Last year saw the highest vinyl record sales since 1984, signaling a strong desire among music enthusiasts to return to a simpler time of physical media.
Even cassette tapes are making a comeback, with major artists including Billie Eilish and Taylor Swift releasing their material on the iconic plastic, four-inch audio reels.
Now, self-described “party slam” metal band Party Cannon is taking the nostalgia play — often framed as an act of defiance against greedy and AI-slop-infested streaming platforms — to a new level.
The Scottish outfit announced that its new EP, “Subjected to a Partying,” will launch on a Nintendo N64 cartridge. Inventory, however, will be limited to just 100 copies.
“We are going where no slamming death metal band has gone before — Nintendo 64,” the band wrote in a statement posted to Instagram. “That’s right, it’s time to get N or get out.”
“To celebrate Daryl ‘The Frogman’ Boyce’s first release as our new vocalist, we decided to make it something truly special, and there’s nothing more special than a console that’s lifespan ended in 2001,” the band wrote.
The band appears to have touched a nerve, selling out its US inventory of the unique cartridges in less than a day.
It’s not exactly an ideal format for a new music release. Nintendo’s 64 Game Pak can hold up to just 64 megabytes, and the earliest versions were limited to a paltry 12 megabytes. Besides, you’ll need an N64 console and a TV with the right input to play the record.
As a result of those technical limitations, Party Cannon had to get creative, limiting the cartridge release to just four songs, while the full release will feature eight, including live tracks and remixes. However, the ROMs will also feature live video of a recent festival appearance at an era-appropriate resolution of just 320 by 240 pixels.
“Load up your N64 and have an IQ-lowering blast from the past,” reads the band’s tongue-in-cheek description on their website.
The audio quality has also taken a hit, judging by the band’s colorful description.
“[Vocalist] The Frogman sounds like unfettered pressurized sewerage pouring all over these tracks, and we couldn’t be happier with how disgusting these vocals are, it’s a new era of Party Slam,” the band gloated in its announcement.
It’s not the first time the metal band has released its music on an outdated gaming system. Last year, the band released a single on the Sega Genesis cartridge, a 16-bit console that was discontinued in 1999.
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