The label derived its name from the book The Third Mind, a work compiled by Beat Generation author William S. Burroughs and artist Brion Gysin using the cut-up technique.

[2] During that time Levermore started contacting bands he had discovered through diverse media and on concerts which would finally be featured in Tone Death.

[4] Sending promo copies to some shops and getting a five star review in Sounds magazine led to a great number of order requests.

[3] Due to "policy differences" Third Mind and Play It Again Sam terminated their partnership[3] and in 1992 Levermore moved on to partner with American metal label Roadrunner Records.

Johnson had already thought about starting a label by himself and "when Gary told me he wouldn’t be operating FD after this second release, it just made sense for me to continue with the name.