On visits to his incarcerated friend, Golden Dawn guitarist George Kinney collected Erickson's lyrics, often smuggling them out in bits, and published them as a book called Openers in April 1972.

This first edition was full of references to love, peace, God, and totems of Christian mysticism that Kinney hoped he could use as evidence that Erickson was fit for release and able to pursue gainful employment as a poet.

Wanting to distance himself from his hippie-era associations, Erickson turned to his fandom for B-movies as source material and dubbed his new music horror rock.

He assembled a band with the help of electric autoharpist and Elevators fan Billy Miller, naming the group "Blieb Alien" from the pairing of an anagram for "Bible" with Erickson's claim that he was from outer space.

The set debuted Erickson's horror rock songs "Red Temple Prayer (Two Headed Dog)," "The Wind And More" and "Stand For The Fire Demon," among others.

"[4] While the single's B-side, the Buddy Holly-inspired "Starry Eyes", enjoyed airplay on local country music stations, Rolling Stone's review of the record paired its A-side with the Sex Pistols' "Anarchy in the U.K." to define the emerging punk rock subgenre.

"[5] At this time, Craig Luckin became Erickson's manager, bringing in a new rhythm section and co-publishing the songs that would make up The Evil One through his company Orb Productions.

[6] Various Aliens lineups featuring Aslaksen on lead guitar and Miller on autoharp continued to record demos, copies of which traded hands around North America and Europe.

[7] "Bermuda" and "The Interpreter," two songs that would feature on Roky Erickson's LP Don't Slander Me a decade later, were recorded in 1976 and released on both sides of the Atlantic by a handful of labels in 1977.

Another session from 1976 was picked up by French journalist Philippe Garnier of Rock & Folk magazine for a release on his short-lived Sponge Records label.

In addition to Aslaksen and Miller, Cook and Luckin brought in Moby Grape drummer John "Fuzzy Furioso" Oxendine, bassist Steven Morgan Burgess, and Motown keyboardist Andre Lewis.

The band recorded basic tracks and overdubs in a Marin County studio called The Church interspersed with rehearsals at Cook's Cosmo's Factory warehouse.

[8] Over the course of the month, Erickson's mental health began to deteriorate, often exacerbated by drug use, and his ability to sing, play guitar, and cooperate in recording became unreliable.

Flying to Texas in April 1979 with the unfinished 16-track reels, Cook and Luckin took turns signing Erickson out of the hospital on day passes and brought him to Austin's Hound Sound studio so that he could complete his vocal tracks.

[12] In the US, CD reissues through Restless Records and other labels stuck with The Evil One as the album's title and included all 15 tracks from the 1979 Stu Cook session.

In addition to interview clips and listener phone calls with Erickson talking about music and horror films, the Modern Humans disc features many of The Aliens' earlier demo recordings of songs from The Evil One..[14] Many of The Evil One's songs, such as "White Faces" and "The Wind and More", evoke Erickson's fandom of vintage horror movies in general,[15] while others refer to specific films.

[2] Other song titles were lifted from different media: "Night of the Vampire" is a slowed down and lyricized reimagining of The Moontrekkers' 1961 instrumental hit of the same name, produced by Erickson's hero Joe Meek.

[16] More obtusely, the song "Sputnik" aligns its name with Erickson's quasi-acronymical subtitle, "Spelling Your Theory, Alien I Creator," along with the Soviet Union's first man-made satellite.

[17] In the same Modern Humans interview, Erickson explained his impetus for writing "Two Headed Dog," saying, "I found this article about this little girl who'd been nailed to a cross by her father.

Austin American-Statesman music writer Joe Nick Patoski sat in on one sessions at Hound Sound in April of 1979 and praised what he heard.

[9] Erickson and his handlers made numerous radio appearances and offered listeners snippets of the album through demo tapes that were also trading hands amongst fans and the press.

Closer to home, Dallas-based disc jockey George Gimarc hailed the UK edition as an "album of swamp-riddled songs" while praising CBS's two Aliens singles with their non-album B-sides as well.

"[19] Austin Chronicle writer Scott Schinder called Erickson's 1980s albums, released after his half-decade involuntary stay in a Texas psychiatric hospital, "the clearest glimpse into his raging musical soul."

"[20] Tony Bennett of the Duluth News Tribune noted that Erickson's personal troubles did not diminish the passion and intensity of his music, saying that "while his songs are unusual, indeed, the man could sing like a banshee.

"[26] On its website, Trouser Press sorts out the particulars of the album's various additions, saying, "The Evil One ... takes five tracks from the UK release (overlooking the awesome 'Two-Headed Dog') and adds five more, including the ghastly (that's good) 'Bloody Hammer.'

"[27] Rolling Stone writer Hank Shteamer called the album "soulful and assured," noting that Erickson seemed fully at home even on the darkest material.

singled out The Evil One as perhaps Erickson's most influential album, calling it "an important precursor to the psychobilly and horror metal genres" for its "strange, cinematic approach to psychedelia."

Aslaksen acted as producer on the 1977 session that yielded these version of "Cold Night for Alligators," "White Faces," "Bloody Hammer" and "Sputnik.

[33] Los Angeles punk denizen Jeff Dahl covered "Two Headed Dog" on his band's 1989 album Scratch Up Sonic Action.

[35] In mentions hearing "Don't Shake Me Lucifer" on the radio and then seeing Erickson play "Bloody Hammer," and "Two Headed Dog" at a concert backed by fellow Austin band True Believers.