Earache acapella/instrumental releases?

Question: Hey there Earache, I just wondered if the label\'s ever thought about releasing tracks in fragmented formats (EG: Acapellas, Instrumentals, Solo Instrument Backing Tracks) so fans and other artists could have a go at remixing them? I\'m sure there are plenty of budding musicians who would benifit from layering their own guitars/bass/drums/vocals over an existing track for practice, as well as producers and DJs who could remix tracks into their own unique sound. From: gabber_foxx@yahoo.co.uk

Answer: Earache's never really thought about actually releasing stuff broken up into individual instruments like that, even tho I am a big fan of so-called mash-ups etc. but check this out!!--some enterprising guy has already taken earache music to new mash up extremes! read about it here
Hear some crazy earache mash ups here

Bands we release tend to be mostly live, gigging, metal bands, many of whom dont embrace any kinda remix culture themselves.A few years back we did have an amazing offer from a japanese company to release karaoke versions of some Earache tracks - i thought it would be jolly good fun to hear drunken japanese salarymen trying to shout "auuuuugh" in time to Brutal Truth or Napalm Death in downtown Tokyo karaoke bars, but after we stopped laughing at the prospect, we declined the offer.

Morbid Angel Best of= BOOTLEG!

Question: hailz!
after reading one of the following \"ask earache\" segments about entombeds wolverine blues album and why both you and morbid angel parted ways it dawned on me when that a little while ago i saw ane last MA title in your catalog,ignonamos i beleive it was called from recollection,and it was a 2 disc best of in the vein of napalm deaths \'noise for musics sake\',since then ive noticed its been removed,i was just wondering if theres still plans to release this album and/or mosh299 which is just classified as a morbid angel dvd??
(p.s,also i was wondering why the release of carcass\'s choice cut was delayed by 8 years?(due in september \'96 under the name of \"dead,and buried\" i beleive)
anyway,cheers for all especially the almost 20 years of great releases,keep it comin\'!
From: thatweirdlookingguy@hotmail.com

Answer: Fuck- well spotted matey- it annoys the hell out of us and the band- that Morbid Angel fake "i" album is a complete fabrication and has been presumably compiled and released by some enterprising and soon-to-have-their-ass-sued bastard bootlegers. Avoid like the plague..The band and Earache have nothing to do with it.. they even have the audacity to include an Earache logo and give it a mosh number. The bands manager even suspected us of releasing it,cos it looked so convincing, plus, it was very embarrasing, as we were discussing that very same topic with the bands manager at the time but we had firmed up no actual concrete plans.The body of work Morbid have amassed on Earache is vast and we all agree it is begging for a 'best of 2 x CD' compilation at some stage, when band and label are good and ready, but that album IS NOT IT!

The title of the next "i" album by Morbid Angel is a closely guarded secret known only to Trey and presumably, the band.A stand alone Morbid Angel DVD was planned but the band felt it more appropriate to release 1989 era footage with the album it was recorded with, as for ease of royalty accounting purposes, they like to keep the Vincent era separate from the Tucker era - and totally separate from the Browning era-..hence the Dual Disc(CD+DVD on one disc)of Altars of Madness.


As for Carcass- yes, Earache was working on a simple 1x CD 'best of Carcass' comp in 1998 or so- without the bands involvement, as they had been split up for ages, and the ex-members seemingly had no interest in promoting Carcass any longer..our working title was "Dead and Buried" which made it onto some websites including our own..I think Jeff Walker kindly offered the alternative title 'Choice Cuts', which is much better anyway...so it was due to come out like that and some early "Choice Cuts" promo cds ( we estimate 50 max) were mailed to press...then totally unexpectedly in Feb 1999 drummer Ken Owen suffered a brain hemorrhage while at home, which put him into a coma for 6 months and left him severly disabled. All plans for that album were shelved indefinatley out of respect for Ken's critical health situation, which was the correct thing to do we felt.

