The NWOTHM bands covering old NWOBHM acts?

Question: Being as earache as a label is so open for fan input what are the chances of seeing a nwobhm tribute album from your nwothm acts? Id love to hear cauldron blast through Budgie\'s breadfan ( duel influence as tallica also covered it) or white wizard let loose on some maiden tracks. Also thanks for the great gig in london with cauldron and bonded by blood mint show and i got to meet a member of angel witch as well as cauldron. From:

Answer: Yes, its been quite gratifying for us to see how well fans like yourself have appreciated these new bands, dubbed NWOTHM- we have signed CAULDRON, WHITE WIZZARD and POWERVICE ( they need to finally regroup round a new singer), plus don't forget the amazing ENFORCER and RAM, who are on other labels.

The scene is so tiny, it barely makes it onto the radar of the general metal throng, but the ultimate accolade has surely come recently when the figureheads of the original NWOBHM scene have decided to support the new scene, and give the fledgling bands their generous support and backing.



Original UK music paper scribe Geoff Barton was the one who dubbed the like of Maiden, Leppard, Tygers, Angel Witch etc as NEW WAVE OF BRITISH HEAVY METAL in October 1979 in Sounds magazine (he later became first editor of Kerrang! mag).This was soon shortened to just NWOBHM.
Almost 30 years later, this month in 2009 Geoff writes a great article in the new CLASSIC ROCK magazine comparing the new bands to the originators.Pick up Classic Rock at a newsstand for a great cover mount CD sampler with many of the NWOTHM/ NEWTHM bands!



Likewise the irrepressible Neal Kay, originator of the Heavy Metal Sound House- at the 'Bandwagon' (this was the name of the function room adjoining the Prince of Wales pub in Kingsbury area) of North London in which he DJ'ed and singlehandedly popularised new Heavy Metal bands in late 70's- including IRON MAIDEN (who dutifully named their debut 7inch THE SOUNDHOUSE TAPES).Neal himself has thrown his support behind the new bands- which we are very grateful for his patronage.See Neal & Cauldron video interview below.

Anyways, back to your question: Maybe you dont know dude, but its not a walk in the park for these bands playing the music they love.They receive a lot of flack from detractors who accuse them of just being mere rehash of NWOBHM, and they are constantly accused of being throwbacks, and "why dont they do something original instead?". This plagues all bands who prefer their music traditional and true, and trend free, unfortunately. Our opinion is that the NEWTHM bands are, on the contrary, playing the most contemporary new metal style that exists at the moment.

So even though its obvious for the bands to do early covers, its not advisable at the current time.I'd love to hear White Wizzard try Spell Bound by Tygers or even Runaround by Halen, they could pull off those classics as covers, no problem, but its not advisable at the moment as they need to forge their own identity with the fans and public first. Its 2009 not 1979, we are well aware of this fact!

Actually Cauldron have a cover on their "Chained To The Nite" album- but no one recognises it! Its Chains Around Heaven by Black N Blue- but its the early Metal Massacre Vol I version from 1982 they recorded, not the later glam-rock version which became huge in later years.Cauldron also covered Germany's Tyrant on their EP an also covered Manilla Road - Necropolis for the album which remains unreleased, for the reasons I stated above.

Heres Neal Kay - a veteran and originator of the NWOBHM telling some amazing stories:



Watch Cauldron recite a list of their fave NWOBHM bands from the era, they are truly fanatics:

DSP = No Mosh, No Core, No trends, No Fun

Question: So was burzum the only one of the second wave of black metal bands that you considered signing or were there any others? if so who were they. I read your post about deathlike silence and how you thought anti mosh was a dig at earache ( no pun intended) in reality it was a dig at the various short wearing skate boarding thrash metal bands anthrax in particular, theres a particular anthrax promo picture that i heard euro took offense to its where they are all wearing board shorts and charlie b is wearing a t shirt that is for the band the cure, aparently it was a betrayal of metal in euro\'s eyes. From:

Answer: I knew both Euronymous and Varg, met them both at different places and under different circumstances, but I spent enough time with them both to know what their thoughts were on music and other things. Mayhem used to be the seller of Earache Lps in Norway in the early days of the label.

The Anti-mosh thing was I'm fairly sure, indeed a slight dig at Earache, which was to be expected- I mean, Earache & Roadrunner's death metal bands were selling huge numbers by the turn of the 90s , yet Euronymous was still singing the praises of the likes of Venom, HellHammer, Sodom, Bathory- these were deeply uncool bands at that particular time, being seen to be part of the prior thrash wave from early-mid 80s and so a bit dated.He was very opinionated and knew what he liked and disliked in metal.




Its fair to say that the rise of Black Metal scene made those bands cool again, as they all had that certain ramshackle, shitty production sound but tons of attitude and pure metal spirit,which is their enduring appeal. Euronymous famously put the Florida producer SCOTT BURNS photo (lifted from the Terrorizer album inner sleeve) crossed out along with his snappy slogan- NO CORE NO TRENDS NO FUN NO MOSH. Scott was the producer of choice for the big selling Death Metal bands coming out of Florida and everywhere.

I know what you mean about the Anthrax look and the clothes they wore- for a while maybe around 1987 with the Indians single they were metals biggest crossover act, playing huge plaves, hanging out with superstars and wearing crazy garb like Indian head-dresses and bermuda shorts- which was the 80s street/skater style dude! I'm sure Euronymous REALLY hated that!

How do we pick the bands we sign?

Question: What is the main factor of yor interest in the submitted band\'s demo?
On what things you firstly draw youê attention (music, composition, quality of studio recording, other factors)?
Does every demo submission receive your either positive or negative feedback?
Thank you in advance From: dmitriy_mid@mail.ru

Answer: That's the question I get asked the most on this blog- probably half the questions received are like this. I've answered it many times on here- try using the search box at the top left, enter : how to get signed. Or read THIS.

The instructions on our website- see contact section- state that we need a myspace link, not a CD demo in the post. This is because we can tell more about you from such a page - be it from the number of daily plays to the number of bulletins you are sending. We assess how ambitious you are and how much touring you are doing by the number of dates listed on the page. The music is important of course, we are looking for original-sounding bands who can be successful and dont mind working hard.Unlike most labels, we think its NOT essential to sound like everyone else does, or aspire to be just like whatever is selling huge at the moment. Earache traditionally falls for pioneering bands who display a futuristic slant on extreme music, even if it is a retro slant, which currently is in vogue.

Image is very important for most labels- the quality and style of the clothes and haircuts of the band is paramount to many if not all of the big labels, but Earache's acts have never been chosen because of this factor- just take a look at our bands pictures on the website for proof! (with honorable exceptions of Akercocke or Cult Of Luna, who do pride themselves on great style in their photo shoots)

The Berzerker covering T.A.T.U ?

Question: Although they arnt on earache no more what do you think of the berzerker\'s cover of tatu\'s all the things she said? great marketing idea for the band or causing controversy for no reason? Personally i think the video and song as a package is a great bit of press for the band, as far as a bit of a joke goes. From:



Answer: Well we did 4 albums by THE BERZERKER starting in the late 90's, and he was my favourite artist on Earache for a long time, but sadly, record sales had declined alarmingly by the 4th one and the band was in disarray - mainman Luke had no proper band, just a revolving door of on/off members, so his contract was completed at that point, and we declined to offer a new one. Luke took the opportunity to carry on on his own label, selling the CD direct to fans, cutting out the labels/distributors and retailers, which is not a bad idea in theory, but in practise its hard to sell CDs in any great numbers that way.

