In 2001 Century Media Records, home to some of the most diverse and prolific metal bands around the world, released a three-disc box set in honor of the labels ten year anniversary (though this is really the 10 year anniversary of their foray into the States as the label actually started in Germany three years prior, but let's think of it like a wedding anniversary). I thought that since we were only about six months away from the twenty year anniversary that this might be a good time to discuss this release (a bit of a teaser if you will). First of all, I can't begin to say enough good things about Century Media Records as they not only put out some many amazing and forward-thinking metal bands in a variety of metal sub-genres but also I just always had nice personal dealings with them when I was doing my Goth/Industrial college radio show, The Last Exit, back in Ithaca, NY in the early-mid 2000's (the years just after this release actually). I remember when Lacuna Coil was really just taking off in the states and touring with Type O Negative. I asked a contact of mine at the label if we could make an interview happen at The Palladium in Worcester, MA and they were very helpful with the hook-up (this would go one to be one of the bigger venues I would interview in) and I was able to share 30 minutes with the beautiful Cristina Scabbia thanks to the good folks at Century Media. I love label box set's because you know the hard work that goes into a release like this. The compilation has to really represent something that the people putting it together, the founders, the bands, the past and present staff, and especially the fans are going to feel represents each of their individual interests and come out as accurate. In addition, when you're still an active label then you are going to have to live with this release for a long time. To this end I think that this compilation is really successful. I love the division of the first two discs between Western and Eastern Hemisphere because this gives the perception that CMR is really a global metal label which is true for the most part, although most of the bands are from either Anglo-America (The US and Canada) or Europe (though their bands certainly do tour worldwide). The division between the discs makes for an interesting study because you can try to understand the differences amongst metal bands on that global scale between the two metal superpowers. The first two discs really show off the diversity of metal that has been on the label (including some sub-genres I've never even heard of) covering hardcore, noisecore, mathcore, sludge metal, power metal, extreme metal, rap metal, technical metal, groove metal, death metal, metalcore, progressive metal, heavy metal, industrial metal, goth metal, doom metal, crossover thrash, and honestly the list goes on. Now this may seem funny to anyone that takes part in a particular scene knows all the sub-genres that come with it (I certainly do from my years in the aforementioned Goth/Industrial scene) but I think that also speaks volumes about Century Media Records open-mindedness to good metal. Included with the release is a beautiful 90 page booklet that includes stories by several bands that have been on the label and more often than not the stories include, "When no label wanted to sign a band that made (insert your metal genre) Century Media listened to our sound and were excited to sign us." and the vast majority of those bands have gone on to garner a great amount of success. In fact, the second disc of all the Euro bands clearly illustrates how Century Media got behind female-fronted metal bands such as Lacuna Coil and The Gathering long before any one else. The first disc is filled with great American metal that makes you want to head-bang with the red, white and blue but the second disc may be closer to my heart as I've always had an affinity for European metal bands like the previously mentioned Lacuna Coil and The Gathering in addition to Nocturnal Rites, Moonspell, and Tiamat amongst others. The funny thing you begin to notice when looking back and forth between those two discs is that there are more bands of certain genres than you thought from those given areas. Like I would have thought all the power and fantasy metal would be on the Eastern Hemisphere disc but then you have North American bands like Seattle's Nevermore, Colorado Spring's deceptively European-sounding Jag Panzer, and Tampa's Iced Earth. Conversely I thought the majority of death and industrial metal would come from the US but Germany's Morgoth covers both of those genres in addition to The Netherland's Asphyx, and Rotting Christ, which really verged more on grindcore in their earlier days. So you would think when listening to the two discs that you'd get this very different sound that's distinct for each part of the overall compilation but there's a lot of diversity all over and I think that is really what represents this label. This release also just features some of my favorite bands including Shadows Fall, Strapping Young Lad, Lacuna Coil, Arch Enemy, Iced Earth, Eyehategod, The Gathering, and Moonspell but introduced me to some bands I wasn't really familiar with but would like to check out more of like Sentenced, Nocturnal Rites, Borknagar, and Jag Panzer. I think that's really representational of what is good about this release and that is that if you are a fan of these bands then this is a great release with a lot of nostalgia. If you don't know these bands or this label then this is a great starter pack to get introduced to a variety of metal genres and bands so you can figure out what and who you might like. This is also shown between the first two discs which are a compilation of