The metal thread \m/

[legatoblues]

Also this is filthy. One of my favourite recent releases.

 

[LATEXXX COMMANDO]

Well, I'm not sure you're wrong and I'm not sure if I miscommunicated.

Here's where shit gets complicated. But let me first say this. Death Metal dudes aren't immune to greed. Nor needing their ego stroked. Around the office there were some notorious personalities. Of the top five, three are Death Metal guys. Personally I found the Grindcore dudes to be less conscious of money.

Let's look at Mortician. They were selling 20-25k records at their peak. They recorded the albums themselves. That means no studio advance, which is recoupable against royalties. So they make money from the sale of album #1. They didn't tour much, so tour support wasn't a big thing. They could get enough in guarantees that they didn't need a royalty advance to get out on the road. So they got checks every six months when royalties were due. I know. I signed the checks for years. They were known as the accountant's best friend because the return compared to investment was like printing money.

Sidenote. Mortician I think legit scared Matt. When I got there Relapse was negligent with timely royalty payments. But no matter what, Mortician's accounting was always up to date.

Now let's take a band like Mastodon. They couldn't easily plug in to an established, potentially lucrative niche. Not saying Mortician didn't do something different, but you knew it was Death Metal when you heard it. Mastodon was a bit of a new beast. So those who connected with the music were head over heals. Others took some work. And as I said, we struggled to establish and audience early on.

It also cost money to make the record, which Relapse was sorely lacking. In fact, the company's CPA told a coworker the company was going under. So coughing up 10-15k for some unknown dudes to record was a big investment. Then there was some issues, which I forget. I wanna say the producer didn't like a studio and wanted to change. Or time ran out and the record needed finished up elsewhere. Something like that. Everyone got paid late. lol.

Now imagine you'd seen that band live, and it was about the most crushing thing you've ever seen. I say this as someone who saw Neurosis on every tour since Souls At Zero, and Eyehategod crushing Neurosis when they toured together in like 1995. So we knew we just needed to get the band out in front of people. Trouble is they were still unknown and would be the third or fourth band down on the bill. That shit don't pay as much as headlining or main support. That means more advances against royalties from the label. Could be for van rental, or maybe flights to Europe.

Eventually the band caught fire, but they needed lots of upfront money through the Leviathan touring cycle to take advantage of all the opportunities that catapulted them to Grammy status. Speaking of Leviathan, that went gold in the UK and I could have gotten a "gold record", but it would have cost the label money to feed my ego and I didn't do shit to deserve it. So me and the other guy running the joint declined. Gotta admit, part of me would like to be ebaying that right now. lol.

Here's a band far more interested in making art than worrying about money. Although I wouldn't trust 'em if I left my wallet behind. I caught these guys in Baltimore right around the time this record came out. Baroness was on the same bill, pre Relapse signing, and FDIS just destroyed that night. Dave Witte was trying to sell me on Baroness and I just didn't care.









In my book that counts.

Spoiler

It counts as good taste.

Makes sense.

Lol, I believe it. I've hear stories about Will, not anything bad just that don't fuck with him and he's a cool dude.

You really do love yourself some Mastodon. Any bands that you wished you could have signed but didn't due to whatever reasons?

 

[trendnick]

1985
With that song..... Booom... I started listening to Metal. I was a totally amazed about the guitar solo mix in the beginning, than starting that glorious song with a boom by an Canon. Love that aggression... That riffing arrrghhhh

 

[trendnick]

Next was Vader with that glorious 1989 Demo Tape. Best guitars ever.... also today (equalize the sound.... Put guitar middles high plus appropriate bass). Listen to the guitar at full volume and forget everything. Don't drive. Or when you drive, drive a Hayabusa Turbo.

!

 

[Cubo de Sangre]

1985
With that song..... Booom... I started listening to Metal. I was a totally amazed about the guitar solo mix in the beginning, than starting that glorious song with a boom by an Canon. Love that aggression... That riffing arrrghhhh

Sentence of Death is top three Thrash ep's of all time. It, Haunting the Chapel, and one more that suits your fancy.

 

[Sage NorthGOAT]

1985
With that song..... Booom... I started listening to Metal. I was a totally amazed about the guitar solo mix in the beginning, than starting that glorious song with a boom by an Canon. Love that aggression... That riffing arrrghhhh

I haven't heard much of their stuff, but this intro solo to reject emotions is one of my all time favorites. Trippy, blusey, classical, very cool vibe

 

[Cubo de Sangre]

Makes sense.

Lol, I believe it. I've hear stories about Will, not anything bad just that don't fuck with him and he's a cool dude.

You really do love yourself some Mastodon. Any bands that you wished you could have signed but didn't due to whatever reasons?