So I kinda lost interest in what the BERZERKER was up to- also because any kind of techno-ised beats simply sound so 90's and pretty old-fashioned to my ears these days.
So this is the first time i've seen the clip which you can check out HERE

Personally its OK, - the main keyboard riff should start the cover I reckon, as its the most recognisable part.Basically, I applaud the Berzerker for trying to make waves and a bit of controversy never did anyone's rep any harm, but quite simply, its not controversial enough for me. Everyone wants a viral hit which gets 100 Million views on Youtube and embeds itself in everyone's heads. Check out this advert for a Danish Washing machine supplier, then ask yourself which is actually more controversial.

Napalm Death re-union at SUPERSONIC fest?

Question: Hey dig, Have you noticed that all 3 members of the original Napalm Death line up are appearing on stage at the Birmingham Supersonic festival, with their various new or old bands.Any chance of a Napalm Set?
from: Dalegrice355@gmail.com

Answer: Nah dude- this question crops up every so often and i think its highly unlikely. But you are right, the original Napalm death members are all playing SUPERSONIC festival. If ever a time was right to do it, its now,in July 2009 at this festival.

Justin is -I assume, but might be wrong - in HEAD OF DAVID, Nick Bullen is appearing with LIGHT TRAP (Nick plays the fest most years) and Mick Harris is performing as SCORN.Earache takes no sides in the old Napalm vs New Napalm debate though I will say i think would be highly poetic and somehow fitting if the 3 guys found a way to jam together a few Napalm numbers at the fest, especially after the HOME OF METAL project was so well received in the city.This was a project run by the Supersonic organisers, which went to great lengths to emphasise Napalm Death's importance to the legacy of great Heavy Metal bands which put the city of Birmingham on the map.

I also notice The Accused are playing too- they were my faves from the crossover era mid 80's and were kind enough to agree to my first ever release on the Earache label, so all it would need is HERESY to reform aswell, and you could have the first 3 Earache bands on stage in Birmingham, July 2009.

Plus IRON LUNG are playing, fresh from their recent Uk tour with Municipal Waste, and Shige/Scotch Egg is playing with his Band DRUMIZE, who can do no wrong, so its worth going just for these.

So all in all, it should be quite an interesting -if lacking in genuine Heavy metal bands- festival. See you there.

UK Hardcore punk bands 1981 & 2009

Question: Dig, good day! I would like to ask your opinion on the current underground/punk and extreme metal UK scene. It seems you and Earache came out of that fertile ground that spawned punk bands like Discharge, Disorder, Chaos UK and so forth, entering into the more extreme scene you were a part of and imploding with the UK thrash stuff (Heresy/Concrete Sox/Napalm/Ripcord). Finally this was all decanted into extreme metal which Earache became the spearhead label of.
It seems that as far as the original punk scene Earache came from everything is dead in the UK. Would you say that\'s true? I haven\'t seen any really, really good bands coming from the UK since the early 90s. Living there and working with music since the 80s what do you credit that for? From:



Answer: Uk punk was piss poor around the turn of the 80's, the original 77 era punk bands were in the top 40 charts and on TV shows like Top Of The Pops so had became irrelevant to many punks by that point.Many bands went weird & being Alternative and angsty was all the rage, like Joy Division. The only punk scene that mattered was the DIY efforts coming out of the USA and I suppose Dead Kennedys were leading that charge.Then a small UK label based out of a record shop in Stoke on Trent helmed by a certain fellow by the name of Mike Stone changed all that. UK Hardcore punk was born when Mike released what would become the first two truly earth-shattering metallised- HC punk bands on his legendary Clay Records imprint.

If you want to hear where the big 4 Thrash bands got their idea for playing heavy metal at speed- just check out the 1981 releases from the Clay Records label - Discharge 'Why?' 12inch and Birmingham, Uk's GBH "Leather Bristles Studs & acne" 12inch. GBH is UK police term for a crime - Grevious Bodily Harm.Discharge quickly became the more famous of the two because political lyrics were in vogue while GBH were arguably more metallic and sang about general topics like girls. Kirk Hammett and James Hetfield can be seen wearing GBH shirts in many early Metallica shots.

GBH Race Against Time 1981


As for modern day UK HC/punk bands who play it the old way- its a tiny scene now, but such bands do still exist -try SICK ON THE BUS or CERTIFIED for a flavour of some old school UK hardcore punk. The bands are playing shows all over UK right now.:

Earache's latest slew of dual disc re-issues

Question: Hey guys, just a follow up to a message I sent in October.
I asked about deluxe editions/special editions of \"Sleep\'s Holy Mountain\" and \"Blessed are The Sick\".
It seems my wishes have been granted - with the Sleep and Morbid Angel albums either out or awaiting release.. so, firstly, thanks for that!
Secondly, I was really pleased with the quality of the packaging and sound on \"S\'s HM\", and thought that the Black Sabbath cover didn\'t break the concise yet powerful groove of the album, so a worthy addition.
Just a few quick \'uns now:
1. Any plans for any more deluxe editions/classic albums in the near future? (Well done on both so far, by the way, though I\'m baffled as to why Wake Up and Smell The Carcass was the only Carcass album not to receive dualdisc treatment.. time issues?)
2. Who do you think are the record label that come closest to you in terms of sheer metalness? (Methinks Relapse)
3. And any plans for getting your hands on the Sleep reunion footage?

Thanks, again.
From Ross, in the home of metal, Birmingham. From: paintyourface@hotmail.co.uk



Answer: HI again Ross, yeah we do read and act on the thoughts of fans who post to this blog- so your request for Sleep and Morbid Angel to get the re-issue treatment was noted.We have plenty of back catalogue titles which deserve a deluxe lavish re-issue, and we really appreciate the thousands of fans like yourself who eagerly snap them up, we assume it's because you see a lot of effort goes into them.We find our bands love to talk about their past. Hey did you get Cathedral "Forest of Equilibrium" yet?- that is stupidly lavish, with poster, 45 minute DVD side, extra 4 track EP.

In the case of Sleep we were shocked to see the band had reformed, so we had to rush release it to co-incide with their gigs at ATP festival and we didn't have time to interview the band plus, sadly we never collected an archive of live footage from the era when the band were recording for us 1992-4.The band left Earache after this one classic album, under a cloud and through legal shenanigans, to persue a Major record deal which quickly went sour for them, and ultimately caused the split up of the act.

As for Morbid Angel- they have only been recording so far in their illustrious career for Earache, and the soon coming Blessed Are The Sick dualdisc is a belter. The DVD has over an hour of interview footage with mainman David Vincent and many of the cast of characters involved in the production of the bands second album.Its an inside look at the bands viewpoint on how they felt at the time being involved in defining the Death Metal genre in the early 90s.You get the guided tour of the legendary Morrisound Studios by Tom Morris (BATS Producer and owner of the Studio which bears his name).People from behind the scenes- management, roadies- even chip in with stories from on the road aswell.

To answer your questions:
1) Carcass interview footage was all used up on the 5 main studio albums.The wake up and Smell re-issue was made because it seemed the odd-one-out and deserved a spruce up, and being packaged with the original Wake UP and Smell DVD (featuring 2 full live shows and all the promo clips) seemed appropriate and common sense.Again it was a suggestion from the readers of this blog actually.

