Metal Blade Records
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| Metal Blade Records | |
|---|---|
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| Founded | 1982 |
| Founder | Brian Slagel |
| DistributorTemplate:Pluralize from text | The Orchard |
| Genre | Heavy metal, extreme metal |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Location | 5632 Van Nuys Blvd #1301, Van Nuys, California U.S. |
| Official website | metalblade |
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Metal Blade Records (often shortened to Metal Blade) is an American independent record label founded by Brian Slagel in 1982 based in the U.S. state of California. The label primarily focuses on heavy metal.[1]
History
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This section is missing information about Metal Blade's growth in the 1980s (i.e. Slayer's Show No Mercy, Metal Massacre series, etc.). (February 2025) |
Metal Blade Records was founded in 1982 by Brian Slagel alongside its first release, Metal Massacre. Slagel was an employee of Los Angeles record store Oz Records and had launched a metal fanzine known as The New Heavy Metal Revue. He was a fan of New Wave of British Heavy Metal (NWOBHM)[2]Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor_id_list' not found. and was dedicated to the local heavy metal scene in California, but was also drawn to an underground strain of metal strongly influenced by NWOBHM like Raven and Venom which placed more emphasis on "heaviness" than melodic hooks and "anthem-like choruses".[1] He saw that rock bands with a European influence began increasing in number around Southern California.[2]Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor_id_list' not found. Inspired by popular NWOBM compilations such as Metal for Muthas, he reached out to several local bands regarding contributing to a compilationLua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor_id_list' not found. that he envisioned as a showcase of "the best metal Los Angeles had to offer."[2] Slagel purchased records for the compilation and contacted distributors who accepted the deal.[2] Slagel received a call from Lars Ulrich—who had not formed a band yet—who asked if he could record a song for the album, which he accepted.[2] Using borrowed money from his friends and family, Slagel pressed either 2,500 or 5,000 copies of Metal Massacre.Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor_id_list' not found.[2] The first pressing sold out almost immediately,[2] credited to Slagel's work at Oz Records, where the store's independent distributors—Gem, Important, and Green World—purchasing them immediately.Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor_id_list' not found. Slagel told Billboard that one of the distributors told him if he could provide them records, they would handle the manufacturing and distribution, resulting in Metal Blade's founding.[2] He established a distribution deal with Green World, later known as Enigma, after a short-lived manufacturing and distribution deal with Metalworks.Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor_id_list' not found. Metal Blade would later be considered as the first label to fully focus on heavy metal.[1]
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When death metal first came out, I thought it was a refreshing new genre of music. It made complete sense to me. It was the heaviest thing I'd ever heard, but it was also really, really good. [...] When Slayer and Metallica came out, that was the heaviest thing ever, and eventually that became mainstream, right? I just knew that was gonna happen to death metal [...] it was only a matter of time before it was gonna get popular."
In April 1987, Metal Blade and Enigma Records signed a long-term distribution and development deal, with Enigma promoting and distributing Metal Blade Records artists' records along with distribution through CEMA, a record-label distribution branch of Capitol-EMI.[4]
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. Slagel was inducted by special guest Kerry King of Slayer.[5] 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.[6]
In 2019 Metal Blade Records opened a store in Las Vegas, Nevada that sold rare and out-of-print items from them and their artists.[7]
References
Citations
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- ^ a b c Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Waksman, Steve (2009). Waksman, Steve (ed.). This Ain't the Summer of Love: Conflict and Crossover in Heavy Metal and Punk. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press. p. 229. doi:10.1525/9780520943889. ISBN 978-0-520-94388-9. OCLC 1399981480. OL 29602596M.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Marshall, Clay (April 20, 2002). "From One Man's Dream—And Out of His Parents' Garage—Grew The Biggest Independent Metal Label of The Past Two Decades". Billboard. Vol. 114, no. 16. p. 27.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Coles, T (November 17, 2022). Death Metal. Genre: A 33 1/3 Series (1st ed.). Bloomsbury Publishing. pp. 47–48. ISBN 978-1501381010. LCCN 2022008924. OCLC 1290377919. OL 36433275M.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Heavy Metal '88: Major Madness" (PDF). Billboard. New York City: Penske Media Corporation. May 7, 1988. p. 58. ISSN 0006-2510. OCLC 732913734. Archived (PDF) from the original on January 10, 2025. Retrieved January 10, 2025 – via WorldRadioHistory.
In April '87, Enigma and Metal Blade signed a new long-term development and distribution deal which will benefit select Metal Blade acts such as Lizzy Borden, Fates Warning, and Sacred Reich. Previously, Enigma had marketed and distributed those groups' records; now, while also taking them through CEMA distribution, says [Enigma President Wesley] Hein, (...)
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Legaspi, Legaspi (December 22, 2016). "Scorpions Among Nominees for Hall of Heavy Metal History". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on December 17, 2024. Retrieved May 16, 2017.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Bell, Sadie (June 26, 2017). "BMG Will Release a Book on Metal Blade Records on Their Iconic History Later This Summer". Billboard. Archived from the original on July 7, 2023. Retrieved June 27, 2017.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Metal Blade Records opens store in Las Vegas, NV – rare and out-of-print items now for sale!". Metal Blade Records. October 1, 2019. Archived from the original on December 19, 2024. Retrieved June 6, 2023.
Works cited
- Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Wall, Mick (August 6, 2024). Enter Night: A Biography of Metallica (unabridged ed.). Macmillan + ORM. ISBN 978-0-312-64989-0. LCCN 2011008641. OCLC 681499655. OL 24885204M.
External links
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