This one we actually hit pretty quick in terms of the art. I know I wanted to work with Arcano, so I just gave him a little sketch of how i wanted the proportion and a overview of the themes: wanted some heavy religious iconography (you'll see through the gatefold insert, etc) and a color palette.
I thought it was looking SO old-school to have the orange logo, haha. Like just peak crazy over the top logo placement and color. But like, it was in fact getting too "conventional" and i think doing it all to match the guts was a better move. Like, yes, the orange would have been so on the nose and fun but I think people would eventually take it in earnest. Current one is way more spooky and mature!
Ended up with 7 panels of art. Took some time to narrow down which was going to be the cover and even longer to get the guts logo right, haha. As always, huge thanks to LAB.13 for the insane layout! Can't wait for you to see these in hand - there's so much crazy art to look at packed in to these!
06/23/2025
Hello! As promised, yes, there is some new merch for KILLING OF A SACRED DEER! The same Merch Vessel quality you know and love! All of this will be going up on Friday, the 27th at 2:00pm CST (One after hour the record drop).
Shirts are Comfort Colors. Hoodies are some secret sauce (but like, how good are MV hoodies if you've had one before). Flags for the single and album art. Most of it is limited, so be there or be square! Shirts will be up for a week!
06/21/2025
I told you! Killing of the sacred deer is done and should be in my hands middle of this coming week. Hoping to get it out this coming weekend. I got pretty close so stay tuned for more KSD hitting your door!
And remember: Silverback Gorilla Records will have 50 alt cover editions when they arrive, and Meteor Gem will have 50 OBI edition too. If you missed out, please grab one from one of my friends! More on that soon!
Pre-reviews for the day full length go live Friday at 1 Pm CST!
06/20/2025
Its time. I get to do my absolutely favorite thing once again! You get to partake in what I consider to be a cultural moment, and a WV moment here - the return of KILLING OF A SACRED DEER! To me, there is nothing more powerful than the debut LP - especially on the back of an amazing EP. It’s the type of progression that defines all my favorite bands: you do a TIGHT EP, then take a year and distill those ideas and flesh out your sound in to a full length debut album. They’ve done it, and it rocks!
IF you’re a fan of the self titled, I have some great news for you - its that and more! Colter has done the impossible task of maturing the sound, not being comparable to PF, and being still firmly a KOASD record. Its wholly in its own lane and scratches a different itch than a lot of other “revival” deathcore. It leans heavier in to the disjointed song composition that I feel has been largely lost. I think kids don’t want to have to write 15 different riffs per song. KOASD really is embracing true old-school deathcore on this one and you’ll immediately see how different it is than its contemporaries.
I think its really hard to make a full length after a flawless EP, and even more so one that captures the spirit and also elevates it. They’ve managed to take all the elects that made the EP fantastic and flesh them out more on this. Like, it turns out KOASD has a “sound” and its on full display on this one. It doesn’t feel rehashed, but an extension of the times they had on the EP. It’s fully evolved in the sense that it took the old-school flair on the first and full realized it; the individual riffs get shorter and thees MORE. The soundscapes are more spooky. The vocals more dynamic. I don’t think there’s a repeated drum passage on this full thing. Its MySpace (barf) in the purest of terms - no pop metal compositions or gimmicks, just true dynamics and musicianship.
If you weren’t following already, you’ll see that Abrupt Decay has in large joint KOASD as the “live band” and even on this album, had some great moments of collaboration. I can’t stress enough how *unlike* the current landscape of revivalism this record is. It sounds insanely modern, but with old school composition. Its such a specific sound that no one is really indulging in right now. And for those that were curious, yes, it is VASTLY different than PSYCHO-FRAME. Colter sounds like a different guy here, and the instrumentation is more ADHD than PF, haha. It feels like love letter to 2008, rather than a pastiche or an evolution of it.
For this record, the goal was to make an LP of the EP. To explore some new themes through the lens of what has already been done. To just create an impactful debut thats rooted firmly in “IYKYK” status. The thinking man’s deathcore album!