Don't get me wrong, I'm not the world's biggest Mastodon fan. After Leviathan I don't really like the band much. It's just that they were a huge part of the label's success in the mid-2000's. Them and Dillinger.

There were a number of bands that didn't work out.

Clutch. This would have been a three album deal starting with Blast Tyrant (their best album). I recall they wanted a 50/50 partnership type deal and the owner wasn't interested in that arrangement. Easily one of my all time favorite bands.

The Accused. This would have been the Oh Martha record. Which I thought was an amazing return to form for the band. Problem was we couldn't get any back catalog along with it and they wanted more of an advance than the owner wanted to pay.

Morne. A dude in the Relapse mailorder picked up the demo and I was hooked. Their first couple records turned out great too. Word I got was the band thought we were a little too big or corporate or something.





Melvins. Another all time favorite band for me. This was after their Atlantic deal and between my two stints at the label. But I heard they got dropped and got up the owner's ass to sign 'em. I think he met the band for dinner or something. They went elsewhere and the rumor was Matt (Relapse owner) sorta turned those guys off when he asked them for a demo. lol.

Dr. Know. Not sign for a new record, but a reissue of This Island Earth. Got in touch with the guy, Kyle. He said the album would need remixed and remastered and generally just wasn't into the idea. Knowing that it would cost way more than it was gonna sell, I didn't press him on it.

Oxbow. Saw them live at the Neurot fest in like 2002. Pretty sure Eugene asked me about the possibility after I started buying the band's records off him for our mailorder. Problem is nobody at Relapse but me liked the band. They wound up on Hydra Head. Doubt they sold much, but that band's fucking great.

Eyehategod. There were never any talks to my knowledge. I just know it's a crime a shitty label like Century Media got to put their records out.

Isis. It seemed like a foregone conclusion the band would sign. Hell, our promotions guy put out their EP and LP on his label Escape Artist. I even did an Aaron Turner project on my label. Then at the last minute they went with Ipecac. Word I got was they didn't want to really associate themselves with some of the stuff on the roster.

Spoiler

Personally I was never a big fan of the band. But they were shit hot for awhile and would have been a real nice addition. And really, who wants someone around that thinks they're too good for you?

There were a ton of other bands we tried to sign that didn't work out, but the above are the ones that mattered most to me musically. On the flip side, lots of stuff did work out. Here's some signings and reissues that I pushed for. Not saying I'm the only one responsible and deserve any and all credit. Just saying I either brought the band to the discussion or championed the signing when someone else brought it to my attention.

Neurosis
High On Fire
Zeke
Broken Bones
Adrenaline O.D.
16
Facedowninshit
Culted
Pig Destroyer
Toxic Holocaust
Cryptic Slaughter
Harvey Milk
Fuck The Facts
Revocation
Buried Inside

I also masterminded this entire sublabel.

https://www.discogs.com/label/13922-Desolation-House

The Release Entertainment division of Relapse was sucking wind. I put this together in an effort to gracefully exit the dark ambient scene and let the Release imprint die out.

 

[LATEXXX COMMANDO]

Don't get me wrong, I'm not the world's biggest Mastodon fan. After Leviathan I don't really like the band much. It's just that they were a huge part of the label's success in the mid-2000's. Them and Dillinger.

There were a number of bands that didn't work out.

Clutch. This would have been a three album deal starting with Blast Tyrant (their best album). I recall they wanted a 50/50 partnership type deal and the owner wasn't interested in that arrangement. Easily one of my all time favorite bands.

The Accused. This would have been the Oh Martha record. Which I thought was an amazing return to form for the band. Problem was we couldn't get any back catalog along with it and they wanted more of an advance than the owner wanted to pay.

Morne. A dude in the Relapse mailorder picked up the demo and I was hooked. Their first couple records turned out great too. Word I got was the band thought we were a little too big or corporate or something.





Melvins. Another all time favorite band for me. This was after their Atlantic deal and between my two stints at the label. But I heard they got dropped and got up the owner's ass to sign 'em. I think he met the band for dinner or something. They went elsewhere and the rumor was Matt (Relapse owner) sorta turned those guys off when he asked them for a demo. lol.

Dr. Know. Not sign for a new record, but a reissue of This Island Earth. Got in touch with the guy, Kyle. He said the album would need remixed and remastered and generally just wasn't into the idea. Knowing that it would cost way more than it was gonna sell, I didn't press him on it.

Oxbow. Saw them live at the Neurot fest in like 2002. Pretty sure Eugene asked me about the possibility after I started buying the band's records off him for our mailorder. Problem is nobody at Relapse but me liked the band. They wound up on Hydra Head. Doubt they sold much, but that band's fucking great.

Eyehategod. There were never any talks to my knowledge. I just know it's a crime a shitty label like Century Media got to put their records out.

