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Two of the most ubiquitous and indispensable characters in Chicago metal started a label this spring, but you can be forgiven if you haven’t heard about it yet—it’s only got two releases, both from groups that as far as I know haven’t played in Chicago since the records came out. War Crime Recordings is the project of engineer Sanford Parker (who’s also played in Buried at Sea, Minsk, and Nachtmystium, among others) and Yakuza/Bloodiest front man Bruce Lamont. The two of them are bandmates in an intimidating new collective called Corrections House, alongside Scott Kelly of Neurosis and Mike IX Williams of Eyehategod, and not at all by coincidence the first War Crime release was a Corrections House seven-inch, “Hoax the System” b/w “Grin With a Purpose,” which came out in early April.

Today’s 12 O’Clock Track comes from the label’s only other release so far, A Time of Hunting by Brooklyn band Kings Destroy.

Philip Montoro

Philip Montoro has been an editorial employee of the Reader since 1996 and its music editor since 2004. Pieces he has edited have appeared in Da Capo’s annual Best Music Writing anthologies in 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2010, and 2011. He shared two Lisagor Awards in 2019 for a story on gospel pioneer Lou Della Evans-Reid and another in 2021 for Leor Galil's history of Neo, and he’s also split three national awards from the Association of Alternative Newsmedia: one for multimedia in 2019 for his work on the TRiiBE collaboration the Block Beat, and two (in 2020 and 2022) for editing the music writing of Reader staffer Leor Galil. Philip has played scrap metal in Lozenge, drummed with the Disasters, the Afflictions, and Brilliant Pebbles, and sung for the White Outs. He wrote the column Beer and Metal from 2012 till 2015, and hopes to do so again one day. You can also follow him on Twitter.