Metal Blade Records has announced a new book from founder Brian Slagel, “Swing Of The Blade: More Stories From Metal Blade Records”, due out May 9, 2023.
“Swing Of The Blade: More Stories From Metal Blade Records” follows Slagel‘s critically acclaimed 2017 book “For The Sake Of Heaviness”, which delivered a compelling inside look at how a metal-obsessed California teen built Metal Blade Records into the preeminent international home of heavy music. Rabid readers demanded more anecdotes, more bands, and more of Slagel‘s musical wisdom. With “Swing Of The Blade”, he delivers. Featuring a foreword by SLAYER‘s Kerry King, the new book is part memoir, part music-business primer, and all metal — delving deep into scenes and bands that fans worldwide obsess about. Slagel serves up more of his favorite memories about iconic musicians and events, and delves into even greater detail about his long and ongoing relationships with METALLICA, ARMORED SAINT, KING DIAMOND and other heavyweights. “Swing Of The Blade” is told in Slagel‘s humble but authoritative voice. His view for the last 40 years — from the studio, side-stage and boardroom — offers an unprecedented look into the music, business, and passion that has made both Slagel and Metal Blade champions of discovering and nurturing the best heavy music on the planet.
In the coming weeks, Metal Blade Records will launch its own exclusive pre-order bundle that will include a bookmark, patch, 40th-anniversary medal, and signed bookplate, while supplies last.
Founded upon Slagel‘s enduring drive to find great bands and get their music out to as many people as possible, since 1982 Metal Blade has brought wave after wave of powerful, innovative, and often genre-defining music to the ever-hungry metal masses. It is this ethos that has seen Metal Blade build up a stunning and diverse catalog, weather the various storms facing any independent label, and in an age of declining record sales boast the most successful years of its existence as it celebrates its fourth decade.
Metal Blade Records launched METALLICA, SLAYER, ARMORED SAINT, FATES WARNING, GWAR, CANNIBAL CORPSE, AMON AMARTH, WHITECHAPEL, THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER, CATTLE DECAPITATION and dozens more genre giants, shaping four decades and counting of hard rock, metal, and extreme music culture. Slagel worked as a record store clerk when he founded Metal Blade in 1982, reserving a spot for a young Lars Ulrich on his “Metal Massacre” compilation series. Metal Blade grew from humble beginnings in Los Angeles to become an international powerhouse, selling millions of albums while remaining fiercely independent. In 2017, Kerry King inducted the label into the Hall Of Heavy Metal History. “For The Sake Of Heaviness: The History Of Metal Blade Records” arrived the same year.
Photo courtesy of Palmer Turner Overdrive for Metal Blade Records