Metal Blade Museum Tour

Join the Metal Blade Records Museum tour by founder and CEO Brian Slagel

Can’t believe this man is over 60 years old, looks way younger, and still run Metal Blade Records after over 40 years.

My hat’s off to him.

Metal Blade Museum Tour – Part 1

The History Of Metal Blade Records

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Swing of the Blade follows Brian 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

The story of Metal Blade Records is the story of Brian Slagel-a metal-obsessed Southern California kid who launched a fanzine and landed a record store job before cobbling together what he assumed would be a one-off compilation of fledgling bands from the L
A
scene
Released in 1982, the Metal Massacre LP included the debut recordings of local groups such as Steeler, Malice, Ratt, and Metallica
In the wake of the album's unexpected success Slagel virtually stumbled into creating a proper record label, issuing the first releases by Bitch, Armored Saint, and Slayer the following year