What was your internet experience like? What was the deathcore band that defined the underground scene for you? If you were to ask 100 people to make a list of the best breakdownvideo-core deathcore bands of all time, without a doubt these guy would be on most. I'm THRILLED to announce that the grand crescendo to cap off the the underground deathcore WV experience is none other than The Yellow Sign! Ah!
This release encompasses so much of what I love doing with WV. It's a band that has never had a vinyl release - who's CDs are almost mythic scene collectibles. GO to any collector group, and it's a feeding frenzy if someone has a copy of Swamp or Ancient. TYS are truly one of those mysterious deathcore legends who's discography has remained legendary after all these years.
I remember the first time I heard SWAMP (it was probably on 15 BUTTHOLE CLENCHING BREAKDOWNS VOLUME 5 xxxBASS BOOSTEDxxx) I was absolutely blown away. it's that deep gurgle on the vocals - just that crazy range. It's truly "brutal" deathcore. THose buzzsaw guitars, the shrieks, the explosive drums and the NOODLE factor. No one makes deathcore like the myspace era, and i think this is one of the better examples of what a social-media-platform-as-a-genre can be.
While swamp is raw and aggressive (i wouldn't say unrefined; it's completely appropriate for the time) Ancient came back swinging with some modern production, some riffs and grooves, and a bit more polish on the vocals. You really start to get that 2009 feel on Ancient with the molotov-esque vocals, layered guitars and "sustained notes over riffs" type of songwriting. It's truly 2008-2010 deathcore sound exemplified. I would say this is the release where they got a bit more "progressive" while still retaining a lot of the same energy on Swamp.
If Swamp is the ghost of MySpace past, Post-Oblivion is the ghost of deathcore future. They released this monster in 2011 right as everytign was turning to djent, and i think TYS' ability to change their sound with the times and styles is more apparent here than on any other work. It's more melodic/djenty (kind of) with a ton of polish. It's way more structured, the drums are machine guns, and the vocals are way more matured. It's ethereal while still having insane breakdowns. It's really kind of growing in to the modern deathcore "sound" (love it or hate it).
While a part of me would have been happy to just release Swamp, i think from an historical perspective it's important to have the full discography. I think watching a band from that era evolve in front of your eyes over the course of this huge 2xLP set is just so fun. It immediately brings you back, and if you're a deathcore fan, then transports you back to current year. It's a love letter to the "golden years" of deathcore, and represents all the evolution and progression within the genre in one band's body of work. It's really a ton of fun to sit and listen though!
The nice part about this project is that i think the story is being told exactly as the band wants it to be. Every aspect of this release was handled by the band. From the expansive custom gatefold art by Michael Bielenda, to the track order and album progressions - even the audio mastering! The entire package is just TYS incarnate. It's deliberate, and i feel like a great representation of what the band wants to see as far as releasing this discography on vinyl..
Necromantic Rites is the culmination of almost a year of collaboration and effort between the band and me. Normally i wouldn't hand over all the creative control in this way, but Michael really had a vision for it, and i think we were able to really hit that with this here! I think it’s a super modern repackaging and presentation of a truly stellar discography, and I know you’re really going to love what he’s created here!
I’m absolutely so excited to show you all the audio and illustrations that make up this release. It’s been truly so much fun to work with Michael on this, and I know all you die-hards are going to really enjoy having another physical piece of TYS material! It’s exhaustive and totally encompassing. It’s really going to be cool.
50 A Sig Called Father Oblivion (Wax Vessel Signature)
50 Burning Star (Wax Vessel Signature)
50 Dead But Still Dreaming (Wax Vessel Signature)
50 Putrid Black Soil
100 Swamp Splatter
All of this housed in:
1.5x thickness matte gatefold jackets
Double sided matte full color insert
Black polylined innersleeves
Gold foil numbering
Stuffed into polybags
Preorders go up Friday, April 30th at 1:00pm CST. These will ship Q1 of 2022 (worst case).