2) Metal Label which is the most Metal? Thats a toughie.Being in the industry we keep tabs on the other labels of our ilk, Century Media, Nuclear Blast, Relapse Candlelight, Victory, Visible Noise- we are rivals, but its little known that we are or were friends from way-back. I have known the owners of those labels personally from even before they started the labels, or as they were starting, because they formed in the wake of the Earache-led extreme-metal explosion.I never knew Metal Blade's Brian Slagel, as he was already operating and Metal Blade were having huge success years before Earache.He formed in the USA, as the labels Roadrunner and SPV were formed in Holland and Germany during the early 80's, which was way before Earache started, so I don't have any kinship with those. Nowadays of course, many of these labels release commercial- sounding Metal bands who post mega- successful sales, blowing Earache's past more modest achievements clean out of the water.To be honest, Relapse's output recently has not impressed me much.It's pretty 'samey'. My Tip of the Hat goes to Century Media, they are the metal powerhouse of this generation.My vote for metal-est label is Visible Noise, they literally transformed the UK metal-landscape in a short space of time, and sales of their biggest acts completely dwarf the rest of us.

3) I dont think we are going after the Sleep reunion show footage, because we dont have any record deal in place at the present, ours dates from 92-94.

heres a video advert for the upcoming Blessed Are The Sick DVD: *there is no actual footage shown as the band wanted it under wraps until retail release:

Scum 20th anniversary edition sound problem.

Question: What\'s wromg with the N.D. \"Scum\" Anniversary disc from 2008?

Audiowise, this release sure offers a much better sound quality compared to the original CD release. However, someone must have slept through the Quality Control part. Starting at the eighth track (Siege of power) you can hear that the audio is speeding and slowing (not the band, mind you...). And in the next track (Control) it gets ridiculus! Listen from the beginning and notice the crazy speed-up at around 0:25!! What\'s up with this? It is NOT supposed to sound like this, never did.
Will there be a corrected version?

Cheers! From: jernberg@gmail.com

Answer: Well spotted my eagle-eared friend!You are right, I can hear a subtle upward change in pitch during the song "Control" which gives the impression of speeding up.It is really hard to notice unless you are massively familiar with the album. Heck, I even just played it to my label manager who could hear nothing amiss. You are the very first person to point this out, but the 20th anniversary edition with DVD is sold out and wont be re-printed anyway.The reason its hard to notice is because to the untrained ear, the band varies speed so much on the album, from extreme sludgy slow riffs to chaotic extreme high speed noise, that in the context of the song, the pitch variation you pointed out seems "normal". But its definately a mistake in the master, yes, sorry if it spoils your enjoyment of the album, but 99.9% of listeners don't seem to notice it.

We can't explain it, its somehow got on this pressing.I can only guess that during the mastering from original tape, some kind of tape slippage occured, but that would result in slowing down of the tape- this is sped up.Its some kind of analogue error, I dont think digital mastering can have such a speeded up effect, though I'm not sure, so will ask the audio experts.

One thing I have noticed is that when we revisit the old masters of Earache's classic early titles, many of which were recorded in the 80's, the modern day mastering software accentuates some of the sounds- the high and low end- which due to restrictions of analog equipment in the 80's werent present on the original printing back in the vinyl and cassette days. When we remastered Altars of Madness from original master tapes we opted to scrap the new modern master because it sound so UNLIKE the 80s version, and kept with the original instead.

PS
Heres the soundfile of CONTROL taken from the original CD from 1988, Scum and FETO together, Ampex master tape of A-side of Scum was already 2 years old at that point.

NAPALM DEATH Control 1988 CD (with FETO) by digearache

Now compare to CONTROL from the SCUM standalone CD from 1994, master tapes were 8 yrs old by that point, its noticeably different,mastering made it a bit louder.Its from same source original tape!

NAPALM DEATH Control taken from CD 1994 standalone Scum by digearache

Unfortunately I can't upload the 2007 Dualdisc Uk 20th Anniversary edition because my mac cant rip dualdisc, so cant play here the actual song you are mentioning in the question, but i'll work on getting a rip up here.I already reckon it might have been taken from this 1994 CD, that would explain it.

I should point out there have been a zillion printings of the CD in the 20 years, at myriad plants and using different masters (often a regular CD) and they are all fine.Even in this case the album is fine -its the song CONTROL which suffers this pitch change.

Feel free to comment on the differences, as I have no simple explanation for them.

As I mentioned in the answer- the reason remastering of Altars was scrapped was because of the vast change in the audio when remastered 15 years after the event.It seems vintage tapes played into a pristine digital software mastering suite era 2000 sounds 'off' when compared to the original master which was made back in the 80s era analogue environment.

I think the same thing happened here with Scum, our ears want it to sound the same as 80's vinyl, but coming off 8 yr old analogue tape in an analogue mastering environment, it doesn't, sadly. To sum up, that's the 'beauty' of Ferric Oxide, its not digital perfection, nor is it bad quality control, you simply get whatever is on the tape on the day you run it.

Why so few Earache band shows in Ireland?

Question: Hi Guys, been a long long term fan of earache and everything they stand for. Just one curiosity though .... why the hell are there so few N.Ireland shows penciled in? We have a thriving scene and lets be honest aren\'t really a million miles away ... keep it extreme ..

G. From:

Answer: Its not deliberate, we encourage our bands to play everywhere they possibly can, but I agree, the amount of shows played in Ireland, be it the North or the South, are very sparse indeed. The reasons are purely economic. We have currently signed to the label an Irish band with members hailing from Newry & Dublin - GAMA BOMB plus we recently worked with CELTIC LEGACY on our Heavy Metal Killers compilation, and neither of those bands seem to play much in their home country either.Though Celtic Legacy played Full Metal Racket fest in Belfast in April, according to their myspace.

We know there are tons of fans of heavy and extreme stuff in Ireland,our webstore sells a ton of Cds/Vinyl and shirts to Irish metalheads so we hear from you all the time, plus for a few years Earache had a Irish dude working over here at the Nottingham HQ of the label, he clued me in on the whole scene.

Its not a million miles away, as you say, but the costs of bands travelling on the road is enormous, and sadly, Ireland is in the wrong direction, and a expensive ferry ride away, which makes bands think twice about it. For the overseas bands coming over for a European tour, say flying in from USA , they invariably touch down in London/Heathrow and their touring endeavours begin and end at that location.For smaller bands the income from touring and selling merch literally keeps the show on the road,so they stick to shows which pay a decent amount, mostly its the ones on the English small/medium club circuit of major cities- London, Birmingham, Nottingham, Leeds- plus the biggest paying shows of all, are over on mainland Europe- Germany, France, Holland .

The small to medium size bands and their booking agents (the ones who book the tours) naturally gravitate towards the cities which pay decent fees, and this means they invariably play a handful of cities in England, then catch the Dover-Calais ferry to head east into mainland EU. Things could change easily if the promotors in Ireland could guarantee the bands healthier fees, you can bet the bands would be queuing up to tour there in a flash.

This doesnt apply to the larger bands- Machine Head, Motorhead and the like- because Ireland does have its fair share of massive level promotors and the fanbase to make it economic. Thats why you mainly see the big metal bands appearing in Ireland, for 20 Euro and up priced tickets, in the large concert halls & arenas.Interesting blog about the gig scene here.

No Metalgaze on Earache- Iroha/Nadja etc

Question: Being as earache had so much to do with the roots of the genre, does earache have any interest in the metalgaze scene at all? The core bands seem to be jesu, iroha, nadja etc. Earache seemed to lay the foundations of the genre with godflesh and scorn. Is earache not interested because of the scene inbreeding of the bands? or is there another reason for this? From:

Answer: Thanks for the interesting question.I'm noticing more questions from the blogonauts along these lines lately - someone wanted to know why there have been no Avant Garde bands on the label recently aswell, both are tough to answer in any detail apart from the "we're just not feeling it" line.

