Metal Blade Records
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (October 2010) |
| Metal Blade Records | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Founded | 1982 |
| Founder | Brian Slagel |
| Status | Independent |
| Distributor(s) | RED Distribution (US) Warner Music Group (outside the US) Riot Entertainment (Australia) Sony Music (CAN) BMG Rights Management (Europe) Diamante Music Group |
| Genre | Heavy metal, extreme metal |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Location | Sherman Oaks, California, U.S. |
| Official website | metalblade |
Metal Blade Records is a heavy metal independent record label founded by Brian Slagel in 1982. The U.S. office for Metal Blade is located in Agoura Hills, California. It also has offices in Germany, Japan, Canada, and the UK. The label is distributed in the U.S. by RED Distribution, and in Canada by Sony Music Entertainment. It was distributed by Warner Bros. Records in the United States from 1988 to 1993.
History[]
Metal Blade Records was founded by Brian Slagel, who at the time was a record store employee in suburban Los Angeles, as a way to increase the recognition of local metal bands. The label's first release was a compilation album called The New Heavy Metal Revue presents Metal Massacre, and included Metallica, Ratt, and Black 'n Blue.[1]
Metal Blade artists that have appeared on the Billboard 200 chart include the Goo Goo Dolls, Amon Amarth, Trouble, As I Lay Dying, Behemoth, the Black Dahlia Murder, Cannibal Corpse, Fates Warning (the first Metal Blade band to have achieved this), Lizzy Borden, Anvil, Gwar, King Diamond, Job for a Cowboy, Whitechapel, Armored Saint, The Red Chord, Unearth, Between the Buried and Me, Dirty Rotten Imbeciles, Corrosion of Conformity and Cattle Decapitation.
From 1985 to 1998, Metal Blade had a sublabel called Death Records, which released recordings by, and signed bands like D.R.I., Corrosion of Conformity, Civilian Terrorists, Mission of Christ, School of Violence, Cryptic Slaughter, The Mentors, Cannibal Corpse, Atheist, Angkor Wat, Loss for Words, Dr. Know, Beyond Possession, and Dark Funeral.[2]
In 2010 Metal Blade Records joined the RIAA.
IronClad Recordings is an imprint.[citation needed]
On January 18, 2017 Metal Blade Records was inducted into the Hall of Heavy Metal History for their large contribution to the Heavy Metal library. Brian was inducted by special guest Kerry King of Slayer.[3] On August 29, 2017, BMG Rights Management published The Sake of Heaviness: the History of Metal Blade Records, a book on the label's history, co-written by Mark Eglington and the label's founder Brian Slagel.[4]
Artists[]
Current[]
- Abnormality
- Act of Defiance
- Aeon
- Allegaeon
- Amon Amarth
- Anaal Nathrakh
- Anima
- Arch/Matheos
- Armored Saint
- Barn Burner
- Battlecross
- Behemoth
- Beverly Hellfire
- Beyond the Shore
- Beyond the Sixth Seal
- Bitch
- The Black Dahlia Murder
- Bloodclot
- Blood Stain Child
- Brainstorm
- Byzantine
- Candiria
- Cannibal Corpse
- Cataract
- Cattle Decapitation
- Charred Walls of the Damned
- Church of Misery
