archie Fisher) MMR Productions company at the folk-rock-famous Sound Techniques Studio in Chelsea, London, in 1969 and released on Decca in 1970; original first pressings of Volume One can command upwards of £3,500 on Discogs!
The sedate gentility of Edinburgh's cultural environment at the time did not restrain this young trio committed to exploring musical innovation in the wider world.  Flouting the comfortable pop-cover and folk conventions then followed by many Scottish artists, The Human Beast hurl together an exuberant combination of pummelling hard rock, howling wah-wah with oriental overtones, and dark surreal lyrics, all combining in an unsettling psychedelic phantasmagoria. It is no surprise that the only cover track on the album, Mike Heron's classic 'Maybe Someday', is given a darkly menacing interpretation.
Remastered by Grammy-recognised mastering engineer Sarah Register, this definitive edition gives both collectors and casual buyers the chance to own one of Scotland’s cult hidden psych hard rock gems, complete with updated sleeve notes, never before seen photos/ephemera and an art card signed by the band.
Human Beast Bio
The music of this young Edinburgh trio was described on the rear of their one and only LP  in 1969 as "electro-flagellation," a phrase that aptly describes their vicious, Eastern-inflected guitar lines, pounding bass and frenetic percussion. Taped in a single twelve-hour stint in London that December and released in 1970 on Decca, their sole album stands as one of the most distinctive and unsettling pieces of rock music ever recorded.
RIYL
Black Sabbath, Incredible String Band, Soft Machine
TRACKLIST
1. Mystic Man
2. Appearance Is Everything, Style Is A Way Of Living
3. Brush With The Midnight Butterfly
4. Maybe Someday
5. Reality Presented As An Alternative
6. Naked Breakfast
7. Circle Of The Night