Record Store Day roundtable: Discussing the resurgence of metal vinyl with key record labels

On Saturday, April 18, 2009, hundreds of independently owned music stores across the country will celebrate Record Store Day. Originated in 2007, Record Store Day became an annual event where indie record stores would come together with artists and labels to celebrate the art and unique culture of music on a communal and national level.

A website, www.recordstoreday.com, was soon developed to advertise participating and coordinating stores.
Various shops around the country celebrate Record Store Day in several fashions, be it through special sales, rare and exclusive merchandise, in-store meet-and-greets with artists, and even full-blown concerts on-site.

To commemorate this year’s Record Store Day, I have coordinated a round-table discussion with several record label executives and got their opinions on the resurgence and collectability of heavy metal vinyl. Participating in this discussion are Paula Hogan (General Manager, CANDLELIGHT RECORDS USA), Austin Stephens (Director of Sales, ROADRUNNER RECORDS), Pat Egan (Director of Sales, RELAPSE RECORDS), Tracy Vera (Senior VP, METAL BLADE RECORDS), and Simon Füllemann (General Manager, METAL BLADE RECORDS GmbH).

Following the round-table is a small listing of some key events happening around the country on Record Store Day. Enjoy!

HEAVY METAL EXAMINER: What do you think of the resurgence in the interest in metal vinyl?

PAULA HOGAN (PH): Vinyl and metal I feel is a “taste” fans never lose interest in. Metal is, for the most part, always a genre that is a consistent seller regardless of fashion or trends. Sure it has its peaks and lulls, but it is always there. With vinyl, the packaging, oftentimes special artwork is something that feels so much more personal and unique in your hands versus a CD and the unphysical nature of the mp3. I think the resurgence in vinyl popularity is a combination of elements. First, as noted, is the uniqueness and the natural excitability factor of having a special/limited edition piece of your favorite band, but second, the continued argument of labels and artists about the accessibility CDs give to illegal downloading, which for vinyl is far more limited.

AUSTIN STEPHENS (AS): Vinyl in general has made a huge comeback, relatively, compared to other physical formats. As far as metal as a genre for the format, I think there is something to be said for the level of musicianship that compliments the genre, and though vinyl is still a product line that appeals to a much defined niche consumer, its growth is undeniable.

PAT EGAN (PE): The renewed interest in vinyl may be a passing trend, but in the metal world it has never gone away. At Relapse we never stopped pressing vinyl (unlike most of our peers). We knew all along that the metal fans loved the packaging that you can't get from a digital download or even a CD. There's something to be said about pouring over the liner notes inside a record, or how awesome that new Baroness cover that John Baizley did. The major labels are already starting to screw up the vinyl format again, by over charging fans for a standard record. I mean $29.99 for the new Paul McCartney Fireman LP? Way to f*** the people who are actually willing to PAY for music. Sure there are 2 LP's in it and it may be 180 gram, but that is just pure major label greed.

TRACY VERA (TV): It excites me and I love it.

SIMON FULLERMAN (SF): It is cool again to collect vinyl and, since you can buy record players with USB connection everywhere, this is an easy tool to put vinyl on your portable players.

When choosing what albums to offer on vinyl, what criteria do you look for?

PH: Obviously sales potential but as well the artist itself, the artwork available and how it will work for the format.

AS: We look at what genres / artists mean something to this consumer. The audiophile that leans more towards progressive metal is definite vinyl consideration and pretty much a no brainer for artists like Dream Theater and Opeth within our roster. Specialty retailers like the Omega mail-order, Interpunk.com, and the Vinyl Collective are big voices for specific artists and genres, and we look to their trends as well when deciding what makes sense to release or re-issue. Any artist with a rabid and loyal fan base is in consideration for the format, though, as we don't want to limit ourselves or our artists in what their fans may want.

