The
noise began 24 years ago.
A
music starved kid named Brian Slagel, killing
time in suburban LosAngeles, gets sick of watching
the local metal scene being ignored by the major
labels. Working days at legendary metal emporium
Oz Records and nights putting together one of
the first metal fanzines, The New Heavy Metal
Revue, Slagel asks some distributor friends
if they'd be interested in circulating a compilation
of unsigned bands if he put it together. The
distributors said yes and Metal Blade Records
was born. Of course it wasn't quite that simple.
Putting in long 17 hour days between Oz and
Metal Blade, Slagel pieced together the bands
that would grace the label's first release -
The New Heavy Metal Revue presents Metal Massacre.
Metallica, Ratt and Black 'N' Blue were just
a few of the willing locals. Except before Metal
Massacre, Metallica didn't exist.
Metalupdate Interview w/ Brian Slagel
BEHIND THE SCREAMS - PART
2
2006 - The noise began 24 years ago…
So
now for over 24 years Metal Blade Records has
been setting the trend in heavy metal music without
compromising it’s underground beginnings.
Brian Slagel and Metal Blade Records have without
a doubt had a major role in developing the American
metal scene since day one and remains one of the
most essential sources of metal music today. Since
it’s beginnings in 1982, Metal Blade Records
has unleashed some of the most influential and
significant metal acts like Slayer, Metallica,
Cannibal Corpse, GWAR, Six Feet Under, and King
Diamond while developing new acts like As I Lay
Dying, The Red Chord, Unearth, The Black Dahlia
Murder, Goatwhore, Into The Moat, Cellador, and
Phoenix Mourning just to name a few. There are
few who can argue that Metal Blade is one of the
leading independent metal labels around! Constantly
growing and expanding, recently opening up Metal
Blade Records Japan and the already significant
Metal Blade Records Germany, and adding some of
the best bands out there to it’s roster,
it is obvious that Metal Blade Records is here
to stay!
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