Last night we got an email from the company that manufactures the Destruction belt buckles for the die-hard version of this box. In this e-mail we were informed that the belt buckles will not be delivered today (17.1.) as promised, but that it will take a week longer due to company internal, material and technical problems.
We are very upset with this news and are truly aware that you guys might be as well, but it’s not our fault at all. We were supposed to ship all pre-orders today (all other parts of the box are in stock).

We didn’t want to disadvantage the buyers of the die-hard version and we wanted to send the regular-version out sooner. But this is what we will do now.
This means, all regular boxes have been sent today and will be send tomorrow. We will send the die-hard version to German buyers today without the belt buckle and will then deliver it at our own expense as soon as it has been delivered. Unfortunately, for financial reasons, we cannot do this for customers outside of Germany. We hope you understand.

We are very sorry for this renewed delay and we ask for your apologies and your understanding! We were also promised something else.

Btw, the die-hard version is sold out now!

DSR has been around for 8 years now and it’s been over 7 years since I released my first cassette box set (Root). A lot has happened since then and there have been years full of sacrifice, devotion and passion. Even if there were mostly only positive things, there were of course also setbacks from time to time. But I and later the DSR team always mastered these and the positive always outweighed them by far. What could be better than turning your passion into a career?

But 2022 was on a completely different page. Even though we can’t complain at all compared to others and our problems seem so trivial, this year was still not an easy one.

If we are completely honest, the corona pandemic in the years 2020/22 almost exclusively brought advantages for online trade (someone’s joy is another’s suffering, or vice versa). Sure, the shipping costs and production costs have risen dramatically, as well as waiting times, but we didn’t have to close our “shop” and were able to benefit from the fact that there were no concerts/festivals etc. Of course, that changed again in 2022 (fortunately). So these pandemic years were anything but bad for online retail and every label. Whether big or small like we are. You have to be honest about this.

Far away from the “normality” that is now back, so many other things have changed in the last few months that really scares us. As said before, our problems are small compared to others, but they are real and we feel them very much.

Due to the current energy and inflation crisis, this year we really experienced for the first time what the phrase “existential fear“ means. Of course, the buying behavior has changed completely due to this current situation and of course we feel that very much. Because let’s be honest, what is more important, a full refrigerator and a warm apartment or an expensive cassette box?

I am aware that our products are luxury goods and you don’t really need these things to live. Of course, these boxes are very expensive, but we have to call this price to be able to survive. It’s no longer the case that I only do it as a hobby. Now several employees have to be paid, the rent for a large warehouse etc etc.

And for me it’s just out of the question to minimize the quality of our releases just to be able to lower the price by a few euros. All of these boxes are a “once in a lifetime story“ and I still can’t believe I have the chance to release some of my favorite records from bands I’ve been listening to for almost 30 years now. Even after 8 years, this is still such a great honor for me that there is no other option than to give 100%. All or nothing. No compromise! The bands and the music didn’t deserve that. And that shouldn’t influence and destroy a current shitty crisis or politics either. Music is so much more …

We all don’t know what the future will bring. Maybe everything will calm down a bit and we will still have the opportunity to release such boxes in the coming years (we already have many projects). But maybe the shitty humanity will soon have made it and make this planet worth living again. We will see. Or not …

The DSR team would like to thank each and every one of you, in every corner of the world, who has somehow supported us in this year 2022 and also in the last 8 (we are aware that many would want to support us more, but simply cannot due to the reasons mentioned above ).

Even after this time, no negative routine crept in and it is still an honor and a privilege to be able to do this.

As a small thank you, we will be offering you 15% off everything (except pre-order items) in our shop from now until January 6th, 2023. So have a look around..

Stay healthy and strong, never look back! Never surrender!

Until the end …

D./DSR