Enter: The Conquering Chicken was The Gits

The Gits

The Gits were an American punk rock band, formed in Yellow Springs, Ohio in 1986. Known for their part in the burgeoning Seattle music scene of the early 1990s, their distinct punk rock sound gained a reputation for its bluesy street punk aesthetic...

' second full-length album, recorded in 1993 and released posthumously in 1994 on C/Z Records

C/Z Records

C/Z Records is a Seattle-based record label that was established in early 1985 by Chris Hanzsek and Tina Casale with the release of the now-legendary, Deep Six LP, which collected the earliest recordings of the real pro-genitors of what later came to be known as grunge...

. Lead singer and songwriter Mia Zapata

Mia Zapata

Mia Katherine Zapata was the lead singer for the Seattle punk band The Gits.-Life and career:Zapata was born and raised in Louisville, Kentucky...

 was raped and strangled to death in July, 1993 during production of this record. The remainder of the band completed the album with what they had finished so far and disbanded shortly thereafter.

Enter: The Conquering Chicken shows Mia Zapata pushing the blues

Blues

Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...

 influences that informed her vocal style to the forefront more directly than on Frenching the Bully

Frenching the Bully

Frenching The Bully is the debut album by Seattle punk rock band The Gits. It was originally released as a 12-track album on C/Z Records in 1992 but was later reissued in 2003 with bonus tracks and different cover art on the Broken Rekids label....

, with songs like "A Change Is Gonna Come

A Change Is Gonna Come (song)

"A Change Is Gonna Come" is a 1964 single by R&B singer-songwriter Sam Cooke, written and first recorded in 1963 and released under the RCA Victor label shortly after his death in late 1964. Though only a modest hit for Cooke in comparison with his previous singles, the song came to exemplify the...

" (a recontextualized cover of soul

Soul music

Soul music is a music genre originating in the United States combining elements of gospel music and rhythm and blues. According to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, soul is "music that arose out of the black experience in America through the transmutation of gospel and rhythm & blues into a form of...

 singer Sam Cooke

Sam Cooke

Samuel Cook, , better known under the stage name Sam Cooke, was an American gospel, R&B, soul, and pop singer, songwriter, and entrepreneur. He is considered to be one of the pioneers and founders of soul music. He is commonly known as the King of Soul for his distinctive vocal abilities and...

's original) and "Precious Blood." The band also arguably furthers their hardcore

Hardcore punk

Hardcore punk is an underground music genre that originated in the late 1970s, following the mainstream success of punk rock. Hardcore is generally faster, thicker, and heavier than earlier punk rock. The origin of the term "hardcore punk" is uncertain. The Vancouver-based band D.O.A...

 influences with songs like "Sign of the Crab", "Spear & Magic Helmet" and "Drunks" being explicit examples.

This record was later reissued in 2003 along with bonus tracks and different cover art on the Broken Rekids label.

The song "Sign of the Crab" was written by lead singer Mia Zapata running the scenario of her being murdered at the hands of a stranger, ironically just two months before she was killed. The lyric "...go ahead and slash me up/'Cause you know you're the one that won't be found..." is also chillingly similar to what would later happen to Zapata, as the case would be cold for over a decade before her murderer was found.

Track listing

1. "Bob (Cousin O.)" – 3:04
2. "Guilt Within Your Head" – 2:26
3. "Seaweed" – 2:23
4. "A Change Is Gonna Come" – 4:03
5. "Precious Blood" – 3:46
6. "Beauty of the Rose" – 2:36
7. "Drunks" – 1:37
8. "Italian Song" – 2:07
9. "Social Love I" – 2:39
10. "Social Love II" – 1:51
11. "Spear & Magic Helmet
    Spear & Magic Helmet
    Spear & Magic Helmet was the third and final single by the American punk rock band The Gits. The record was released on 7" vinyl only by the Seattle based Empty Records. Included in the tracklisting were versions of "Spear & Magic Helmet" and "While You're Twisting, I'm Still Breathing". Both...
    
    " – 2:43
12. "Drinking Song" – 2:55
13. "Sign of the Crab" – 2:33

Reissue track listing

1. "Bob (Cousin O.)" – 3:03
2. "Guilt Within Your Head" – 2:25
3. "Seaweed" – 2:25
4. "A Change Is Gonna Come" – 4:02
5. "Precious Blood" – 3:45
6. "Beauty of the Rose" – 2:36
7. "Drunks" – 1:37
8. "Italian Song" – 2:07
9. "Social Love I" – 2:39
10. "Social Love II" – 1:50
11. "Daily Bread" – 4:33
12. "Sign of the Crab" – 2:34
13. "Drinking Song" – 2:55
14. "I'm Lou" – 1:55
15. "New Fast One" – 2:00
16. "Sign Of The Crab (Live)" – 2:46
17. "Seaweed (Live)" – 2:29
18. "Beauty Of The Rose (Live)" – 2:44
19. "Whirlwind (Live)" – 2:59
20. "New Fast One (Live)" – 2:01
21. "Bob (Cousin O.) (Live)" – 3:07
22. "A Change Is Gonna Come (Alternate Take)" - 4:13
    • Live tracks recorded at the X-Ray Cafe, Portland, Oregon
      Portland, Oregon
      Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
      
      in June 1993.