Godflesh and Hammett/Metallica

Question: Here\'s another question that\'s been bugging me... sorry for all the questions but there\'s so much about these bands I wanna just find out:

Godflesh is probably one of my favourtie bands ever and probably the most unique band to ever sign to Earache. I actually read from the official Godflesh fansite (Godflesh.com) that Godflesh and Kirk Hammett of Metallica fame actually had some bad blood... well sort of.

Kirk supposedly said that Godflesh was one of his favorite bands and that their music is unbelieveable crushing. Justin Broadrick and Godflesh were flattered and they supposedly actually had contacts with one another here and there. Later however, Kirk Hammett and Metallica made the album \"Reload\" and some of the artwork for the album was taken from Godflesh\'s music video \"Crush My Soul.\" Kirk or no one in Metallica credited Godflesh or the director of that music video for the cover art or the artwork credit. Hence Godflesh and Kirk had some bad blood but in the end, one time Kirk mentioned in an interview that the most heaviest band in the world is Godflesh, which was his way of easing the tension between the two bands.

Long story I know but I made it short for ya... now this is according to Godflesh.com but it just sounds too good to be true so would you know if this is somehow valid?

Also, just one more question that\'s Godflesh related: I heard that Justin Broadrick was once asked to join bands like Danzig and Faith No More full time but he declined the offers... was this a rumor or is this true to your knowledge that he was asked to join these two bands?

Thanks once again! From: davidaloca@gmail.com


Answer: well- as this page says-if you wanna know something- you came to the right place! Its pretty much 100% true actually.Godflesh was one of Earache's most innovative bands in the early 90's grind/death era, by having more industrial and arty leanings, their truly crushing, drum machine driven sound was totally heavy but also stood out from the pack.
Godflesh quickly became very famous with the SF and LA alterna-metal crowd- i think a Kerrang! magazine writer Steffan Chirazi was responsible for this- he seemed to be turning on all his friends like Metallica, Faith No More and just about everyone else in California into Godflesh fanatics, such that when they toured West Coast for the first time around 1994, Kirk Hammett actually asked Justin to drop by his palatial home and studio and to jam together and hang out and shoot the shit about each others bands - Kirk generously gave him a guitar and some 'tallica momentoes, and naturally attended the Godflesh gig later ( i think Lars came too?)

I guess that was where Justin mentioned to Kirk that Godflesh's new video "Crush My Soul' had been directed by the up n coming avant garde artist Andres SerranoThe artist had become famous for graphic artworks like Piss Christ(a controversial photograph of a crucifix immersed in a beaker of piss), and Godflesh was the first and only music video he directed.

It seems that the next Metallica album cover-1996's " Load" utilised the same artists work, no doubt influenced by Godflesh's video years earlier.I guess Justin felt he had given kirk the idea, which is no doubt true, i dont actually think any of Godflesh 's art itself was used by Metallica tho, that would be cheesy.It was the idea of using Serrano in the first place he was upset about.

And yes its is true that both Faith No More and years later Danzig asked Justin to join their band on guitar- both times he refused, prefering to make his own music.
Justin nows plays in his incredible new band -Jesu.

The Fookin' Macc Lads?

Question: this one is for digby, are you the dig pearson whos in the thank you list of various macc lads records just out of interest. From: unknown.

Answer: yup its me..tho i doubt I was actually 'thanked' on any Macc lads records when they were going during early-mid 80's..its the first time i heard they mentioned me, since i have none of their records to bother to check.
I used to slag them off in my column in Maximum Rock n Roll fanzine for being sexist cunts, and rubbish musically aswell.Hmmm-I guess i had a sense of humour bypass when i was younger, being yer typical UK angry politico crass/discharge anarcho type back then, so macc lads lyrics were deemed a complete fucking sexist nightmare. This was before PC (political correctness) came into fashion!

Earache later signed Anal Cunt- an obnxious grind band,who were not too different to the macc lads really.. Nowadays i think they are pretty funny actually- fair play to them,they are a 'Sid the Sexist' cartoon character out of Viz comics, come to life as a band.Its Extreme, and Hilarious.

Thrash Lives in Nottingham

Question: i read in on of the latest \'ask earache\' thingys they were going on about SANZEN getting signed and maybe a metal revival around notts/etc. we\'ll i\'d just like to say that your a bit late, a new wave of thrash is gonna take over the uk, e.g. DEADFALL/EVILE/HEADLESS CROSS/etc... From: Unknown.

Answer: yeah we know! see you at the junktion 7 on thursday for some THRASH!!

Deicide album pushed back- why?

Question: I think you guys owe us Deicide fans an explanation why the Deicide cd wasnt released on tuesday?? All the press before said it would come out on tuesday. Then, right before it came out you said, \' Oh wait, now its just going to be two songs\'. And not only that, but then you expect us to pays for it!. I think you guys should stop jerking the Deicide fans around and tell us officially when the thing is coming out and stick to it!! From: Sherfoto@comcast.com


Answer: Sorry BUT YEAH - we ARE expecting you to pay for it- DAMN RIGHT.twice over actually.

Glen Benton on Roadrunner united album

Question: maybe you can kill a rumour hear, is it true that earache recomended against glen benton apearing on roadrunner united as has been reported on several roadrunner fansites and zines. From:


Answer: Nah, thats complete hogwash.We never had any opinion about it actually, apart from a measure of suprise as Glen had previously led us to beleive that he hated RR. First we knew was Glen announced he was off to the studio to record his vocals, and it turned out great, the song he guests on is the best on that compilation, by far i think.

Earthtone 9 never signed with Earache?

Question: This is a question that i have wondered about for a long time why didnt earache sign or attempt earthtone 9, i mean they had all the ingredients that most earache bands at that time had eg nottingham based, former members of earache bands either in live line up or for collaberations eg working with members of iron monkey and so on. It just strikes me as weird as of all the nottingham metal bands at that time earthtone9 seemed to be the one that slipped through the net From: Unknown.

Answer: yeah you are right, it is weird i suppose,Earthtone 9 were a brilliant and important Nottm band but we never worked with them. Earache does historically support and get involved with new Nottingham bands, if they are any good- from HERESY,LAWNMOWER DETH, FUDGE TUNNEL, PITCHSHIFTER, IRON MONKEY, even the short lived but amazing SILENCER there's probably not another label out there that has given a chance to so many Nottm based bands in their early stages, since we live in the city we catch a lot of bands playing early on.

