2020 Death Metal Shirt

 
After a brief hiatus, we got "the band" back together to bring you our latest death metal tee. Inspired by our metal-loving founder Bill Pollock, inked by our illustrious illustrator-of-gore Rick Reese, and emblazoned on black cotton crewnecks by legendary screen-printer Babylon Burning, it rocks.
 
material: cotton blend
color: black
 
Here's a bit more about our 2020 Death Metal Tee:
 
THE ARTIST
Rick Reese
 
Wear one of our intricate “death metal” logo designs, and be prepared for people to stop you in the street to ask about the band on your shirt. That’s no accident. The artist is Rick Reese, a well-known West Coast freelance illustrator who counts among his biggest influences “Pushead,” famous for his skateboard graphics in the '80s, as well as doing artwork for bands like the Misfits, Metallica and Kool Keith. Reese works with bands himself these days, but his collaboration with No Starch Press marks the first time he's done album-cover-style designs for a book publisher – an artistic juxtaposition he thinks "adds to the shirt's appeal."
 
THE SHIRT MAKER
Next Level Apparel
 
The same painstaking attention to detail that goes into the making of our books goes into the making of our merch. We sampled nearly two dozen shirts before we landed on Next Level Apparel’s premium ringspun cotton crew.
 
Not only do these tees look good and feel good, they come from a good company. That’s important to us, too. Next Level Apparel is known for its emphasis on social responsibility (aka sustainable and ethical business practices). They’re committed to ensuring fair labor practices, humane supply-chain conditions, and responsible sourcing, and reducing fabric waste (which they've done by 1.5 million pounds in recent years). Put it simply, there's a lot to love about this tee – even before we make it our own.
 
THE SCREEN PRINTER
Babylon Burning
 
Since its humble beginnings out of a Bernal Heights utility room in 1976, to today’s roomy industrial space (and attached art gallery) in SoMa, Babylon Burning has become an ink-stained institution in San Francisco. As the city’s oldest screen printer, they've survived bubbles, busts, recessions, earthquakes, and major social changes. But one thing that’s stayed the same is the printing process itself, which is still done almost completely manually.
 
Screen printing is a method of printing graphics on a T-shirt that lays thick inks over a mesh screen imprinted with the design, ensuring absolute precision. Sure, there are quicker ways to get a graphic on a shirt, but nothing looks better than an old-school screen print.