Isis. It seemed like a foregone conclusion the band would sign. Hell, our promotions guy put out their EP and LP on his label Escape Artist. I even did an Aaron Turner project on my label. Then at the last minute they went with Ipecac. Word I got was they didn't want to really associate themselves with some of the stuff on the roster.

Spoiler

Personally I was never a big fan of the band. But they were shit hot for awhile and would have been a real nice addition. And really, who wants someone around that thinks they're too good for you?

There were a ton of other bands we tried to sign that didn't work out, but the above are the ones that mattered most to me musically. On the flip side, lots of stuff did work out. Here's some signings and reissues that I pushed for. Not saying I'm the only one responsible and deserve any and all credit. Just saying I either brought the band to the discussion or championed the signing when someone else brought it to my attention.

Neurosis
High On Fire
Zeke
Broken Bones
Adrenaline O.D.
16
Facedowninshit
Culted
Pig Destroyer
Toxic Holocaust
Cryptic Slaughter
Harvey Milk
Fuck The Facts
Revocation
Buried Inside

I also masterminded this entire sublabel.


https://www.discogs.com/label/13922-Desolation-House

The Release Entertainment division of Relapse was sucking wind. I put this together in an effort to gracefully exit the dark ambient scene and let the Release imprint die out.

Forgot about Clutch, their early stuff was good.



Lol I forgot about that cover. I'm surprised Relapse let the album cover go out. I would have never imagined they would be associated with a label like Relapse with it.

Cool stuff, man. I appreciate these BTS stories and insight you shared. Very interesting.

 

[Cubo de Sangre]

Forgot about Clutch, their early stuff was good.



Lol I forgot about that cover. I'm surprised Relapse let the album cover go out. I would have never imagined they would be associated with a label like Relapse with it.

Cool stuff, man. I appreciate these BTS stories and insight you shared. Very interesting.

Clutch blossomed into one of the finest Rock bands of this century. Tell me this doesn't kick a little ass.





Why are you surprised by that Regurgitate cover?

I appreciate your interest. It's fun to talk Metal and help fill the dustbin of history with some stories.

 

[LATEXXX COMMANDO]

Clutch blossomed into one of the finest Rock bands of this century. Tell me this doesn't kick a little ass.





Why are you surprised by that Regurgitate cover?

I appreciate your interest. It's fun to talk Metal and help fill the dustbin of history with some stories.

Yeah, good stuff.

I'm not surprised by the cover lol, I'm surprised Relapse was ok with it. I personally think it's hilarious and perfect for their sound.

It's just something I wouldn't think Relapse would accept.

 

[LATEXXX COMMANDO]

Been replaying this the past week.

Legends with legends. (Leski of Gorgasm on vocals)

 

[trendnick]

I haven't heard much of their stuff, but this intro solo to reject emotions is one of my all time favorites. Trippy, blusey, classical, very cool vibe

I didn't like Destruction that much after their first 3 outputs (sentence, infernal overkill, eternal devastation).

All later records where a softening in sound and vocals. Kreator and Slayer replaced them (and all other good aggressive bands). Oh Tankard I liked also til The Morning After.

 

[Cubo de Sangre]

Yeah, good stuff.

I'm not surprised by the cover lol, I'm surprised Relapse was ok with it. I personally think it's hilarious and perfect for their sound.

It's just something I wouldn't think Relapse would accept.

Under recent management that might be the case. For the first 20 years we had a track-record of not giving a fuck.

I agree, that album cover is hilarious. And admit there were some internal concern over the cover being so crass (or whatever). Not from me. I cheered it on. Couldn't wait for the shirts. The owner fancied himself a supporter of bands, so if that's the art they wanted then he wasn't going to say no.

You should check out the Merzbow/Gore Beyond Necropsy "Rectal Anarchy" LP cover. Not the CD, the LP. Then there was the Brighter Death Now "Innerwar" CD. Beneath the tray, printed on the back side of the tray card, was a very skinny, naked, young girl. Can't say it was erotic, but if someone called it kiddie porn I couldn't say they were wrong.

We put out this comp on CD and licensed the LP to another label.

Well, the disc print made me laugh so much that one day I just decided we were gonna do a 7" boxset of it. Just because I wanted to make a box out of the disc print.

Spoiler

Here's the box! Sorry, best pic I could find.

 

[LATEXXX COMMANDO]

Under recent management that might be the case. For the first 20 years we had a track-record of not giving a fuck.

I agree, that album cover is hilarious. And admit there were some internal concern over the cover being so crass (or whatever). Not from me. I cheered it on. Couldn't wait for the shirts. The owner fancied himself a supporter of bands, so if that's the art they wanted then he wasn't going to say no.

