OAKEN THRONE 6 NOW AVAILABLE!

[JMincemoyer]

After months of impatient waiting, Oaken Throne 6 is finally available for wholesale ordering. Oaken Throne 6 is without a doubt our biggest and finest issue yet, with a massive 96 page count.

To see Oaken Throne 6, click here: http://www.benwestdesign.net/Proofs/ot6.jpg and here: http://www.benwestdesign.net/Proofs/spine.jpg

The 13 bands profiled are: Akitsa, Aluk Todolo, Avsky, Dead Raven Choir, Dialing In, Gnaw Their Tongues, Immolation, IXXI, Lugubrum, Necros Christos, Necrovation, Throneum, and Vargr, plus 7 1/2 pages of reviews.

Oaken Throne 6 is filled with exclusive illustrations by Metal's finest artists, our cover being drawn by David Vincent D'Andrea, with additional illustrations by Justin Bartlett, Chris Parry, Jeff Smack, Scott Langlais, Adam Watson, and photography by Ben West. To see pages 48 and 49 (Justin Bartlett's Dead Raven Choir illustration) click here: http://www.benwestdesign.net/Proofs/drc_spread.jpg

Like OT5, Oaken Throne 6 is accompanied by a professionally printed and mastered compact disc, containing a previously released track by each artist profiled (although the Nordvargr track is thus far exclusive). The cd is inserted into a pro-printed cardboard sleeve (with artwork by Marek Colek), and the zine and cd are inserted into a resealable polypropylene bag. OT6 is printed to the same unique 7x7 inch format as the previous three issues, its cardstock covers the same silver-on-black as has become the Oaken Throne trademark.

Unfortunately, even as print publications struggle during these difficult economic times, the cost of producing those print publications has increased. To that end, the wholesale (5 copies or more) cost of Oaken Throne 6 has increased to $6 per issue. I profusely apologize in advance for this exorbidant cost, but I honestly believe that even at this price, Oaken Throne 6 is a worthy purchase.

Additionally, after years of requests, two different Oaken Throne Tshirts have been printed in limited quantities.>Design 1 is the cover artwork from Oaken Throne 6, drawn by David Vincent D'Andrea. (to view this shirt, click here: http://www.benwestdesign.net/Proofs/crest_shirt.jpg )

• Printed on Army Green American Apparel 100% cotton Tshirts, 75 available in Men's Large and 25 in Men's Medium.>Design 2 is one of Chris Parry's MOSS illustrations from Oaken Throne 4 (to view this shirt, click here: http://www.benwestdesign.net/Proofs/skull_shirt.jpg )

• Printed on Asphalt Gray American Apparel 100% cotton Tshirts, 75 available in Men's Large and 25 available in Men's Medium. Shirts are $12 each, plus shipping, which will by other items in your order. I'm glad to sell individual shirts, add $2 for First Class shipping Domestic, $6.45 for First Class shipping International.

Remaining copies of Oaken Throne 5 and Oaken Throne 4 are still available (although I'm down to my last boxes, and expect to sell out quickly). Pricing for all three available issues is as follows:>>Wholesale prices of zines (in quantities of 5 or more. Additional costs are applied for fewer than 5 copies purchase, contact Ben West with questions.

5 copies of OT6= $30 + shipping ($6 each, includes sleeved cd, packaged in resealable polypropylene bag)>5 copies of OT5= $22.50+ shipping ($4.50 each, includes sleeved cd, packaged in resealable polypropylene bag)>5 copies of OT4= $17.50 ($3.50 each, this issue does not come with a cd, and is not packaged in bag)

*If paying by paypal, I ask your permission to add half the paypal fee to your invoice. Paypal is a convenience for both buyer and seller, and I believe the fee should be split evenly between the two.

Paypal can be sent to ben@benwestdesign.net. It's a good idea to touch base with me in advance if ordering shirts of back issues.

I am not eager to trade at the moment, aside from the trades already established with advertisers. I may be open to select trades in the future.

Quantities of 5, Domestic (mix-and-match between issues to make 5 copies is fine, simply add wholesale cost to postage) 5 OT6: $30 Weight: 2.5 lbs Priority Mail® Flat-Rate Envelope: $4.80 (2 days) - please note, the flat rate envelopes are not very sturdy, zines may arrive dinged or with bent corners.
Total: $34.80 (plus .70 cents paypal fee, if applicable)

5 OT5: $22.50 (wholesale $4.50 per issue, including cd)>Weight: 2.25 lbs>Priority Mail® Flat-Rate Envelope: $4.80 (2 days) -please note, the flat rate envelopes are not very sturdy, zines may arrive dinged or with bent corners.
Total: $27.30 (plus .55 cents paypal fee, if applicable)

5 OT4: $17.50 (wholesale $3.50 per issue, no cd with this issue) Weight: 1.75 lbs>Priority Mail® Flat-Rate Envelope: $4.80 (2 days) -please note, the flat rate envelopes are not very sturdy, zines may arrive dinged or with bent corners.
Total: $22.30 ((plus .50 cents paypal fee, if applicable)

Quantities of 6-15, Domestic ----------------------Up to 15 zines fit into Priority Mail Regular Flat-Rate Boxes (possibly more if the order contains more copies of OT4 than OT5 or OT6) Add $9.85 postage to wholesale price of zines, listed above.