But if you asked any of those bands what they thought of their time on Earache none would be very complementary i expect, and thats always been our problem in our small provincial Uk city- small talk, bitching and backbiting take precedence over actually getting off their arses and building a career for many bands in this wonderful gun-crime-infested place on the banks of the river Trent.Its a long standing mystery in the Nottm music scene why exactly has no Rock/metal band from this area ever become absolutely huge on the world stage, and i personally think that that tendency is the major reason.

Naturally we approached Earthtone 9,(guitarist Owen used to work at Earache for a short time, and played us his Blastcage demos while here, which sucked) but they had just inked with new label Copro, so to do the right thing we made a license offer to their label- Copro- which as just starting out and was putting a hell of a lot of faith in E9. Copro rejected the offer.We put a lot of it down to the bad rep the label has garnered locally, plus the strong DIY ethic which the band subscribe to, which is another local trait.

A similar thing happened when we tried to sign DAI LO- another set of local hopefuls from 4-5 years back, who rejected our deal offer and after a stunning debut on Copro, disappeared without trace.

Earache still watches out for local bands, but is not trying to sign any at the moment.A new label in town -In At The Deep End Records- has recently signed SANZEN, so maybe there is going to be another revival in Nottingham's metal scene soon?

Sleep with Earache- what happened?

Question: in a recent interview in a DC fanzine mike pike spoke about the signing of high on fire to relapse after the split of sleep and he made the comment \" i doubt earache would have me back\". not trying to chase a feud or anything but what does he mean by this did sleep leave earache on bad terms? From:

Answer:Yeah if ya wanna know: Sleep walked out of their deal with Earache barely a year into it,  to chase their major label contract with London Records which their high powered management secured for them after their1992 Earache debut on the label "Sleep's Holy Mountain' had garnered high praise among the cogniscenti and industry scenesters. Earache agreed to not stand in their way, do the right thing, so we -reluctantly- let the band go so they could chase the major label dream. This was done under a " settlement deal" see above-the settlement also waived all the bands royalty rights in their one album recorded under our 4 album deal. This was 1995 or so, and explains why they don't receive royalties- they walked away from them, willingly and gladly.  Presumably the band assumed they would go on to greater  financial rewards on London Records except it did not quite pan out like that as they were dropped from the major and spent 1996-2009 split up.

Anyway its a  classic album which has stood the test of time..but even right after its release it was highly rated, being a fantastic Sabbath/Stoner album. its hardly been bettered since..I recall in 1992 Earache made the first Black Sabbath tribute album which we sent personally to Tony Iommi.We heard back that he loved it, especially Sleep who according to him, "embodied the spirit of early Sabbath". This got quoted a lot by us as a hype thang- and within a short while things got outta hand, Sleep began to entertain managers/lawyers/ etc to extricate themselves from our record deal.

In 2014  the band  had reformed and recently set up a webstore and asked us why they can't press up Holy Mountain themselves-- then had the sheer  gall to claim no royalties via a Facebook post (since removed). Meanwhile we intend to apply to court for the unpaid settlement monies still due to Earache. Be careful what you SIGN, indeed.

Ewigkeit = ex-meads of asphodel?

Question: Is it true that Ewgiket was or is a member of the meads of asphodel, the reason why i ask this is because there are meads like riffs on ewgiket cds and vice versa, also hes rummoured to have several side projects in the works do you know anything of the status of them and if they are likely to sign to earache From:

Answer: James Fogarty of Ewigkeit was indeed a founding member of The Meads duo, from the very first demo up until and including the release of the Jihad mini CD - He was known as "Jaldaboath".
It is likely that some comparisons of material during those releases share similarites to Ewigkeit as James had written, arranged & recorded all the instruments & music (save for some lead guitar parts). Other "band members" (i.e drummer "Urukabaramel") had been invented by the vocalist to "fill out" the line-up. The Meads now seems to consist of a full line-up and various guest musicians.

Any similarities since are open to interpretation (for instance the Meads track "80 grains of sand" was released long after James had quit the Meads and yet had a whole section surprisingly similar to the track "Dragons Burning" from the Ewigkeit debut album "Battle Furies", released in 1997).

On this matter, James Fogarty had the following to say ;

"...my mate Nick Moberly who used to contribute to Terrorizer Magazine got an advance copy of the album that was recorded after I had quit. He telephoned me to ask if I had contributed to it, because he said there were some parts that sounded very like my stuff... maybe it was done to show some kind of continuation ? ... to be honest i couldnt give a shit anyway ... it was originally supposed to be like the "monty python" of Black Metal, but I started to get bored with the Black Metal stuff in general ..."

James Fogarty's main "metal" concern right now is Ewigkeit, although "The Blacksmoke Organisation" of which he is an integral part does often venture into metal territory with remixes and original material.

 You can now listen to 3 full tracks from EWIGKEIT's new album "Conspiritus" at their myspace page and also download the free MP3 E.P "Return to the land of Fog" at this location

 

How Sore Throat got signed

Question: I realize that Earache made Sore Throat\'s cult LP \"Disgrace to the Corpse of Sid\" reissued on CD with their first LP \"Unhindered By Talent\" but only available in Japan... why can\'t it be avaiable in the US as well; I\'ve been dying to get that release from them on CD.

On the topic of Sore Throat, I like their stuff very much but don\'t know much about the band. Can you give a brief history or story about Sore Throat and how they signed to Earache and if they still exist today?

Thanks! From: davidaloca@gmail.com


Answer: I though you were'nt gonna ask about our old bands dude!!? ha ha no biggie- i'll answer anything here.Yeah Sore Throat were a Yorkshire based UK politico-crust-grind band in the late 80's, it was a kind of project band formed by musicians from other more well known, but less harsh sounding acts- notably Instigators & Doom, both of whom were on Peaceville Records at the time.

Sore Throat was formed in the wake of Napalm Death's trailblazing acheivements-as one part homage, one part parody,and 2 parts comedy.With tongue half-in cheek,they railed against everything that was 'wrong' with the late 80's Hardcore Punk scene during the first stirrings of its soon to prove-fateful crossover towards metalheads-first DRI, then ND's 'success' in the crossover scene was ample ammunition for Sore Throat's vitriol.

To the uninitiated fan it sounds just like prime UK grindcore, but Sore Throat's music was less important than their rhetoric- they set themselves up as almost 'scene-police', berating the exploding, Earache-inspired grindcore scene, and constantly baiting Napalm Death- I presume cos they were too untalented to actually form part of it.

ST were amazingly prolific, churning out countless albums for many different labels-late on, Earache actually got in on the 'fun' of ST too, and encouraging the band to make a 101 track noisefest monster of an album "Disgrace to the Corpse of Sid'.

