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Post by julienbakerfan on Apr 1, 2020 21:38:43 GMT -6
Let's talk about metal record labels--which ones we like, what releases on those labels are must-haves, etc.
Will list some specific labels when it's not past my bedtime.
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Post by nocturnaliridescence on Apr 2, 2020 12:10:12 GMT -6
I made a post on Metal Archives awhile back about experiences I've had with labels. (This list contains both Christian and secular labels.) I'll copy/paste it below, and update a few things.
- Good - Electronic Art Metal. Very courteous. Sent extra stuff, too. Everything arrived in good condition. No problems.
Metal Blessing Radio. Everything arrived fine, except for a couple "used" CDs I've purchased which were, well, used. Extremely fast shipping. No problems.
Metal Helm. Very courteous people. They seem to like to send extras, too. I've gotten several free things from them. Overall great label.
Red Stream, Inc. Don't really know what to say - no problems with them. The CD arrived in good condition, etc.
Silentium in Foresta. Also very courteous. The CD did take a long time to get here (edit: about a month, maybe slightly longer), but that seems to be a common problem with the Mexican postal service - the label actually sent out the CD very quickly (they gave me a tracking number). No problems at all.
Victory Records. They sent a surprising amount of extras. Everything arrived in good condition. No complaints.
W.A.R. Productions. Very courteous. Everything I got from him in the past arrived in good condition. No problems.
The Ajna Offensive. Everything arrived in good condition. No problems!
Vision of God Records. Everything arrived in good condition. No problems!
Extreme Records. Everything arrived in good condition. No problems!
- Neutral - Blackened Label Records. Filosofem is a great guy, don't get me wrong. He's my friend, he's a genuine guy, and I appreciate him. He was not a scammer while he ran his label. But his products were pretty low-quality. You can see small rips and imperfections on the edges of CD labels. Pages of inserts are just left blank. Back artwork was sometimes put into the CD cases without being folded! I had an EP released on his label and never got any copies of it, nor did I get money from it - but to be fair, we never discussed prices. Just would have been a nice gesture, you know? Apparently his label was acquired by Lament Records in March 2020, and it's now a division of that? I don't even know the details. Filosofem apparently gave away / sold his label, and never told me, an artist on his roster! I totally understand that Filosofem is a busy guy in real life. I really don't like to say this, but... It's probably for the best that he got away from running a record label. He's a great guy, but it's clear that record labels aren't his forte.
- Bad - Dungeons Deep Records. I've heard a few people apparently had good experiences with this label, but not me, or anyone to whom I've ever talked. He only sends things after you pester him for weeks on end, and even then you might not get them. He also gets mixed up all the time. I got three CDs without inserts that were supposed to have them. My memory fails me, but at least one of the cases was broken. The 2nd time also involved pestering. For weeks. He did send an "extra" the 2nd time, but who knows if it was meant to be an extra or if he just got mixed up? Finally, his label was the only place to get this one CD I wanted, so. That was in December 2012. I still haven't gotten that CD. In fact, I've actually since lost interest in the band in question (for a number of reasons) so I no longer even want it. At least he refunded the money. Though even that took several messages back and forth of "Wait, which one did you order again?", or "Oh, I'll send you another copy for free!" which would make no sense for him to do/say if he had actually sent anything out the first time. Incidentally, I never got the other copies, either. A friend of mine (dunno if he has an MA account) also ordered something from this label sometime in late 2012, too. Last I checked, he still hadn't gotten that, either.
Eternal Warfare Records. I ordered a tape from them, had to be about eight years ago. I never got it. Another case where I actually lost interest in the band in question. It's too bad, Nate did seem like a cool enough guy. Then again, so did Lord Tetrarch (Dungeons Deep).
ExhortMetal Distributions (run by the band Hortor). I made a thread here. They print and sell bootlegged band merchandise (as confirmed by at least one band whose alleged merchandise Exhort have been selling). I purchased a shirt from them in December 2015 not knowing it was bootlegged. I never got it. They also never sent a tracking number. They ignored my facebook messages until I filed a PayPal dispute in February - even then, they never actually sent the shirt. After the money got refunded, they played the "Dungeons Deep" card by claiming they were going to send me another shirt, which would make no sense for them to do if they had actually sent the first one.
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Post by julienbakerfan on Apr 2, 2020 15:33:00 GMT -6
Interesting list. I usually buy my CDs from record stores or from artists at concerts, so I don't have experience with ordering anything from any of these labels. I'll make sure to avoid the last three.
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Post by Bartimaeus on Apr 3, 2020 6:46:15 GMT -6
Christian
I will almost always insta-buy something from Endtime productions. I will usually give a fair shake to an artists on Ulterium Records. Vision of God/Christian Metal Underground has been surprisingly good, but I almost always listen to the album through once or twice before buying (sorry, Duane). I have been really impressed with Rottweiler Records, especially since they have branched out from mostly metalcore to more straightforward punk and death metal. I am a huge fan of Thumper Punk Records, too.
Secular
I don't have as much experience here but I've found really interesting listens from Naturmacht Productions, Antiq and I, Voidhanger records. As a caution, one must always exercise extreme discernment when listening to any of these releases. I'm sure there are more that are must buy, but these are the one's with whom I'm most familiar.
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Post by julienbakerfan on Apr 4, 2020 18:13:09 GMT -6
I don't have as much experience here but I've found really interesting listens from Naturmacht Productions, Antiq and I, Voidhanger records. As a caution, one must always exercise extreme discernment when listening to any of these releases. I'm sure there are more that are must buy, but these are the one's with whom I'm most familiar. I, Voidhanger has some really interesting stuff, but a lot of left-hand path/occultic releases. The same with the Ajna Offensive, which is run by one of the guys from Sun O))). Strangely, both labels have some releases with explicitly Christian themes--Panegyrist and Lo-Ruhama on I, Voidhanger, Reverorum ib Malacht on Ajna Offensive. I guess the labels just take an equal opportunity approach to mysticism, which is kind of cool in its own way. Honestly, I wish there were more Christian artists who wrote the kind of cryptic, symbolic lyrics that some of the more occult bands write, but from a very different perspective. I've enjoyed a lot of releases from Hypnotic Dirge Records; all of their records are name-your-price downloads. Most of it is Cascadian or Depressive Black metal; there's some occultic stuff there, but I just steer away from that and go toward the stuff about sadness and trees. I especially like all of None's releases, and the album by the Haunting Green. Blood Music is also a name-your-price label and has a wide variety of metal mixed with a few releases from other genres. My favorite releases on this label are by Astronoid, Megaton Leviathan, and Irreversible Mechanism. They also put out Aquilus' first EP, which was very good. The follow-up album was on a different label and had too much fake midi orchestra on it for my taste. Vision of God Records: My favorite releases on this were Temple of Perdition, Cerimonial Sacred, Orationem, Vials of Wrath, Holy Blood, and Timoratus. I'm sure I'm forgetting something really important. Rottweiller Records: Skald in Veum. I feel like the Skald in Veum album is what you pull out when someone questions whether Christian Black Metal can be as good as mainstream black metal.
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Post by julienbakerfan on Apr 4, 2020 18:16:51 GMT -6
Also, BIG NEWS: Bandcamp featured Nordic Mission records a couple of days ago in their "New and Notable" section. It's good to see that Bandcamp is willing to promote Christian artists as long as they're good. Hopefully this will reach out to some people in the scene.
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