The Labels That Won't Give Up | Let’s Not Lose This Healthy Habit
We are living in the age of the disposable, where everything that comes our way is virtual and digital, meant to be used and discarded. This is true of music as well. We’ve been conditioned to listen “online” and then discard it—or perhaps not necessarily discard it, but certainly not give it much importance. Even if the audio quality isn’t top-notch, it almost doesn’t matter.
Gone are the days when music—especially metal—went through that sort of ritual: getting an album, whether on CD, vinyl, or cassette; putting it on and listening to it from start to finish; enjoying the cover art; having the lyrics at hand; or checking out other details on the inner sleeve, like photos, technical info, and so on.
Listening to an album in physical format has nothing to do with listening to things digitally. We always say this. There are many things that are lost, or get lost along the way, and we never stop pointing it out.
It’s true that for many emerging and underground bands, releasing material digitally allows them to get their work out there, and from that perspective, we think it’s totally valid and even interesting, but even so, the physical format beats digital hands down in many ways. The sound, the act of owning and being able to listen to an album in its entirety, keeping that album, the artwork, etc. There are many pros that the physical format has over the digital one.
Perhaps the era of immediacy, of “I want it now,” of the disposable, of listening at any time and under any circumstance, of prices, etc., has led to digital having supremacy over physical media today. It is an undeniable reality. That’s why we were thinking and came up with the idea of taking a tour of the record labels that are still fighting the good fight and releasing material in physical format, particularly those related to White Metal or Christian Metal—which aren’t many—and all of which place special emphasis on the underground scene. This makes their efforts to sustain the scene, give visibility to the bands, and make material available on CD, vinyl, and in some cases cassettes, all the more valuable.
We begin this tour with Retroactive Records, a unique label dedicated solely to reissuing old material from many bands—particularly from the ’80s—that for some reason went out of print and are now very hard to find. Bride, Sacred Warrior, Bloodgood, Believer, and many more are part of an interesting catalog titled “Metal Icon Series,” through which Retroactive Records is making these old albums available once again. Not only that, but they also dedicate themselves to rescuing old demos or productions that were originally released only on cassette, and through remastering, publishing them on both CD and vinyl—one of the label’s unique features. A stroke of genius that we always highlight and support. Retroactive Records brings us the living history of White Metal, and it’s truly something to celebrate.
But let’s turn to the Old Continent. There they are, always in the thick of it and steadfast, our friends at Nordic Mission, who not only handle the production and release of new material but also make a massive effort to distribute throughout Northern Europe and beyond. Naturally, based in Norway, they specialize in Extreme Metal and bands from the Scandinavian region, being one of the leading labels and top distributors of Christian-themed Metal, even making their presence felt at many Metal festivals, distributing and releasing material that we would hardly know about without them. Reliability, professionalism, and quality are some of the hallmarks of Nordic Mission, making it one of the best options to consider.
But let’s return to the northern part of the American continent. Almost in parallel with Retroactive Records, we have the folks at Roxx Productions, an independent label that focuses its releases on underground bands and projects, particularly in Hard Rock, Metal, and even rock-oriented acts. It is one of the few labels that still commits to physical formats, including vinyl in many cases, releasing and supporting numerous independent projects. They have also released retrospective material, but essentially, it must be said that they are one of the few record labels that still prioritize physical formats and support not only older bands but also new projects.
Back in the day, we had Rowe Productions in Australia. Naturally, the label—whose promoter was none other than Steve Rowe of Mortification—went on hiatus, but now we have Soundmass, a label that since 2003 has been dedicated to releasing albums, including on physical formats, by many bands from the Australian continent. However, they don’t stop there; they’ve also released albums by many bands from various countries, particularly in Europe. Soundmass isn’t just a label that releases new albums; it has also reissued many albums that were out of print or hard to find, particularly from Mortification’s discography. They also distribute a significant number of diverse titles within Christian music, and they offer a buy-and-sell service, which makes them particularly interesting.
Extreme Records, from Brazil, must be one of the oldest and most tenacious labels still holding out. Led by our friend Cassio, Extreme Records focuses primarily on the darker side of metal; and in addition to the challenges that entails, we must keep in mind that we’re in South America, a region facing economic difficulties—which is why the work Extreme Records does in producing, releasing, supporting, and distributing material is so valuable to us. And not only that, but for many years now, Extreme Records has had its own fanzine—to tell the truth, one of the most interesting I’ve ever read. We’re talking about “Extreme Brutal Death,” whose pages feature numerous articles, reviews, and scene updates, and which has also been released alongside the zine on several occasions as a compilation CD of underground bands. Deserves a round of applause.