How Cult Of Luna got signed

Question: I have another question regarding a recent band in your rooster. I see that you\'re making jokes about how people don\'t talk about recent bands but rather talk about the old bands so here\'s something that\'s not a big question but I\'ve been wondering...

I love Cult of Luna... and I know that Earache has signed many bands that aren\'t per-se the heaviest band or even metal... but how did Earache come across Cult of Luna? They certainly aren\'t the most metal band and I know Earache is famous for it\'s promotion of extreme metal so how did Earache stumble upon Cult of Luna? If I may say so myself, they certainly are a great catch of a band for your label. From: davidaloca@gmail.com


Answer: Cult Of Luna was discovered and signed to Earache by Dan Tobin the UK label manager + A&R Director responsible for most of the additions to the roster in later years.He was friends with Duncan who ran the small, short lived but very influential Yorkshire, UK- based label 'Rage of Achilles', which had actually issued the COL debut CD, pre-Earache.(I think Duncan says he discovered them by chance via scouring the net for new acts mp3's, which was not as easy as you think in the pre-Myspace era ).

Duncan pressed 2000 cds of the debut-Naturally Earache got to hear that cd early on, and Dan instantly became a big fan of the band...it became an Earache office fave-their expansive, expressive twist on metal was quite breathtaking to us.

Earache approached to sign COL, and also negotiated with Duncan to re-issue the debut as his label unfortunately was'nt able to press any more copies after the first 2000 - now collectors items- sold out.

At The Gates- Dual Disk trailer online now!

Question: what is happening with the AT THE gates reissue you mentioned on your site? any info? From: sven666@hotmail.se


Answer: yeah its out on July 17th in Uk/Europe a bit later in USA. features a 35 minute documentary where the old members of ATG discuss the process what went into recording the classic melodic death metal album that put the Gothenburg sound on the map. see trailer above.

Deicide 1 tracks online on 6.6.6

Question: So am I correct in that I read the new Deicide cd wpnt be coming out noe tipp August?? That sucks. Looks like Earache is treating Deicide like Roadrunner did. More respect please, not only for the band , but for us fans. From: sherfoto@comcast.com

Answer: The album & art is not even completed yet- and its what- 6 days to go to that special 'once in a 100 years' evil calendar event!!So, I'm sorry but the delays to the CD album were unavoidable i'm afraid and are mainly due to the band taking the time in the studio to perfect what is easily the BEST Deicide album ever. First, it was remixed again as the band were'nt happy with their first mixdown, and secondly the band had to take time off over Easter to complete an important West coast USA tour right in the period of the recording process, so delaying things further.Lastly, The band are also on their second photoshoot for the booklet as the first session pics were scrapped.Hence-we are now looking at August 21 in UK/Europe and August 22 in USA..tho it should more realistically be TBC.

Slayer have done exactly the same thing it seems....originally announced date of 6.6.6 pushed back to July. and a 1 track advance online at iTunes on 6.6.6 aswell..sound familiar? is their label disrespecting their fans too?

Because we felt all the hype we had generated (BBC, New York Post, Washington Post, Inside Edition TV, USA Today, the myspace website) about the originally announced date of 6.6.6 was worth at least some kind of 'release' on that unholiest of dates, the 1 downloadable track seems a kinda compromise to fans, as downloads take seconds to set up and require no artwork/packaging- fans can now get a taster in advance of the album proper, and be blown away by the quality of the songs.No release at all would have been lame.Ok maybe the band are victims of the runaway success of our hype- but fear not- IT WILL BE WORTH THE WAIT!! This one is categorically the best Deicide album ever...the proof is online on 6.6.6.

Y'know, even the most satanic and brutal of bands are powerless in the face of the unrelenting nature of the calendar.

Check out the video trailer here;

Berzerker=Generated X-ed? Err- no!

Question: Two The Berzerker questions for you, first of all I\'ve seen for sale by a couple of US eBayers a copy of a The Berzerker album called \'Protest and Survive\' apparently released on \'EARACHE RECORDS/CAROLINE\' on \'4/11/2000\' featuring tracks called \'Industrial Is Dead\' and \'LSD Recharge\' amongst others - is this release genuine?
Also, I\'ve heard the brilliant remixes of Morbid Angel\'s \'Day of Suffering\' and \'Abominations\', where can I get a copy \'The Ancient Ones\'?
Thanks From: Evil__Jeff@Hotmail.com

Answer: nah mate- you are getting bands mixed up..the album you are referring to is by Berlin based Generated X-ed, not berzerker.It is a genuine Earache release tho..it sounds like extreme drum n bass, the main man from Generated X-ed was part of the Digital Hardcore scene from late 90's in berlin and I liked his stuff enough to release it.Its an undiscovered gem and will blow your mind i think, if you like harsh electronmic music, a bit like Berzerker but less guitars.You can hear it and download it at metaltracks.com As for the track "the Ancient Ones' by Morbid Angel remixed by the Berzerker, its unreleased i'm afraid. It was done at the same time as the other tracks for our Hellspawn comp- Extreme metal meets extreme techno, but did not get released. (pictured is Generated X-ed main man- Tha Bomb)

Earache PC game demo on cheap label comp in July.

Question: Will the upcoming Earache Game have Online play? If it has multiplayer online play included, I am definately interested in this game! From Rob.. \\m/etal From: robgamer345@hotmail.com


Answer: Sadly i don't think the game has online play facility- but according to the developers it will be out on PC CD-ROM, as well as PSP and PlayStation 2.The FREE playable demo for playing on PC's launches from this website www.6-6-06.co.uk and is also available on the upcoming Earache CD + DVD cheap Label Compilation "Chop Your Own Head Off" - due onsale late june.We beleive it may be the first label sampler to include FREE video game, who knows?More details of the low price sampler are here.

Napalm Death Scum original colour LP ?

Question: was the original napalm death scum vinyl release the green one or the orange one? From: mjwallage@hotmail.com


Answer: Original release was in June 1987 on LP in 2000 copies with black n white cover + Bright Yellowy Green. See here. A sticker (black text on white) was also affixed.Later editions followed in years 88- 90 or so..with Orange being next to be pressed and later Green, also Blue later.A Gold colour edition was pressed for the supposed splatter-color vinyl edition.Interestingly, no picture disc edition has even been issued.Maybe we'll rectify this when we release the expanded remastered 20th anniversary Scum release soon.

Deicide cancel entire European 2006 Summer festival dates

Question: And Deicide did it again... whole Eurotour cancelled, without good reason. yieehaa!!!!