5 years later Ken's health had improved somewhat- tho still disabled, he walked into our office, albeit with the aid of a walking stick- to discuss the final release of the long-delayed "Choice Cuts " album.The album was released on May 17 2004 with an extra track which Ken particularly liked. A exclusive interview with Carcass discussing these events can be read here.

Decapitated- 10/10 review!

Question: Hi there!

Just wanted to let you know, the review for your album on "The Metal Observer" is now online!

Decapitated - Organic Hallucinosis:
http://www.metal-observer.com/articles.php?lid=1&sid=1&id=9787

from : Val

Answer: THATS GREAT THANKS!!

Entombed-W. Blues & Morbid -Earache split

Question: Hi, I bought a copy of Wolverine Blues by Entombed way back when it first came out. During a period of acute poverty in my early twenties I was forced to sell it (along with a bunch of other stuff). After more than a decade I have just got round to buying myself a replacement copy and I am pretty sure there were a couple of samples in the original version of the album that appear to have been edited out in this version. One was right at start and another \'wake up you little shit...\' from the movie Flatliners I think cropped in in Rotten Soil.
I am going senile or is this some kind of sample clearance issue?
Thanks and keep up the good work.
p.s. Any chance of telling me why you parted ways with Morbid Angel??!! From: Stuart.Bell@scotland.gsi.gov.uk


Answer: You have a good memory Stuart- so no sign of senility yet! The original Wolverine Blues recording as delivered to us by the band at the time in 1993 did have a healthy sprinkling of movie samples (usually speech), and I think the promo Cd did contain the unedited album (itself a collectors item as it also contans a still unreleased bonus track),as maybe even did the first pressing of Wolverine Blues to retail stores in UK.It sort of dawned on us- probably prompted by the fact that a major record co- Columbia -was to release Wolverine Blues in USA, that the use of such samples is pretty much illegal, without the express permission of the holders in the copyright in the recordings sampled.The band were oblivious to such legalities and were quite upset when we made them remove the offending samples from the album, though we probably extended their career by such intervention.
We did try to legally 'clear' the samples but using speech from major motion pictures is so hard to get permission for- it entails the agreement of the actor/ producer/director/film studio/ distributor its kinda ridiculous to even try.One notable exception was some of the speech/effects from the film Hellraiser- where we did secure clearance, as it was an independent film at the time, and quite simple to get an oK from.

As for Morbid Angel- well I signed them in 1989 and everything they have ever recorded in their career is released on Earache, our discography encompasses the landmark early classics the A-B-C-D albums, but by the later era ones E-F-G-H sales had kinda become disappointing, also some big dramas were happening within the camp, the later era vocalist Steve Tucker had recently quit, the band was deemed in disarray somewhat, and so in 2005 we decided to decline to pick up the next - "I" - album and thus parted ways with the band, on fairly friendly terms I must add.In a super ironic twist, original vocalist David Vincent was announced as rejoining the fold on the same day we ended our deal with Morbid Angel -it didnt make us change our mind, even tho it was best thing the band could have done.

I doubt many acts can boast 16 years on one label (they signed and re-signed 3 contracts during that time), but dealing with any band on a daily basis for like 16 years is a trying experience I can tell ya- all the daily dramas and subtle tensions can add up over time, and similarly the band had pretty much grown tired of Earache a little bit also I expect, cos some other, newer labels were having the massive success Earache and Morbid had enjoyed in the early 90's and the big sales numbers were taking place in other less extreme metal genres..anyways, things move on and some times both sides know its time for a fresh approach.Thats more or less the actual reason we parted, sorry theres nothing more juicy to report....

We at Earache note they have yet to sign a new record deal, but we will watch their future career closely and wish them the very best of success.Earache is still proud to boast we are to date the only label to ever release anything by Morbid Angel (Giant records in USA aside).

At The Gates- Dual Disk?

