The Blood of Thine Enemies

In modern hardcore circles, where labels are constantly being judged on their output, reliability and general effort; I think it's time we give a big hand to Deathwishinc.
Jacob Bannon and co. just seem to have this thing nailed down to a tee, and today i'm going to talk about a stand alone piece from the Deathwish vault; damn this record is so cool...

J. Bannon's The Blood of Thine Enemies came out sometime in 2008 I believe as a predecessor to the Wear Your Wounds project; of which physical material surfaced last year. Anything that Jacob Bannon puts his hand to tends to be nothing short of genius, and here nothing changes. Although most fondly heralded for his work in Converge, this 7'' is more reminiscent of his work with Supermachiner and Wear Your Wounds. This particular track is 6 minutes of bleak noise, definitely an emotional affair, if not a little creepy. Either way it's well worth the time of day, it's fantastic. But less of my opinion, more on the record itself:

First things first; before you even get into the record you want it. Jacob Bannon offering a masterclass here in how to make the most of your packaging. Both sides of the jacket are screened, and no detail is spared. Even the spines are printed; and the artwork is fantastic as always. 

The record is housed in this Arigato style packaging, further allowing the aesthetics of the record to take over. And again, more screened art on the inside of the fold. At this point it's worth mentioning that this song/ project was a stand alone solo deal outside of any other Jacob Bannon related project and this track only appeared here. This release was certainly a special one, and although not particularly limited; it sold out and to my knowledge it hasn't been repressed either. Also, as you can see; I ended up with the 'Bone' variant. Pressing info was as follows: Black-200/Bone-600/Silver-600/Gold-600. I like the fact that this came without a label, it just wouldn't have looked right. So, 6 minute single-sided 7-inch; what's going on with the other side? Well...

Possibly the most intricate and impressive etching to appear on a 7''. Again, this kind of thing just attests to how great a label Deathwish really is. Relentlessly releasing great music; and combining that music with a visual package to complete the experience. For those with good eyes/ better zoom, the lyrics are etched here, along with the cover art. All of the variants came with this etching, and all came in this packaging. I scored mine long after it sold out (cheers Darren!), and at 2000 available there should be no reason why this isn't in your collection. Musically, although a little left field of the typical Deathwish roster, it's still great. With packaging and design from the one and only Jacob Bannon too, there's plenty that makes this a desirable record. I love it; I love the whole idea behind it. May Deathwish carry on to treat us like this. 

Thanks for reading, cheers!