Apparently Deathwish Inc. had a few leftover copies of colored vinyl from the original press of Converge's 2004 LP, You Fail Me. 101 copies to be exact, some bloody red with a bold black stripe, and some of the stunning clear and white cross design. Much to collector's delight, Jacob Bannon decided to create a multi-colored silkscreened cover on heavy card stock, with Deathwish stamps on the inner sleeves. Did I need another copy of this record? Probably not, but this recent Bannon creation is beautiful.
Cue the "Bannon is playing you" and "it's a scam to swindle more money off stupid kids" comments. $25 including shipping was pretty steep for a single LP, but considering people will shortly be committing hari-kari over the upcoming eBay flipping prices, it's not going to ruin my day. Also, considering his prints usually sell for around $40 really snaps this into perspective. Sure, he probably just screwed up people's "complete" collections, and upset some lunatic, avid fans who weren't there during the 20 minutes or so it took to sell out, but thus is the nature of anything he places his mark on. With people clamoring over nearly every print or silkscreen he designs, it feels like Bannon could screen the Jane Doe image on a pair of maracas and it would still sell out in a half hour.
Anyway, enough internet controversy and back to the layout of this silkscreened beast. The brown card stock is thick, but still pliable enough to fold out to view the screen in full. Similar to the labels adorning each side of the LP, the snake design sprawls out in a hypnotic spiral-like shape, with the red, white, and black reptiles slithering out across the cover. The vinyl is as crisp as ever, with hints of gray blending in between the clear and white shapes, forming a brilliant cross in the wax. Finished off with a hand stamped Deathwish Inc. logo in black on the inside, and this is the most gorgeous copy of You Fail Me around. A tip of the cap to Bannon on another impressive job while putting a new spin on a fantastic record that's somehow already over six years old now. More pictures are below for viewing enjoyment or displeasure, take your pick.
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