Question: What is up with the At The Gates Dual disk release? when is it released, what is on it?
from :Terry

Answer: Its taking shape now, for release in about June, we have 6 hours of interview footage to edit to about a 30-40 minute documentary about the album, which will form the DVD side of the re-issue of this legendary CD- there are some amazing anecdotes and stories being told on this DVD-- ATG fans will love it!

Mortiis- not on Earache any more?

Question: Hi - I interviewed Mortiis last Friday in Bergen, Norway for a student newspaper. He told me that they have cut out Earache. Is this correct? If so, could you comment this? From: ktgulden@hotmail.com

Answer: yes, its true- Mortiis signed with Earache in 1999 to a 3-album deal,we released The Stargate 1999,The Smell Of Rain 2001, and 2004's the Grudge which marked the finishing of his commitment to Earache, and also the end of Earache's commitment to Mortiis.When we signed him he was making solo Dark Dungeon music and when he left us he was almost a Top 40 Act in UK.Right now, Mortiis remains a free agent and unsigned to any label.Tho we have co-operated together on the re-issue of the 3 Era-1 albums on CD with original artwork/expanded liner notes/slipcases etc- due out 24 april.

Naturally, Earache is in talks with Mortiis about signing a record new deal, as we love to sign creative and driven artists, we actually like what he does musically, and can see a splendidly successful long-term career developing for Mortiis- regardless of whatever label he signs to next..so, watch this space- he might be back!

Indie Store list to get COL 7inch from?

Question: Hi there. Having a bit of trouble with the Earache web site. I\'m trying to find out which stores near Birmignham will be stocking the free 7\" with the new Cult of Luna album on the 24th of this month, but the map doesn\'t give any info about the stores, just vague locations indicated by icons on the map which simply reload the page when clicked. From: robin@dps-int.com

Answer: yeah - i prodded the webmaster from his slumber and asked him what was up with the flashing red dots on the map..the name/town of each store was meant to show up if you hold your mouse over the red dot for a coupla seconds..it wasnt working tho.. now we have replaced the interactive map with a simple list... look at it NOW

CULT OF LUNA- Free 7inch?

Question: what is the story with the free single by CUl OF Luna? how do i get it?

from thomas

Answer: CULT OF LUNA Exclusive free 7 inch single

UK based fans of Sweden’s CULT OF LUNA are being offered a special treat
when they rush out to purchase the band’s fourth sonic outing ‘SOMEHERE
ALONG THE HIGHWAY’ on Monday 24th April.

At participating Indie stores across the UK any one who snaps up ‘SOMEHERE
ALONG THE HIGHWAY’ on any format will take home a free exclusive 7 inch by
Cult Of Luna containing 2 unreleased tracks which are unavailable anywhere
else:

CULT OF LUNA 2 track 7 inch limited 1000 copies

A) Bodies (Smashing Pumpkins cover)

B) Recluse (Unbroken cover)

Offer available while stocks last from the following participating UK Indie stores

copies are also available from the band on tour.

‘SOMEWHERE ALONG THE HIGHWAY’ will be released on Earache on April 24th.
Formats available: Digipak CD, Regular CD or Limited edition 2 x 12"Vinyl LP

MA 'Altars' pic disc

Question: How many copies will there be printed of the new \"Alters of Madness\" picture disc LP? From: minuutje@yahoo.com

Answer: 1500 copies of the new pic disc with extra vinyl track"Lord of All Fevers and Plague' added were made. 750 of which exported to USA. The orginal Pic disc came out in early 90's and had a colour pic of the band on the reverse.this new edition has a b/w pic of the band.see the editions on Earache's catalog page

Slaughterhouse Studios- the story

Question: is the \'slaughterhouse studios\' still in existance?
napalm death recorded the mentally murdered ep there and bolt thrower did war master there, i just love the sound on those albums.
cheers From: Unknown.