Quantites of 16 or more, Domestic -----------------Contact Ben West for price. Options include Parcel Post or Bound Printed Matter mailing, for which I purchased a permit.

Quantites of 5, International (mix-and-match between issues to make 5 copies is fine, simply add wholesale cost to postage) 5 OT6: $30 (wholesale $6 per issue, including cd) Weight: 2.5 lbs Priority Mail® Flat-Rate Envelope: $12.30 (6-10 days) please note, the flat rate envelopes are not very sturdy, zines may arrive dinged or with bent corners.
Total: $42.30 (plus .75 cents paypal fee, if applicable)

5 OT5: $22.50 (wholesale $4.50 per issue, including cd) Weight: 2.25 lbs>Priority Mail® Flat-Rate Envelope: $12.30 (6-10 days) - please note, the flat rate envelopes are not very sturdy, zines may arrive dinged or with bent corners.
Total: $34.80 (plus .65 cents paypal fee, if applicable)

5 OT4: $17.50 (wholesale $3.50 per issue, no cd with this issue) Weight: 1.75 lbs Priority Mail® Flat-Rate Envelope: $12.30 (6-10 days) - please note, the flat rate envelopes are not very sturdy, zines may arrive dinged or with bent corners.
Total: $29.80 (plus .65 cents paypal fee, if applicable)

Quantities of 6-15, International____________________ It honestly doesn't make sense to order either more than five, or fewer than 15 copies internationally, due to the EXTREME cost of shipping. Up to 15 zines fit into Priority Mail Regular Flat-Rate Boxes (possibly more if the order contains more copies of OT4 than OT5 or OT6)
Add wholesale cost of zines to $39.85 shipping.

Quantites of 16 or more, International -----------------Contact Ben West for price. The only reasonable option is Priority Mail International shipping. Roughly $49 for 20 zines (8.5 lbs) Thanks in advance for your support. I am always glad to answer questions. Simply contact Ben West at ben@benwestdesign.net.

[Metalfreak]

I didn't read all that but cool! I remember seeing one of the earlier issues in Criminal Records a few years back and I must say, 96 pages is definitely a step up! \m/

[JMincemoyer]

Mors Dalos Ra of Necros Christos had this to say:

Salutem John,
I got the OT6 issue and what can I say? Thank you, I`m speechless.
It`s not only one of the best articles ever unleashed about Necros Christos, also the layout is perfect. Please forward this e-mail to Mister DePalma and Mister West as well saying, that I`m 100% satisfied with the presentation of my band within your pages. I can hardly see another "Zine" putting so much visual and lyrical effort in their issues as OT.

[JMincemoyer]

A reader from Ohio had this to say:

I just started reading issues 5 and 6. This is some high quality shit! Reminds me of NPR news stories. No fluff, no sensationalism. Just serious, in-depth interviews that get to the facts. Makes other metal mags look like Tiger Beat. Fuckin' ace!

Relapse should have copies within a day or two.

Also, Relapse has the new Razor of Occam release...support!

[JMincemoyer]

Crucial Blast review:

One of the best underground underground metal magazines period! I've been looking forward to the new issue of Oaken Throne for close to a year now, and while this magazine might only come out on a roughly annual basis, it's all about quality over frequency, folks, as anyone who has been following this mag can attest. Oaken Throne is one of the best underground metal magazines out there, it's editorial focus on the true black metal underground as well as other adventurous forms of subterranean heaviness, and every issue combines excellent writing with equally impressive artwork from some of my favorite artists out there, all put together in a beautifully designed layout, with the magazine measuring 7" by 7".

The newest issue of Oaken Throne is perfect bound, so it looks even cooler than ever, and it's packed with even more pages, again featuring fantastic artwork (this time from David D'Andrea) printed in metallic silver ink on the thick black cardstock cover. The lineup of bands that are covered in this ish is killer: you get intelligent, well-written and in-depth interviews with Swedish black metallers Avsky, Crucial Blast's black-orchestral-doomscape masters Gnaw Their Tongues, French Canadian blackpunk terrorizers Akitsa, Polish black metal/folk weirdo Dead Raven Choir, death metal masters Immolation, blackened French hypno-rockers Aluk Todolo, plus Dialing In, Lugubrum, Vargr, IXXI, Throneum, Necros Christos, and Necrovation.

The magaizne looks amazing, with top notch graphic design and killer artwork contributed by Ben West, Justin Bartlett, Adam Watson, Scott Langlais, and Chris Parry, and there are loads of incisive reviews and cool photography along with the rest of the issue's killer content. Definitely one of the best print magazines out there, visually enthralling and with some of the best writing around, and to top it off they again include a compilation CD that features music from all of the bands that are covered in this issue (including an unreleased, exclusive track from Nordvargr's awesome noise/black metal monstrosity Vargr!). I can't recommend this one enough, and I'm already jonesing for the next issue!

[JMincemoyer]

If you want to read about how bad Oaken Throne sucks I suggest you visit the Nuclear War Now! Forum for some rather intellectually stimulating critiques of our "hipster zine."

[JMincemoyer]

For those that might be interested, Wuxtry (Athens) and Schoolkids Records now have copies of OT 6 for sale.