I don’t know about you, but I’m still in that hereisaropegoodluck state of mind! Arguably one of the best new releases this year, and what if I told you that wasn’t the end of it? That there was a proto-rope. A precursor that featured the same core building block of rope, but released almost 20 years earlier? More Debello worship on WV? More Carrroll and Cole? More fucked up art and insane tunes?? Look no further than PLAGUES! It’s here and its in hand! I originally thoughthis was goin to line up a bit closer to HIARGL, but better late than never! Woohoo!
Sludgy, dissonant hardcore inspired grind. Almost an industrial, droning quality. Just insane low end register with this staccato vocals that just float above just a wall of noise. It’s got a very emotive quality, and these like, actual breakdowns - but all of that is just in the background to these dissonant guitars and tripletulating drums. I wouldn’t call this album bouncy, but it really does have a lot of groove. It’s hard to pinpoint the exact style they were going for here - I don’t know if I told you but this came out in 2005??? Like what the fuck were these guys doing in 2005 lmao. It’s got this almost strained, almost industrial quality to it. Hard to pigeonhole, but its got the chugs of its early 2000s brethren, but feels so much more forward-thinking. I don’t know man, it’s got this serious quality that I really enjoy. Just listen to it!
Speaking of indulgences, I’ve been dying to show someone this art since it was finished back in 2023. Honestly one of my favorite ones every and you’ll be seeing a lot more of Davide Rankore! The OG cover was so captivating in how much it *didn’t* show, so I really wanted to go the other direction and do some hyper detail. Just a mess of texture on this, and Kai at Lab.13 really wen the extra mile on the layout - so many cool little flourishes and details as you open up the packaging on this. One of the best layouts this year! Ah! It rocks so hard!
Audio was once again handled by Zach at Third Eye. Not that you have a crazy point of reference, BUT if for some reason you’ve been spinning this album for the past 20 years, I think you’ll notice some BIG changes, haha.
This one-time pressing is limited to 300 copies across 5 variants:
50 Stammer (Wax Vessel Signature)
50 Gravecrusher (Wax Vessel Signature)
50 Endorphin (Wax Vessel Signature)
50 Sig of the Morbid (Wax Vessel Signature)
50 Total Dissonance Worship Edition (Handmade)
50 Meteor Gem Edition (Handmade)
All of this housed in:
1.5x thickness Matte single pocket jackets
Double sided, gatefold matte full color insert
Black polylined innersleeves
Gold foil numbering
Stuffed into polybags
Hype Sticker’d
Custom WV Mailers
Matching WV Album art sticker
These records are IN HAND and will be shipping over the next couple weeks!