More than four decades after the recordings were first captured, The Cramps are finally releasing Gravest Gravy, a previously shelved album recorded in 1977 with producer Alex Chilton. The long-lost record will arrive on August 21, 2026 through the newly revived Vengeance Records and will be available on vinyl, CD and digital formats.

The release also marks the launch of The Cramps Inc., a new company formed by Poison Ivy Rorschach, In The Red Records founder Larry Hardy and film producer Jimmy Maslon. Henry Rollins and Ian MacKaye are also heavily involved through their RAM Prod. partnership, helping oversee tape restoration, mastering, mixing decisions and archival work connected to the band’s vault recordings.

The material on Gravest Gravy dates back to October 1977, when the original Cramps lineup Lux Interior, Poison Ivy, Bryan Gregory and Nick Knox entered Memphis’ Ardent Studios with Alex Chilton. Those sessions eventually produced the band’s earliest releases, including “Human Fly” and “Surfin’ Bird,” but far more music was recorded than fans ever heard. According to Rollins, Lux and Ivy originally planned to assemble Gravest Gravy in the late 1980s using unreleased recordings from those sessions. The album even had completed artwork by Stephanie Chernikowski, but the project was quietly abandoned for reasons that were never fully explained.

Now, the original tapes have been restored and mastered from seven surviving quarter-inch reels that Rollins said remained in “pristine condition.” The album includes early versions of songs later associated with Psychedelic Jungle, including “Jungle Hop,” “Rockin’ Bones” and “Can’t Find My Mind,” alongside covers like “Hungry,” “Rocket In My Pocket” and “Problem Child.” Several tracks also feature Alex Chilton playing organ. Rollins described the album as “an absolute treasure” and called the recordings “sheer brilliance committed to tape.” More than just another archival release, Gravest Gravy captures The Cramps at their rawest before the band became underground icons, but already sounding completely unlike anyone else in punk or rockabilly.

Gravest Gravy Tracklist

01 TV Set

02 Weekend On Mars

03 Twist & Shout

04 Jungle Hop

05 Can’t Hardly Stand it

06 Hungry

07 The Natives Are Restless

08 Can’t Find My Mind

09 Rockin’ Bones

10 Problem Child

11 Rocket In My Pocket