songs from various label releases between 1991 and 2001 which is great if you're not a metal head and don't own most these releases. But if you do happen to be a complete metal junkie then you're treated with the third disc of Rare and Unreleased recordings including a track by label founder Robert Kampf's band Despair. I'm glad that this disc wasn't just padded with live recordings (in fact the only live recording is a really good one of Iced Earth's Colors). The other great thing for old fan and new fan alike is the 90 page booklet with stories from the bands about the label and just their own experiences, an interview with Robert Kampf, more stories from a few past and present staff members, and the discography of all the releases up until this compilation. I also just really appreciate the first story by Stuck Mojo which discusses their relationship with Pro Wrestling (of which any of my readers knows that I am a big fan) which anyone that was watching WCW back in the late 90's remembers the Diamond Dallas Page vs. Raven and The Flock music video that the band did. This is accompanied by a great picture of the band holding DDP's various title belts. The packaging is just beautiful with pictures of the bands and Century Media staff all over the booklet which itself has gorgeous artwork of the ocean and old-world maps all bound in an understated black box with "Century Media 10 Year Anniversary" and a big X in silver on the cover. Normally I would be skeptical of a release limited to 10,000 copies worldwide but when Century Media (perhaps the biggest label in metal) says there are only 10,000 copies then I feel like owning one is a big deal (even if I did get my copy used for four dollars) so if you can get a copy then I suggest you do (even if you have to spend more than four dollars). Favorite Tracks: Disc 1 (Western Hemisphere): Demolition Hammer - .44 Caliber Brain Surgery, EyeHateGod - Sister Fucker (Part 1), Merauder - Master Killer, Only Living Witness - No Eden, Iced Earth - The Hunter, Strapping Young Lad - Oh My Fucking God, Jag Panzer - Black, Turmoil - Playing Dead, Shadows Fall - Of One Blood, Nevermore - The River Dragon Has Come, God Forbid - Broken Promise. Disc 2 (Eastern Hemisphere): Morgoth - White Gallery, Samael - Flagellation, Tiamat - Whatever That Hurts, The Gathering - Strange Machines, Moonspell - Opium, Borknagar - Oceans Rise, Nocturnal Rites - Destiny Calls, Lacuna Coil - My Wings, Angel Dust - The One You Are. Disc 3 (Rare & Unreleased): Samael - Manitou, Stuck Mojo - Fuckin-4-$$$, Nevermore - System's Failing, Moonspell - Ataegina, The Gathering - Adrenaline, Morgoth - Indifferent, Sentenced - Digging The Grave, Nocturnal Rites - The Journey Through Time, and Tiamat - The Children of The Underworld
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Album a Day (Boxset Edition): Various Artists - Century Media Records 10th Annivesary Box Set
In 2001 Century Media Records, home to some of the most diverse and prolific metal bands around the world, released a three-disc box set in honor of the labels ten year anniversary (though this is really the 10 year anniversary of their foray into the States as the label actually started in Germany three years prior, but let's think of it like a wedding anniversary). I thought that since we were only about six months away from the twenty year anniversary that this might be a good time to discuss this release (a bit of a teaser if you will). First of all, I can't begin to say enough good things about Century Media Records as they not only put out some many amazing and forward-thinking metal bands in a variety of metal sub-genres but also I just always had nice personal dealings with them when I was doing my Goth/Industrial college radio show, The Last Exit, back in Ithaca, NY in the early-mid 2000's (the years just after this release actually). I remember when Lacuna Coil was really just taking off in the states and touring with Type O Negative. I asked a contact of mine at the label if we could make an interview happen at The Palladium in Worcester, MA and they were very helpful with the hook-up (this would go one to be one of the bigger venues I would interview in) and I was able to share 30 minutes with the beautiful Cristina Scabbia thanks to the good folks at Century Media. I love label box set's because you know the hard work that goes into a release like this. The compilation has to really represent something that the people putting it together, the founders, the bands, the past and present staff, and especially the fans are going to feel represents each of their individual interests and come out as accurate. In addition, when you're still an active label then you are going to have to live with this release for a long time. To this end I think that this compilation is really successful. I love the division of the first two discs between Western and Eastern Hemisphere because this gives the perception that CMR is really a global metal label which is true for the most part, although most of the bands are from either Anglo-America (The US and Canada) or Europe (though their bands certainly do tour worldwide). The division between the discs makes for an interesting study because you can try to understand the differences amongst metal bands on that global scale between the two metal superpowers. The first two discs really show off the diversity of metal that has been on the label (including some sub-genres I've never even heard of) covering hardcore, noisecore, mathcore, sludge metal, power metal, extreme metal, rap metal, technical metal, groove metal, death metal, metalcore, progressive metal, heavy metal, industrial metal, goth metal, doom metal, crossover thrash, and honestly the