The Vinyl Me Please record club has announced two new campaigns to reach an even broader swath of vinyl aficionados.

The first is the addition of a new, fourth "track" for the Record of the Month subscription series.  In addition to Essentials, Classics, and Rap and Hip Hop, the Country genre will now be given a spotlight of its own.  The first album to be reissued as part of the Country track is March 2021's Record of the Month: At Folsom Prison by Johnny Cash (1968).  The landmark live LP not only reached the top spot on the Billboard Country Albums chart but a top 15 berth on the Pop side; it also yielded The Man in Black's biggest hit single in four years with the Grammy-winning live take of his 1955 single "Folsom Prison Blues," a No. 1 Country/No. 32 Pop success that spoke to a new generation of listeners.  At Folsom Prison arrives in a new "tan in black" colorway with music newly remastered by Ryan Smith and cut to vinyl at Sterling Sound.  The foil-stamped edition arrives in a deluxe tip-on sleeve alongside a liner notes book by Andrew Winistorfer and a limited promotional bandana.  Those interested in the title can join a "standby line" for future pressings.

Adding a Country track isn't the only way VMP is diversifying its catalog.  The label has announced a new chapter in the Anthology series of immersive box sets, this one spotlighting The Story of Metal Blade, the often overlooked label specializing in metal.  First formed in the mid-'80s, Metal Blade has grown to be home to unsung metal heroes and better-known titans of the genre alike.  The Story of Metal Blade tracks the label's trajectory to the tune of eight albums, each presented on 180-gram splatter color vinyl variants housed inside heavyweight, direct-to-board jackets.  These include:

• Omen, Warning of Danger (1985)
• Fates Warning, The Spectre Within (1985)
• Gwar, America Must Be Destroyed (1991)
• Cannibal Corpse, Butchered At Birth (1991)
• King Diamond, Voodoo (1998)
• The Black Dahlia Murder, Miasma (2005)
• Amon Amarth, Twilight of the Thunder God (2008)
• Armored Saint, La Raza (2010)

In addition to the music, the VMP Anthology will present detailed liner notes by metal expert J. Bennett (featuring contributions from label founder Brian Slagel); a five-episode podcast with interviews and insights; and a series of live Q&A video chats with a mystery guest close to the Metal Blade story.

For more information about the new monthly Country track, check out Vinyl Me Please's official site.  To learn more about VMP Anthology: The Story of Metal Blade and to secure a copy of your own, click here!