====== Deathbed Tapes ======
^ Deathbed Tapes |
| {{:characters:deathbed_tapes.png?nolink&400|}} |
| **Name:** Deathbed Tapes |
| **Founder:** Alex Ford |
| **Type:** Independent record label |
| **Genre(s):** Harsh noise, industrial, power electronics, experimental, outsider music |
| **Status:** Active |
| **Channel:** [[https://www.youtube.com/@DeathbedTapes|YouTube]] |
| **Bandcamp:** [[https://deathbedtapes.bandcamp.com/|deathbedtapes.bandcamp.com]] |
| **Website:** [[https://deathbed.xxx/|deathbed.xxx]] |
| **Sagas:** [[sagas:The Ellen Saga]], [[sagas:The New Apartment saga]], [[sagas:The Puff Saga]], [[sagas:The Trailer Saga]], [[sagas:The Final Saga]] |
**Deathbed Tapes** is an independent experimental music label operated by **Alex Ford**, best known in the Cobraverse for releasing a large portion of [[characters:KingCobraJFS]]' later music. The label primarily focuses on extreme experimental music, harsh noise, industrial, and power electronics, which made it a bizarrely appropriate home for Cobra's home-recorded gothic outsider music.
Deathbed's relationship with Josh began as fan mail and grew into one of the most important artistic relationships of Josh's life. Through Deathbed Tapes, Josh's music received Bandcamp pages, cassette releases, album premieres, merch, and something approaching legitimate underground distribution. For a man who spent over a decade insisting that he was a real musician, Deathbed gave him one of the closest things he ever had to a real record label.
The label is not exclusively a Cobra project. Deathbed Tapes has hundreds of releases by many artists, but in the Cobraverse it is remembered mainly as the label that took Cobra's music seriously enough to put it on cassette. That's most definitely what's up.
===== Background =====
Deathbed Tapes is an underground noise and experimental label run by Alex Ford. Its Bandcamp page describes the label as:
//EXTREME EXPERIMENTAL//\\
//HARSH NOISE, INDUSTRIAL, & POWER ELECTRONICS//\\
//NO SUBMISSIONS//
The label's normal catalogue is far removed from mainstream rock or metal, consisting largely of experimental, noise, industrial, and power-electronics releases. This context is important because it explains why Josh's music, which is usually impossible to classify by normal standards, could fit on the label without needing much explanation. If one calls Cobra's music "outsider harsh noise with gothic bad boy characteristics," suddenly it almost makes sense.
Alex Ford later told Cowboy State Daily that he was first drawn into the Cobraverse by Josh's hair dye video and that Deathbed Tapes offered Josh a way to distribute the music he improvised and played on YouTube. Ford also stated that he released ten KingCobra albums over six years. [[https://cowboystatedaily.com/2025/09/13/how-a-bullied-casper-kid-went-viral-as-the-internets-gothic-kingcobra/|Source]]
===== First contact with Josh =====
Deathbed's first major documented contact with Josh came through fan mail. In a video where Josh read a note from Alex Ford, Ford introduced himself as the person behind Deathbed Tapes. The note stated that Josh's videos about starting [[art:Wand Business|Cobra Craft Handmade Wands]] inspired Ford to start his own business. Ford also said he owned three of Josh's wands from Etsy: a red wand, a clear wand, and a rainbow wand.
The package included label merchandise and various gifts, including:
* A Deathbed Tapes shirt.
* A patch.
* A pin.
* Stickers.
* A skull shot glass.
* A bartender drink mixer.
The note also framed Ford not merely as a label owner, but as a fellow gothic bad boy and warlock. He told Josh that he felt they would be great friends if they lived closer, and invited Josh to check out the label.
Most importantly, Ford offered to release one of Josh's albums:
//"If you ever want to release an album on my record label, just message me on Facebook. I will send you 25% of all sales profits."//
Josh reacted very positively to the offer. He interpreted Ford's label as proof that his wands worked, because Ford claimed that Josh's wand business had inspired him. This allowed Josh to fold Deathbed Tapes into his magical worldview: in his mind, a fan bought his wands, started a label, and then offered to release his music. To Josh, this was not merely a business opportunity; it was evidence that King Cobra's magic was real.
===== Deathbed review and the SWATting stream =====
Deathbed Tapes became more central during [[incidents:Cobra gets SWATTED]]. In the hours before the SWATting, Josh looked at Deathbed's website on stream and listened to some of the label's material. The label's output was extremely experimental, but Josh responded positively, saying things like "Hell yeah" and that he could get down with it.
