Metal Blade Records
Founded1982 (1982)
FounderBrian Slagel
StatusIndependent
Distributor(s)RED Distribution (US)
Warner Music Group (outside the US)
Riot Entertainment (Australia)
Sony Music (CAN)
BMG Rights Management (Europe)
Diamante Music Group
GenreHeavy metal, extreme metal
Country of originUnited States
LocationPendleton Oaks, California, U.S.
Official websitemetalblade.com

Metal Blade Records is an American independent record label founded by Brian Slagel in 1982. The US office for Metal Blade is located in Sherman Oaks, California. It also has offices in Germany, Japan, Canada, and the UK. The label is distributed in the US 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 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.

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]

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.[5]

Notable artists

Current

Former

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Features". metalupdate.com. Archived from the original on November 25, 2010. Retrieved August 15, 2012.
  2. ↑ "Death Records (3) - CDs and Vinyl at Discogs". discogs. Archived from the original on July 1, 2023. Retrieved August 15, 2012.
  3. ↑ "Scorpions Among Nominees for Hall of Heavy Metal History". Rolling Stone. December 22, 2016. Retrieved May 16, 2017.
  4. ↑ "BMG Will Release a Book on Metal Blade Records on Their Iconic History Later This Summer". Billboard. Retrieved June 27, 2017.
  5. ↑ "Metal Blade Records opens store in Las Vegas, NV – rare and out-of-print items now for sale!". Metal Blade Records. Retrieved June 6, 2023.
  6. ↑ "Fates Warning signs worldwide deal with Metal Blade Records". Archived from the original on February 9, 2021. Retrieved February 4, 2021.
  7. ↑ "Harm's Way | Metal Blade Records". Archived from the original on August 12, 2020. Retrieved February 9, 2020.
  8. ↑ "Killswitch Engage | Metal Blade Records". Archived from the original on May 9, 2021. Retrieved May 8, 2021.
  9. ↑ "Metal Blade Records announce the signing of WOVENWAR featuring members of As I Lay Dying and Oh, Sleeper". metalblade.com. Archived from the original on April 21, 2016. Retrieved April 14, 2014.
  10. ↑ "Bison Bc Interview @ Louder Than Hell". Archived from the original on January 6, 2014. Retrieved February 8, 2019.
  11. ↑ "Lazarus A.D. Drummer Ryan Shutler Dies". loudwire.com. May 18, 2015. Archived from the original on June 13, 2016. Retrieved June 24, 2016.
  12. ↑ McFarlane, 'Taramis' entry. Archived from the original on August 3, 2004. Retrieved March 21, 2013.
  13. ↑ "Artists | Metal Blade Records". Archived from the original on April 29, 2021. Retrieved May 8, 2021.
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