Season To Risk reissue In A Perfect World + 2025 Tour Dates
In 1994, Season to Risk had been on tour for the past four years, playing as a young opening band on legendary shows with Killdozer, Unsane, Neurosis, Prong, and Killing Joke. Their first album had sold well, with songs charting on radio and getting music video airtime on MTV and Canada’s Much Music. There was an opportunity to take advantage of the popular wave of alt rock and nu metal dominating the airwaves. Being signed unexpectedly to major label Columbia Records put them in the position that they had amazing support as artists, but also someone to answer to, and the machine must be fed.
Season to Risk decided instead to work with Martin Bisi (producer of Sonic Youth, Foetus, Swans, Cop Shoot Cop) and use their major label money to deliver a punishing post-hardcore masterpiece of crushing noise rock. Coming from the first wave post-hardcore bands, Season To Risk have only gotten weirder over the years. “The experience of living with Martin Bisi for an entire summer while making this record was an opportunity of a lifetime” – reflects Season To Risk singer Steve Tulipana. Over the course of the past 30 years, some of the songs off In A Perfect World became mainstays in live shows.
“We’re hoping to bring back a few gems that we haven’t done in quite some time, maybe ‘Terrain Vague,’ ‘Absolution,’ or ‘Vertical Drive.’ Bisi, not only a true musical mastermind but also a prolific noise rock historian, brought knowledge to the band putting together what would become one of the ’90s cult classics.
Season To Risk 2025 US Tour Dates w/ Sisters:
11/28/25: Kansas City, MO @Record Bar
11/29/25: Denver, CO @7th circle
11/30/25: Albuquerque, NM @Sister
12/1/25: Tucson, AZ @Club Congress
12/2/25: San Diego, CA @Soda Bar
12/3/25: Los Angeles, CA @Lodge Room
12/4/25: San Francisco, CA @Bottom Of The Hill
12/5/25: Portland, OR @High Water Mark
12/6/25: Seattle, WA @Substation
This is the first appearance of the Paul Malinowski and Jason Gerken rhythm section, who both went on to join Shiner, also from Kansas City. Exploring a darker and more mysterious realm, singer Steve Tulipana mood swings between distorted screams and whispered dreams. Guitarist Duane Trower plays melodies with harmonics and feedback as much as standard guitar, usually favoring more dissonant almost-jazz chords. Discussing the recording process, Duane notices: “Bisi’s studio, which was previously a civil war munitions warehouse back in the day, was a welcome cacophonic room that helped shaped the sound. As was the wool clad ghost that we saw, helping us put the finishing touches and mood of this record.”
Martin Bisi’s gigantic subterranean studio allowed their more-industrial-than-metal vision to be realized. The band lived in New York City for the Summer of 1994 creating this record, before Gerken had to return to the midwest for Molly McGuire. Artist Derek Hess was hired for the iconic dystopian artwork, a longtime friend who had booked and made posters for many shows in Cleveland. The band recruited a new full-time drummer David Silver and began touring the music of In A Perfect World for the last months of 1994.
Now remastered by Duane Trower (Weights & Measures Soundlab), this reissue gains new clarity without losing its raw urgency. The package includes:
- 12” x 12” handwritten lyric insert
- new line drawings by Derek Hess
- remastered audio and reworked artwork
Limited edition of 1,500 copies is set for a Record Store Day November 2025. Get more information on Spartan Records here.