During the same stream, he discussed the possibility of working with Deathbed and previewed songs from what would become [[albums:Hell's Advocate]], including:
* **Smoking Cannabis in the Clock Tower**
* **Don't Blame the Devil**
The stream is remembered primarily because the [[characters:Casper Police Department]] arrived after a troll called in a fake emergency, but it also served as a major Deathbed milestone. In the middle of one of the most chaotic nights of his YouTube career, Josh was also beginning the relationship that would put his music on cassette.
===== Hell's Advocate =====
[[albums:Hell's Advocate]] was the first KingCobraJFS album released through Deathbed Tapes. It came out on October 31st, 2019, a fitting Halloween release for a Cobra album full of Satanic, weed, and clocktower imagery. The Bandcamp page lists the album as ten tracks and identifies **King Cobra** as Josh Saunders. [[https://deathbedtapes.bandcamp.com/album/hells-advocate|Source]]
Deathbed's involvement gave Hell's Advocate a much more serious presentation than Josh's earlier self-published albums. Instead of merely existing as a YouTube upload or TuneCore oddity, the album had:
* A Bandcamp page.
* A cassette release.
* Associated shirts.
* A physical collector's angle.
* A label identity attached to it.
In the video [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5fygpeZyxgo|fan mail]], Josh read a follow-up note from Alex Ford thanking him for reviewing Deathbed Tapes on stream. Ford explained that the material Josh heard was extremely experimental, but that the label also released metal and industrial music. Ford said he was excited to release Hell's Advocate once Josh sent the tracks, promised Josh his cut of the profits, and sent Ozzy Osbourne tapes, a magic book, and Plow Boy tobacco as gifts.
Josh later promoted the release in [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pFEZl4t_xQg|8 tapes left]], telling viewers that physical cassette copies of Hell's Advocate were available through Deathbed Tapes and that only about eight were left. He also promoted shirts featuring the Hell's Advocate album cover, calling them a way to support him, his channel, and his music.
===== Care packages =====
Deathbed Tapes did not simply release Josh's music and disappear. Alex Ford sent Josh several care packages over the years. These packages helped make Deathbed feel less like a distant label and more like a recurring Cobraverse presence.
==== First Deathbed package ====
The first major package included label merchandise, a skull shot glass, a drink mixer, and the note offering to release Josh's music for a 25% cut of sales. Josh was especially pleased with the skull shot glass and said he would use it for a drink combination.
==== Hell's Advocate package ====
The second package included:
* Ozzy Osbourne cassette tapes.
* A magic book.
* Plow Boy smoking tobacco.
* A note about releasing Hell's Advocate.
* A promise that Ford would send a tape player after the album was released.
Josh treated the package as both fan mail and business correspondence. He was excited by the Ozzy tapes, the tobacco, and the possibility of having his album released physically.
==== Solstice / cassette player package ====
In another stream, Josh received a cassette player from Deathbed Tapes, described as a Solstice present from Alex Ford. The package also included a wand made by Ford as a tribute to Josh's hard work, guitar books, and other items. Josh noted that the cassette player would let him listen to his own album on tape, which was a major point of pride for him.
This small detail mattered a lot. Josh had spent years imagining himself as a real rock star. Deathbed not only released his music on cassette, but also sent him the equipment to hear it in that format. It made the fantasy feel just a little more real.
===== Later releases =====
After Hell's Advocate, Deathbed Tapes became the primary home of Josh's later discography. Some albums were digital-only, others had cassette editions, and several received more elaborate physical or special editions.
Known Deathbed Tapes King Cobra releases include:
^ Album ^ Release date ^ Notes |
| [[albums:Hell's Advocate]] | October 31st, 2019 | First Deathbed release; cassette and shirt promotion. |
| [[albums:Cobra's Crude Christmas Carols]] | December 2020 / later expanded | Cobra's Christmas parody album, later reissued with bonus tracks. |
| [[albums:Love and Vanity]] | March 18th, 2021 | Valentine's-style album released late in typical Cobra fashion. |
| [[albums:Rebel Revolution]] | June 26th, 2021 | Politically themed Cobra release. |
| [[albums:Satan's Bell]] | April 1st, 2022 | One of Josh's better-known Deathbed albums. |
| [[albums:King Cobra's Comedy Album]] | August 12th, 2022 | Comedy/skit release, limited cassette version documented. |
| [[albums:At the Gates of Hell]] | January 13th, 2023 | Later Deathbed-era album. |
| [[albums:Blunt Wraps & Cobra Coils]] | April 28th, 2023 | Often considered one of Josh's best albums due to its comparatively coherent rap format. |
| [[albums:Sinister Snakes]] | October 31st, 2023 | Halloween release; limited cassette and special edition advertised. |
| [[albums:Life Ain't Fair]] | November 4th, 2024 | Late Cobra album including AI bonus tracks and post-NALpocalypse material. |
| [[albums:Untitled]] | October 3rd, 2025 | Posthumous release recorded March-August 2025. |
The exact count can vary depending on whether expanded editions, posthumous releases, and bonus-track versions are counted separately. Ford later stated that he released ten KingCobra albums over six years.
