POLL: WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE METAL RECORD LABEL?
Tuesday, July 15th, 2008 at 2:58pm by Vince NeilsteinWell THIS should be interesting. Ever since the backlash that resulted from my post last week about the Nickelback / Live Nation deal in which I declared that Roadrunner “sits atop the metal throne” (I really just meant financially / sales wise), I’ve been wondering… What metal record labels DO you like?
If I’ve left any labels off (which I’m sure I have), kindly email me (or post it in the comments) and I’ll rectum-fry the situation if I deem it worthy. Your buddy’s band’s basement record label does NOT count. This should prove better than the “allow users to add choices” cluster-fuck. Mmmkay?
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What's your favorite metal record label?
Hydrahead. C’mon. Hydrahead. Discordance Axis. Isis. Pelican. Converge. Botch. Xasthur. Etc.
SPV–Alice Cooper, Motorhead, Manowar (cliche I know but seriously how metal is loincloths?), Moonspell, Unleashed, etc.
Where is spinefarm?
Century Media and Nuclear Blast all the way!
Listenable. Good mail-order, t-shirt / CD deals, and a good roster, including (but not limited to)
- Textures
- Sybreed
- Scarve
- Gojira
I would say Converge were more Deathwish Inc. They aren’t really a metal label but they’ve definitely released some good shit, and have good customer service. I would also put Osmose Productions in that list.
Currently? Earache.
Napalm Death, Municipal Waste, At the Gates…
You left out Napalm and Massacre.
Nuclear blast all the way. Almost all of the good Gothenburg/Finnish bands come from that label.
/m/
You left off REPRISE!!!! Disturbed!
Hahaha
i voted for century media/nuclear blast, but i think nuclear blast deserves it more than century media. nuclear blast has been signing so many good bands in the past year or so(Decrepit Birth, Arsis, Psycroptic, Keep Of Kalessin, Belphegor, etc.) and also releasing a lot of great metal cds. century media has been going for more trend bands recently (Arsonists Get All the Girls, Iwrestledabearonce, The Agonist, etc.), which is disappointing, but the cmdistro is still an amazing place to order stuff for great prices.
my second vote would go to relapse. great label for a lot of extreme and experimental bands, and the label doesn’t sign bands because of current trends.
@jonowev:
Earache doesn’t have Napalm Death anymore, Century Media does. Waste is solid, but ATG isn’t making new records anymore. Earache used to be great – they definitely crumbled though.
@Zac:
Converge is on Epitaph and Isis is on Ipecac. Hydra Head is a cool label though.
@Craig W.:
The Amenta are one of the coolest, but least talked about bands on the planet! Their new album will be out on Listenable soon.
Presently, Nuclear War Now. Dudes practically never miss.
HydraHead, no contest. But then I’m a prog/post geek.
Nuclear Blast comfortably (particularly the Euro division who package most albums with bonus DVDs in slick high-quality digipaks).
Special mention to Lifeforce for having a very decent roster of newly established bands, and discovering the likes of BTBAM and Heaven Shall Burn.
Prosthetic’s roster is also getting better and better with time.
Rhino
Zappa Family Trust
Seriously though, labels? Who fuckin cares?
Willowtip.
Hydrahead, baby.
The Austerity Program, Big Business, Jesu, Harvey Milk, Oxbow, Pelican, Zozobra…
I mean: come on!
I said Roadrunner. They have a lot of the bands that got me into metal in the first place.
Southern Lord, because Sunn O))) is the only band that scares me anymore.
Profound Lore by miles. Everything they release is gold, Caina, Cobalt, Xasthur, Leviathan, Wold. Yes please.
Sumerian records anyone?
I feel like from these results at least that The End is underrated. Especially when you have bands like Sigh, Unexpect, Voivod, Ulver, Virgin Black.
Where do you go wrong?
Where’s Napalm? Where’s Moribund? Battle Kommand? 20 Buck Spin? Robotic Empire? Vendlus? Ajna? CANDLELIGHT, for pete’ sake?
Yeah, let’s yell bandnames nobody heard of, it looks cool! (eh…no)
Nuclear Blast wins.
I like what Southern Lord puts out there. Their releases tend to be a “my doom-dick is bigger than yours” contest (Sunn 0))) and Earth in particular) but, really, the fact that Weedeater is on that label is enough for me. Have you fucking heard God Luck And Good Speed? It will make you sell your grandma’s gold teeth to the Swedish for booze money.
Profound Lore, yes. Great catalogue already, but they also just signed Hammers Of Misfortune, who will no doubt release the album(s) of the year this coming fall.
metal blade is the best because look at it. cannibal corpse and as i lay dying, job for a cowboy, and any other killer metal band
Anyone that considers ‘Job for a Cowboy’ a killer metal band is made of epic fail.
go Hydra Head go!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Relapse!
Mastodon(Before they went major), High on Fire, Dillinger Escape Plan, Pig Destroyer, Ghengis Tron, Baroness, Birds of Prey, Burnt by the Sun, & Jucifer just to name a few.
i say warner or atlantic or sony!!
damn. i’m split betwixt Relapse and Hydra Head.
I like all of these. The one I picked was Southern Lord, cuz they release a lot of interesting bands I like. Liks Sunn O))), Urgehal, Xasthur, and Earth. Cannot go wrong with that. My second favorite would be Relapse. They have many good releases from bands like Mastadon, Dillinger Escape Plan, Incantation, Nile, etc. Those are my favorite. I also like Nuclear Blast and Metal Blade.
Relapse by a long shot. Who else is cool enough to have Misery Index,toxic holocaust, and Don Caballero on their label?
3 way tie between metal blade, relapse and hydrahead for me
but i’m listening to more metal blade releases these days
METAL BLADE!
Cannibal Corpse
Unearth
As I Lay Dying
KING FUCKING DIAMOND
Shai Hulud
Soilent Green
3
Behemoth
for the win.
WTF guys? No write-ins?! You missed Willowtip, Candlelight, Spinefarm, Listenable… fucking disgrace of a list.
Willowtip gets my vote, followed by Spinefarm and Listenable.
Definitely HORNS UP for Relapse.com. Killer stuffs and excellent service.
relapse…tha faster service!!!
@Andres
if you dont think jfac is killer metal band then you my friend are way behind on times because they are rising up as the new generation of killer metalheads with brutal music. im gessin since you dont like them you dont like whitechapel or the red chord or possibly even carnifex? this is a new genre called deathcore and my band destroy the end is part of it and if i were you i would jump in the pit as well
relapse win and will again for next time
if you want some metal relapse serve it untill you die!!!
relapse win and will win again for next time.
if you want some metal relapse serve it untill you die!!!
I see a lot of comments about Relapse. I went back and actually voted for it (after having abstained due to the abysmal choices offered), but thought I’d share this little tidbit. The new vocalist from The Faceless talked about it during the Summer Slaughter set.
Apparently the Relapse store in Philadelphia is “indefinitely closed.” This was one of the best metal shops in the world, rivaling even those jackasses at Metal Haven in Chicago. Bands coming through the city now often mention it, saying it was an awesome thing to do in Philadelphia, to drop by the store, look for some select discs, and potentially meet fans.
Really saddened that Philly has lost this.
Relapse gets my vote….They NEVER let me down… looking forward to the Fxck the Facts release!!
Definitely Hydra Head.
RELAPSE! for sure!
Relapse of course! Just look at the list of the bands they sign past and present…. They speak for itself…