For this one, Colter once again gave me free reign on the art/layout/etc, and man did I have fun with this. I really like how it almost registers as old religious art, but super modern and super gross. I’ve been trying to find a job to work with ARCANO on for awhile, and this just seemed like the perfect fit. We got TONS of panels, and this records has a lot of inserts - you’ll be stoked when you se this win hand and get to look at it all! And of course Kai did maybe his best work yet on this one - layout takes it to another level. Just such a cool presentation on this not to toot my own horn!
This release will also have a lot of accompanying merch, so stay tuned next week for more details on that.
Big thanks again to everyone who was involved with this. Colter, Digital Ghost and Oodelally for the audio. Its been in the works for som long, and I’m excited for you all to see the fruits of everyone labor here!
This one time pressing is presented across 500 copies at drop:
Available Later:
100 Outro (Wax Vessel Handmade) (Band Exclusive)
50 SGR Alt Edition
50 MG OBI Edition
All of this housed in:
1.5x thickness Matte single pocket jackets
Double sided matte full color insert
Black polylined innersleeves
Gold foil numbering
Stuffed into polybags
Hype Sticker’d
Custom WV Mailers
Matching WV Album art sticker
I can’t express how bummed I am that we ALMOST lined this up perfectly, haha. As you can imagine, syncing up a new release with the shipping of a preorder to hit at the same time is like trying to hit a moving target. As much as I hate not having the EP in your hands as this one goes up, rest assured that this only got undershot by maybe 2 weeks. The self-titled is on press currently, and should be shipping to you next week. Definitely in the month of June. I’m calling that a success for all intents and purposes, haha.
I know its crazy to have the EP and full-length overlapping a bit on preorder, but it’ll be shipped before preorders on this one close!
Preorders go live on Friday, June 27th at 1:00pm CST. Merch will go up one hour later at 2:00pm CST. Record are fixed unit, so no open preorder on this one. Merch is open! If for some reason the records all sell out in one second, I will put the band’s live show variant/band variant up later or something. Be there or be square!
06/19/2025
Just a quick little update for tomorrow! KILLING OF A SACRED DEER announcement is tomorrow morning. Preorders go up next Friday the 27th. My goal is to have the last EP completed and shipped by that weekend.
As you can imagine, it’s a crazy moving target to hit. I might be +\- a week on that! The goal was to have the shipping of the self-titled be a lead in to the full length, but who can count for all of the delays and shifts over the course of the year.
In any case. I think KOASD self titled will be in your hands in the next two weeks. Normally I wouldn’t care about giving a shipping update like this, but I do think it is a crazy move to have that pre-order still open while the new one goes up so I just wanted to contextualize that. Thanks for understanding!
06/18/2025
At this point you might have already seen them in your mailbox, but if not! ABRUPT DECAY has fully shipped as of last week! Gotta Groove Records, Inc. and Wax Mage Records did an insane job as usual - so pumped on how toxic these turned out and how every color element on the Lab 13 art redux is represented!
If you missed out or if you are in Canada - the band will have a smattering of copies themselves to sell! I know my shipping is insane for international, so that seemed like a good option if you’re local.
Stay tuned for even more ABRUPT DECAY news in the coming months!
06/17/2025
YOu're about to see a lot of fu**ed up art and a hear a lot of fu**ed up songs! KILLING OF A SACRED DEER is BACK and they once again just let me do whatever i wanted for the art and packaging. I've been trying to work with ARCANO for a minute here, and this seemed like the perfect project. Expect more behind the scenes art stuff in the coming days after announcement on Friday.
Here's a look at the art for the first singe off the new album. Stay tuned for full LP details, art and tracklist reveal and everything else this Friday! It's going to be a monster!
06/16/2025
New single and full length announcement / merch / etc on Friday.