PE: For the most part, every new band that puts out new music will see it released on vinyl from us. It's not a fad for us. For bands on their second and 3rd releases, it will depend on how well the previous record did. If we're sitting on a few hundred LP's in the warehouse, chances are we are not going to put out the new one. In that case, we will usually license that release on vinyl to another label. In many instances, those small labels are run by Relapse employees who care about the band and the packaging and just want to own a copy of that release on vinyl.

TV: Hipness or coolness, like in the case of a new band like Bison, classic bands with a classic release, or releases like Slayer, a visual quality like Cattle Decapitation, and/or bands with really rabid fans like Cannibal Corpse.

SF: Metal records. Bands that have been in it for a long time or bands that have big hype.

Have you, or the label, given any thought (or made any moves) to reissue any of your classic catalogue onto vinyl, whether it was previously released on that format or not?

PH: We have been releasing vinyl for many years and have issued and reissued on different formats many records from our earlier catalog – Opeth, Emperor, etc.

AS: Glassjaw was one of our most recent efforts towards a deeper catalog re-issue, and we saw a lot of interest in this title, due to their strong foothold in the punk world and having some great retail partners to help promote this release. If we can be a voice for the product through our own marketing efforts and see that crossover and have the accounts that specialize in the format embrace and promote the product, then this format will continue to grow.

PE: Again most of catalog has been available on LP at one time or another and we are constantly adding classic titles on vinyl to the new release schedule. Up next for us are some classic titles from legendary grindcore band Nasum and 2 releases from the recently reunited Pentagram.

TV: Yes we’ve done some and would like to do more!

SF: We do this all the time. It doesn’t matter if it was released already or not, since all the vinyl was limited to the end of the 90s. We can always re-issue stuff and find buyers. It’s a collector’s item market.

Are you a collector of vinyl, and if so, what is it about metal that makes it an interesting thing to collect?

PH: As a music fan, I collect many things from my favorite artists; be it vinyl or different versions of their CDs, or even CDs in various territories. I think for bands like My Dying Bride, Opeth, Anathema – some of my favorites, I have four or five different versions of each of their records just on CD format alone. Yup I’m a junky. But I think most that are avid fans will naturally collect.

AS: Personally, I am a collector. I find that my buying habits are more artist-specific, though. I'm a superfan for a lot of artists and those are the ones I’ve got to have wax on. I still want the high quality sound for my iPod though, so the CD or a download are still key for me. But as a collector, there is something about the format for some of that classic metal catalog that just makes me salivate, but it's more about the presentation than anything for me. It's almost like buying art more so than buying music, you want to have something to show off to your friends.

PE: I have close to 1000 LP's in my collection, obviously not all of it is metal, but a good 70% of it is. As I stated earlier, the artwork is what initially drew me to vinyl, but I later found the hard way that sometimes, the artist was far better than the bands! So now it is mostly about the sound quality and with my eye sight not as good as years ago, I definitely appreciate the larger text that an LP has. The new Agoraphobic Nosebleed LP is probably the nicest packaging of a Relapse LP that I can remember. It is 2 LP's on 180 gram vinyl, comes in a gatefold with a 24 page 12x12 booklet. Simply beautiful.

TV: Yes, I collect more for the visual and packaging elements but also for the specialness factor -- like when I would collect every Iron Maiden 12-inch vinyl single or EP for the cool cover songs, live tracks or whatever other unreleased songs they would throw on there. Plus the cool art with Eddie was always something different on each release.

SF: Yes, I am. The sound is just more furious and more "original". I like more old-school sounding records anyway.

Picture discs or colored vinyl – which do your buyers seem to respond to more, and why do you think that is?

PH: Colored vinyl usually does better, as you get the sleeves and additional packaging as well normally better quality vinyl; versus the picture disc which has no packaging other than the disc itself. We release both.