What`s going on? Where is some official news with reasons behind this never ending farce? How on earth Earache keeps tolerating this kind of behaviour? From:



Answer: Earache has no say in or control over the live performances of Deicide- we do their retail CD's + DVDs, not live shows.Earache do the bands recordings basically, and thats the extent of our involvement.I know Deicide recently split from their long time European agent (Metalysee), also splitting from their long time USA agent (First Row talent) at the same time, in order to be represented exclusively for the world by Tammy Taylor booking out of Austin Tx.This is the actual reason why the remaining European festival dates- totalling 3 gigs- Graspop/Full Force/Waldrock etc - are cancelled.Don't forget that the bands appearance at France Hellfest was cancelled by the promotor,not them,after the organisers got nervous about the band playing so soon after a spate of Deicide-inspired satanistic grave desecrations in the area.The new Cd is running late too- its just been recorded and mastered at the weekend- so is expected to land instores in Uk/Europe now on August 21, Aug 22 in USA.The band want to wait till its out to perform the new live show set including many new songs from 'Stench'.
Deicide have no website they control themselves, and the Earache site and myspace page is the nearest to an official news source for Deicide's happenings you can get. The rest is just rumour.

Sure, these cancellations are high profile festival shows, and its tough on the European fans, but since the new members were drafted in I think they have done more far flung touring stints- including South America, Korea etc -than any other Earache act..Deicide are self-managed, so operate according to their own rules. Overall we are totally stoked that they have made an incredible album, and we 100% respect their choices in who represents them on the live circuit, and when and where they choose to play.

No Deicide news on Earache site?

Question: Hello,
Why is it that I can read more about the new Deicide album on Blabbermouth.net(owned by Roadrunner) than I can on the Earache site. As a big fan on Deicide, I am really looking forward to the new Deicide album and keep checking the Earache site for info, but I can find out so much more about it on Blabbermouth. Cover art and studio news and track listings being an example. Why are we not seeing this on the Earache site?
Also, there has been a news item on the Earache site for sometime saying that there has been some old TV footage of Deicide found, I try to click on the link and it does not work. I find this happens alot with your site. From: Unknown.

Answer: The album is not yet finished and thats why nothing official has been announced from Earache.(This page is just my personal rambling blog, where i try my best to answer your questions).All news on Blabbermouth etc is gleaned from unofficial sources usually,tho i admit,most of the time Blabber is pretty much correct, but it always lacks the finer details.As I write this, 'The Stench Of Redemption' is STILL being recorded and tweaked and its on its second mixdown at Morrisound studio, due to be finally completed this Saturday night. Obviously the original album release date of 6.6.6 is blown- its more like August now..we call it -TBC. But to celebrate that most unholiest of days coming in 2 weeks time -6.6.6 - we are currently hopeful of offering fans an exclusive Deicide downloadable EP via iTunes Music Store on that date- it will include a brand new track from the "Stench" sessions, probably an early mix.Again, nothing is set in stone, as we have no actual album!

As for the bad links on the news at earache.com-errr dunno what you mean matey?the links work fine for me and the webmaster - if you have some crappy browser and slow machine then maybe the page takes a while to load but invest in some patience for once- wait about 10 seconds and then the story appears.If you are tired of your browser taking an age to open the link, then heres the link direct to the You Tube clip of Amon 1988 well worth watching- Its fucking prime Glen Benton- killer!

Napalm Death's 3 inch CD?

Question: hey there, my question is related to the digipack version of NAPALM DEATH\'S \'Utopia Banished\' cd. When i initially purchased this disc it came with a limited edition \'mini\' CD with a few tracks on it. Problem is, my copy of utopia banished was stolen, and i was wondering if the tracks from the mini disc are available anywhere else. Thanks alot From: carl_smith@telstra.com

Answer: yeah the 3 inch CD given away with the 1992 Utopia Banished album was quite a unique looking extra, and contained 4 bonus tracks. Obviously the 3 inch disc is long sold out. However those same tracks are included on our recently released 2 x cd best of set from Napalm Death called "Noise for Music's Sake" so they are available on that release.

Earache- the good ol' early days (Part 2,876)

Question: I have a question that was inspired by an answer you gave to one of the questions, Why do you think people cling to the old days of earache as opposed to concentrating on the new stuff. My personal theory is that people get a nostalgic feeling when they listen to old earache in that they know the guys tried to achieve alot with the little and basic equipment they had i mean justin broadrick used to build gear in his shed from what i read in an article.another reason is because during the 80s and 1990s earache was really the only label other than peaceville having the sort of bands that existed on the label at the time
im interested to hear your opinions on this From: Unknown.

Answer: Yeah, looking back, its what 20 years ago now- Earache's early era was explosive and was the fireball that the late 80's-90's metal scene badly needed-you gotta remember the metal scene back then was dominated by mega-selling-but-dire Glam bands, (Def Leppard anyone?) meanwhile we prefered a selection of excellent DIY politico-hardcore bands (Discharge,Disorder,Minor Threat, DRI, LARM etc) who were highly regarded, but who lacked the ambition to break out of the safety of the tightly-knit HC scene, and of course the big 4 Thrash bands too-Slayer and Metallica and even Death had all begun to make serious waves with their debuts, influencing the direction of metal music back towards the heavier end of the spectrum.

Earache's style was a Frankenstein-esque hybrid of all that- a mixture of the most crushing downtuned metal riffs allied to blistering punk/HC drumspeeds, with vocals sung thru the garbage disposal- the whole package was released with OTT artwork, for added extremity.We were literally the first label to do this which such singleminded purpose-so, naturally our stable of acts caught the attention of much wider media not connected to the metal scene, people like the revered DJ John Peel played us constantly on the radio,and the UK's NME music paper even covered Earache's acts,and highly regarded Jazz saxophonist John Zorn helped promote Napalm Death by personally arranging thier debut stateside show too. All those folks embraced the early MOSH catalog, and the effect snowballed until even the average joe in the street became aware of the extreme sounds of the bands coming outta our little office in Nottingham.

The words 'extreme' and 'music' were hardly used together until Earache made it the labels aim to release 'Extreme Music'.We also coined the term Grindcore- that word first appeared in printed form on the sleeve of our 1989 "Grindcrusher" LP.Excess was always an admired attribute in metal but no other label seemed to revel so single-mindedly in making excessive volume, speed and unlistenable noise its whole core and ethos, with no exceptions.