Answer:In the late 80's I booked Napalm Death into this unknown (for metal) studio in Driffield, a small town in East Yorkshire, UK -based on Mick Harris rating the clear cut sound/seperation on a recent album by The Sundays, a successful UK indie pop act of the time.A few other notable Northern Indie rock acts had used it too- Sisters Of Mercy etc.It was called Slaughterhouse Studios- built on the site of an old abbattoir- and it even offered bands the use of a house down the road where they could stay during the recording, it was the fist time Earache could afford any band such luxury.

When we showed up we met for the very first time the in-house studio engineer/producer Colin Richardson,who we all got on with right away.His friendly and unassuming manner and dedication to his craft was a refreshing change, as the only studios Napalm Death had been in before were pretty dismissive or downright hostile to the noise the band were making.Colin was different- he clicked with me when he casually mentioned he had engineered a record by a UK punk band some years previously while at another studio- Discharge's WHY? EP.Blimey! this fact alone made him a God to me and I knew I had the man for the job of creating Earache's brand of extreme metal, as the early Discharge sounds were and still are the earthshattering blueprints for extreme music, and Colin was instrumental in creating that sound.

Colin proved to be on the top of his game, and his expertise literally changed the labels fortunes as i booked a procession of bands up to Driffield- they would walk in average bands, taking the first toddler steps in their careers, and within weeks would emerge with World-Class productions to their name- he produced a good percentage of the first 50 or so mosh number albums, including Carcass, Bolt Thrower, Massacre, Fudge Tunnel, Brutal Truth- Hellbastard, Lawnmower Deth even( with fellow Slaughterhouse co-engineer Stephen Harris - who a decade later mixed U2's hit singles!) , and I made damn sure Colin was properly credited as Producer on those early albums even tho, with typical modesty, he didnt ask for such a credit.

By the mid 90's Colin was THE main man for extreme metal and he often chose to record at other locations- Chapel Studios in the village of South Thoresby,Lincolnshire was and still is his fave etc- Slaughterhouse kinda fell off our radar,bookings had dried up, and we heard the owner burnt it down one night as an insurance job.

The final album we had Colin produce was the Pulkas album "Greed" in 1998, but that was immediately marred by some shady business shenanigans between Earache and Colin's wife Lora (who became the acts manager) over the band's future.

THE NOW on Earache?

Question: did you ever have a band called the now signed to you at all. i really want there cd but i cant find it anywere From: myeyesaremycamera@hotmail.co.uk

Answer: No they are not on Earache but they sound quite decent for an Indie band, they will be massive when A&R guys catch up with them, thats for sure. Hear em On Myspace

At The gates logo?

Question: I have been hunting for a perfect pic of the at the gates logo. the one with the three bullets. The reason why is so I can get it tattooted. could you please send me one or refer a web site? thank you for taking the time to read this. From: zero_hour_is_here@hotmail.com



Answer: you could try the bands own mini website here

Mortiis' book- where to buy?

Question: I am looking for Mortiis\'s book \"Secrets of my Kingdom\". Do you sell this item and if not where would I be able to find it. From: shari3schneider@hotmail.com


MORTIIS's book, "Secrets of My Kingdom," was available for sale beginning July 2nd 2001 in Europe and July 10th 2001 in the U.S. Contained therein was Mortiis' prose and lyrics, spanning the last decade and illustrations from such artists as Mark Riddick, Juha Vuorma, and Kerry Bartlet, depicting the fantasy world of Mortiis's visions. The book was a 144-page leather-bound tome in a severely limited edition of 850 copies, each signed personally by Mortiis, and the book came packaged with a special 'gold disc' version of the Mortiis CD, "The Stargate."
Many fans are unaware it even exists, its by far the rarest and most collectable of Mortiis' official releases on Earache.Try ebay and expect to pay $150+.

Morbid Angel -24 bit remaster CD?