list goes on. Now this may seem funny to anyone that takes part in a particular scene knows all the sub-genres that come with it (I certainly do from my years in the aforementioned Goth/Industrial scene) but I think that also speaks volumes about Century Media Records open-mindedness to good metal. Included with the release is a beautiful 90 page booklet that includes stories by several bands that have been on the label and more often than not the stories include, "When no label wanted to sign a band that made (insert your metal genre) Century Media listened to our sound and were excited to sign us." and the vast majority of those bands have gone on to garner a great amount of success. In fact, the second disc of all the Euro bands clearly illustrates how Century Media got behind female-fronted metal bands such as Lacuna Coil and The Gathering long before any one else. The first disc is filled with great American metal that makes you want to head-bang with the red, white and blue but the second disc may be closer to my heart as I've always had an affinity for European metal bands like the previously mentioned Lacuna Coil and The Gathering in addition to Nocturnal Rites, Moonspell, and Tiamat amongst others. The funny thing you begin to notice when looking back and forth between those two discs is that there are more bands of certain genres than you thought from those given areas. Like I would have thought all the power and fantasy metal would be on the Eastern Hemisphere disc but then you have North American bands like Seattle's Nevermore, Colorado Spring's deceptively European-sounding Jag Panzer, and Tampa's Iced Earth. Conversely I thought the majority of death and industrial metal would come from the US but Germany's Morgoth covers both of those genres in addition to The Netherland's Asphyx, and Rotting Christ, which really verged more on grindcore in their earlier days. So you would think when listening to the two discs that you'd get this very different sound that's distinct for each part of the overall compilation but there's a lot of diversity all over and I think that is really what represents this label. This release also just features some of my favorite bands including Shadows Fall, Strapping Young Lad, Lacuna Coil, Arch Enemy, Iced Earth, Eyehategod, The Gathering, and Moonspell but introduced me to some bands I wasn't really familiar with but would like to check out more of like Sentenced, Nocturnal Rites, Borknagar, and Jag Panzer. I think that's really representational of what is good about this release and that is that if you are a fan of these bands then this is a great release with a lot of nostalgia. If you don't know these bands or this label then this is a great starter pack to get introduced to a variety of metal genres and bands so you can figure out what and who you might like. This is also shown between the first two discs which are a compilation of songs from various label releases between 1991 and 2001 which is great if you're not a metal head and don't own most these releases. But if you do happen to be a complete metal junkie then you're treated with the third disc of Rare and Unreleased recordings including a track by label founder Robert Kampf's band Despair. I'm glad that this disc wasn't just padded with live recordings (in fact the only live recording is a really good one of Iced Earth's Colors). The other great thing for old fan and new fan alike is the 90 page booklet with stories from the bands about the label and just their own experiences, an interview with Robert Kampf, more stories from a few past and present staff members, and the discography of all the releases up until this compilation. I also just really appreciate the first story by Stuck Mojo which discusses their relationship with Pro Wrestling (of which any of my readers knows that I am a big fan) which anyone that was watching WCW back in the late 90's remembers the Diamond Dallas Page vs. Raven and The Flock music video that the band did. This is accompanied by a great picture of the band holding DDP's various title belts. The packaging is just beautiful with pictures of the bands and Century Media staff all over the booklet which itself has gorgeous artwork of the ocean and old-world maps all bound in an understated black box with "Century Media 10 Year Anniversary" and a big X in silver on the cover. Normally I would be skeptical of a release limited to 10,000 copies worldwide but when Century Media (perhaps the biggest label in metal) says there are only 10,000 copies then I feel like owning one is a big deal (even if I did get my copy used for four dollars) so if you can get a copy then I suggest you do (even if you have to spend more than four dollars). Favorite Tracks: Disc 1 (Western Hemisphere): Demolition Hammer - .44 Caliber Brain Surgery, EyeHateGod - Sister Fucker (Part 1), Merauder - Master Killer, Only Living Witness - No Eden, Iced Earth - The Hunter, Strapping Young Lad - Oh My Fucking God, Jag Panzer - Black, Turmoil - Playing Dead, Shadows Fall - Of One Blood, Nevermore - The River Dragon Has Come, God Forbid - Broken Promise. Disc 2 (Eastern Hemisphere): Morgoth - White Gallery, Samael - Flagellation, Tiamat - Whatever That Hurts, The Gathering - Strange Machines, Moonspell - Opium, Borknagar - Oceans Rise, Nocturnal Rites - Destiny Calls, Lacuna Coil - My Wings, Angel Dust - The One You Are. Disc 3 (Rare & Unreleased): Samael - Manitou, Stuck Mojo - Fuckin-4-$$$, Nevermore - System's Failing, Moonspell - Ataegina, The Gathering - Adrenaline, Morgoth - Indifferent, Sentenced - Digging The Grave, Nocturnal Rites - The Journey Through Time, and Tiamat - The Children of The Underworld
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