The sound of the bands you mention just doesn't seem all that contemporary to my, admittedly shot-through, ears. By definition, if Earache was releasing the early bands which are now considered the roots of the style all those years ago, its damn hard for us to find the same sounds as contemporary in 2009. Time moves on and what was once radical ends up being considered traditional (tradical?) some might even consider it safe.
Personally I think Iroha is pretty cool,the song Iroha itself has a haunting quality which is mesmerising. I prefer em to Nadja (pictured) anyway, who simply seem like a polite Jesus and Mary Chain to me. Anyone remember the original shoegaze act from the 80's My Bloody Valentine ? they were the definition of radical noise for much of the 80's, well, until Napalm Death came along they were.

Having said all that, you should check out Swedes Cult of Luna who over the course of 4 albums on Earache have plenty of 'Metal-gaze'ish moments, interspersed with intensely heavy parts, so could be classed as similar.

Earache is not opposed to signing a newish totally out there experimental band, its probably long overdue in fact, we just need to find the right one that floats our boat.

Earache is NOT on the Nottingham tourist map

Question: I\'m visting a friend in Nottingham during the Summer, but I will probably have some time to myself when he is at work. So, I was looking for somthing to do, and I was wondering if you do tours of your offices? Is there anything worth seeing?

Alternatively, is there any places in Notts you reccomend I vist? I would like to see the places that started my favourite record label. From: punk7680@hotmail.com


Answer: Well, Punk7680, we might just be able to "make your day".Its been a while since we had any fans want to check out the Earache HQ, tho I vividly recall back in the labels heyday we had regular visits every summer, from Inter-railing European fans. Swedes, Japanese, Germans, Canadians and even the worlds biggest Napalm Death collector Mykul from New York made the pilgrimage. Most would simply call round to get a peek at the place, or try to buy rare test pressings or to drop off a demo tape, while they were here.

Some went much further- a group of lads from Basque country (Spain) came into the office and proceeded to climb onto my desk and stagedive off it into their mates arms. It was hilarious to watch - I guess it was a hoot to tell their mates "we went to Earache and stagedived off Dig's desk".Mad bastards.

Office is first floor above the Peckish Cafe.Entrance pictured.

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The label actually started in this terrace apartment, minus all garbage outside it I might add.My first floor flat (window wide open) was the place Earache began.Every early grindcore musician used this place as a hotel while on tours or recording etc.I doubt the local council are in any rush to put a plaque on the wall, ha ha.

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No visit to Nottingham is complete with checking out ROCK CITY club.

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For smaller punk & metal gigs try the OLD ANGEL

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Earache has no 'Avant-Garde' bands any more?

Question: Dig, you mentioned how hard it is to find new scenes and start new musical genres nowadays. Bands that are creating are faced with hostility and misunderstanding. However, they are the ones who progress when the genre is set and clones begin to appear. Earache had been focusing in re-heated thrash metal (80s clones) and the established mainstream scene of metalcore. Do you ever feel you would go back to the days of releasing REALLY out there and risky stuff like OLD, SCORN, PAINKILLER and so forth? Bands that had no fanbase, no hype around them, but the art itself was something new? Even SCUM and the whole grind scene were risky at a time that was not understood at all (Say Mosh 003-50)

Record sales are down and playing it safe is the rule for money making, but do you have the drive or will to release absolutely avant garde, risky stuff that may or may not mark the world of music forever? Or is it Earache now strictly about keeping it safe within the established metal genres and revivals that are floating the market, providing what you see as \"quality stuff\" within well defined and already hyped up and popular scenes? From: urmlefou@gmail.com


Answer: I dunno dude, one person's cutting-edge Avant-Garde band is another person's snooze-fest.Its all about individual tastes, and for Earache, having a label is all about inflicting our taste in music on the public.As you say, we've been taking the risks and releasing bands who have no fanbase to speak of, and definately no peers, for decades. You mention OLD, SCORN and PAINKILLER.We did John Zorn's Naked City too (see pic above). Don't forget ULTRAVIOLENCE, DOA, TEMPER TANTRUM and DELTA 9- the harsh electronic music they made was considered radical and out-there back in mid 90's , nowadays of course there exists a thriving Hardcore Techno underground.

Even DUB WAR aswell, their mid- 1990's Drum n Bass excursions were highly risky and would'nt be classed as any kind of safe option for a Metal label.Latest example might be Ewigkeit, who were a brilliant UK rock band innovating with experimental sounds and sound-bites.

When bands take off its a vindication of our choices and immensely satisfying. But when they fail and the fans shun them, we face the sometimes bitter recriminations.When bands find they have no takers it knocks the stuffing out of them unless they have abnormally high self confidence. Ultimately it leads to members leaving, or the clever ones quickly bury their mistake and move onto pastures new.From a label point of view its no fun losing money and believe me, selling no records gets boring real fast.

Thats not to say we don't like taking risks, actually we get a kick out of doing the un-obvious and keeping things interesting.Earache does have some bold plans for some immensely risky releases soon though, expect to read about that stuff later in the year.

I'm keen to know what sort of Avant Garde bands you are referring to? Please feel free to comment on this post with names of suggestions and links to hear the bands you feel Earache should be pursuing.

The New- NWOBHM 2009 Scene explained

Question: Do you think that the increase in newer nwobhm style bands is connected to Iron Maiden doing record numbers now than during any part of their career? As surely it would make it easier to sell this form of music if the band headlining the major festivals is also of that style? From:


Answer: You might be right, Iron Maiden are enjoying an amazing year, selling more concert tickets than Coldplay, and with their blockbuster movie Flight 666 due out soon aswell, things can only get bigger. After video games like Guitar Hero and Rock Band, I agree, the resurgence of all things 'Traditional Heavy Metal' can be attributed to Iron Maiden's ongoing success.

Meanwhile the 'scene'- such as it is - of young NWOBHM-influenced bands is very tiny indeed. We discovered it by accident almost, hanging out with our new crop of Thrash bands. At an ENFORCER gig in Birmingham we found out that the bands themselves and also their young fans are not so much into the currently highly popular and prevailing Death Metal and Black Metal scenes. They simply are not listening to say, Mastodon or Lacuna Coil, nor Darkthrone or Morbid Angel or Dillinger Escape Plan. These young bands turn out to be more influenced by the classic timeless HM sounds of Iron Maiden or Judas Priest, Raven, Tygers of Pan Tang.It was an exciting discovery for us.

Earache tried to showcase this new scene (Traditional Heavy Metal or NWOTHM) on our HEAVY METAL KILLERS compilation. It was a tough task to do it, because bands of that ilk are so far below most of the metal scene's radar, they are positively subterranean.ENFORCER, CROWNING GLORY, RAM and our own signed CAULDRON, WHITE WIZZARD and POWERVICE all feature on the comp.

Power metal bands like Hammerfall or Primal Fear have been huge in Europe for a decade, both are praised for singlehandedly keeping the true HM flag flying during the dark days.However, these new NWOBHM bands are distinctly different from their Power metal predecessors.NWOTHM means a return to no-frills, song-based, basic true-to-the roots HM. The focal point shifted away from the riff (See the Sabbath/Doom scene for that) and back onto the singer, and the song. Most tellingly, there are no 20-piece orchestras making an appearance or histrionic lengthy solos, and no glam-rock affectations. The NWOTHM bands appear almost 'punky' and down-to-earth in outlook actually, which is what we like about them most in fact.