I think fans soon realised Earache's bands really were truly pushing the envelope as far as they could, and i'm certain the fans could relate to that struggle, and supported it for that reason.As Albert Mudrian correctly points out in his magnificent book "Choosing Death" which accurately recounts the birth of the Extreme Metal scene,Earache and its choice of early acts were the catalyst and blueprint for a good percentage of the myriad Extreme Music 'scenes' that exist today, with the notable exceptions of Black Metal and Gothic Metal which we-stupidly, in hindsight-ignored. (Peaceville's Paradise Lost kick-started the latter, after they turned down our offer of a contract)

As for the present set of Earache bands.... we think Akercocke, Decapitated, Mortiis, Municipal Waste, Anata, Ephel Duath,Cult Of Luna, the Berzerker, Biomechanical, et al, all stand up to whatever has gone before.They are all putting their own original stamp on extremity in music in 2006- thats exactly why we signed em..Earache does'nt peddle 20+ variations of Carcass clones or 3rd rate At The Gates wannabees in its catalog- we stick with the originals who were - and those that currently are-the first and the best.

Jap Grind Legends SOB on Earache?

Question: Why did Earche not release SOB with Napalm Death split? Rise Above Records released the Japanese grind legends instead. From: Russcore@hotmail.com

Answer: Errr thats a good question Russ..but why do so many of you folks out there on the inter-web want to know historical facts about Earache and its old bands?- don't any of you care about our current acts?Hmmm.
Anyways-I loved Japanese HC back in the day..getting hold of the hella obscure and totally OTT extreme Japanese HC records was part of the record collecting fun.I did my bit to expose Japanese HC bands to a world audience-The early pre-earache flexis i released DIY style included bands like Lipcream and Execute on them..but when we heard SOB's "Leave Me Alone" 7inch they literally blew the roof off everything. SOB arranged the very first tour in Japan for Napalm Death in 1990, and both acts became good friends, Lee especially had a good friendship with SOB's singer Tottsuan.When Lee started his Rise Above Records he did a Napalm Death/SOB split 7inch.For some reason- maybe out of respect for and not rocking Lee's new label boat,Earache didnt really think about doing SOB.Tragically, years later, Tottsuan commited suicide by jumping under a train.

Clutch EP's on Earache?

Question: what happened with earache\'s relationship with clutch were the cds under lisence or were they actually signed to you, is just that two eps five years apart and knowing clutch\'s work schedule it looks off on paper From:

Answer: Yeah, I suppose it looks odd that we have 2 Clutch EP's in Earache's catalog from as you say, 1992 and 1997. The original 92 Passive Restraints 3 track EP was actually deleted to be re-issued with the addition of 2 more tracks( taken from long outta print 'Naive' comp) to form the expanded 5 trk Impetus EP in 97.

Clutch were discovered by Earache's USA A&R man Jim Welch after their debut DIY hardcore 7 inch, and were due to sign to Earache in 1992, hence contributed 2 early songs to our Compilation LP 'Naive' (Sleep also appeared on that now exceedingly hard-to-find comp), but the lawyer we encouraged the band to seek advice from became their manager instead, and promptly took them to East/West, leaving us high and dry.However,as was the custom at the time, Majors often sought to grow an underground fanbase before launching an act to the Rock/radio mainstream, so it was decided since Earache was already sort-of working with Clutch, a useful indie level fanbase-building tool would be to do the introductory Clutch EP 'Passive Restraints' on Earache.Earache introduced the band to the world via that EP, designed solely to build the bands fanbase for East/West. Clutch soon changed style to more of a Stoner Rock vibe, and as planned, went on to forge a lengthy, highly successful career -later moving to Atlantic, then Columbia and several other Major and Indie labels along the way to the present day.Clutch's singer Neil Fallon has often questioned in public why Earache never pays them any royalties for that debut EP.After a particularly vicious outburst a few years back I invited him to drop by the office to seek an explanation directly, whereupon I recited to him the above history lesson. Namely,- that Earache never had any obligations to Clutch at all- our 'copyrights' pre-dated their Major label recordings and are a result of a side-deal struck between East/West and Earache designed to benefit Clutch's long term career, but did not actually involve them.

Deicide- The Stench Of Redemption tracklist.

 Question: Hey, do you know when the art/song titles/mp3 will be revealed for Stench of Redemption? from: Aaron
Answer:
The Stench Of Redemption
Death To Jesus
Desecration
Homage For Satan
Never To Be Seen Again
The Lord's Sedition
Walk With The Devil In Dreams You Behold
Crucified For The Innocence
Not Of This Earth

+ Bonus Track -Black Night    (Deep Purple cover)

Conflict on Earache?

Question: i heard somwhere that a long time ago earache tried to sign legendary punk/hardcore band conflict is this true? also did you really try to sign the refused when they were between labels? From:

Answer: Nah thats not true..i've never been that much into Conflict tho many of the other UK anarcho bands were my total faves.Earache was'nt going when they were in their heyday and later on I think they have formed thier own label- Mortarhate which has been very successful for them.As for refused- Nah again.We were aware that they were an important band, but chances to sign them never came up.

Faint Pulse on myspace

Question: um i was asking if u kan check out our muisk on myspace its myspace/faintpulse and tell us what you think it\'s not well recorded but i think we could do good thanx(luis)frm.faint pulse From: bloom_1_er@ayoo.com

Answr: well I checked out your myspace page and I wasn't too impressed dude, sorry. I could do a whole Pop Idol type discussion and breakdown of the pros and cons of your band and how i think you should improve to get signed with ya if you want? But for now- i can say its too early in your career to be thinking about getting signed to any label.Good luck with the band and so long as you enjoy making music and interacting with fans, thats great, i wish you the best of luck.

Most influential HC band to early earache era?

Question: Who was the most important hardcore band to the Early Earache era ? Seige? Septic Death or Larm? where can i get their cds? From: pusfan666@hotmail.com

Answer: That might be Discharge or D.R.I mate- and Venom in the early 80's.I can say they all influenced me to release everything that came afterwards on the Earache label....Dirty Rotten Imbeciles' first 'Dirty Rotten' 7 Inch in 1982 was mindblowingly super speedy hardcore, with 22-count em- tracks on it- it set the standard for extremely short, fast hard hitting songs.Not forgetting the Swedish HC bands Mob 47 & their offshoot band Protes Bengt who set the benchmark too, for sheer number of songs on a 7 inch- it was maybe 32+, i cant recall.Incredible stuff.Septic Death was lead by Pushead who was a notable USA scenester who loved his fast music and helped me/Earache enormously in the early years with amazing support.In later years he would design T-Shirts for Metallica. Other mid 80's UK notables who lead the way for music to descend into the utter chaotic noise we all love, have got to be Disorder and Chaos UK.Not forgettting Deep Wound and The Neos.