Preorders June 27th along with full album drop
KILLING OF A SACRED DEER is back
Self-Titled EP records shipping next week
06/15/2025
Misericordiam and Abrupt Decay both went out on Friday! Coming soon to a mailbox near you!
It’s honestly shaping up to be double pack weekend every weekend this month. Next week is gonna have some insane news so stay tuned for that as well. Honestly, might be the most exciting summer In WV history!
06/14/2025
Don’t forget! Psycho-Frame is in the middle of their preorder for their debut LP! I know it’s not a WV drop, but think about how lonely your WV EPs will be without a third dusty-art-clad 12” rounding out the set!
I just wanna make sure that PF gets your full attention, as something PF related starts percolating next week!
Release Date: July 25, 2025 TRACK LIST TRACK 1 BLUEPRINTS FOR IDOL GENOCIDETRACK 2 INVERTED SPEAR OF HEAVENTRACK 3 THE PORTALTRACK 4 BLACK_WAVE IITRACK 5 ENDLESS AGONAL DEVOTIONTRACK 6 APOCALYPSE THROUGH LYSERGIC POSSESSIONTRACK 7 I WON'T BE THERE TO WATCH YOU GOTRACK 8 FILLETED AND F**KEDTRACK 9 GO...
06/13/2025
Happy Friday! Lots of big stuff today!
First off, check back in at 1:00pm For Trichomoniasis! These are finishing press, and will be dispatched on the normal insta timeline. Next weekend! I'll have pics and everything next week! I'll only have 250 copies going up, so if you miss out make sure to keep your eye on the Meteor Gem page - he'll have 50 with OBIs!
IN other record news, MISERICORDIAM and ABRUPT DECAY are both shipping today! Check your emails - if you don't have tracking already you'll see it soon! me and him call it us has fully shipped sans hats, which are arriving next week. Those will go out just on a random Tuesday or whatever (same with CK hats).
April Fools finished press yesterday, and will ship with Trich. So that will be another double pack weekend. Merch for April Fools is done as well, so no delays there! Will all ship together!
Lastly, KILLING OF A SACRED DEER and SABELLA are both on press, and are being treated as "one job". So they'll be pressed and shipped together next week. My goal is to have them both shipped out in the month of June still, just because there is some big KOASD news coming next week! Stay tuned! Both of those releases will have alt cover versions through Silverback Gorilla Records if you missed out as well!
As always, thanks for the patience! I know you're going to love Trichomoniasis so please buy a copy so I can justify doing more modern slam and brutal death!
06/12/2025
Just a last little round of reminders!
me and him call it us is fully shipped besides the hats. Every other merch stuff is shipped. We’re fully caught up basically! Once April Fools goes out, we’ll be done! All the AF merch is done so just bear with me!
MISERICORDIAM is getting dropped off Friday. And then expect ABRUPT DECAY pics next week, with those going next Friday. And then Trichomoniasis the week after that! Speaking of, make sure to swing back by tomorrow at 1:00pm CST for Trichomoniasis!
Meteor Gem will have Trich copies. Plus KOASD and SABELLA are on press and will ship this month. Just a huge swath of stuff breaking loose!
And next week will kick off another brand new WV album. Lots of updates coming soon!
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Wax Vessel was founded with the express purpose of creating collectors items. We strive to provide limited run vinyl pressings with no compromise. We will always have the most insane variants, on the highest quality materials. Wax Vessel is built on a few key pillars:
No represses. These are collectors items.
No plain black records.
No unit counts above 300 (and even that’s a stretch for a non-joint release).
No unauthorized presses. We don’t believe in boots, artists should be paid.
No CDs or cassettes.
No profit sharing. I do this because I love the format. Any profit is up to the band. They can donate or pocket it.