Watch WHITE WIZZARD explain it themselves:

Do we sign Bands or scenes?

Question: Ive wondered when doing A&R for the label is it easier to monitor certain scenes that have developed for example yorkshire being branded the new bay area because of the amount of thrash bands that are from there, or the south west uk being branded the new flordia because of the large amount of death metal bands that come from the bath and bristol area, im wondering how do you decide of which bands of that scene which ones are you going to sign do you take the scene leaders who have been there the longest but are more likely to move on? or do you go for the second wave of band who are still obsessed in the core value of the scene? I based this question on somthing tony wilson once said about how the manchester scene evolved from joy divsion esque bands to happy monday esque bands obviously ive put it in more of a metal context. From:


Answer: Doing A&R for a label is a tricky business. You end up saying "No" about 99% of time to the bands- being so predominately negative, well, lets just say it doesn't particularly endear you to many people.But it comes with the territory so no complaints from me.
The truth is we do monitor scenes, yeah- because we find that hardly any band that is worth a damn develops alone, most bands who create even a small ripple of attention on a local level soon spawn 2-3-4 clones of other bands aping their style. Its miraculous how quickly that happens actually.One prized skill we do possess is instinctively knowing -just by having a keen ear- who are the leaders and who are the followers of any given scene.We find there is a distinct, sharper,more intense depth of focus in the originators, which the next wave of bands, even if they form a mere couple of months later, lack.

The latest UK scenes you mention are still growing, but ones Earache are involved in- be it EVILE leading the stampede of Thrash bands streaming out of Yorkshire, or TRIGGER THE BLOODSHED leading the wave of modern DM bands battering their way outta the South West.We signed IGNOMINIOUS INCARCERATION out of that scene, as we had already missed out on undoubted leaders Trigger.Local label Rising got the bands signatures first.

I would say the two biggest scenes which have had most impact on the UK metal landscape in recent years are the South Wales metal/emo/screamo scene- this stampede was spearheaded by Funeral For A Friend & Lost Prophets, and swiftly followed by Bullet For My Valentine, plus a zillion others from the area, most of these names now dominate the UK metal charts.Also the Watford Hc/Punk scene led by Gallows obviously.Earache missed out on both,to be frank we never saw these coming, or rather we saw the bands were developing a buzz, but did not act on this information, as the music wasn't really 100% to our liking. Other, newer, labels saw what we didn't - and those labels reaped the rewards, meanwhile we umm-ed an arr-ed and lost out.We took it on the chin and moved on.

This question is really astute : "(when) going to sign, do you take the scene leaders who have been there the longest but are more likely to move on? or do you go for the second wave of band who are still obsessed in the core value of the scene?"
No one has ever pointed out the difference to me before, you are seriously bang on with this assessment.My instinctive answer is - whenever possible we sign the leaders, because over the course of time no one remembers the also-rans.

Most of the most iconic and legendary breakthrough metal acts received scathing reviews from critics at first. UK rag Kerrang! famously gave Slayers debut the ultimate thumbs down score- one K. I believe Emperors debut also received this dubious accolade of a lowest possible mark. Thats why journalists don't make it in A&R.

It must be said that the originators and trailblazers of any scene do not pick an easy path, at first all they meet are detractors with at best, puzzled looks, and at worst, open hostility.The casualty rate is high, because it requires unbeleivable mental toughness and unshakable self-belief to make a lasting impact on the music scene. The leaders are the ones who have to fight damn hard for any acceptance, they are the ones taking the flack and suffering the knocks which come with trying to do anything new.Many of them don't survive the ordeal, often losing members or splitting up entirely due to the accumulated pressure associated with the constant battle to be different but also trying to be accepted.

Meanwhile the chasing pack of bands close behind have a much easier ride of it, as the sheep-like majority of metal fans are more accepting of a newish radical style, but only once its broken through and deemed "OK" and "safe" to like.

Heres IGNOMINIOUS INCARCERATION clip:

Carcass Red vinyl symphonies 1989

Question: Hello again,

i know that you don\'t want to answer some kind of questions. Maybe this one is one of them. The last time i wrote you about a \"symphonies of sickness\"-rerelease i was watching it at ebay. I didn\'t get an aswer from you, but i bought it. Its a sealed rerelease with a sticker on the plastic that says \"only 1000 copies on colored vinyl\". My question is (again): Which pressings had this sticker? Just the red european 1000 copies or also the us-releases? Or just the us releases? It would be very nice if you could tell me that detail. I\'m NOT going to sell that copy with \"Earache told me that this record is rare as hell\"! You can check my site, so you can see that i am a collector, not a seller! its:
www.my-recordcollection.de
Thank you very much. From: marcel76mahlert@web.de

Answer: The 2002 US vinyl edition of Symphonies of Sickness is what you have, judging from the sticker text. The original 1989 version was 1000 red vinyl for Germany only, check it out in detail HERE.Some more info on vinyl colors and quantities is HERE

Earache package tours down the years

Question: Back in 2007, I remember reading an interview with Evile where they were talking about a \"forthcoming\" UK tour with Municipal Waste and SSS. While Waste and SSS have toured together, nothing ever came of a 3-band tour? What happened?

Speaking of Earache tours, have you ever considered reviving Grindcrusher? Was there ever any intention of making a follow-up after the original tour? If you could put together a \"dream Grindcrusher\" tour of Earache acts today, who would be on it?

Also, you wouldn\'t know the reason behind why Fueled By Fire have been replaced on the Bonded By Blood UK tour by Cauldron, would you? From:


Answer: Evile have only shared the stage once with Municipal Waste & SSS, that was in August 2007 at Liverpool Barfly.I dont think the bands can ever arrange their schedules to tour together, they all have different agents and differing plans, but you never know, it might happen one day.

As for Grindcrusher- Earache hit on the idea back in the 80's that if 2-3-4 new bands on the rise can tour together as a package, it makes the label's job of promoting them easier as it becomes possible to brand the tour, give it a name and identity which in turn attracts more attention from fans and magazines, than if the bands toured separately on their own. Promotors have known this for decades, see "Clash of the Titans Tour", labels had even done it before - the 70s Stiff Tours' etc. Nowadays it seems nearly all tours come with a branding, a list of sponsors, and a massive line up, its totally commonplace now.

We did the original UK GRINDCRUSHER tour of 1989 which featured BOLT THROWER, CARCASS, MORBID ANGEL & NAPALM DEATH.This tour was only about 8 dates but it really cemented the bands reputations in the UK. See photos.

As the bands' popularity spread to USA with the releases selling well there (I licensed the albums to Combat/Relativity for a time) it was decided to run a USA version of the Grindcrusher aswell in 1991 with a line up of NAPALM DEATH, GODFLESH & NOCTURNUS. This tour was huge, 4000 people showed up for it in LA, but this show became infamous as it was marred by insanely vicious rival LA gang violence.Read photographer Kevin Estrada's report of the fatal stabbing which happened right in the moshpit during Napalm Death's set.

Nowadays I think the dream-package tour might involve Earache bands past and present, that would be interesting for me, but I highly doubt it could be made to work because all the bands have differing people taking care of their business (agents, managers) and differing plans.
Personally, I'd be excited to see a concert of MORBID ANGEL, CARCASS, SLEEP, MUNICIPAL WASTE, EVILE & opening up,our new LA HM band WHITE WIZZARD - shit, I would pay good money to witness that gig- perhaps even 5,000 of you lot would show up with me, I dunno.

