The Human Beast - Volume One The Human Beast

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.