Originally started on the 9th of June, 2006, I actually wanted to start on the 6th, but was probably lazy. 966 - the number of the Lazy Beast. Everything is hand-sewn, with all pockets still functional. I think I didn't work on it for some 10 years, but realized this year that my vest actually turned 18, that made me finish it up to this milestone. 2 patches are missing:
Abramelin - Abramelin: front left,
Demilich - Adversary: front left.
Current stats:
Total patches: 63 (2 fully hidden by "patch updates", 1 non-music patch: 60 visible music patches)
Album patches: 43 (42 unique album references)
Logo patches: 13
Misc. artwork patches: 4
Unique band connections via patches: 42
Total buttons: 8 (1 non-music)
Total pins: 17 (8 non-music, Slayer pin probably a boot)
Unique band connections via buttons & pins: 8
Total band connections: 50
21/08/2024: Some smaller updates.
* I've found some of my older buttons & pins, so the Macabre button got exchanged and Atheist button and Metallica pin re-added.
* 1 old non-music button re-added, too bad Squidward got a bit rusty while residing on my vest in the past.
* New Alfred E. Neuman pin added.
* Metallica MOP pin moved to a special place, since that album was my favorite for years when I was younger.
* I also now have Mickey Rat living in my front right pocket, that's currently the only non-music patch on the vest.
* I've decided to implement the Paria connection with an official button. That patch I'd need for the right pocket flap doesn't exist yet anyway and I've encountered something that also is just as well worthy to be there instead.
* How the hell did that band manage to evade my attention, while being practically on the surface? Terrorizer! Saw them performing at the Death Fest in Dortmund this month and was instantly converted! Repulsion-style riffing meets wizard-grade drumming, I couldn't believe what I was hearing, so the World Downfall CD and shirt as well as a logo patch have already been ordered. Too bad Earache seems to be rather slow at the moment, can't wait to sew the patch on.
* Something quite different are my Equestrian Badges which I felt somehow also belong there. You get those after passing theoretical and practical riding exams. If anyone looks to improve their physical and mental condition, then riding is the optimal thing to do for that. I've been doing it for almost four years now and I can wholeheartedly recommend it. You'll also be able to competently cosplay that Dissection SOTLB-WDAL patch! XD
31/08/2024: I'm a bit late, but there's still August somewhere in the world.
* Terrorizer patch is online :)
* Added a Paria logo button, it's from the red edition of "11 Years Of Blood, Cum & Satan".
15/10/2024: Some recent additions:
* Paradise Lost - Icon patch
* Atronos pin
* Stallion pin
* Mort & Phil pin (known as Clever & Smart in Germany)
* Donnie Barto pin
28/10/2024:
* Anthrax POT Stripe
* Cynic pin
* Deströyer 666 pin
22/11/2024:
* Arch Enemy - Burning Bridges patch
* Spike pin (used to watch Tom & Jerry a lot when I was a kid)
* Kronen pin (beer from my city, used to drink that a lot)
* Coca-Cola pin (random find, but interesting pin, copyright 1990 [but already then it's "Made In China"], so having that shape it also seems to be kind of a political statement by Coke I guess. And I gotta admit, I'm addicted to that stuff now.)
25/12/2024:
* Uploaded all the photos of milestones and layout tests dating back to the first layout test in 2006. That's the last photo, it's just throwing patches at the vest and looking if anything sticks kind of deal, photo was taken on 04/06/2006.
* The last 10 photos are from the years 2006 and 2007, the rest is from 2024, starting in March, that's when I realized that I need to work on my vest. Some patches were added during the years 2007 - 2016, but I unfortunately didn't document any of that.
* Also shown is a piece of cloth showing the date on which the first patch was sewn on, it's hidden in the vest. Since I've accidentally poked myself with the needle while embroidering it and drawn blood, it came in very handy. So my vest is signed by my blood, which certainly adds to its unique personality.
Illusionmaker on
That back looks so brilliantly clean! A great vest with a nice assortment of bands (despite Burzum and Mayhem both being on it).
I will look out for it next time I'm at a show or festival in NRW.
EvilJay on
Thank you very much, I really appreciate it when the effort gets noticed. Considering the other thing, well, I used to listen to both albums excessively “back then”, so both got patches, how should one even handle this combination? At least the patches aren’t placed too close, so they won’t rip at each other at night :) Besides, Varg and Euronymous are already both very close on that Mayhem patch alone. I wonder if in some alternate reality there’s still Mayhem with Varg on bass and Euronymous still writing those riffs and how the second album would then sound like. Too bad we got our crappy reality as it is. Gonna listen to “Life Eternal” now.
no karate in pit on
I'm not usually a fan of no back patch jackets but this changed my mind
EvilJay on
Thank you, that actually means quite a lot to me since I knew back then that I was deviating from the undrawn blueprint, so to speak. Wasn’t an easy decision either, but I went through dozens of back patches in the local music store that was the usual source for patches and none made me think “That’s it!”. I was heavily into Abramelin then, I would have loved to have a backpatch with the artwork from their first full length, but they were inactive, no merch was available and I didn’t really know how to get that custom made. So in the end, the backpatch area became a 3x3 (or 3x4, that depends on how you look at it) segment filled with small ones. That actually means I do have multiple back patches, they’re all small, though :)
no karate in pit on
Well now you got a bad ass nickname the man of many back patches
EvilJay on
LOL, thanks :D That reminds me of "Bart Simpson, the boy with the thousand voices". He got 1000 days of detention for that stunt, though. Great episode.
Envenometal on
When I see the back, for some unknown reason I feel like playing chess, I don't know why.
EvilJay on
Probably because of the contrast of the white Pestilence patch against the surrounding four with black backgrounds, and those two diagonally connected to it below are also lighter. It does have a certain chessboard symmetry, it’s a thinking man’s vest :D
Envenometal on
A little criticism as a joke.
It's not really what I would do with the existing material.
But the main thing is that you like everything.
In any case, the patches and bands are very sublime.
EvilJay on
Hehe, thanks, I see we do have quite different styles, but that is the true beauty of the Vest, it’s an expression of individualism of the highest order!
Envenometal on
Yes, that's right. That's exactly how I see it.
It would be boring if all vests looked the same.
By the way, the text on your "Tell us about yourself" profile page could have been written exactly by me.
EvilJay on
Amazing, isn’t it? Even our vests have both been started in 2006. The matrix must be broken again :D
Envenometal on
The "matrix" has been broken for a long time and continues to destroy itself, that's a good thing!
EvilJay on
Amen to that!
Superfly on
never seen that atheist patch before!
EvilJay on
I remember buying it new at Idiots Records in Dortmund around 2006. Never have seen it again. That store usually sources official merch, but that one, along with the Possessed logo patch, might be some sort of boots, just judging by the looks. I wasn’t able to confirm that, though. I could ask the store owner, but I doubt that he remembers. Still maybe worth a try.
oldmate on
Great jacket and also loved the stats !!!
if y counting is right 4 Metallica, 3 megadeth and 4 Slayer and 2 Anthrax (patches) .. !! nice representation of the big 4 ...
EvilJay on
Thank you very much! :)
The count appears to be correct, the big four really laid down the foundation of my metal journey, without them the rest wouldn't exist. And I think there's also a short Metallica story told with the combination of the patches. Actually, just the KEA era JITF as the starting point and the stripe from the eponymous album era suffice. Notice how Metallica's logo is losing all the sharp edges on the stripe? "Sad but true", isn't it? That's Metallica's development in a nutshell told by just two patches. That combination wasn't actually intentioned to tell anything deep, but I noticed it afterwards. But maybe I'm overthinking it ;) Still I wonder what thought process went on when the stripe was designed.
oldmate on
yea same for me. I tried to pay my respects on my new layout (which I still have not sewed yet) for me MetallicA and the Thrash big 4 is what kicked it all off and also the US Death big 4, so I tried to cover all them basses first and then work around that
On the back on mine the only band apart from MetallicA I doubled up on was PanterA for me they were massively important. Releasing great albums when alot of other bands were not releasing albums I was really into
https://tshirtslayer.com/battle-jacket/battle-jacket-back-5 (bottom photo is my current idea for the layout)
oldmate on
I know alot of people dont really like flags on jackets, but I dont mind it. I think its OK to fly the flag when your going Overseas to fests you never know when anohter Aussie is there and you can have a beer and a chat
EvilJay on
I don't see why it should be a problem to wear a flag, we have those on the profiles here, too, so that just adds more personality to the vest. I have been adding more non-music pins lately (like the beer I used to drink, for example), why not tell a bit more about yourself besides the music you're into?
oldmate on
yea I dont see it as a problem, thats why I added it. I dont mind having 1 or 2 non metal patchs on a non theamed jacket. I think thats part of having a jacket, to express yourself and let other people know what your into
EvilJay on
Exactly!
EvilJay on
Hey hey, lots of familiar faces I see there! :D I also have had that Chaos AD patch when I was designing the base layout, but had to choose between that and Arise later.
I was a bit late to the Pantera party myself, I should have discovered them by myself in 2001, but they canceled their part of the show in Düsseldorf that I was attending. It was then in 2005 when some new metal friends of mine were really into Pantera, that's where I finally discovered them. One of my new friends, someone I still hang out with to this day, was also a video game enthusiast. We both knew original Doom, so we were sitting there, trying to identify the riffs that the Doom soundtrack was "using" and quite a lot came from exactly that album I got the patch of. It connects me on more than just one level to all of this, so to speak.