You ask about FUELED BY FIRE being replaced by CAULDRON on the UK leg of the BONDED BY BLOOD European tour coming up in May.Simple reason is that the UK leg of the tour is booked by a different agent (Earache actually) than the European leg (Insano booking).Earache wanted to showcase our new HM act CAULDRON here by adding them to the bill.The UK leg is a last minute addition to the lengthy Euro tour which had been planned for ages.It meant plans for flights and visas etc had to change at short notice, but FBF didnt fancy changing their travel plans for a measly 5 uk shows, which is fair enough, and decided to drop off the UK leg, as did SUICIDAL ANGELS from Greece. UK line up is BONDED BY BLOOD CAULDRON and local openers, MUTANT in London. EU line up is BONDED BY BLOOD, FUELED BY FIRE & SUICIDAL ANGELS.

Cult of Luna FIRE WAS BORN DVD +/- CD

Question: Hi, i am a massive cult of luna fan, so i cannot wait for the dvd to be released. However, i\'ve noticed that in the U.K. it is only coming out as a bonus disc with eternal kingdom, as i already have this cd and plan on getting it on vinyl soon i don\'t want another copy. This dvd is more than worthy of its own case and i dont think having it as a free bonus disc does it justice. Is there any way i can get my hands on the proper dvd release and will it work on my dvd player here in england? Where is the best place to pre-order it? Sorry for the long winded question and thanks in advance,
Gaz From: garryevo@hotmail.co.uk

Answer: The DVD on its own does exist, but only in Sweden.You could order the DVD on its own from Sweden's biggest online music retailer CDON.se if you want, for 149 Swedish Kronor.Its NTSC DVD and will play on any system/TV.
I'll explain the reason why we dont have it on sale here in UK like that, as a simple DVD in case. Its released here as Eternal Kingdom CD + FREE Fire Was Born DVD included as a bonus. Its not ideal, I agree, if you already have the CD, it seems wasteful to buy it again just for the DVD.
But our motivation is NOT to rip fans off, its actually to maximise the number of fans who are able to watch the DVD actually, because the retailers in general order less DVDs than music CDs. DVDs on their own are seriously restricted in outlets- sadly the major retail chains like HMV in UK, do not take music DVDs seriously (unless you are Madonna) they think DVDs are for James Bond movies, not music, and would order a very low number for a band like Cult Of Luna.

On the other hand, luckily the CD/Music section of the same HMV store has another person controlling the stock, these people do take CDs with bonus material inc DVD very seriously and so order more copies because of this quirk.The CD acts as a Trojan Horse to get the DVD into stores.It also acts as a juicy bargain to tempt fans who has previously perhaps naughtily downloaded the CD to finally come clean and purchase a great CD + DVD package, because it is amazing value.

The end result of all this formating malarky is this- by adding the DVD to the already available CD, approx FIVE times as many DVDs are able to be sold/ given away.

Heres "Adrift" from the FIRE WAS BORN DVD:

White Wizzard's Wonderful Wicked Witch

Question: This is gunna sound a silly question but is the witch out of the
white wizzard high speed gto video mary zimmer from century media band luna
mortis? just wondering as the resemblance is uncanny.

Answer: I asked the director of the clip Dave Vorhes for the info. It seems it's not the singer from Luna Mortis. Heres the reply:

"The witch's name is Jacqueline Vleck (pictured).She is an actress / comedian in Los Angeles. We auditioned many people for that role, none of which were friends of the band. Jackie is a very talented performer and I would expect big things from her in the future.

Here's the full cast for your reference:
Witch - Jacqueline Vleck
Gorek - David Light
White Wizzard - Kai Cofer "

See her spell-binding (ho ho) performance in the White Wizzard - High Speed GTO clip ($1000) Directed by Dave Vorhes.

Carcass Wake Up & Smell... JFK picture

Question: All this talk about banned artwork has reminded me of a question I\'ve always wanted to ask. Everyone always focuses on Carcass\' first 2 albums (Reek and Symphonies) when it comes to gory, banned artwork, but I was wondering if you ever had any trouble with the artwork for Wake Up and Smell The Carcass?

Surely pictures of JFK\'s autopsy would\'ve caused a rumble or two protest from the States? Did you ever get any contact from the authorities about the pictures? And who the hell suggested it? Was there anyone in the band or at Earache who thought \"Ooooh, bit unnecessary\"? Also, where the hell did you get them in the first place? Surely, in the days before the interweb REALLY took off, they must have been hard to come by? From: bloodfiredeath@hotmail.co.uk


Answer:There is an interesting sub-plot to this album's picture which is revealed at the end of this posting, but first off heres the basic facts of how it ended up as Carcass' sleeve art.
By around 1995 or so the band had recently split up, and Carcass were no more. Jeff was playing in Blackstar at that point I think, and had other priorities going on. There were 5 great songs left over from the bands last recording session- the aptly named Swansong -which needed a release somehow, so we compiled a mish-mash of leftovers and rare single B-sides and Peel Session material, and asked Jeff to come up with a name and artwork, which he was kind enough to take time out from Blackstar to do.

I remember being stunned that Jeff decided to supply a gore-art cover again- it seemed a retrograde step, as the band had already spearheaded the gore-art sleeve concept in the late 80s, and had moved on considerably since, ending up on a major record company, before the band imploded.To me, it seemed to lack that creative spark which they had always been known for.

Don't forget that Earache had already taken the flack for the 1988 debut album with UK chain stores refusing to stock the album on full public view (hence the mid to late 90s editions on CD had the gore hidden inside or removed completely) and the infamous police raid on our office in 1991 had more or less put us off releasing such sleeves as they are not worth the hassle, and have to be altered to sell in any meaningful quantity anyway. As a side note-this record store squeamishness is a particularly British trait, when Reek was released in USA under license to Combat/Relativity it was released with the gore art printed in full view outside on a long-box CD.By 1996 I guess Jeff did'nt care about any such problems for the label, as the band was over anyway.The reactivation of the band a decade later in 2007 was unthinkable at that point.

So we duly released the original Wake Up And Smell The...b-sides and rarities CD with a huge black sticker to cover the gory JFK photo, assuming, as ever, that the major chain stores would object.However to our great suprise, we encountered no complaints and no refusals to stock this record.The expected controversy never came, and it was treated as just another release.I guess tastes had changed by then, black metal had upped the ante in 'shock-value', the interwebs had taken hold and by 1996 autopsy images on death-metal sleeves just were'nt that shocking any more.You could say in comparison to the murders and suicides coming out of Norway, it was almost boring.

The picture itself is far from boring however- its dynamite.It forms the centrepiece of the ongoing controversy about whether JFK was shot from the back or the front.The official Report into the assassination declares he was shot from the back - but the picture shows large exit wound at back the head, meaning he was shot from the front.This contradicts all the official evidence and explanation of the shooting.The FBI deny all knowledge of the picture, it simply does not exist according to the US government.It's impossible to find the image online nowadays, but was widely circulated in the 90s.It is removed from many internet sites as its highly controversial and some say the "smoking gun' which points to US government's involvement and subsequent cover up in the JFK killing.

Make your own mind up after watching this:

Godflesh's creativity

Question: Don\'t quote me on this, but I remember reading a long while back from an interview from Godflesh/Jesu mastermind Justin Broadrick, on the topic of Jesu, that this current band is a fresh break from Godflesh where he felt so restrained and restricted with it creatively.

