On August 29th, Metal Blade Records and BMG will release For the Sake of Heaviness: The History of Metal Blade Records.
Written by label founder and CEO Brian Slagel with Mark Eglinton, and featuring a foreword by Metallica’s Lars Ulrich. Celebrating the storied label’s 35th anniversary, For the Sake of Heaviness is an inside look at how Slagel built Metal Blade from a one-man operation in his mom’s non-air-conditioned garage to the preeminent international home of heavy music that it is today.
For a preview of For the Sake of Heaviness: The History of Metal Blade Records, please visit Billboard.com for an exclusive excerpt of the book:
www.billboard.com/articles/columns/rock/7934137/metal-blade-founder-metallica-bassists-exclusive-book-excerpt
To pre-order For the Sake of Heaviness: The History of Metal Blade Records, please visit: http://smarturl.it/mbr35th – where an exclusive box-set is available, with the following contents:
–For the Sake of Heaviness: The History of Metal Blade Records book
–For the Sake of Heaviness cassette
–Metal Blade Records 35th anniversary bookmark
–bookplate autographed by Brian Slagel
* box dimensions: 9.375″ x 6.375″ x 1.25″
See below for the For the Sake of Heaviness cassette track-listing:
SIDE A
1. Fates Warning “Guardian”
2. Lizzy Borden “Lord of the Flies”
3. Omen “Holy Martyr”
4. Cirith Ungol “Black Machine”
5. GWAR “Gor-Gor”
6. Cannibal Corpse “Stripped, Raped, and Strangled”
7. Six Feet Under “War Is Coming”
SIDE B
1. Mercyful Fate “Egypt”
2. King Diamond “Voodoo”
3. The Black Dahlia Murder “Funeral Thirst”
4. Unearth “Black Hearts Now Reign”
5. Amon Amarth “Twilight of the Thunder God”
6. Visigoth “From the Arcane Mists of Prophecy”
For the Sake of Heaviness pulls back the curtain to reveal the definitive look at how Metal Blade began, what they’ve accomplished, and where they’re going. Slagel reveals the early advice he gave that helped guide Motley Crue’s career; how he helped Metallica replace their bassist – twice; his detailed work on Thin Lizzy and Alice Cooper re-issues; his behind-the-scenes role in the careers of Slayer, GWAR, Mother Love Bone, Alice in Chains, Faith No More, Goo Goo Dolls, and Lamb of God; and his unlikely ventures with kindred metal heads – from hockey star Ken Baumgartner, to celebrity chef Chris Santos, to The Howard Stern Show’s Richard Christy, to comedians Jim Florentine, Don Jamieson and Jim Breuer.
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On September 15th, Ensiferum will release their seventh full-length, Two Paths, worldwide via Metal Blade Records. Produced by Anssi Kippo, the master was recorded on tape, for a true analog experience. Ensiferum has now launched a video clip for the 2nd single “Way Of The Warrior”,
Watch it here
Ensiferum comments: “Hi folks! So here it is, our brand new video of the song ‘Way Of The Warrior’. Like our music combines metal and folk elements so does this video. It was really great to be involved in the process more than we ever have been before and the result turned out to be fantastic! We hope you enjoy it as much as we enjoyed recording the song and shooting the video. So turn the volume up to eleven, move your furniture a bit so that you have room for moshing and press play!”
To hear the first single, “For Those About to Fight for Metal”, please visit: metalblade.com/ensiferum – where the record can be pre-ordered in the following formats:
–Deluxe wooden box (limited to 2500 copies worldwide)
–Limited edition Digibook CD+DVD
–CD
–180g black vinyl
–turquoise blue-green vinyl (EU exclusive – limited to 500 copies)
–clear sky blue-marbled vinyl (EU exclusive – limited to 300 copies)
–blue/orange/yellow-splatter vinyl (Nuclear Blast exclusive – limited to 200 copies)
–golden yellow vinyl (Napalm exclusive – limited to 200 copies)
–olive green-marbled vinyl (Levykauppa Finland exclusive – limited to 100 copies)
–clear frost blue-marbled vinyl (Yamiin China exclusive – limited to 100 copies)
–blue-gray-marbled vinyl (USA exclusive – limited to 250 copies)
–forest green-marbled vinyl (USA exclusive – limited to 250 copies)
–picture disc LP (limited to 500 copies worldwide)
* exclusive bundles with a shirt, plus digital options are also available!
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On August 25th, Finnish cinemascope metallers Crimfall will release their new album, Amain, worldwide via Metal Blade Records!
Crimfall has now premiered the first video clip in support of the new album,
Watch Until Falls the Rain here
Crimfall comments: “Before we unleash the third storm that is ‘Amain’, we present you our very first music video. ‘Until Falls The Rain’ is the crushing conclusion for the album, last simmering truths are laid low, throats bared against the unforgiving fall. It was a long day of drowning under homemade sprinklers, shooing away fire brigades and mopping away thousand lakes of water. In the end we are more than satisfied with the forlorn end result.”
For more previews of Amain, both singles “The Last of Stands” and “Mother Of Unbelievers” can be heard at: metalblade.com/crimfall – where the record can be pre-ordered in the following formats:
–limited Digipak CD with exclusive bonus tracks (acoustic and instrumental songs)
–180g black vinyl
–red/black marbled vinyl (EU exclusive – limited to 300 copies)
–skin colored marbled vinyl (EU exclusive – limited to 200 copies)
–bluish gray marbled vinyl (USA exclusive – limited to 100 copies)
* exclusive bundles with a shirt, plus digital options are also available!
Amain is Crimfall’s most ambitious album yet, combining familiar elements with fresh inspiration, and wreathed in massive crisp production from Fascination Street Studios. Featuring music that spans from monumental orchestrations to songs whispered over fading pyres, Amain contains layers upon layers of grand melodies woven between jagged shadows. On this new release, Crimfall also continues to sing the stories of wars waged in vain, advocating freedom from religious dogmas and the bloody chains of tradition.
Amain track-listing:
1. Eschaton
2. The Last of Stands
3. Ten Winters Apart – pt1. Far From Any Fate
4. Ten Winters Apart – pt2. Song of Mourn
5. Ten Winters Apart – pt3. Sunder the Seventh Seal
6. Ten Winters Apart – pt4. Dawn Without a Sun
7. Mother of Unbelievers
8. It’s a Long Road
9. Wayward Verities
10. Until Falls the Rain