Question: Can you explain the entire remastering of the first two Morbid Angel albums \"Altars of Madness\" and \"Blessed Are The Sick\"? The sticker says 24 bit remaster, what is that? Also, can you personally tell a difference symphonically from the original cd issue? From: usmc2621@hotmail.com


Answer:Both albums were re-issued a few years ago and were indeed remastered digitally to boost the sound levels -we thought the albums were showing their age and could use a modern upgrade so they sounded like more contemporary albums which are usually louder compared to stuff released 16-17 years ago.We used the now commonplace digital mastering software operating at 24 bit resolution whereas the original CDs of both were originally mastered from tape, in analogue environment, during late 80's early 90's.

For the new remastering we actually made a 24 bit remaster from the very original mixdown tapes but it sounded scarily different from the already released CDs fans are used to,instruments came out sounding much different, so for this re-issue,we resorted to remastering from the originally released cds.

We think the results are - a better,clearer, louder sound. The irony in all this is that Cds themselves are 16 bit technology, so the 24 bit mastering process is a bit of a misnomer.The main improvment is a louder sounding CD.

Intense degree- where to buy it?

Question: is there any way i can purchase a copy of intense degree war in my head on cd other then ebay,if i can buy direct from you that would be amazing?!!please let me know!!!thanks From: hortz@blueyonder.co.uk


Answer: Intense degree on CD is available ONLY at Disk Union in japan.

Sending a demo to earache (Part 3,128)

Question: HI I KNOW YOU PROBERBLY GET THIS A LOT, BUT CAN I SEND A COPY OF MY BANDS CD TO YOU ?
(INSIDE ARCHAM/PRELUDE TO A MASSACRE) From: CATHERFOSTER@XTRA.CO.NZ


Answer: sure- fill out the form on the contacts page!

Earache Realtones- in UK only?

Question: Hello earache! i\"m swedish and wondering how i can order your mobile stuff to my mobil?? for ex. a realtone with Decapitated... must i be in USA/England land or something? Jimmy From: jimpa_8@hotmail.com

Answer: The mobile phone graphics and realtones and ringtones we currently offer are only for sale to UK phones at the moment. Our mobile service provider- Mobiq, based in Birmingham , UK - do intent to spread the reach of the service to more European countries and USA soon, but have to secure more deals with the European mobile networks.If that happens there will be a select your country option added to the ringtone/realtone subsite.We also plan to offer full track mp3 downloads to mobiles in the near future.

At The Gates- Slaughter Of The Soul dualdisk edition.

Question: Are you re-releasing At the Gates - Slaughter of the soul again in 2006-04-28?
Which extra tracks and/or other bonus material will be on it?
Sorry to say I missed this great album when the limited slip-case was out in 2002. From: shamaatae@gmail.com

Answer:This weekend 5th march, Earache has arranged for the old members of ATG to gather together at Fredman Studio in Gothenberg to be filmed for a Documentary style DVD, by acclaimed video director Patrick Ullaeus. This will form the DVD side of the Slaughter Of The Soul Dualdisk we have down to release late april/may.

The band are not scheduled to actually 'play' anything( sadly)- but instead will talk on camera about the making of the legendary album and the bands history.Original producer of the album Fredrik Nordström will be playing back songs from the multitracks masters for the fans to hear and band to reminisce about .It should be essential viewing for any fan, and a history lesson in the making of a groundbreaking cd which set the Gothenberg scene alight on its original release in 1995.

The Cd side is the original album.

Elitist- what happened?

Question: What happened to Elitist Records and all of their bands? And what was Necrosis all about years ago? From: Unknown.


Answer: Elitist was founded as a Sub-label of Earache due to a chance meeting in 2001 between Lee (ex Candlelight founder) and myself (Dig, Earache founder). Lee was looking to try again with a label and needed financial backing as he was eyeing up some cool new bands.I thought, given Lee's pedigree in signings in the past ( the only thing bigger than signing Emperor and Opeth, is- arguably- signing Napalm, Morbid and Carcass etc ha ha ;-)), his undoubted A&R skills would bring some much-needed new acts of a different style in-house to the Earache roster.A deal was struck between us, and then Earache did not get too involved with the label ,beyond the actual signingof acts and stumping up the dosh-it suited us to leave the day to day contact with the bands, the Elitist website, and overall Elitist A&R planning mostly to Lee, working independently of us.

Sub-labels are by their very nature limited in lifespan.The sole aim from the outset was to unearth some new big selling prospects for my label, not fund Lee's A&R talents for evermore.This is an important distinction. Earache has done a similar thing in the past many times: In early 90's Necrosis was a similar setup with Bill and Jeff from Carcass doing the A&R- lasted 3 releases but released Mike Amott's Carnage tho.Also, I funded a 7" vinyl label called New Chapter in mid 90's, spearheaded by then UK A&R co-ordinator Mitch Dickinson, but that lasted about 4 releases but did unearth the mighty Coalesce, err and Resinate anyone?

As well as inhouse labels we also license a couple of established 3rd party labels -The USA Willowtip label is currently licensed to us, as is Uk's Codebreaker, tho that also ended recently too as Duncan chose to fold the Codebreaker to go work for Prosthetic.More longer term, Wicked World is the sole A&R of Dan Tobin, the UK Earache label manager( who signs the greatest proportion of the new acts on Earache anyways).Wicked World is 100% worked by Earache staff, and is Earache in all but name, specialising in the more Underground metal sounds.

In late-2005, circumstances meant that Earache chose to concentrate its resources on its main label acts as opposed to the sub labels.When we shake the tree, the dead wood tends to falls out.Most of the Elitist acts had never performed more than a handlful of live concerts,some had more albums out than actual gigs,overall sales were poor, and so my faith in the label had undoubtedly waned.After operating for about 3 years, the closure was messy- one was given the money for an album but never delivered, and some bands felt left high and dry because their plans were indefinately postponed or outright cancelled, meanwhile the two biggest selling Elitist acts- Biomechanical and Ephel Duath -moved up to Earache 'proper' and they appear quite content with that.Lee stood firm for the rest of his stable of acts-amid wild accusations,messageboards lit up with the outpourings of thwarted ambitions and crushed egos, but the writing was on the wall, my support for Lee and the rest of the acts had evaporated,Elitist was over, and that was that.

In time, I think fans will appreciate the eclectic cutting edge nature of the label from 2002-2005 (Rakoth's 'Tiny Deaths', anyone?)- it has left a great legacy of 14 or so highly innovative albums which was the original intention accomplished, I'm sure you'll agree. Now in 2006 we are gearing up for the task of making sure Biomechanical and Ephel Duath create a long term successful career for themselves.Of the others- some like Wolverine will sign to a new label (Candlelight) which can give them attention, and should do well, Carnival In Coal have quickly signed to an Osmose records offshoot, Equilibre.The rest will carry on furthering their 'career' to their adoring 'fans' via the medium of the messageboards, same as they always did.

Decapitated art mistakes?

Question: Who\'s doing was it that ended up having the same thankyou list printed twice in the New Decapitated album sleeve. lol. From: the_pig_destroyer@hotmail.com


Answer: Same as all their album art on their 4 albums to date- it was 100% conceived, created, and delivered to Earache by the band- or rather their management. I guess its kinda strange that we didn't check it for such glaring errors,in our defence we had little time to put it into production- maybe a day- tho i do recall the actual album nearly was called 'Organic Halucinosis' on the spines of the CD, rather than the correct 'Organic Hallucinosis', err so thats one typo we did spot!
Anyways it wouldnt be an Earache release without the obligatory typo or two,its our trademark, and will no doubt be corrected in later pressings.Early buyers will then -unwittingly- have a collectors item, no doubt worth stacks on ebay in years!