I don\'t know if this statement involves the label he was on, but if it did, do you guys restrict artists on some levels with creative direction like many mainstream labels do? And what\'s with Justin\'s statement... would you think it had anything to do with Earache restricting him creatively? From:


Answer: That's gotta be one of the most ridiculous things i've ever read.We sign bands to encourage their creativity, not restrict it.I think you are taking what Justin said the wrong way here, my reading of what he said is that GODFLESH developed a style and identity over the course of a decade, and subconsciously any new material he would write came with a weight of expectation from the past,making it difficult to branch out.GODFLESH werent on Earache when they imploded at the end by the way, they were on Koch Records.

I don't even recall having a discussion about musical direction or type of songs with the band- free rein to do whatever they damn well like, is what bands enjoy on this label.When Godflesh went into remix mode, influenced by the DJ/dance culture which was springing up in the UK at the start of the 90's, there was no complaints from me.Remix 12 inchers?- no problem.

There was one infamous exception to that tho- in the mid-90s period a band called OASIS began to make serious waves in the UK music scene.Seemingly from nowhere their debut album sold over a Million copies but due to clever marketing and management also appeared very hip and cool aswell.They could do no wrong.OASIS style Brit-Rock more or less took control over the UK's Rock scene for the rest of the decade- still to this day the workman-like catchy Brit-Rock they invented remains the dominant format on UK radio stations.Even GODFLESH caught the bug and between album they made a 3 song demo for the label and their own amusement, where they experimented with a Brit-Rock style.It was a serious attempt to have a go at the hugely popular genre mainly to see if they could pull it off, and maybe persue that direction.
I remember telling the band we thought it was a terribly bad idea, mainly because Justin didnt have the vocal style to pull it off correctly. The demo was shelved and quickly filed under ' momentary lapse of reason'.The songs never even made it onto "In All Languages" best of and rare comp, because we wanted to spare the bands blushes.

Heres CRUSH MY SOUL video directed by Andres Serrano (£75,000)

New Swedish old-school DM scene

Question: What do you think of the new wave of old school swedish death metal that has popped up all of a sudden? After reading the terroizer article about the subject i feel that there is a big earache conection in that I belive the band that kicked it all off was death breath led by none other than ex entombed man nicke, do you have an interest in the scene at all or is it too retro for your taste? From:

Answer: Exciting, happening new music scenes, much like beauty, are in the eye of the beer-holder.One persons exciting new music scene is anothers retro-recycled unoriginal garbage.
If there is a such a thing as a new Swedish old school death metal scene sprnging up,you could have fooled us, because we don't see it, it has passed us by completely.
It does'nt take much to proclaim a "scene"- maybe 3 or 4 bands of a similar mindset with the same influences is all it takes.Wether the scene dies or blows up to be huge is the question.Most people are sheep like in their music tastes, and if enough of the cutting edge fans (called tastemakers/early adopters in marketing speak) embrace it, then the masses duly follow.

If a Swedish DM scene exists then I agree its probably due to Nicke's unashamedly old-school DM band DEATH BREATH. I read in a magazine that he was influenced to make the band after reading the Choosing Death book, it reminded him of the early 90's of which he was a major part of the first original wave with Entombed, of course.Maybe the Swedish Death metal book has played a part also.
To me its not retro enough!! it feels like yesterday that earache was doing the first wave of these bands anyway, so nothing too exciting or fresh to our ears.Earache is getting solidly behind the follwing scenes: new Thrash, new Deathcore and New Trad HM, mainly because Earache never did any of those types of bands in the past (which I regret) so its exciting to work with bands who posses a totally different outlook and approach to music.From a purely selfish point of view, it makes it a blast to come to the office every day because the musicians being mostly young, early to mid 20's tops, their creativity is firmly from the heart, their outlook is not jaded in the slightest, and they are fearless.
If they catch on then its a bonus.
But for Swedish Death metal to have a revival, it was very much the recent past for us, and therefore just doesnt have the same appeal.

Napalm Death's Platinum Disc 1,000,000 sales

Question: Is the Mortal Kombat motion picture soundtrack(which features Napalm Death) the only gold disc that Earache have? and have any other bands come close to selling that amount?? From: the_suttonator@hotmail.com

Answer: Yeah its true..but its a Platinum disc dude,not a measly gold!.It's not one of their own albums though, it was a popular movie soundtrack CD. It was awarded to the band on November 1st 1996 for their contribution to selling 1 Million copies in America of the soundtrack CD to Mortal Kombat movie.All the bands included in the movie received the award.Mortal Kombat mania was everywhere in mid-90's.The Cd was the soundtrack to the movie of the highly popular 90's video game.The recently defunct TVT records was the label that released it, and the band did well off the ensuing royalties for a long time afterwards.

YOu ask if other bands have gone Platinum- nah mate, its rare as hell, no one on Earache has even come close.I reckon right now Napalm death must easily be the only extreme metal band on the planet with a Platinum disc under their belts, apart from Slayer who also have received many Gold and PLatinum awards, for their own albums.

Its quite an acheivement because it seems that only about 2 or 3 movie soundtracks go platinum per year, and awards for new emerging artists are even fewer.During the 90's I can only remember Roadrunners Type 0 Negative and maybe Sepultura selling a million.Roadrunner also delivered the goods with Slipknot.
Many of the nu metal acts whuch sprang up at the turn of the millenium also went platinum, Korn Limp Bizkit etc.

The latest in the wider rock world to go platinum is Paramore, and the hugely popular Fueled By Ramen/Victory Records emo-style acts like Fall Out Boy and Hawthorne heights etc are the bands which sell the most copies, and hence lead the rock world these days.Of the modern day heavier bands, Nightwish must be the closest I guess.

You can check bands gold (500,000) and Platinum (1,000,000) disc tally and hence sales on the RIAA website.

Sub Bass & Necrosis labels in 90s

Question: Hi, im currently writing an piece of work for my university on genres and their related record labels. I was wandering if youd be able to give me an insight as to why earache still exists after all these years, whereas the sub bass and necrosis sublabels no longer do. Any time youve got to give me a bit more insight would be greatly appreciated. And this honestly isnt some dig at at the labels mentioned.

Thanks, Alex From: aleher@hotmail.co.uk


Answer: It's really tough to start any business venture, and to make a success of it is even harder.I don't claim to be a 'business guru' like on TV's Dragons Den show, I just call it as I see it from 20 years at the coal-face of the biz, but I firmly believe luck and timing play a larger part than many so-called experts recognise, but the old adage 10% inspiration, 90% perspiration remains remarkably spot on, I reckon.

Anyway, start-up record labels are no different, and i've personally watched many of my friends over the years try to start labels, they were dedicated people who gave it their best shot, working non-stop hours, but mostly they only last for a handful of releases, maybe 10 max, before they give up on the venture, citing losing too much money and mounting debt as the reason. Music attracts the thrill-seekers, the risk-takers, the egocentrics, and the downright insane, so the two dirtiest words, never to be uttered in polite company are: 'common-sense' and 'business-plan'. It's social death.

I would go as far as to say the actual major criterion for a successful record label is to turn up a huge-selling release within the first 10 attempts.After that, the novelty wears off with the fans and any buzz generated goes downhill quickly, also the competition is ferocious, they are fast to muscle in to grab a slice of any buzz you may have had. Its much more prudent to close the doors than soldier on regardless, but this is often impossible for reasons of vanity/ ego on behalf of the label owner(s) and unfulfilled ambitions on behalf of the acts.Ultimately the fans decide which ventures to support and which to shun, and they tell you their verdict within 10 releases. I think this applies equally to record labels founded with incentives to be a successful long term full-time business, and DIY hobby-labels doing 7inch records by their mates every few months, alike.

