Records With History And Future

The first pressing of the Trapped Under Ice Stay Cold ep consists out of an accepted test pressing and 3 variations of records:

First we have the test pressing which is numbered out of 15 on the blank A-label and stamped on the B-side. And Reaper Records made covers based on New York’s Breakdown for the test pressings.

Then we have the record release, which I don’t have but I know how it looks: it has the same artwork as the regular pressings of the ep but then printed in gray scale. The colour of the vinyl is regular solid blue. 50 copies exist and are hand numbered.

The pre-order has special artwork and a special -unique to this version- vinyl colour. You can see it in the middle of the picture below. This one consists out of 227 copies.

The first press ends with the regular version that was available in distro’s. Standard cover and solid blue vinyl. Counts 750 records and were sealed. These copies were sold out before the release date of the record.

So immediately a second pressing was done, this time with standard cover and white vinyl consisting out of 1000 records that came sealed:

Then continuously came another pressing of unknown quantities on clear vinyl.

Up to the second pressing all the records had the same live show label on the B-side:

This changed with the this third pressing where the live shot label was replaced by the head:

Up to now the record is still in press and the latest pressing is the fourth pressing that features three variations:

The most limited is the left; clear light blue with white splatter and not sealed. Only 200 pieces exist, which makes it the rarest colourway. Not the rarest version because covers matter too in differing records.

Then we have the black vinyl with the black and white Dan Higgs cover. Which is a second sleeve over the standard sleeve. You can see it in the picture above in the middle. Only 350 exist.

Finally the most common one of the latest pressing, the clear light blue. Also not sealed (800 copies).

Although the sleeve with the Dan Higgs artwork differs this record from the other, there is another difference that isn’t that noticeable. The cardboard of the standard sleeve is glossy while the two other versions (left and right) have mat cardboard. I pictured them in such a way that you can see this difference if you look closely.

Amazing how the label Reaper Records always succeeds in making every pressing new and interesting. Thumbs up.

PS: This post is based on the Reaper Records discography page and my own observations and experiences. And there is an inconsistency, namely that the fourth press is actually the fifth press there. While in the Reaper web store it is called fourth press. And that I never saw record-variations besides these. So I think it could be a mistake.