Napalm Death's whirlwind drummer Mick Harris would wear a homemade cap with Boston's SEIGE on it and a home made T-shirt with Holland's LARM. Major influences both.Those bands' early demo tapes reached the Earache crew and undoubtedly influenced Napalm Death and Heresy etc to go even more berserk and mental writing ever faster/shorter songs..Grindcore as demonstrated on the A-side of Scum is basically a mix of Seige-type blast beat and Celtic Frost slow riff, in one song.Other notable speedy bands were Kansan Uutiset and Bostons Impact Unit(featuring later Mighty Mighty Bosstones singer Dicky Barrett and Negative FX (featuring Choke from later band Slapshot). Good luck finding them, most of the original vinyls are long sold out but Cd comps are available i think.

Mortiis remix album?

Question: Whats your status on the release of the Mortiis remix disc? From: Unknown

Answer: We have been given no remixed tracks or any material from Mortiis to release, tho a proposed remix album has been discussed with him.. Mortiis himself came up with the idea and it is Mortiis who is commissioning the remixes....we think Gothminster has done one and maybe some other creative talents in electronic/ambient music who Mortiis rates- as you can see we are a little in the dark about it...possibly Rhys Fulber might make a mix too, he is currently slated to produce the next Mortiis album.We guess that the majority of the tracks receiving the remix treatment will be from 'The Grudge' album.

Lost Fudge Tunnel material on Earache?

Question: alex newport said in an interview that he has some unreleased fudge tunnel material left over if and when this is released will this likely to be on earache From: Unknown.

Answer: thats doubtful cos no one has mentioned the word Fudge Tunnel round here for about a decade.There appears to be no interest in that band since they split...where a lot of Earache's older bands garner new followings as each generation of extreme metallers discovers the 'classics', I'm afraid the passage of time has not looked upon their creative output kindly.I guess they must have some fans like yourself, otherwise why would you bother asking- but sadly its not enough to warrant any release.

Earache Extreme Metal Racing PS2 Game in USA?

Question: Please tell me that your video game is coming out in the U.S. A game with a sound track I would actually listen to? What are the odds? From: rhinofrench@yahoo.com

Answer: Its really quite likely you'll see the PS2 Game onsale in USA Game stores this summer.The UK based developers are attending the E3 expo in LA next week to meet with potential licensees for the game in USA.They seem hopeful that a USA release will come about- so watch this space for news of Earache Extreme Metal Racing for PlayStation 2 in USA. Earache fans will be blown away with the soundtrack when they play it..The game features about 50+ tracks from all the well known Earache bands as well as dozens of video clips and even unreleased songs and bonus never before seen videos as you progress thru the higher levels of the game too.It's still set for a July 7th street date in UK/Europe.

Anaal Nathrakh -on Earache?

Question: have earache recently signed Anaal Nathrakh properly or somthing as you never had a bio for them before just their cds under license From: Unknown.

Answer: Anaal Nathrakh have 2 albums just re-issued by Earache (for the world outside EU) with many extra bonus tracks taken from their Peel sessions, issued under licence from original label, Mordgrimm.The band currently remain actually signed to Seasons Of Mist.We are proud to be associated with this most extreme of extreme bands and so naturally plonked their bio and info page on the site.
I say naturally, because the members of AN are also in Mistress, who are actually signed up to Earache proper, so it seemed obvious that we get involved in their AN project to some extent. Mick and Dave do- quite rightly -keep the 2 bands seperate, as they are 2 completely different animals, and sound totally different, with a different line up and band ethos.

Eternal Damnation calling!!

Question: Hey whats up guys? My name is Rico and im a drummer for a Melodic Death Metal band from Laredo Texas called \"Eternal Damnation\". We get alot of our influence from a couple of bands in your lable such as: At The Gates, Decapitated, Deicide, and Carcass. As for bands not in your lable it would be: The Black Dahlia Murder, Vehemence, Graveworm, The Absence, Vital Remains, and Opeth. Im also guitarist for another Melodic Death Metal band called \"Constantine\", we also have simmilar influnces from these bands but a much more different sound. The question I wanted to know was what are you looking for in a band to make it into your lable? We hope to someday be signed with you guys and soon begin playing under your lable. Write back soon. From: stitches_rico@hotmail.com

Answer: Great stuff Rico . Sounds like your band could be killer judging from your impeccable taste in metal...but having good influences is only half the story.We are looking to sign original, talented, creative, driven, hard working, networked, fan friendly bands at all times- esp ones who will lead a new wave of metal into the future..its easier said than done believe me.For every signed band there's 50+ who don't make it- the hard work involved soon weeds out the bullshitters/wannabees / pussies and quitters. ..My advice to any band to 100% guarantee being signed is: achieve 100,000+ profile views on your myspace page- then watch the label offers roll in.It might take a few years and a few demos,,but i swear, this is a foolproof way to get signed..because you will have shown your ability to build a fanbase,making the labels job easier.Good luck.

Earache staffers at Nottm gigs

Question: i wonder if you can answer this one as its more to do with my own personal curiosity did earache attempt to sign any of the following bands sikth, eden maine, johnny truant, taint (uk) and black eye riot the reason why i am asking is because ive seen people who i know are earache staffers hanging out at their shows in nottingham From: Unknown.

Answer: yeah- well spotted mate .Earache staffers live and breathe music- so we turn up everywhere where quality music is played in Nottingham.Its our home town, and the HQ of the label, so after a hard days work in the office, we more or less live in the pubs and clubs checking new bands. (If you are in New York you'll see our USA staffers at every show there too).If you spot any of us in the old angel or rock city or junktion 7 (ok even the bloody rescue rooms/social sometimes too)-buy us a drink- we don't bite! But yeah we have seen all those bands you mention at their Nottm shows-sometimes at their debut Nottm gig-but it doesnt mean we are actively trying to sign them, more like merely checking em out cos like everyone else we have opinions on most bands- some we like, some we think are shite....I can state that none of the above bands have had an official approach to sign to Earache, but we considered them all - Sikth are an office fave-but not enough to make offers.An interesting fact is that Dorian from Black Eye Riot used to do work experience at the Earache office.

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!

BORG 64- release or no release?

Question: what happen to the planned release of borg 64s debut album theyre using nanoprobes? ive seen it in you catalog before. but not now.. :( From: b156509@bredband.net


Answer: yeah- we had this down for a release in USA under licence from the UK Codebreaker label, but Duncan folded the label for reasons we are unsure of, but suspect he was losing a lot of money and chose not to continue with the label, or at least dramatically downscale the operation.(He now works for the US Prosthetic label,running their UK office).Since Codebreaker is not fully existing any more, our license deal is deemed finished so the releases by both Lolita Stasi and Borg 64 on Earache in USA are cancelled, before they were officially put into production.