===== Blunt Wraps & Cobra Coils =====
[[albums:Blunt Wraps & Cobra Coils]] is one of the most important Deathbed-era releases. The album was published in 2023 and uploaded for free on Deathbed Tapes' YouTube channel. Unlike many of Josh's earlier albums, it used premade beats and leaned into rap, making it more coherent than much of his guitar-based material.
This album helped solidify Deathbed's role as not just a cassette label, but as a public distributor of Cobra content. The Deathbed upload of [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oA05rmvHsZc|Blunt Wraps & Cobra Coils]] became one of the easiest ways for fans to hear the full album.
The fan-favorite **Cobra's Cantina** came from this album, and the track became one of the better-loved pieces of Cobra music. While Josh's actual rap ability was limited, Deathbed's presentation and the album's comparatively structured format helped give it a stronger reputation than most of his discography.
===== Physical media and collector value =====
Deathbed's most important contribution to the Cobraverse was physical media. Before Deathbed, most of Josh's music existed as YouTube uploads, TuneCore releases, iTunes oddities, or lost media. Deathbed turned many of his albums into cassettes, complete with covers, shells, inserts, stickers, and sometimes special editions.
This mattered for several reasons:
* It gave Josh's music a physical form.
* It created collector's items for fans and trolls.
* It gave Josh something to promote on stream.
* It helped preserve albums that might otherwise vanish.
* It made Josh feel like a legitimate underground musician.
For Josh, a cassette release was not just merch. It was validation. He could point to Deathbed tapes and say that his music was being released by a real label. That was one of the few artistic victories in his life that was not entirely imaginary.
===== Deathbed.xxx and special editions =====
Deathbed Tapes also used [[https://deathbed.xxx/|deathbed.xxx]] for physical items and special editions. Bandcamp pages for releases such as [[albums:Blunt Wraps & Cobra Coils]] and [[albums:Sinister Snakes]] directed buyers to deathbed.xxx for tapes or special editions.
By the 2023 releases, Deathbed's Cobra albums often came with more than just the audio. Special editions could include cassettes, stickers, inserts, patches, and other small collectibles. In one fan mail video, Josh discussed talking to Deathbed about patches for the deluxe version of an album and mentioned Cobra-gram-style items being included.
This turned later Cobra releases into a mix of music, merch, and Cobraverse relics.
===== Deathbed and ExhumedVisions =====
Deathbed Tapes sometimes operated alongside other Cobraverse-adjacent creators and merch makers, especially [[characters:ExhumedVisions]] where applicable. For example, the [[albums:Sinister Snakes]] Bandcamp page pointed to ExhumedVisions for shirts related to **The Chainsaw Sicko Massacre**.
This loose collaboration helped create a small ecosystem of Cobra-related merch: Deathbed handled tapes and releases, ExhumedVisions handled shirts and visual merch, and Josh promoted everything in his usual disorganized way on stream.
===== Posthumous release =====
After Josh's death in August 2025, Deathbed Tapes released a posthumous King Cobra album titled [[albums:Untitled]]. Its Bandcamp page states that the album was recorded from March to August 2025, that Josh wanted to make two more songs and give it a proper name, but died before finishing it. The same page states that tracks 5-11 were bonus AI tracks not included on the cassette, that the artwork was made by Josh using AI, and that proceeds went to the Autistic Self Advocacy Network. [[https://deathbedtapes.bandcamp.com/album/untitled-23|Source]]
This posthumous release gave the Deathbed relationship a grim final chapter. The label that first gave Josh a real cassette release also released one of the last bodies of music he worked on before his death.
===== Relationship with Josh =====
Deathbed Tapes occupied a rare position in the Cobraverse: it was neither a troll operation nor a purely ironic fan project. Alex Ford clearly understood the absurdity of KingCobraJFS, but he also gave Josh a real platform and treated his music as something worth preserving. That combination made Deathbed valuable to both Josh and the fanbase.
Josh, for his part, viewed Deathbed very positively. He repeatedly thanked Alex Ford, promoted Deathbed releases, opened Deathbed packages on camera, and treated the label as proof that his music and magic were both more legitimate than the trolls believed.
The relationship had several major effects on Josh's life:
* It encouraged him to keep making albums.