- The Crown
- Cult of Luna
- Cut Up
- Dawn of Ashes
- Desaster
- Destrage
- The Devil's Blood
- Dew-Scented
- Disillusion
- Don Jamieson
- Downfall of Gaia
- Ensiferum
- Exumer
- Facebreaker
- Falconer
- Fates Warning[5]
- Fleshcrawl
- Fleshwrought
- Flotsam and Jetsam
- Forever In Terror
- Fractal Universe
- Gehennah
- Goatwhore
- God Dethroned
- Gwar
- Gypsyhawk
- Hail of Bullets
- Hammers of Misfortune
- Harms Way[6]
- Hate
- House of Heavy
- If These Trees Could Talk
- Igorrr
- In Solitude
- Intensus
- Intronaut
- Jim Breuer and The Loud & Rowdy
- Jim Florentine
- Job for a Cowboy
- Kardashev[7]
- Killswitch Engage[8]
- King Diamond
- King of Asgard
- Lay Down Rotten
- Lightning Swords of Death
- Lizzy Borden
- Malefice
- Mercyful Fate
- Mother Feather
- Midnight[9]
- Native Construct
- Neaera
- Negligence
- Nicolas Cage Fighter
- The Ocean Collective
- One-Way Mirror
- OSI
- Paths of Possession
- Pentagram
- Pilgrim
- Poison Headache
- Polluted Inheritance
- Primordial
- RAM
- Razor of Occam
- The Red Chord
- Return to Earth
- Revocation
- Rivers of Nihil
- Rose Funeral
- Sacrifice
- Satan's Wrath
- Serpentine Dominion
- Shai Hulud
- Sister
- Six Feet Under
- Skyforger
- Slough Feg
- Soilent Green
- System Divide
- Theories
- The Stand Up
- Transatlantic
- Tombs
- Trioscapes
- Twitching Tongues
- Týr
- Uncle Acid & the Deadbeats
- Vio-lence
- Visigoth
- Vomitory
- Whitechapel
- Wovenwar[10]
Former[]
| This section needs additional citations for verification. (February 2013) |
- 3
- Abiotic
- The Absence
- Across the Sun
- A Love Ends Suicide (disbanded 2006)
- Aeternam (active)
- Akercocke
- Aletheian
- Anacrusis (active)
- Ancient (active)
- Anterior (disbanded 2012)
- Anvil (active)
- Angel Witch
- Angel Blake (active, with Dynamic Arts Records)
- The Arcane Order
- John Arch (inactive)
- Artch (active)
- As I Lay Dying (active, with Nuclear Blast)
- As You Drown
- Atheist (active)
- Austrian Death Machine (on hiatus)
- Awaits Her Death (inactive)
- Autumn
- Believer (active, Independent)
- Between the Buried and Me (active, with Sumerian)
- Beyond the Embrace (inactive)
- Bison B.C.[11]
- Bitter End (disbanded 1992)
- Bolt Thrower
- Born from Pain
- Brain Drill
- Callenish Circle (disbanded 2007)
- Cellador
- Chemlab (active)
- Cirith Ungol (disbanded 1992; reformed 2016)
- Civilian Terrorists
- Cradle of Filth (active, with Nuclear Blast)
- The Crimson Armada (disbanded 2012)
- Cycle Sluts from Hell
- Dance Club Massacre
- Dark Funeral
- Darkness Dynamite
- Demiricous (active)
- Diabulus in Musica
- Dr. Know (active)
- Dirty Rotten Imbeciles (active)
- Eidolon (on hiatus)
- Element Ethan (disbanded 2015)
- Enthroned
- Epicurean
- Epidemic
- Evergreen Terrace (active, with Rise Records)
- Eryn Non Dae
- Fate (disbanded 2009)
- Forever in Terror (active, with In-Demand Records)
- Flotsam and Jetsam (active, Driven Music Group)
- Fragments of Unbecoming
- Fueled by Fire (active)
- Galactic Cowboys (disbanded 2000)
- Gaza[citation needed]
- Glorior Belli (active, with Agonia Records)
- Goo Goo Dolls (active, with Warner Bros. Records)
- Hades (U.S.)