Both release are available and are already released and for sale on The Codebreaker in the UK of course tho.You can get them here - feel free to buy them!!

Strapping Young Lad- on Earache?

Question: devin townshend said in an interview that earache along with roadrunner were the labels that turned strapping young lad down is this true and if it is do you as a label regret this decision now?
Also are there any other artists that earache regret not signing From: Unknown.

Answer: We honestly don't remember getting contacted by Devin about SYL, so it cannot be true.Maybe a cd arrived in the post as a demo, which we didn't pick up on, but we'd remember it, if it was by SYL.Nah- not true.But we would sign em now tho!

As for other bands we did'nt sign in the past, and regret it .. there's not many-we have usually had our pick of the Extreme metal bands without trying too hard, as Earache has its undeniable early 90's putting-extreme-music-on-the-map historical status and catalog behind us.The main band I wish Earache had signed back in the day is DEATH, such a legendary,innovative band, led by a charismatic leader, but chances to sign them never came up sadly.Theres not many acts who have actually approached us at their own demo tape stage, who have since gone on to be huge- Fear Factory and Sepultura being the 2 main ones we stupidly turned down during Earache's very early days 1988-9 or so.D'oh!!


Theres quite a few bands we have approached, usually after a well received debut release, but being a relatively small-medium sized Indie we have lost out in the bidding war many times.Nirvana is one.We offered a huge deal (for us) to Sub Pop to licence the album after "Bleach' for Europe, but Geffen signed the band worldwide and the rest is history, oh well, never mind....You won't believe this, but in late 90's Earache was the first ever label to offer a deal to System Of A Down, having many meetings in LA in with the band and management.It did not come off, they signed to Rick Rubin's American instead., but at least Serj remembers Earache was pretty much the only indie who rated their music and ideas early on.Good on him!

On the underground metal side Burzum is a band we were set on signing, and had personal meetings in Nottingham with Varg in 1992, but we got cold feet on the deal after discovering Vargs shockingly extreme right wing views ( this was a year before the murder).
Cradle of Filth were due to sign with Earache after Cacophonous in mid 90's, we had heavily negotiated contracts for months, which were ready to sign ,but on the day they were due to sign Dani called to say they had opted to sign with MFN instead.Fair enough,they have done brilliantly since. Opeth we made an offer for last year after MFN closed its doors- we lost out to Roadrunner, y'know, we had earlier offered for Opeth in the 90's aswell, so thats twice they turned us down now ,dammit!.Emperor we made offers to when they were inbetween Candlelight deals,again, with no luck.
On the metalcore side,Dillinger Escape Plan on their debut were a band we eyed up to sign, but we declined to make an offer in the end- they have since ended up on Relapse and we do regret not making that move. In recent years we offered to Red Chord and Between the Buried and Me, but lost out to Metal Blade and Victory respectively.

Nowadays, most of the indie metal labels make similar offers to nearly all of the big selling bands who come up out of contract.The bands have the pick of maybe 6-7-8 deals,some of the labels now have major label affiliations- Century Media with EMI, Roadrunner with Universal, Nuclear Blast with East West, Metal Blade with Warners USA- which makes their offers sometimes much more attractive than the others.

Deicide- to do cover songs?

Question: Can you suggest to Deicide to do some cover songs? I would personally love to hear them cover some Slayer like Jesus Saves. From: Unknown.

Answer: what a great suggestion!As it happens Deicide are about to record their new album when they return from South American touring- and it will include a cover song. Its not Slayer but a classic Rock/Metal track that everyones knows-but done in a whole new jesus-slaughtering Deicide way! So expect to hear the cover tune on 'The Stench of Redemption' when it lands instores on 6th June 2006.
Mark the date of the beast on yer calendars now- 6.6.06!!

EWIGKEIT= GENIUS!!

Question: Whats going on with Ewigkeit ? Conspiritus was pure genius, and I\'m surprised I havent seen more press for the album. Will there be more albums on earache in the future ? From: UNknown.

Answer: Yeah- you're right- Conspiritus IS genius! It made my personal album of 2005 list, and Radio Ixtlan was my album of 2004 before that.I suppose i'm biased- cos I actually signed them to the label.
Press has been a bit scarce, i'll admit- its been quite favourable with online sites- many declaring the album a fantastic peice of work and also one of the albums of the year 2005.Metal Hammer mag in the UK did cover the band with a feature which we were pleased about, but thats about it.We are very used to this situation at Earache- we have countless examples of bands signed who received very little attention in the press at the time but who - years later- became revered and worshipped, in hindsight. Ewigkeit is set to be one of those, I feel.

Napalm Death in their heyday had little press( outside John Peel support)- same for At The Gates in mid 90's- Iron Monkey springs to mind also, even Dub War & Pitchshifter- all were breaking new ground in extreme music but had no supporters in the UK music mags at the time we were doing their first couple of albums.Years later of course, all those bands are considered legendary, but i swear, at the time we were actively promoting them, we would be calling up the mags to cover them - to a frosty if not downright hostile response- its not the press' job to promote new bands they'd say.Usually they only cover bands that are already big and popular and are the ones who buy advertising space.Back then, there was only about 4-5 mags covering heavier stuff anyways in the 90's,and it was pre internet, so if they were'nt interested that was it.

Nowadays there are plenty of media, even dedicated TV stations, supporting heavier bands- its trendy, even - but Ewigkeit are suffering badly thru no live gigs for the press to latch onto.Its the easiest way to reach out and win over fans cos the live circuit is exploding, but Ewigkeit are sadly not part of it.

James has to put a fully functioning live gigging outfit together to progress, which we keep telling him. So - keep ypur eye on earache.com for tour dates.If not- look out for Ewigkeit features in the press, i would say, around about 2013.

USURPER RULES!!

Question: Usurper. Please tell me you thought this band was going to sell some records. Both albums on Earache have been very disappointing. Does the mighty EARACHE listen to demos from bands before they go in and record as a way of quality control? I\'m thinking no because those records are flat.

Their website and myspace pages seem to boast about all the cocaine they do. Why don\'t they use some of the cocaine money and fund a tour? From: Unknown.

Answer: Of course we thought Usurper would sell some records- as proper Pure Old School Metal bands are in seriously short supply- and we want to keep the vibe alive.We love em cos Usurper are a band who are proud to be called Metal and wear their denim, leather and spikes as a badge of honour,not a fashion accessory.

As for the music, no we dont make bands do the 'demo the album' routine so we can 'quality control' the tracks.- we give bands 100% free-reign to record what they like, mostly.We might give advice on the eventual song sequence on the final album but thats about it.I agree, alot of bands could make better albums with some outside advice and quality control- but we find our bands prefer the freedom to record what they like- so Earache doesn't do it.

