To All My Friends, Blood Makes The Blade Holy

"To All My Friends, Blood Makes The Blade Holy" on vinyl for the first time ever, 2xLP with all new artwork and packaging designed and illustrated by Dave Quiggle! Similar to their now-legendary Lucy Ford release, Atmosphere had originally conceived To All My Friends, Blood Makes The Blade Holy as two separate EP's (To All My Friends and, of course, Blood Makes The Blade Holy). Much like Lucy Ford, the desire to simplify the concept for the sake of tour merchandising and retail distribution led them to join the two EP's together, packaged onto one CD. However, unlike Lucy Ford, neither of these individual EP's were ever made available for purchase on vinyl _ though the most attuned fan would point out there was a very limited pressing of the To All My Friends EP tucked inside the first deluxe print edition of photographer Dan Monick's photo essay book, 7 Years With Atmosphere, but that vinyl was never sold separately, much less granted packaging or artwork. Another likeness this release shared with Lucy Ford was that these two EP's worked so well together, one would never guess they weren't conceived as one cohesive project_and a powerful one at that. While it was never touted as an "album" (sales and marketing channels were explicitly informed this was intended to be a tour CD only, "but we love our retail friends too"), the caliber of music on this release stands with anything else from Atmosphere's catalog. Hard-hitting tracks like "Until The Nipples Gone" and "The Loser Wins" brought a commanding energy to the project, as well as their live performances, while "The Best Day", one of the most popular songs from Atmosphere's entire catalog with its honest and upbeat message of humility, was also featured on this release. As much as they may have underplayed the initial release, it's hard to overstate the relevance of this project or the staying power these songs have had...