XX Years Of Metal

ROBERT KAMPF

A NEW HORIZONS

-With “Bloodlines” was in the early of 1990 the European pendant too, for the new signings with CENTURY MEDIA of hardcore, crossover or gothic metal sphere points and tried first time to start the work with a full unknown STRAPPING YOUNG LAD.
It was then a very serious difficult to be noticed as the independent label, especially with the extreme music. Today times the stores are already accustomed of good selling their metal stuff. In spite of the market-dropping the numbers of outlet stays in much of lands stable. It was then a try too, to stay in touch with the others of firms for the changing of ideas, informations and experiences to support ourselves and to have a much of profits. In the case of bands like ONLY LIVING WITNESS, GRAVEYARD RODEO or EYE HATE GOD: they already passed and had a certain importance, that could to broad a spectrum. For a short time there were under our contract the bands like THE BUSINESS, CHAOS UK or a few bands like GOD IS LSD, having the industrial elements like MINISTRY or NINE INCH NAILS within. CENTURY MEDIA was opened those times for all of styles, but not so far beyond the profile of label.


-As you could in the last years to attract to the firm legendary names like NAPALM DEATH, PARADISE LOST and CELTIC FROST/ HELLHAMMER, suddenly have docked in Dortmund the popular hardcore hewers of CRO-MAGS or the clowns of MUCKY PUP.
These bands have helped to start with a firm name in the Europe and all over the world. MUCKY PUP liked to me with their fun image very much. I liked then the Englishmen of THE STUPIDS too, who had a similar light-digestible hardcore connected with the humor elements or RICH KIDS ON LSD. It was very straining for us and a some years right successful. CRO-MAGS was one of favourite bands of mine and suddenly free of contract. A band was previously split-up and has reunited itself then, playing a German tour. Our friends from Berliner M.A.D concert agency have contacted us with the band.

-Through the changing a spirit of the epoch the much of fallen bands would have today the extreme good chances. Not in vain exists again STUCK MOJO and POWER OF EXPRESSION or MERAUDER could to start up officially again.
MERAUDER belongs to the classics and stays the main influence for a much of younger bands. It goes to the calibre like TERROR, that mentions MERAUDER as the sign-post and the shapers of the style. It was already in 1985 a connecting of hardcore and metal brought by the bands like CORROSION of CONFORMITY, that on “Animosity” made the fusion of hardcore aggression with a hard thrash and death metal. With MERAUDER it was about 8 or 10 years later. They have connected the influences from bands like OBITUARY with the hardcore. It was corresponded in the further hardcore development. Although for the style probably the most important was AT THE GATES.

-Afterwards the artwork of second DESPAIR album “Decay Of Humanity” from 1990 that must to be changed in due of supposed nationally agitating RUMBLE MILITIA – a band from Bremen with a political left spectrum and multicultural German, Turkish and Greek line-up – and especially the lyric of SAMAEL “To Our Martyrs” were the another kind of experiences with a specific German censorship.
It wasn’t special harmful for us. By SAMAEL it was especially funny, the men in censorship office made simply their English better. RUMBLE MILITIA was a very important band, cause all of them with this national understanding and enemy pictures carried to us a strong position. I remind myself very well when we had this band by us and to this day we stay in touch very warm with the singer Stäffi.

-Much of bands from the dark/death metal sphere were before under the contract of French Adipocere, with Spinefarm CENTURY MEDIA cooperated by the masterpiece “North From Here” of Finnish undertakers of SENTENCED. Do you regret it, that for example pull out NIGHTWISH from the Helsinki men?
ALASTIS, SACRAMENTUM and MOONSPELL were all free of contract and announced themselves by us. ALASTIS was brought to us by the guys of SAMAEL, cause Rafael, a brother of Masmiseim played by them. MOONSPELL was yet indeed very immature on his EP, but on “Wolfheart” they have found their own style. A Spinefarm partner for NIGHTWISH was anyway CENTURY MEDIA in USA for six albums.