* It gave him physical proof of his music career.
* It connected him to a real underground label.
* It gave fans a way to buy and archive his music.
* It made his later albums easier to catalog.
* It reinforced his self-image as a gothic rock star.
Josh's older albums were often chaotic and poorly archived. Deathbed did not make Josh a better musician, but it made his music more durable.
===== Community perception =====
The Cobraverse generally views Deathbed Tapes positively. Fans and trolls alike benefited from Deathbed's preservation of Cobra's music. Even those who considered Josh's albums unlistenable appreciated the novelty of seeing them treated as legitimate underground releases.
Deathbed releases also gave collectors something tangible. Owning a Hell's Advocate cassette or a Satan's Bell tape is a different kind of Cobraverse participation than merely watching a stream. It is owning a physical piece of the bog.
Some fans saw Deathbed as enabling Josh's delusions, while others saw the label as one of the few groups to channel Josh's weirdness into something productive. Both interpretations have merit. Deathbed encouraged Josh's belief that he was a real musician, but it also preserved his output, paid him something, and gave him one of the few genuine accomplishments he could be proud of.
===== Legacy =====
Deathbed Tapes is one of the most important neutral parties in the later Cobraverse. Without Deathbed, many late-era Cobra albums would likely be harder to find, less documented, or entirely dependent on scattered YouTube and Rumble uploads. Through Bandcamp, cassettes, and YouTube premieres, Deathbed gave Cobra's music a more stable archive than Josh himself ever could have managed.
The label also helped transform Josh's discography from a pile of chaotic uploads into something closer to a real catalogue. Albums like [[albums:Hell's Advocate]], [[albums:Satan's Bell]], [[albums:Blunt Wraps & Cobra Coils]], [[albums:Sinister Snakes]], and [[albums:Life Ain't Fair]] are now part of the record of Josh's life in a much more concrete way because Deathbed Tapes released and preserved them.
Deathbed did not make Cobra normal, polished, or conventionally good. Nothing could. But it gave the BOY a label, tapes, album pages, merch, and a lasting musical record. For a gothic bad boy from Casper who spent his life asking where his record deal was, that was probably as close as he was ever going to get.
===== Sources cited =====
- [[https://deathbedtapes.bandcamp.com/|Deathbed Tapes Bandcamp]]
- [[https://deathbed.xxx/|Deathbed.xxx]]
- [[https://www.youtube.com/@DeathbedTapes|Deathbed Tapes YouTube channel]]
- [[https://cowboystatedaily.com/2025/09/13/how-a-bullied-casper-kid-went-viral-as-the-internets-gothic-kingcobra/|Cowboy State Daily - Music & Magic section]]
- [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5fygpeZyxgo|fan mail]] - Deathbed package, Alex Ford note, and Hell's Advocate offer.
- [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pFEZl4t_xQg|8 tapes left]] - Josh promotes Hell's Advocate tapes and shirts.
- [[https://deathbedtapes.bandcamp.com/album/hells-advocate|Hell's Advocate on Deathbed Tapes Bandcamp]]
- [[https://deathbedtapes.bandcamp.com/album/love-and-vanity|Love and Vanity on Deathbed Tapes Bandcamp]]
- [[https://deathbedtapes.bandcamp.com/album/rebel-revolution|Rebel Revolution on Deathbed Tapes Bandcamp]]
- [[https://deathbedtapes.bandcamp.com/album/satans-bell|Satan's Bell on Deathbed Tapes Bandcamp]]
- [[https://deathbedtapes.bandcamp.com/album/king-cobras-comedy-album|King Cobra's Comedy Album on Deathbed Tapes Bandcamp]]
- [[https://deathbedtapes.bandcamp.com/album/at-the-gates-of-hell|At the Gates of Hell on Deathbed Tapes Bandcamp]]
- [[https://deathbedtapes.bandcamp.com/album/blunt-wraps-cobra-coils|Blunt Wraps & Cobra Coils on Deathbed Tapes Bandcamp]]
- [[https://deathbedtapes.bandcamp.com/album/sinister-snakes|Sinister Snakes on Deathbed Tapes Bandcamp]]
- [[https://deathbedtapes.bandcamp.com/album/life-aint-fair|Life Ain't Fair on Deathbed Tapes Bandcamp]]
- [[https://deathbedtapes.bandcamp.com/album/untitled-23|Untitled on Deathbed Tapes Bandcamp]]
- [[incidents:Cobra gets SWATTED]]
- [[albums:Hell's Advocate]]
- [[albums:Blunt Wraps & Cobra Coils]]
- [[albums:Life Ain't Fair]]
{{page>:blurbs#Characters}}