You should check out the Merzbow/Gore Beyond Necropsy "Rectal Anarchy" LP cover. Not the CD, the LP. Then there was the Brighter Death Now "Innerwar" CD. Beneath the tray, printed on the back side of the tray card, was a very skinny, naked, young girl. Can't say it was erotic, but if someone called it kiddie porn I couldn't say they were wrong.

We put out this comp on CD and licensed the LP to another label.

Well, the disc print made me laugh so much that one day I just decided we were gonna do a 7" boxset of it. Just because I wanted to make a box out of the disc print.

Spoiler

Here's the box! Sorry, best pic I could find.

Gore Beyond Necropsy! Lol forgot about them.

This demo was sick


Yeah man, through my grind/metal journey I've found some really hilariously grotesque covers to some that are just eh...make you feel iffy.

Lol my name is a play on one of my favorite albums:

Spoiler

 

[Cubo de Sangre]

Gore Beyond Necropsy! Lol forgot about them.

This demo was sick


Yeah man, through my grind/metal journey I've found some really hilariously grotesque covers to some that are just eh...make you feel iffy.

Lol my name is a play on one of my favorite albums:

Spoiler

Yeah, that Devourment cover is some fucked up shit.

GBN (lo-fi, gutteral) was never my kinda thing. Sounds like it's your's, and that's cool. Just not sure how much our tastes overlap.

In regards to "offensive", a couple more bands came to mind. Relapse put out Anal Cunt "Morbid Florist". That was the demo that got 'em signed to Earache. Funny how they suddenly start going by A.C.. Now maybe that was the band's decision all by themselves, but word I got was Earache pushed for it so they wouldn't get any pushback from retailers.

We got pushback on this band. It's Mieszko from Nasum (RIP). We signed them after their second record and acquired rights to that and their first album. Here's the original cover on Distortion Records.

As I recall, the album was gonna be a no go in Germany. My position was fuck them then. The band, without any pressure from Relapse, decided to alter their name in the opposite manner of Anal Cunt. I think they just knew they'd be getting far more attention now and when they started the band it wasn't very serious. The SS supposedly always stood for Superstars. So they nixed the abbreviation and here's the result. By the way, this is the type of music that gets my fist pumping, head banging, and toe tapping. Fuck yeah.





This is another track from the third album that's so my cup of tea.





And a couple more for fun. This is an old Crust band that got a new lease on life when Tomas/At The Gates took over the vocals. Holy shit this rips.

 

[LATEXXX COMMANDO]

Yeah, that Devourment cover is some fucked up shit.

GBN (lo-fi, gutteral) was never my kinda thing. Sounds like it's your's, and that's cool. Just not sure how much our tastes overlap.

In regards to "offensive", a couple more bands came to mind. Relapse put out Anal Cunt "Morbid Florist". That was the demo that got 'em signed to Earache. Funny how they suddenly start going by A.C.. Now maybe that was the band's decision all by themselves, but word I got was Earache pushed for it so they wouldn't get any pushback from retailers.

We got pushback on this band. It's Mieszko from Nasum (RIP). We signed them after their second record and acquired rights to that and their first album. Here's the original cover on Distortion Records.

As I recall, the album was gonna be a no go in Germany. My position was fuck them then. The band, without any pressure from Relapse, decided to alter their name in the opposite manner of Anal Cunt. I think they just knew they'd be getting far more attention now and when they started the band it wasn't very serious. The SS supposedly always stood for Superstars. So they nixed the abbreviation and here's the result. By the way, this is the type of music that gets my fist pumping, head banging, and toe tapping. Fuck yeah.





This is another track from the third album that's so my cup of tea.





And a couple more for fun. This is an old Crust band that got a new lease on life when Tomas/At The Gates took over the vocals. Holy shit this rips.

That album cover really is messed up...

Spoiler

I own the shirt

I never listened to much AC but they're music is fine by me. I think they're live performance at Relapse's fest is hilarious.

Never heard og Genocide SS but they're good, thanks for the share.

I listen to all types of metal/grind to get me going. I mostly lean towards BDM but if it sounds good to me, alright.

Love all this shit:


My favorite band, love their song writing. Riff masters

 

[BEATDOWNS]

Two bands i am new to and really digging lately are Bleed From Within and Fit For an Autopsy. Both have some really killer chunes/Albums.

I'm not big on Deathcore but FFAA does it right. imho

 

[ObsoleteSoul]

 

[marioh]

Charlie Benante has been killing it during this quarantine. One of the few good things to come out during this lockdown are his covers with various musicians:
SOD:

Living Color:

Rush:

Discharge:

 

[LATEXXX COMMANDO]

 

[Bamboozled]

Charlie Benante has been killing it during this quarantine. One of the few good things to come out during this lockdown are his covers with
Rush:

My favorite rush cover :>

 

[HHJ]