- Hatchet
- Hate Eternal
- Haunted Garage
- Hecate Enthroned (active; signed to M-Theory Audio)
- Helstar (active, with AFM Records)
- Hirax (active, with Black Devil Records)
- I Killed the Prom Queen (active, with Epitaph Records)
- If Hope Dies
- Ignorance (UK, disbanded 1993)
- Impious
- In Battle (active, with Nocturnal Art Production/Candlelight Records)
- In Ruins (inactive)
- Incapacity (active, with RAHW Productions)
- Into the Moat
- Jacobs Dream
- Junk Monkeys (disbanded 2003)
- King's X (active, with Inside Out Music)
- Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye (disbanded 2010)
- Lazarus A.D. (disbanded 2015 [12])
- Liege Lord (disbanded 1990) (reformed 2013)
- Lord Belial (disbanded, then reactivated)
- Loss For Words (inactive)
- Manowar (active, with Magic Circle Music)
- Machinemade God (disbanded 2008)
- Mentors (active)
- Molotov Solution (on hiatus)
- Mount Salem
- Mourn Thy Passing (disbanded 1996)
- Omen (active, with DSN Music)
- Overcast
- Phoenix Mourning (disbanded 2008)
- Powerwolf (active, now signed to Napalm Records)
- Predator (disbanded 1988)
- Psyopus (disbanded 2012)
- Pyrithion
- Ravage
- The Red Death
- Rigor Mortis
- The Rotted
- Those Who Lie Beneath (active)
- Sacred Reich (active, with Hollywood Records)
- Sacrifice (active)
- Shining Fury (active, independent)
- Since the Flood (disbanded 2008)
- Slayer (disbanded 2019)
- Sonic Reign
- Spock's Beard (active, independent)
- Starwood (Status Unknown)
- Symphorce (disbanded 2011)
- Tactics (disbanded 1999)
- Talas (inactive)
- Taramis (disbanded 1993)[13]
- This Ending
- Thought Industry
- Tommy Giles Rogers
- Torchbearer (active, with Vic Records)
- Torture Killer (active, with Dynamic Art Records)
- Tourniquet, (active, with Pathogenic Records)
- Trigger the Bloodshed
- Trouble (active, with Century Media Records)
- Unearth
- Vader (active, with Nuclear Blast)
- Viking (disbanded 1990, reformed 2011, currently unsigned)
- Voivod (active, with Century Media Records)
- We are the End
- Winter Solstice (disbanded 2006)
- Woe of Tyrants
- Yob (active, with Profound Lore Records)[14]
See also[]
- Metal Massacre
- List of record labels
- Megaforce Records
References[]
- ^ "Features". metalupdate.com. Retrieved August 15, 2012.
- ^ "Death Records (3) - CDs and Vinyl at Discogs". discogs. Retrieved August 15, 2012.
- ^ "Scorpions Among Nominees for Hall of Heavy Metal History". December 22, 2016. Retrieved May 16, 2017.
- ^ "BMG Will Release a Book on Metal Blade Records on Their Iconic History Later This Summer". Retrieved June 27, 2017.
- ^ "Fates Warning signs worldwide deal with Metal Blade Records". Retrieved February 4, 2021.
- ^ "Harm's Way | Metal Blade Records". Retrieved February 9, 2020.
- ^ "Kardashev | Metal Blade Records". Retrieved January 19, 2021.
- ^ "Killswitch Engage | Metal Blade Records". Retrieved May 8, 2021.
- ^ "Midnight | Metal Blade Records". Retrieved May 8, 2021.
- ^ "Metal Blade Records announce the signing of WOVENWAR featuring members of As I Lay Dying and Oh, Sleeper". metalblade.com. Retrieved April 14, 2014.
- ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on January 6, 2014. Retrieved February 8, 2019.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
- ^ "Lazarus A.D. Drummer Ryan Shutler Dies". loudwire.com. May 18, 2015. Retrieved June 24, 2016.
- ^ McFarlane, 'Taramis' entry. Archived from the original on August 3, 2004. Retrieved March 21, 2013.
- ^ "Artists | Metal Blade Records". Retrieved May 8, 2021.
External links[]
- American record labels
- Record labels established in 1982
- Heavy metal record labels
- 1982 establishments in the United States