Calculating Infinity

By the time of the 1998 EP Under the Running Board, the band were known in the hardcore scene for how violent their shows had become. That reputation, together with the technical turn of the music, led Relapse Records to offer them a multi-record contract. Shortly after the EP, rhythm guitarist John Fulton left to concentrate on studying computer programming. The album was recorded in March, April and June 1999 at Trax East Recording Studio in South River, New Jersey, with Steve Evetts leading the production alongside guitarist Ben Weinman and drummer Chris Pennie. Weinman has called the sessions extremely difficult: they were not using Pro Tools and put everything to tape, and he was very unhappy with the results at first. They ran out of money partway through and traded their publishing rights in the songs to Relapse for two thousand dollars. Weinman's account of the decision is that they were not thinking about the future, only about the present and about this record having to rule; singer Dimitri Minakakis said much the same. It is the only full-length album he appears on; he left the band in 2001. The running order here is the original's as printed.