AS: We haven't gotten into this too much yet as a company, but I really think this depends on the artist. If it's Dream Theater or Opeth, you want 180 gram vinyl and doing picture discs or colored vinyl affects the sound quality, which we know that fan base wants at the highest level of quality possible. For an artist with a younger fan base just getting into the format, I think colored vinyl is a viable option to make it more collectible to the fans, and when you have artists like a Slipknot or Cradle Of Filth that are visually stunning, then a picture disc may be your best option, but you really approach these variants on a band by band basis.

PE: Colored vinyl, hands down. The quality of the vinyl is usually better, and the serious collector likes to have 5 versions of their favorite record in all different colors. We have recently found a vinyl plant that does make a better quality picture disc, so you may see more of those in the future.

TV: I think it depends on the band. I like both, personally, and I definitely look at it from the perspective of my own desires when bandying about with others here which products we should do and in what format!

SF: Colored vinyl! Nobody plays a picture disc. It’s nice to have, but this attitude seems to die out, so always colored vinyl.
 

CANDLELIGHT RECORDS has recently released Absu - Absu, Blut Aus Nord - Memoria II, and several Dimmu Borgir reissues on vinyl. The Emperor and Opeth vinyl releases are perennial sellers and move very quickly.

ROADRUNNER RECORDS’ current vinyl roster consists of Slipknot - All Hope Is Gone, Slipknot - Slipknot, Dream Theater - Systematic Chaos, Glassjaw - Everything You Ever Wanted To Know About Silence, Machine Head - The Blackening, DragonForce - Ultra Beatdown, and Cradle Of Filth - Godspeed On the Devil's Thunder. They will be releasing Dream Theater - Black Clouds & Silver Lining on June 23.

RELAPSE RECORDS has recently released Brutal Truth - Evolution Through Revolution, and Coalesce - Ox is slated for release on June 9.

Special events and exclusive merchandise on Record Store Day includes the following:

ANTHRAX singer Dan Nelson will take part in a signing session at Looney Tunes in West Babylon, NY at 3:00 pm.

Looney Tunes
31 Brookvale Ave.
West Babylon, NY 11704
631-587-7722

CANNIBAL CORPSE will take part in a signing session at Exclusive Company in Greenfield, WI at 2:00 pm.

Exclusive Company
5026 S. 74th Street
Greenfield, WI 53220
414-281-6644

DISTURBED will take part in a signing session at Bull Moose in Portland, ME at 12:00 pm (noon).

Bull Moose
151 Middle Street
Portland ME 04101
207-780-6424

HEAVEN & HELL is releasing its new single "Bible Black" as a seven-inch vinyl disc. The single's B-side features a live version of "Neon Knights" recorded at the band's memorable Radio City Music Hall performance in 2007.

JANE'S ADDICTION is releasing two of its influential albums, Nothing's Shocking and Ritual De Lo Habitual on 180-gram vinyl through Rhino.

LAMB OF GOD will take part in a signing session at Newbury Comics in Shrewsbury, MA at 4:00 pm.

Newbury Comics
551 Boston Turnpike, Route 9
Shrewsbury, MA 01545
508-845-3391

QUEEN is releasing its debut EP on CD through Hollywood Records. Only 3,000 numbered copies will be manufactured worldwide and will be available exclusively at participating independent record stores.

QUEENSRŸCHE will take part in a signing session at Music Millennium in Portland, OR at 11:30 a.m.

Music Millennium
3158 E. Burnside Street
Portland, OR 97214
503-231-8926

SHINEDOWN will take part in an acoustic performance and signing session this Saturday, April 18 at J&R Music World in New York City at 1:00 p.m.

J&R Music World
23 Park Row
New York, NY 10038
212-238-9000

SLAYER is releasing its new single "Psychopathy Red" as a seven-inch vinyl disc. Only 5,000 copies will be manufactured worldwide and will be available exclusively at participating independent record stores.

STATIC-X will take part in a signing session at Bull Moose in Portsmouth, NH at 5:00 pm.

Bull Moose
82-86 Congress Street
Portsmouth, NH 03801
603-422-9525