Girder Music is another label that has committed to fighting for the physical format. They specialize primarily in rock, broadly speaking, but they have a wide-ranging catalog and have released albums by well-known bands within the scene, as well as others that may be less so. They’ve also specialized in reissuing old, out-of-print albums with new editions—some deluxe—that are truly worth checking out. Another site to keep in mind.
But if we’re looking for underground music, we can’t miss Vision Of God, a label dedicated exclusively to the underground and emerging scene, with a particular focus on extreme metal. Through them, we’ve discovered several bands from different countries such as Brazil, Venezuela, Argentina, Sweden, the United States, etc., and they even distribute albums that might surprise you—though always in physical format. It’s an interesting option for finding and acquiring material that isn’t always available elsewhere, as well as discovering new acts.
Speaking of Brazil, we must mention En Hakkore Records, a unique label that has released a few albums, though generally speaking, in recent times it has focused more on tours and concerts by international bands (Stryper, Narnia, Bride, Mortification, Petra, Whitecross, etc.) than on releasing albums, although I don’t think the latter has been completely ruled out.
Rottweiler Records is a label that has recently been releasing and putting out increasingly interesting material. With many releases and bands from the Metalcore and Extreme scenes, as well as the Hardcore/Punk scene—particularly featuring new underground bands—Rottweiler Records stands out for its commitment to the new, to what’s coming next, and for taking a chance on interesting underground projects. Naturally, they release on CD and, in some cases, on vinyl as well, with truly fantastic releases, so we recommend checking them out too.
Returning to Northern Europe, let’s take a look at Ulterium Records, a unique label based in Sweden that has been active on the scene for several years, releasing albums by various well-known bands—particularly within the Power Metal genre—and consistently supporting the scene. Always releasing in physical formats, including vinyl, their website features some very interesting material.
There are two very unique, and above all underground, labels. We’re talking about Kongsblod Records and SneeuwStorm Produkties, two European labels dedicated almost exclusively to extreme metal, particularly black metal, though their releases come out on physical formats very sporadically and in limited quantities, publishing mostly in digital format—but they’re obviously worth mentioning.
As for Latin America—aside from Brazil, of course—we have Lament Records, a prestigious Mexican underground label that has enabled many bands to release their music. Run by Abel Gómez, a longtime member of the band Lament, this label is dedicated not only to releasing music but also to distributing and promoting the scene. And of course, it handles the distribution of Lament’s discography, as well as—as we mentioned—helping to launch many bands, not only from Mexico but also from the rest of Latin America.
And we don’t want to forget Facedown Records, a label dedicated almost purely and exclusively to Hardcore and Metalcore, which has been fighting the good fight for many years and is growing by leaps and bounds. Their releases aren’t just on CD or vinyl; they also publish material in digital format, keeping up with the times. It’s the ideal place for those looking for new acts that base their style on the alternative, such as hardcore or metalcore.
There are also the historic Tooth And Nail and SolidState Records, labels that are still going strong, always flying the flag for the alternative, and the latter in particular, focused on Metalcore in general.
In summary, this is what we can highlight from the existing record labels that sustain the Christian Metal scene and are still holding their ground against the digital onslaught. We’re surely forgetting some labels, but generally speaking, we’ve tried to mention and highlight some of the most relevant (at least to us) within what is known as “White Metal,” which is, above all and with few exceptions, preeminently underground.
Supporting the scene isn’t just about clicking “follow” or “like” on social media. It’s also—and above all—about supporting artists by buying physical copies, giving yourself the chance to discover new music, holding that old record you’ve always wanted in your hands, and so on. Owning a record, in whatever physical format, is a journey and an experience that no digital experience can match. Digital comes and goes; physical endures. It’s a wise advice.
We’re bound to have left out a few independent labels here and there. The idea behind this article was to provide a sort of overview of the White Metal scene. We hope we’ve succeeded in that mission.
We’ve included all the links to the websites of the labels mentioned here, inviting you to take a look and see what’s out there. Many of the albums we discuss here are available on those websites, so don’t miss the chance to discover new material or simply get that album you’ve wanted so many times—and while you’re at it, you can also support those who truly keep the scene alive. That, too, is fighting for Metal…..
Next time, we’ll take a look at the national Metal labels….
https://boonesoverstock.com/collections/retroactive-records
https://www.extremerecords.com.br
https://visionofgodrecords.com
https://www.ulterium-records.com
https://sneeuwstormprodukties.bandcamp.com
https://rottweiler-records.myshopify.com
https://www.solidstaterecords.com
