Cleopatra Records have unveiled “Return To Zanzibar” ahead of their 50th anniversary reissue of Chrome’s 1976 debut album ‘The Visitation,’ arriving April 17. Long out of reach for most collectors, original pressings have commanded steep resale prices, making this edition a welcome return for one of underground rock’s most uncompromising statements.
Formed in mid-1970s San Francisco around founder Damon Edge, alongside John Cyborg, Mike Low and Gary Spain, Chrome built a sound that rejected convention. Electric violin, Moog, guitars, bass, tape machines and a refusal to play by the rules fueled a record that tore into psychedelic punk and rebuilt it in harsher, stranger form. The influence of Can, Jimi Hendrix, Captain Beefheart and The Residents runs deep, but the result feels singular.
Industrial music’s roots echo throughout ‘The Visitation,’ and its strain of space rock carries a jagged edge that still feels volatile. A startling new video for “Return To Zanzibar” underscores that volatility, pairing the track’s restless energy with vivid visuals. The reissue also features liner notes by Chrome historian Neil Martinson, offering deeper context into the album’s creation and legacy.
The CD edition expands the story with a bonus disc collecting two Damon Edge solo albums, 1986’s ‘Grand Visions’ and 1987’s ‘Surreal Rock.’ Together, they showcase the restless imagination that powered Chrome from the beginning.
Tracklisting:
DISC 1
- How Many Years Too Soon?
- Raider
- Return to Zanzibar
- Caroline
- Riding You
- Kinky Lover
- Sun Control
- My Time to Live
- Memory Cords Over The Bay
- Damon Edge 1981 interview [CD ONLY]
DISC 2 [CD ONLY]
- That’s Ok for Me
- In the Light Fields
- Anna
- No Reason to Leave from the Sun
- The Android Stroll
- There’s No Difference for You or Me
- A Grand Vision
- Coming Through for You
- I’m Not a Loner
- You Know My Heart Is True
- I Found Us a Home
- Surreal Real Soon
- We Are Not Dying
- The Sight to Sea