SOCIETY 1 - what happened?

Question: what has led to the parting of ways with the following artists
society 1
mortiis
and since mortiis is a past artist why are you still posting promo news about him From: Unknown.

Answer- Its simple- theres no drama with either of those bands. Society 1's sales after 2 albums and a DVD on Earache were quite disappointing.Even tho Matt Zanes mob were our most toured band in USA during 2003-2005, and having played the main stage at the massive UK Download festival to approx 20,000 fans too, sales were still sluggish, so we decided to not pick up the option for a 3rd album. We still feel Matt Zane himself will become a major star in the not too distant future tho.
Mortiis completed his 3 album commitment with Earache and so the deal has expired, he remains a free agent until he chooses to sign with another label. Earache is naturally in talks with Mortiis and his management to continue the relationship, but nothing is decided as yet, and thats why we continue to post his news online.

DECAPITATED FREE LIVE CD from which stores?

Question: i want to order the decapitated cd organic hallucinosis but also want the live cd, it doesnt show up as an option anywhere. can i order it thru the uk store? i need to know asap. i WANT this cd badly. thank you very much From: a_ros3_4_the_d34d@hotmail.com


Answer: its ONLY available from your local UK Independent record stores- NOT HMV,VIRGIN etc Theres not many such stores left and this CD is our way to get fans to support your local Indie record store!! its simple to get- just walk in the store and ask to buy "Organic Hallucinosis" with free CD!
heres a list- go visit them!
ACORN YEOVIL
ACTION RECORDS PRESTON
ALICES E GRINSTED
ANDYS ABERYSTWYTH
AVALANCHE EDINBURGH
AVALANCHE EDINBURGH
AVALANCHE GLASGOW
BADLANDS CHELTENHAM
BARNSTORM DUMFRIES
BETTER LEISURE GREAT YARMOUTH
BRADLEYS HALIFAX
COB BANGOR
COMPACT MUSIC SUDBURY
CONCEPTS DURHAM
CRASH RECORDS LEEDS
CRIMINAL TUNBRIDGE WELLS
DERRICKS SWANSEA
DIFFERENT CLASS PLYMOUTH
DISC N TAPE BRISTOL
EDGEWORLD BRIGHTON,
FACE THE MUSIC WORCS
GOLDRUSH PERTH
GRAHAMS RECORDS COLERAINE, IRELAND
HELLRAISER WAKEFIELD
HUDSONS CHESTERFIELD
KANES RECORDS GLOS
KAVERN LLANDUDNO
KNEES TROWBRIDGE
LEFT LEGGED PINEAPPL LOUGHBOROUGH
LETS BUY SOME MUSIC HYTHE
LONGPLAYER ROYAL TUNBRIDGE WELL
MUSIC FACTORY STREET
MUSIC ROOM FOLKESTONE
MUSIQUARIUM CLIVE! SWANSEA
NUMBER NINETEEN GUERNSEY
ONE UP ABERDEEN
PENDULUM RETFORD
PENDULUM MELTON
PLANET OF SOUND SCOTLAND
POLAR BEAR OXFORD
POWERPLAY EASTBOURNE
R&K NEWARK
RAPTURE Ent Ltd WITNEY
RECORD CENTRE DORCHESTER
RECORD COLLECTOR SHEFFIELD
RECORD CORNER SURREY
RECORD SAVINGS BANBURY
RECORD VILLAGE SCUNTHORPE
REFLEX NEWCASTLE
REFLEX SOUTHSEA
REPLAY BRISTOL
RESSURECTION RECORDS CAMDEN
REVEAL RECORDS DERBY
ROCK BOX CAMBERLEY
ROCKABOOM LEICESTER
ROUGH TRADE SHOP LONDON
ROUNDER RECORDS BRIGHTON
SALVATION GLASGOW
SCORPION HIGH WYCOMBE
SISTER RAY LTD LONDON
SELECTADISC NOTTINGHAM
SLIPPED DISCS 2 CHELMSFORD
SOLO MUSIC BARNSTABLE
SOLO EXETER
SOLO TRURO
SONIC SOUNDS LINCOLN
SOUND AND VISION BARNSTAPLE
SOUNDS PERFECT CHATHAM
SPILLERS CARDIFF
SQUARE WIMBORNE
ST RECORDS DUDLEY
STAND OUT SALISBURY
STEEL WHEELS NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE
SULLIVANS SWANSEA
TEMPEST BIRMINGHAM
THE JUNGLE BRIDGEND
TRACK YORK
TRACK DONCASTER
TRACK CHESHAM
TUDOR TUNES LICHFIELD
VIBES BURY
WHAT NUNEATON
WINDOWS NEWCASTLE
X RECORDS BOLTON

Hate Eternal- past artist?

Question: Why is Hate Eternal listed on your past artists list? and are these tour dates the final ones or are there gonna be more? From: Unknown.

Answer: Hate Eternal were not dropped by Earache, which is the most common reason bands become a "past artist", instead, they asked to be let go,while their contract was still in full effect.In their opinion, the sales Earache acheived on the newest album 'I, Monarch' were nowhere near as good as the band were hoping/expecting.We did not disagree with them on that fact, but band and label had very different ideas for the reasons behind it.

Threatening to blast Earache to all media and press, as well as cancel all touring, in protest at such a shocking lack of promotion by us, and a lack of sales numbers on their finest album, we were left in no doubt of Hate Eternal's wish to persue their career on another - better- label, rather than the one they signed to. We maintained that any decent upstanding band should honor and fulfil their signed contract, but the band still wanted off, regardless of any legalities.

A soon-to-be filmed live DVD will form the end of the Earache-Hate Eternal deal, and the band should pop up quickly on another label of their choosing.Earache wishes the band the very best for their future career.

Martin: Ex-Decapitated -in the army?

Question: did martin from decapitated really get drafted into the polish army? as this seems to be the answer that is coming up on alot of forums From: Unknown.

Answer: We think this is true, tho details are scarce since Martin quit the band and the long term manager of Decapitated quit with him at the same time, last December, getting an official word from them nowadays is hard.The band have carried on superbly tho.In Poland, Army training for a year or more is mandatory for all fit men 18+.The members of Decapitated were studying Music to a very high standard at College so were exempt from this, and were also under the draft age- but now they have finished the education, the Army option looms large.Being a reknown musician touring the world in a Death Metal band does not exempt you, it seems.The last we heard was Martin might resume in the band very soon, as its possible he has cleverly figured a way to delay or speed up his army service.