December 2024 is marked by two unique death metal releases: iconic albums by Eximperitus and Relics of Humanity are reprinted with new sound mastering and exclusive cover designs. The pre-orders caught the interest of stores and death metal fans all over the world thanks to the unique approach to the production which is not limited to the music itself but encompasses visual aesthetics, creative sound mastering, and establishing connections with fans all over the world.
Both albums are produced by Grave Island, an independent death metal label founded by Pavel Lapkouski, which attempts to reimagine the approach to the music production in the death metal scene, and does it successfully.
A veteran music who knows the industry from the inside, Lapkouski played guitar in several brutal death metal bands, contributing to their success prior to finding Grave Island Records. One of the most prominent projects of that period was Relics of Humanity, which performed at an international Berlin Death Fest in 2016 and 2019, as well as at several other international festivals of the death metal scene, such as Meh Suff! Metal Festival 2018 and Carnage Feast in 2015 and 2019 in Switzerland.
Before taking Relics of Humanity to international recognition and success, Pavel’s first project was the band Stickoxydal that he founded in 2003, where he performed in multiple roles, including writing music and lyrics, playing guitar and singing. The band has released several successful albums at the well-known labels such as Bizarre Leprous Production, and toured across CIS countries with multiple concerts.
A project that laid the foundation for further successes by showcasing the multifaceted nature of Pavel’s talent, he has establish his skill as a musician, producer and organizer as well.
In 2018, Pavel Lapkouski founded a deathgrind project called Grimentity, aiming to express his creative interpretation of the genre with a unique sound. The debut album was successfully sold across the world, including US, Australia, Japan and Europe. Since 2020, he has also participated at Ominous Scriptures as the guitar player and the author of the music. Recently, they released an album at Willowtip Records and performed at the international Berlin Death Fest, one of the most renowned and massive festivals in the global death metal scene – further drawing from the memory of these performances as a source of inspiration for his current projects.
He also notes that 2020s can be seen as one of the most productive periods in the four decades of death metal history, with the immense number of new albums released, old bands thriving, and aspiring ones entering the scene. The genre develops and evolves, attracting new audiences, and venturing beyond Europe and the US. However, it often becomes difficult for any new band to find recognition or establish their audience. This is why Pavel made his goal to not only search for new creative ways of making music but also build new connections in the community. He says, “Experiencing firsthand how vast and diverse the scene of the genre is, and how many talented bands are around, naturally, I want to contribute to connecting bands with the listeners.”
He adds that in the modern music industry releasing impressive compositions is often not enough. Ideally, the band should support it with other aesthetic components, such as music videos or other visual content. His record label Grave Island Records aims to do just that, with a unique approach focusing on creating conceptual projects that integrate brutal music with high-quality sound production and deep meaningful lyrics. Pavel founded the label in 2018, using his vast experience of working in the music industry. He developed the concept of the label, its unique style and the production process. The record label focuses on releasing high quality extreme music in an exclusive format, making rare releases available to collectors and death metal fans.
Another issue that impacts the death metal scene is its fragmentation. It is often difficult for local bands to reach fans in other countries, especially if they want to promote not only their digital releases but also vinyl releases, CDs, or merch. Sometimes the issue is exacerbated by geopolitical circumstances, for instance, it becomes difficult for bans from CIS countries to distribute their releases and productions to fans in other countries. To combat this issue, Pavel Lapkouski created a reliable delivery and distribution system, establishing connections with delivery partners all over the world and consequently creating the network that makes fast distribution all over the world possible. On the website of the label, the integrations with major delivery platforms were implemented, accompanied by an automated system to process orders. As a result, each order is thoroughly tracked at all stages, from packaging to the endpoint delivery, while the delays are brought to a minimum and vinyls along with merchandise and other products are delivered at time and in ideal condition.
He says, “It is important to overcome said fragmentation not only in space, across the borders between countries, but also in time. New generations of listeners often do not have access to the iconic releases of the previous years, but they are eager to obtain them when possible.”
So, Grave Island Records puts special effort into re-releasing albums that are rare or forgotten but important for the history of the death metal scene. Lapkouski designs the concept, develops the approach to sound remastering, and designs visual elements, combining this all into a release that makes important albums of the past available for wider audiences, as well as possesses a collectible value.
The approach requires special effort but proved efficient from the start. Pavel mentions that over 70% of the first vinyl print runs by Grave Island Records, were sold at the pre-order stages, attracting interest from extreme metal fans from Australia, the US, Europe, and Asia. These unique vinyl re-releases of such bands as Relics of Humanity and Experimentus with limited editions (300 copies for each release, with over 200 being sold at the pre-order stage) exclusive sound mastering also caught the attention of major stores and distributors, such as Season of Mist (France) and Nuclear Blast Store (Germany). In total, the vinyls released by Grave Island Records have been sold in over 50 countries, reaching extreme metal fans from all over the world. Among vinyl collectors and musicians alike, the record label got recognized as a platform that provides high-quality re-re-releases of iconic albums.
Currently, the approach that became a signature mark of Grave Island Records, started to be adopted by other independent record labels. Several more projects of a similar fashion sprouted up, offering exclusive re-releases with conceptual colorful designs. They become a trend of their own, making the scene more interconnected by making the past releases available for collectors and fans alike.
Pavel Lapkouski adds that anyone who wants to show off their talent in the death metal scene should be ready to work hard and in multiple roles, explaining, “One of the challenges, especially when we just started with the record label, was juggling multiple tasks. I had to stay in control of music production, management, designing visual content, and many more.However, this effort absolutely pays off and becomes part of your path and an inspiration to move forward.”
In the future, Pavel plans to continue both with creating new music as a part of Relics of Humanity or other projects, as well as with developing and growing the Grave Island Records further. He aims to release unique albums interesting to audiences all over the world. In the coming years, he is going to launch several new projects and expand the release distribution into more countries, establishing partnerships with international record labels and artists.
Recently, Pavel also became a member of the International Creative and Art Association (iCAA), which unites professionals from various fields of art and creative industry. The members of the organization represent highest achievement in their creative fields, as they are required to go through a meticulous selection process to join ICAA, which takes into account the candidate's portfolio, their creative achievements and the contribution they can make to the association’s activities. Currently, the board of the ICAA includes prominent artists of various fields, such as UK sculptor Anish Kapoor, Russian pianist Denis Matsuev or Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava. Among the association members there are over a hundred of creative people from all over the world, working to create a community for exchanging experience and creative growth.
With plenty achieved and much more to come, Lapkouski hopes that the approach established by his record label will be further developed by the bands and record labels in the future, bringing even more creativity to the death metal scene.
Connect with Pavel Lapkouski : Instagram