All releases are individually foil numbered in gold. Official pressing numbering will be out of 205 units - the base pressing plus the Wax Mage copies. Every order comes with extras in case of mistakes or items lost in shipping, but ‘overrun’ copies will be unnumbered, and not count towards official press numbers. We will track overruns in case anyone wants the “true” press count. All unnumbered copies are above the 205 count, so total pressing runs are 205 + overrun. To keep track:
WV001 - Destroyer Destroyer/The Dead Sleep Like Us For A Reason
200 on ultraclear with green and brown “Dead in the Dirt” splatter.
5 test presses on black.
5 wax mage copies.
OVERRUN: 1 unnumbered wax mage, 14 unnumbered “Dead in the Dirt” splatter.
WV002 - The Heartland/The Stars Outnumber The Dead
100 on red centerburst in natural PVC, with black “Dead Planet” splatter
100 on red with black “Blood Nebula” swirl
15 test presses on black
4 wax mage copies
OVERRUN: 2 unnumbered wax mage, 3 unnumbered “Dead Planet” splatter, 3 unnumbered “Blood Nebula” swirl.
WV003 - Destroyer Destroyer/Littered With Arrows
30 on “Horse-Drawn” green half n’ half split with ultraclear, with natural PVC “Roadkill” splatter
70 on transparent neon green with black “Beaten Path” splatter
100 on “Presidential” natural PVC
5 test presses on black
5 wax mage copies
OVERRUN: 3 unnumbered wax mage, 8 unnumbered split, 9 unnumbered splatter, 13 unnumbered natural PVC.
WV004 - Robinson/The Great City
100 on opaque yellow centerburst swirl, in natural PVC, with red “Rise and Grind” splatter
100 on opaque brown “Great City” swirl
5 test presses on red
3 wax mage copies
OVERRUN: 1 unnumbered wax mage, 7 unnumbered splatter, 12 unnumbered swirl.
WV005 - The Sawtooth Grin/Cuddlemonster
48 on opaque orange centerburst “Cuddlemonster Carnage” swirl, in clearwater blue, with black splatter
50 on clearwater “Shattered Amulet” blue and orange extreme splatter
100 on transparent “Burnt Plastic” mandarin orange with black swirl
5 test presses on black
5 wax mage copies
OVERRUN: 1 unnumbered wax mage, 4 unnumbered mandarin orange swirl, 4 unnumbered splatter.
WV006 - Tower of Rome/Discography
30 on “Vulgar Display of Pinwheel” natural PVC with black center-spike.
70 on “Variants That Aren’t Splatter Gross Me Out To The Max” ulraclear with black and white random shards, with splatter.
100 on “This is a Variant That Looks Like a Ghost” natural PVC
5 test presses on black
5 wax mage copies
OVERRUN: 6 unnumbered wax mage, 4 unnumbered pinwheel, 1 unnumbered splatter, 16 unnumbered natural.
WV007 - Dr. Acula/S.L.O.B.
50 on “How I Got My Splatter Variant” gapless rainbow infinity splatter (comeback show special edition)
170 on light purple “Monster Blood” opaque blue and opaque red swirl (they were having a promotion for extra copies that got automatically added)
5 test presses on black
5 wax mage copies
OVERRUN: 1 unnumbered wax mage, 18 numbered swirl.
WV008 - Dance Club Massacre/Feast of the Blood Monsters
50 on “Murders Come on Wax Mage” blood cobweb
50 on transparent tan with extreme red and black “Dynamite” splatter
100 on “San Antonio” tan, red and black swirl
5 test presses on black
5 wax mage copies
OVERRUN:
WV009 - A Black Rose Burial/An Awakening of Revenants
50 on “Baleful Bouquet” ### mega-merge (this is a public wax mage variant).
50 on “Epidemic” coke-bottle clear with HEAVY red blood-splatter and black inclusions.
100 on “Metallic Awakening” crushed metal flake, metallic (true silver) nebula.
5 test presses on black
5 wax mage copies
OVERRUN:
WV010 - ???/???
30 on something Wax Mage
70 on some ridiculous splatter
100 on something swirled
100 on natural PVC
5 test presses on black
5 wax mage copies
OVERRUN: