Heath Gmucs of Wax Mage took over our plant last Friday, showing us how to push vinyl to its absolute limits. If you haven't seen his work, we highly recommend you open up another tab to check out some of his stuff — these aren't your standard black discs.
Heath got his start in the vinyl world at Gotta Groove in Cleveland, where what started as experimentation evolved into something else entirely. He developed techniques that transform vinyl into genuinely beautiful art. When he was at our shop, I couldn't help but think of artists like Monet and Van Gogh - yes, they records were that beautiful.
Wax Mage specializes in limited-run pressings with designs that break every rule of traditional vinyl manufacturing. Their aesthetic ranges from deep space "Nebula" patterns to psychedelic "Gobstopper" swirls that look impossible to achieve with industrial materials.
What began as one guy just having fun experimenting with vinyl turned into a 24/7 operation with a crew of 55 working to meet demand from artists across every genre imaginable.
Having Heath at the plant was a masterclass in vinyl possibilities. Not only that, but he is a great guy that we loved getting to spend some time with. Heath, if you're reading this, come back to Hellbender anytime! We're so psyched to see what else we'll now be able to do thanks to you. Hellbender customers, I think you'll be pumped about our new knowledge, too ;)
While we sadly can't share everything that came out of our session with him, below are some photos from his portfolio. Enjoy.