As for Sub Bass, & Necrosis, both those labels were formed under the Earache umbrella in the 90's, and are best described, in hindsight, as 'dalliances'.Earache remains the core label and survives to this day because of its intense focus on delivering what fans want. Sub Bass was a dalliance of mine to experiment with non-metal and techno releases.To be blunt, it was an attempt to appear hip and cutting edge, probably. No-body bought them and no-body cared, apart from John Peel, about a metal label attempting to release early examples of Jungle-rave (later called drum n bass) so the shutters were brought down right on cue, after a handful of poorly-selling releases.The final end came because of a pending lawsuit from a rival company Sub-Base (Suburban Base) who were riding high at the time, and claimed my chosen name was too similar to theirs.It seemed easier to pack it in than fight it.

Necrosis was A&R'd by Jeff and Bill of Carcass, and their chosen A&R style was to unearth the lost gems of the grindcore past, even if it was the recent past back then during the early 90's.Jeff's original band Electro Hippies had a re-issue of their "play Fast Or Die' LP, and Repulsion's forgotten about demo album 'Horrified' was re-animated and released on general sale for the first time ever by Necrosis.

These two releases were well received by fans, but the label appeared to have no future plans as it specialised in digging up past gems, not signing current bands.To rectify this, Carnage and Cadaver appeared as a split LP also, but this was'nt as well received at the time.By that stage Carcass' career began to take up most of Bill and Jeffs time and I guess the label took a back seat.It simply ran out of steam/ideas after measly four albums, but served its purpose to release the past gems, because Earache had no interest in such nostalgia.

"Death of A Child" by ULTRAVIOLENCE

Question: Looking for a track i heard years ago perhaps \'96 or so on a promo casette from your label.I think it was called \"Death of a child\".Kind of industrial but meodic and epic sounding.Just cannot remember who it was by?? It was awesome please please help?
Ben From: benjifordham@hotmail.com


ANswer: its the last track on the debut ULTRAVIOLENCE album- Life OF Destructor. ITs a haunting brooding melancholic instrumental song. Get the CD from Amazon or for £7.20 our own Earache Webstore will send you one postage free.

If you want just the track on MP3, i was going to suggest iTunes store or Amazonmp3 store but to my horror i can't find it.I thought our whole cstalog was online for download, but this must have slipped thru the net, try again in 7 days.

DEATH METAL MURDERS TV Documentary BBC 2 2005

Question: I\'m looking for a Death Metal Special Report that starred Glenn Benton of Deicide. It appeared on tv once and I think it was produced by one of the following- Time, Discovery, or National Geographic. I want it as source material for a report for school. Thanx in advance for any help you can give me regarding this. From: brandylynlomax@yahoo.com

Answer:Try HERE for information. Also HERE.The program was made for BBC 2 in UK - called DEATH METAL MURDERS, as part of the "This World" series. Was later aired on DIscovery channel in USA.Its really hard to find any footage on the web-- maybe if any blog reader has it on tape, they might upload to Youtube?

Neil Kernon -Producer extraordinaire

Question: Out of interest did earache suggest neil kernon as a producer to oceano? Im wondering simply because of neil\'s links to earache bands akercocke, deicide etc as well as bands like cannibal corpse, I thought it would be a no brainer since both are based in chicago . From:


Answer: Simple reason really- he wasn't considered because we'd already hired him to mix the Cauldron album so he was already booked up by Earache.

Neil Kernon is a top producer, we recommend all our USA bands to work with him all the time because his repertoire of productions range from platinum 80s metal (Queensryche/ Dokken) to classic 90s death metal (Cannibal Corpse), hes a veteran and a great all rounder who knows how to produce a wide spectrum of metal, and beyond. He's originally from UK so we have a connection there.He's also a fine fella to work with, can deal with Indie label budgets, delivers quality as standard, and has the patience of a saint when dealing with bands.

On the instructions of the band we scrapped his entire first mix of the Deicide "Scars" album.He'd worked on it for weeks, yet the band rejected it on a whim, going for a more 'live sounding' vibe.Neil accepted that, and did'nt mind at all- even tho his mix destroys the mix we released on CD.

For OCEANO we had to find a new guy and it was the bands suggestion to use relative newcomer Joey Sturgis at Foundation in Indiana. He'd only done s few bands, notably stuff for Rise Recordings (who manage him), so far, The Devil Wears Prada is his biggest album.
Boy, what an incredible job he did for Oceano- he worked his ass off for that band, day and long through the night (thats why most of the in-studio DVD footage is in darkness).We only had to ask him to increase the vokills and stick more of the sub-bass drops into the mix, but the end result on Depths is a slamming, concrete hard but slick production.To me, its a masterpiece.

See Joey producing Deathcore magic at the controls in this clip:

DEATH METAL x HARDCORE = DEATHCORE

Question: why is it you think deathcore has caught on now when to be honest most of the bands appear to be second rate converge clones? From:


Answer: DEATHCORE as played by OCEANO is by far the most exciting thing to happen to extreme metal in a long,long time.I fucking love it cos its genuinely contemporary music- nothing sounded even remotely like it even 3 years ago, the scene is still in its infancy, and as you say- Deathcore bands are catching on everywhere.Its the next level of extremity, and its quite possible that the DEATHCORE scene could blow up to be the biggest extreme metal scene there has ever been.Time will tell, but I really think it could end up dwarfing the original 90's Death Metal scene, which itself was huge.

DEATHCORE is essentially a hybrid of the sickest aspects of 90's Death metal ( the Suffocation-style gutteral vokills mainly) and 90's Hardcore (the simplistic chug breakdowns) and even tho the bands play fast, the style doesn't have much emphasis on OTT speed. Lately, OCEANO has also added speaker-quaking sub-bass drops (a Hip Hop influence methinks) to the mix, which you need real hi fi speakers and sub-woofers to appreciate on their album "Depths".This aspect is missed entirely if you listen on laptop or ipod buds.

Purists on either side hate it of course, its not true DM and its not proper HC, its a real mongrel scene, but to me, as a fan of extreme metal for 20 years, its highly original and totally savage stuff.

You might have a point about CONVERGE tho- they could actually be the forerunners, because they were a hardcore band which had its fair share of DM influence, but they sound almost polite by comparison to todays DEATHCORE dealers.

More realistically the bands which are the forerunners might be JOB FOR A COWBOY, SUICIDE SILENCE and even BRING ME THE HORIZON, but they all boast a few other influences aside from pure DM and HC.
Bands like THE ACACIA STRAIN and WHITECHAPEL took things to a whole deeper of level of brutality tho, and they are the beginnings of the current DEATHCORE scene in my view.Instrumentally, the power and heaviness comes from playing 7 string guitars and 5 string bass- that set-up automatically produces a heavier, sicker sound.

You ask whats the reason why its blowing up now - its basically Myspace, and Youth. The fans are young, many grew up with the internet already part of everyday life, and are always online. These bands- which are the same age group- tapped into that.Its expected that bands be able to interact with fans 24/7 now, and these bands use Myspace as a natural means to keep fans regularly updated,and when I say regularly, I mean hourly!

Even as recently as 5 years ago, before Myspace was launched, bands would only interact with fans every 18 months or so, when a new album hit or when were out on tour.If they had a website, it was a pain to update it, and streaming music would cost a fortune in server rental costs. Myspace changed the face of the music industry, but it mostly changed everything about how fans expect to interact with their favourite bands.

Heres Oceano's Depths DVD trailer:


OCEANO District Of Misery promo video: