https://audioassemble.com/distrokid-vs-tunecore/

Scott and David pop by to discuss their new book ‘The Scott Burns

Sessions: A Life in Death Metal 1987 – 1997’, and take a stroll down

memory lane.

Laura pops into le ToB for distinctly millenial discourse.

Rob takes a pew to discuss ETF's newest album - Out of the Shadows. Check it out now!

Logan drops in to discuss the upcoming alltheprettythings record, starting a band in your 30s, and the various triumphs and challenges within!

Thunderflix is the home of on-demand streaming content dedicated entirely to metal.

In this chat we discuss the journey of Samuel's career from working at Sony to launching his own streaming service.

Check out Thunderflix now at the link above!

@the_slam_king

@sean-ingested

Jay and Sean from Manchester's Ingested talk the business of being a band, post-pandemic and post-Brexit touring, and their past lives in the workforce.

https://www.templeofbleh.com/

This episode we're back to off-piste, non-project specific conversations. This time with me good ol' mates Petrol Bastard. I've known these two for nearly 20 years, so it was good to finally have a proper catchup.

www.ueginc.com

www.redlightmanagement.com

Big thanks to long time Nickelback manager, Bryan Coleman, for coming onto the pod to talk about the band's time with Roadrunner.

https://www.forthewin.media/

https://atomsplitterpr.com/

It's a Roadrunner PR reunion... of sorts... as mentioned at the start, Jamie and Amy were like ships in the night at Roadrunner. But that doesn't stop them regailing their awesome experiences at the label.

Jonny was very generous with his time, and we managed to squeeze in this chat about his time working the relationship between Megaforce and Roadrunner.

The BG BS continues (geddit?).

Holy moly it's a back-to-back 3-parter. Just after Xmas, Bleh assembled the pillars of Blue Grape's mighty merch operation for a panatlantic reunion. I managed to edit this down from 5h30m to 4h.

You're welcome.

Marcus picks up the story of Roadrunner Records from ~2001 up until the 2012 acquisition.

Today I embark on a test to see just how press outlets would go for those crunchy, delicious clicks.

https://goodfightmusic.com/

Carl talks me through his life duking it out as label manager of Ferret Music, whilst himself working at Roadrunner Records in the "New Media" division.

Austin gives us the view from the 21st Century sales perspective of Roadrunner - with a smashing story about Slipknot's 'All Hope is Gone' and it's fight for the #1 spot.

For procedural propriety - I claim that 'How You Remind Me' is the most played record of a certain decade (or all time). I'm only partially right;

Source - http://www.mtv.com/news/1627833/eminem-is-the-best-selling-artist-of-the-decade/

"According to Nielsen — which began keeping track of digital sales in July 2003 — Flo Rida's "Low" was the decade's top-selling digital song, having been downloaded more than 5.2 million times. It bested the likes of Lady Gaga's "Just Dance" (nearly 4.7 million downloads), Jason Mraz's "I'm Yours" (4.6 million) and the Black Eyed Peas' "Boom Boom Pow" (4.3 million).

And there was none of that funny downloading stuff when it came to the decade's most-played radio songs (generational divide, anyone?) a list topped by Nickelback's "How You Remind Me" — which was spun more than 1.2 million times since being released in 2001"

Roadrunner research goes to South America with this conversation, as Jerome tells me about his time heading up Roadrunner Brazil.

https://getthrashed.com/

Rick is not just the People's Thrash Metal Documentarian, but from 2008 to ~2012 he served as Roadrunner's Head of Video Production.

We talk about Rick's career up to the 2000's with stints at Headbanger's Ball and 120 minutes, as well as the various obstacles and joys of video production for Roadrunner.

https://www.shrapnelrecords.com/

This audio-only conversation with Mike explores Shrapnel's relationship with Roadrunner Records, the intricacies of forming the first metal-only label in the USA, and the challenges of the modern day label system.

This conversation with Kenny marks another swan dive into yet another Roadrunner rabbit hole - it's merchandising arm, Blue Grape.

The accents game is strong in this one - you have been warned :)

https://linktr.ee/TempleOfBleh

Amy Sciarretto is another stalwart of Roadrunner Records, serving the company for over a decade in the Radio department, and the PR department. This started her on the trajectory she continues to ride today with Atom Splitter PR.

Michel wore many many hats within whilst at Roadrunner Records in the late 80's/90's, mostly fiscal and core label administrative roles - all of which sit firmly within my wheelhouse.

Consider this a 'business' exploration into Roadrunner at that time, similar to the Richard Bengloff and Stefan Koster episodes.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCsutM3jJYI6ZXb1IMrMJk_A/videos

Marc is a collector of disgraceful and heavy antiquities, among which is a sizeable array of thrash and death metal records.

Marc talks me thorugh his experience with Roadrunner Records from the perspective of a budding young metalhead in the late 80's / early 90's.

https://tentontradingco.com/

Robb Flynn tells the story of Machine Head's journey with Roadrunner Records, all the way from the bands inception through to the Red Wedding in 2012.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Howie-Abrams/e/B00CGMRWCE/ref=dp_byline_cont_pop_book_1

CORRECTION - at 6:40 I say RCA, when it should be MCA. Not YMCA, just MCA. Cheers Monte.

Howie was the first person I spoke to on this project (#J on the audio-only version of this pod), so it made sense to revisit his tenure with a (slightly) more developed understanding of Roadrunner in the 90s.

Ray joined Roadrunner in 1999, and went straight into the front lines of the business, arranging deals with artists, and handling some of the back office functionality.

We talk about Ray's time with the label, the day-to-day operations in Business Affairs, and some of the unique qualities the Roadrunner wore as a business as it moved through the 21st Century.

https://linktr.ee/TempleOfBleh

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Joel-McIver/e/B002IP93H6

Joel is possibly one of the more prolific music authors of the past few decades. He has written 34 books and has also rendered services to the music journalism world during this period - it's very difficult to be a rock/metal fan and not come across his name.

So who better to carry me through the world of Roadrunner through the eyes of a professional commentator, biographer, and observer!

https://store.typeonegative.net/

https://typeonegative.net/

https://www.runoutgroovevinyl.com/

Today we're rolling out the Pantone 369 carpet for Type O Negative's debut album, Slow, Deep and Hard, released this week in 1991. The 30th anniversary reissue of the record is being released on Run Out Groove, and is available for preorder on the link above.

Type O Negative are undeniably one of the most important flagship acts for Roadrunner Records, through the strength of delivering the label's first Gold record, Bloody Kisses - or by simply being one of the most interesting bands to come out of such an interesting era for music.

I'm eternally grateful to Kenny and Johnny for taking the time to celebrate Slow, Deep and Hard, and talk about the record label that pushed them over the Brooklyn Bridge.

https://www.johntuckeronline.co.uk/

In a slightly different approach this time, John and I discuss and compare the practices of Newcastle's own Neat Records, Roadrunner Records, and Durham local outfit Guardian Records.

John is a well regarded scholar on the subject of Neat, having literally written the book on it! Neat & Tidy: The Story of Neat Records is available anywhere you get your books!

https://linktr.ee/doccoyle

Doc is a dude I've admired since God Forbid supported Trivium on March 2006's UK run. A deeply articulate and thoughtful person, Doc and I meander through his experiences with Roadrunner Records, his thoughts on the modern music industry in general, and what has been a news-filled week for Bad Wolves.

http://shadedscythestudios.com/shows/the-concert-cruizer/

To be considered a sequel of sorts to episode #AM with Ro Kohli, I speak with Justin about his time served on the Roadrunner Road Crew.

We discuss how he became engaged with street teaming, and the many war stories he's gathered in his experiences with the Road Crew. He also shows off his many merch items he acquired duting this period - for audio listeners, I implore you check out his channel, The Concert Cruizer, and accompanying socials, to see these!

https://www.motion.agency/

Paolo was the VP of International Marketing at Roadrunner Records from 2000-2004. Paolo talks be through the journey from the start of his career, taking on such a role at such a pivitol time in Roadrunner's history, and the aftermath.

https://linktr.ee/TempleOfBleh

https://www.harddriveradio.com/

Continuing from our chat a few weeks back, Mark and I jump feet first into the 2000s, and the new world brought on by Slipknot and Nickelback.

https://www.epitaph.com/

Kathie is among the Roadrunner lifers. Aside from a short stint at other outfits in the early 90s, she clocked in over two decades at the label. In this conversation we track her career through Roadrunner from her start in the radio promo department, all the way up to runing the West Coast Operations.

https://www.fortressmelbourne.com/

Jon worked at Roadrunner for the best part of 20 years, first of all as the MD of the Australasia office, then as SVP for New Media & Global Business Development. As such, Jon has an enormous welath of experience to impart when reminiscing about the label.

Jon's foray into emerging tech and the digital space didn't stop with the Red Wedding of 2012, however - do yourself a favour and check out Fortress Melbourne for more info.

Marcus Turner is to indie-era Roadrunner, what the pulmonary artery is to the human body.

That is all.

Shab takes the opportunity to rant about the Darkness' second album for a bit on this one. The intro was not chopped to sound like it did.

EPISODE 4 PLAYLIST

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6JgDczuCKLbwdGFo75GQjX?si=9801a763a64c49dc

Temple of Bleh and Uber Rock join forces to bring you a whistle stop tour of four bands who wear the 'lesser heard' tag. These are bands that are either unsigned or generally lurk in the underground at the moment, so we want to turn the spotlight and roll out the red carpet for today's cryptic offerings;

RobaJett offers Indian Nightmare (https://indiannightmare.bandcamp.com/album/indian-nightmare)

Justin offers 24/7 Diva Heaven (https://247divaheaven.bandcamp.com/)

Raw offers Earthshine (https://earthshine-northernsilence.bandcamp.com/)

Jonny offers Primal Instinct (https://footprintsinthecustard.bandcamp.com/)

Give these a listen, and reverse their 'lesser heard' status!

https://www.facebook.com/InsideLAmetalMovieDoc/

https://www.facebook.com/ShockwavesSkullsessionsPodcast/

In between making the Inside Metal documentary series, the Shockwaves Skullsessions Podcast, and generally being an awesome dude - Bob snuck in some time to talk with me about the start of the Roadrunner West Coast office!

https://toxiktad.com/

https://www.facebook.com/Lucertola-224232944278330

Toxik Tad talks me through the band's time with Roadrunner Records, his time filling in on drums for the Great Kat, and bringing Morrisound's studio's Tom Morris close to death not once, but on two occassions.

Check out Tad's art and music at the links above!

https://www.riotactpodcast.com/

A voice like @StephenHillBoy's has been missing from this project up until today. Incredibly knowledgeable and articulate, Stephen talks me through his perspective and experiences with Roadrunner Records.

Check out @Riotact_podcast and @Roadcrewpod at your earliest convenience.

https://www.waltariband.com/

A thoroughly enjoyable chat for myself. Kärtsy and I try to provide a comprehensive introduction to Finnish legends, Waltari - as well as discussing the band's tenure with Roadrunner in the early 90's.

https://www.xentrix.co.uk/

Thrash legends Xentrix are one of the 'Big Four' of the UK, and one of a mere few direct signings to the UK territory for Roadrunner. Stan helps me unpack Xentrix's tenure with the label, and the more recent adventures of the group.

https://linktr.ee/TempleOfBleh

http://www.warmachinemarketing.com/

https://www.forbes.com/sites/lukethompson/2016/08/09/how-ro-kohli-the-war-machine-of-promo-items-moved-into-custom-toys/?sh=121f57536cfe

A man of many customs close to this host's heart, Ro started with Roadrunner in 1995. Here he tells his story of how the Roadrunner Road Crew street team function operated, as well as his thoughts on the label during that time.

We also discuss Ro's venture for the past 12 years, War Machine Customs, and a cheeky bit of Star Wars as well.

https://www.harddriveradio.com/

You'd be hard pressed to find a Roadrunner band or colleague who doesn't know this episode's guest. Mark Abramson was Roadrunner's VP of Promotions, focusing primarily on radio airplay.

Here he talks about his days in the 'Death Metal Animal House', and his career trajectory at Roadrunner and beyond. We only get to about the year 2000 here, so we'll definitely revisit Mark's story in the future.

Most of this episode is Dave catching up on topics that have been discussed over the past few weeks, but there's also spatterings of Sasscore and a quick jaunt into Sci-Fi Metal.

EPISODE 3 PLAYLIST https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6o5MjHOwDD2k6YHnlDO5Ga?si=mo0CkY4RQ3KemmgDaiI7JA

Temple of Bleh and Uber Rock join forces to bring you a whistle stop tour of four bands who wear the 'lesser heard' tag. These are bands that are either unsigned or generally lurk in the underground at the moment, so we want to turn the spotlight and roll out the red carpet for today's cryptic offerings;

RobaJett offers Bantha Rider (https://bantharider.bandcamp.com/)

Justin offers Frayle (https://frayle.bandcamp.com/)

Raw offers Antzaat (https://digital.immortalfrostproductions.com/album/for-you-men-who-gaze-into-the-sun)

Jonny offers Primal Instinct (https://primal-instinct.bandcamp.com/album/devastation/)

Give these a listen, and reverse their 'lesser heard' status!

https://www.podcast.theblogofrock.com

This episode I'm joined by Uwe Lerch. Uwe is one of those individuals who can boast a very storied career in music, starting the Rock Hard Magazine in 1983. From there, Uwe enjoyed stints at Roadrunner, Sony Music, and currently hosts an excellent podcast called The Blog Of Rock - linked above.

https://www.artillery.dk/home.php

Artillery's new album, 'X', coming May 7th on Metal Blade Records.

Michael and I discuss the new Artillery album, his aspirations to play Bloodstock Open Air, and we take a quick jaunt back to the late 80's with the band's only Roadrunner Records output - 'By Inheritance'.

https://www.facebook.com/atrophyofficial

This episode I speak to Atrophy's very own Brian Zimmerman. Atrophy were signed to Roadrunner Records in the late 80's and produced two records under their sponsorship. Brian tells me about those days, the band's current activities, and then he shows me the dead dude he has buried in his front garden.

Evile - https://linktr.ee/evile

Thrash titans Evile return with their first record in 8 years, Hell Unleashed - releasing on April 30th on Napalm Records.

Drummer Ben Carter visits the Temple of Bleh to talk about their extended absence, the new album, and a bit about video games :)

https://fearfactory.com/music/

After 5 years on the quiet side - the Fear Factory has sprung to life again with their first single off their new LP, 'Aggression Continuum'. 'Disruptor' will be available everywhere April 16th.

Guitarist and band leader Dino Cazares sits down with me tot talk about the next steps for the band, as well as his long a close history with Roadrunner Records. It's kind of a must-listen for the history of the label.

Well the schedule for this series got shafted nice and quick - but here is the first episode, a lovely verbal ramble as we pit Motörhead's Road Crew against Iron Maiden's Trooper Ale!

© BLH Productions Ltd

This time round I have the immense pleasure to chat to Mike Gitter, former A&R for Roadrunner Records and current A&R VP for Century Media. Mike is responsible for bringing about the careers of some of my favourite bands (and quite possibly yours) throughout the years, and is an unrelenting delight to listen to.

Check out Mike's book, 'xXx Fanzine (1983-1988), Hardcore & Punk in the Eighties', and follow his continuing reign of terror at Century Media.

We open with the outcome of the outreach programme, with Dave having listened to Periphery, and Shab having listened to Amon Amarth. After that opening salvoy of devastation, we loosely move into a discussion about the industry trend of censoring individuals as opposed to products/brands.

https://www.metalblade.com/cannibalcorpse/

Violence Unimagined out on April 16th - check the pre-order offer from Metal Blade Records, now!

Taking a (brief) break from the History of Roadrunner Records, Paul Mazurkiewicz takes a visit to the Temple of Bleh to talk about the new Cannibal Corpse album - 'Violence Unimagined', Morrisound Studios, and more!

Home | Mysite (dgk-art-editions.com)

IndoGolf.com - Everything Golf in Wonderful Indonesia - About Us

In this audio-only episode, I have the honour of speaking with Roadrunner's first ever employee, Dennis Kloeth.

As part of his long and varied career, Dennis worked at Roadrunner for around a year as the first PR staff member at the Willemsparkweg office in Amsterdam.

Prior to this he had worked at PolyGram, RCA, CNR, among other titans of the music industry. Dennis talks me through his long friendship with Cees Wessels and the many journeys his stint in the music industry took him on.

You can check out Dennis' latest ventures at the links up top.

After a tedious message to new listeners, we talk about Nergal's attempt to evade further blasphemy litigation through Ordo Blasphemia, and the wider shitty implications of satanism in music. Dave and Shab commit to listening to some of each other's favourite bands.

Then we spend ages trying to articulate our current bearings on modern metalcore.

https://twitter.com/TempleOfBleh

This is possibly one of my favourite chats so far - for reasons that I go into in the intro. A man of many talents, Stefan's most prolific role during his time at Roadrunner was perhaps as the Head of International Marketing from the 90's up to 2001. He is possibly the most well-travelled Roadrunner alumni, working in the Germany, Netherlands, and US offices during his tenure.

He currently is the label manager for Weathermaker Music, who currently look after legendary band, Clutch.

Apologies for some of the choppy editing - my workstation is currently coming to terms with the end of its life.

RobaJett offers Dream Troll

Justin offers AlleHackbar

Raw offers Leeched

Jonny offers Dakesis

Give these a listen, and reverse their 'lesser heard' status!

Another zero news week on the Bleh-genda, so this is way more of a ramble.

https://battleaxeuk.com/

There was a bit of technical fluffery and connection issues with this one, so do bear with us.

Jim regales me with tales of how he started at Roadrunner, and what it was like being the face of the label during it's explosion in the early-mid 90's.

He was also at the Disco Demolition gathering in Detroit which I reference in Chapter I of the documentary. But I didn't know that then :). 

RobaJett offers Video Nasties

Raw offers Forlorn Hope

Justin offers Sky Valley Mistress

Jonny offers The Hell

Give these a listen, and reverse their 'lesser heard' status!

Richard has some new music out, featuring Fallout guitarist John Campos - check it out here; https://richardtermini.hearnow.com/

It's a really good chat about Metal Blade's long and productive relationship with Roadrunner, the difficulty with the Japanese metal market, with a little bit of underwater hockey thrown in at the end for good measure!

Check out Brian's book "For the Sake of Heaviness", for a deep dive into the history of Metal Blade.

Please allow me to re-introduce;

Metal Mike [Aardschok Magazine]

Steev Riccardo [Blowin' Smoke With Twisted Rico]

Ed van Zijl [Mascot Label Group]

Dennis Kloeth [IndoGolf]

Raise a glass - happy birthday Roadrunner!

Bibliography - [https://www.templeofbleh.com/post/history-of-roadrunner-chapter-i-1980-1986-bibliography]

Written and Produced by @RobaJett

Exec Produced by @youtube.com/user/TheFinalCut

All music composed by both, with the exception of the 'Appleknockers Flophouse' cover at the end, which was recorded by us - but the original is by Cuby + Blizzards.

Written interviews - https://www.templeofbleh.com/

Check out the YouTube component of this as well.

Also Jim's mate Tom comes on to talk about Nic Cage's "Drive Angry".

In this episode, Ed casts a light on the infancy of the company, as well as Cees' thinking behind the day-to-day running of the label.

You can check out the Mascot Label Group's roster of artists at https://www.mascotlabelgroup.com/.

Tom was kind enough to tell me the story of the album cycle from his perspective, as well as his relationship with Kat. If you've seen the mini-doc I did on Kat a few weeks ago, Tom should be a familiar face.

You can find Tom @TomVonDoom on Facebook and Twitter.

In the latter half - Tom and Jim talk about Nic Cage's psychedelic grindhouse film, Mandy.

We talk about Richard's memories of dealing with Roadrunner, and he also gives me a comprehensive introduction into how the distribution/retail side of the record business works.

This episode is economics heavy so grab a calculator and strap in!

https://www.templeofbleh.com

Miles was with Roadrunner UK from 1993 to 1995, and here he shares his memories and reflections on that time.

Don't forget to check out some of the written interviews found at https://www.templeofbleh.com.

Mike is a music industry veteran, with a career spanning over 30 years in music journalism and A&R. Given he spent 12 years at Roadrunner Records, and is directly responsible for kickstarting the careers of some of my favourite bands - we're likely to be speaking again in 2021!

Check out the previous interviews in the series on your podcast feed, as well as written interviews at https://www.templeofbleh.com/

On the Sabbath bit - I do nab a bit of audio from the below YouTube video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ppR838nSNX8

Bob was also the photographer for The Great Kat, who was a Roadrunner artist in the late 80's-early 90's.

We talk about Bob's new book, Right Time, Right Place, as well as his time with the Kat.

You can get Right Time, Right Place pretty much anywhere, but I think we should drive traffic to his own website.

[http://www.bobgruen.com/right-place-right-time-the-life-of-a-rock-roll-photographer-available-october-20-2020/]

I say it in the intro, but this is effectively a proof of concept before I go into the proper "History of" episodes in earnest. I just thought The Great Kat was worth shining a light on in the meantime, as she's an incredibly compelling musician and person.

Thanks to everyone who contributed to this one, and check out The Great Kat on all the socials and https://www.greatkat.com. Also check out my written interview with her at templeofbleh.com.

This conversation was a sheer pleasure on my part, Wally hit the ground running on all the interesting tidbits and landscapes that I wanted to find out about how the label operated on the day-to-day - and I'm extremely grateful for Wally's time on that.

Check out Wally's current engagement, In De Goot Entertainment, who manage acts such as Black Stone Cherry, Gwar, and Theory of a Deadman!

https://www.indegoot.com/

In this episode I speak with Kurt Shore, who produced The Great Kat's debut album Worship Me Or Die! Kurt was extremely courteous with his time, and guided me through his memories of his producing days, as well as his time with Kat.

Fast forwarding to the modern day, Kurt is also a singer-songwriter and features his music regularly on his Facebook page - https://www.facebook.com/KurtShoreOfficial

In addition, the apples don't fall far from the tree - you can check out Kurt's son, Kory's music here - http://www.koryshore.com/

In this episode we just shoot the shit and draw beers for the first 4 rounds of the tournament - more details (including the tournament bracket) can be found on our respective socials;

Temple of Bleh - https://www.facebook.com/TempleOfBlehPod

The Pump Room Bar - https://www.facebook.com/thepumproom.bar/

----

Match 1 - 14/01/2021

Behemoth [Sacrum] v ACDC [Premium Beer]

Match 2 - 11/02/2021

Motorhead [Bastard Lager] v Behemoth [Profanum]

Match 3 - 11/03/2021

Motorhead [Road Crew] v Mastodon [Black Tongue]

Match 4 - 08/04/2021

Iron Maiden [Trooper] v Cradle of Filth [Countess Beer]

Tom and I dive into the dirty world of Twitter diplomacy, as well as brand dialogue and tactics that creators use to drive traffic!

We talk a lot about Heathen's new record, Empire of the Blind, the interactions with Roadrunner in the late 80's/early 90's - then David absolutely overdelivers on the question "have you ever seen a ghost?". You may want to consult the YouTube upload of this interview for more context there...

Jump on it! https://heathenthrash.bandcamp.com/album/empire-of-the-blind

Mike's depth of knowledge and experience in the metal world is truly something to behold and appreciate, so please check out Aardschok at the links below. If it's available to you, subscribe to the mag, if it's not - support any way you can in these crazy times.

http://www.aardschok.com/

https://www.facebook.com/officialaardschok/

Since I've pumped out a load of interviews the past few weeks to support the ongoing History of Roadrunner Records [HORR] series, we've had a bunch of new subs and listeners - which I'm extremely grateful for. As such this episode is more of a laid back chat with some housekeeping on the Temple's goings on as we approach Xmas and a few 'life events'.

Rob's an incredibly interesting dude and I was extremely privileged to speak with him about matters pertaining to the 'loudness wars', mixing the trailer to my favourite Star War, as well as Roadrunner's place in the music business lexicon.

Check in with Rob at - https://meetbeaton.com/

Now this one has a bit of cringe in it from my side, as I keep pushing Roadrunner business questions but Mike, as he correctly says, is the music guy - he was placed in the 'logistics' part of getting bands in and through Europe, as you're about to learn. Regardless I still learned a f*ck ton from Mike in this episode, and I'm glad to say that we'll be doing it again soon, but next time I'll be focusing more on the bands and the stories. as opposed to the business structure.

You all need to check out Aardschok at the links below. If it's available to you, subscribe to the mag, if it's not - support any way you can in these crazy times.

http://www.aardschok.com/

https://www.facebook.com/officialaardschok/

In addition to discussing some of the bands that reside on APF Records, Andrew and I speak about the mechanics of running a small independent label in the UK, as well as nerding out over certain mastering and production techniques!

Do yourself a favour and head over to https://apfrecords.co.uk/ to find out more. Or even quicker - head to https://apfrecords.bandcamp.com/album/volume-8 to here a compilation of APF artists recordings from 2020.

We cover all sorts in this chat, from Type O Negative, to most accessible hardcore bands, and even football (UK). Howie is an exceptionally articulate and smart guy, and I'm super privileged to have had the opportunity to chat with him.

See Howie's book publishing company, Lesser Gods, here - https://www.facebook.com/lessergodsbooks/

Also, buy Howie's books here - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Howie-Abrams/e/B00CGMRWCE

Gary tells the story of how Third Mind partnered up with Roadrunner Records in the early 90's, in that somewhat confusing time in the narrative when the label started to tread the waters, away from Thrash/Death metal.

This conversation was captured over 2 sessions, so there's a fade out followed by a fade in, about an hour in - that's just to create a break between the sessions.

Andy and I discuss some of the challenges of working under the Roadrunner model as he attempted to expand the label's alt-rock roster in the early 90's. There's some great insight as to how the business operated between its respective satellite offices, which were situated around the globe at this point.

Andy also makes some cracking recommendations for those looking for new music, towards the end of the episode.

Check out Velocity Communications here - https://www.velocitypr.co.uk/

Additionally Jim gets audibly upset that Dave Grohl turned up to work on his bi-annual 'wholesome content' cycle, and a bunch of companies sidestepping the daunting task of telling the world that there won't be any gigs until 2022, and artists don't deserve a dime.

Garry tells me the story of Jaguar and their relationship with Roadrunner Records, ensuing activities including the resurrection of Neat Records in the late 90's, as well as reflecting on the metal scene in general.

I'm very grateful to Garry for offering his time, and would like to direct everyone to their YouTube channel - as Garry describes, this has been cultivated as the centralised hub for all things Jaguar - https://www.youtube.com/user/jaguarnwobhm

Kyle has three albums on Roadrunner Records, Exhorder's Slaughter in the Vatican and The Law, and Floodgate's Penalty. This conversation is actually a pretty comprehensive guide to the first decade of Kyle's career in the metal industry.

Check out the new Exhorder album, Mourn the Southern Skies here (possibly the ballsiest album of 2019) - https://exhorder.bandcamp.com/album/mourn-the-southern-skies

Also... check out Kyle's album with Alabama Thunderpussy, Open Fire, here (it's an underrated gem) - https://alabamathunderpussyband.bandcamp.com/album/open-fire

We talk about Steev's hectic tenure with the label, The Great Kat, and the Unsung Hero (Holly Lane).

Check out Steev's podcast, Blowin' Smoke with Twisted Rico here - https://open.spotify.com/show/1yqrttd2p3xQA4MfDcijPG?si=jxDPsG12S622DXwMBnZZ5w

Mike was super accommodating with his time, and we discussed some of the finer details of working with a label like Roadrunner in the late 80's/early 90's - including producer preferences, competing scenes/sounds, and embracing the early 90's rock upheaval.

Listen to Defiance here - https://candlelightrecordsuk.bandcamp...

Listen to Mike's other project, Monster God, here - https://monstergod1.bandcamp.com/

Having said that we've got a new logo drawn by the extremely awesome 'terbangtinggi' on fiverr - which makes us feel legit.

Raw also suggests that the longer a band name is - the worse that band is...

Today (30th October 2020) marks 30 years of Realm's second and final album for Roadrunner Records, Suiciety. Realm are a highly regarded prog-thrash band from Wisconsin, and a very important part of the ToB History of Roadrunner Records [HORR] series.

Takis patiently endures Jim's lack of professionalism and microphone issues [for about 15 minutes, sorry] before launching into what it was like to be Monte Conner's first signing for Roadrunner Records. We also discuss the band's association with Beatallica, their recent induction into the Wisconsin Area Music Industry Hall of Fame, and some of the more intricate aspects of the artist/label relationship.

Aside from my terrible mic issues - I'm dead happy with this one, so please join me in celebrating this kick arse band.

RIP Paul Laganowski

1963-2017

Visit Uber Rock at https://uber-rock.co.uk/

In a break from interviewing Roadrunner Records alumni, Jim speaks to James McBain of one-man 'Black 'n Roll' band Hellripper, who recently released 'The Affair of the Poisons' on Peaceville Records.

We chat production, label relationships and album cycles. We also take a quick dive into the Secret Channel 4 Metalhead.

[Album cover] © Peaceville Records Ltd

Cyclone are an infamous part of the Belgian thrash scene, as highlighted in the Red Bull documentary "Hooked on Belgian Metal" (link below).

Cyclone have reformed, and are remastering and rereleasing their first two albums on Zeal records very soon, so please follow the below socials to make sure you catch them upon release.

Hooked on Belgian Metal - https://www.redbull.com/be-nl/projects/hooked-on-belgian-metal?fbclid=IwAR1QFQ374JPNXzeRelD3N9FOsoZFEGGHrUMVM50GU2ypKngyc-Q50MGUg_I

Cyclone's Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/pages/Cyclone-official-bandpage/213896838668303

Recorded 24/10/2020

This week we define exactly what Metal 'tat' is, chat about Hawkeye leaving Fear Factory to a slightly heavier extent than I did last week, and we run each other's gym playlist past each other.

@TempleOfBleh

Today I talk about new Ozzy, Hawkeye sodding off from Fear Factory and take a side step from the Roadrunner story to talk about Hawker Records.

John Bello interview, for which most of the Hawker section was sourced - https://www.noecho.net/interviews/hawker-records-history-interview

For An Answer 'Free for All' set can be found here - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ag8i-qa6bsc

Similarly - Rest in Pieces can be found here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rDuV_q8u9Tw

We also go into length about bands we've never actually parted with money to see - and Raw lays down a challenge to Warbringer singer, John Kevill.

Companion screencast - TBC

Companion write up - TBC

'Now I Take Everything From You' by Dean Anderson used with respect to Section 30a of the Copyrights, Designs and Patents Act 1988. No infringement intended. But by all means check his music out - it kicks arse.

Additionally we pitch a Metallica Bingo card to see us through the next album cycle, and talk over other bits of metal news from this week,

Please see the below playlist to listen to the bands we've mentioned in the show.

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0NpjFks3InUqtzc8WimIHk?si=Gitc0t5SQu2ijy7u6eLUUA