This is an interview I did with Hardrocker Magazine in Poland about a month ago for those who might be interested
English translation:
HR: Name of your label is not a mysterious one: were you so much inspired by Dio & Black Sabbath to start own record company, or there was other reason?
Jeremy Golden: Oh you noticed that did you? (laughs) I have always been a big Dio fan and Heaven and Hell is one of my favorite Sabbath albums, for that matter one of my favorite albums ever. I even have the Dio mascot Murray and the Heaven and Hell angels tattooed on my arm. Dio has always and forever been an inspiration in whatever I do. I hold on to something he said to me several years ago and that helps me though a lot.
When I came up with the name and started using it Black Sabbath had not yet changed their moniker to Heaven and Hell. But Dio/Sabbath was not the only reason for the choice of name I also studied religions in college and wanted to use that somehow in what I would do with the label as far as imagery, gimmicks, and tactics. Unfortunately, there just has not been opportunity to incorporate the ideas yet. Also the name Heaven and Hell is two opposites that left open a lot of area for whatever kind of music I wanted to work with. However for the first couple of years we were often mistaken as a Christian label. (laughs) I guess they did not read the “Hell” in the name. I think that issue is cleared up by now; if not I’m sure the Demontuary album cover will make it quite clear!
HR: How do you remember signing your first band?
JG: The first act on the label, The Reticent, basically came together quite simply. I had known Chris (The Reticent) for a couple of years previously and he had already self-released one album. He was working on a second one when we starting talking about working together. I love his writing and music, it’s not metal by any stretch - well, it wasn’t at that time - but still it’s beautiful. He was going to self release a second CD and I had some distribution connections so we decided to work together.
I remember actually signing the first piece of paper with Praetorius on the back of a car in a club parking lot. I was actually looking at it last night; there are beer stains on the paper (laughs). It seems so long ago now and even though it wasn’t that far back still so much has happened since then. Those were humble beginnings and things have certainly improved since then; still I can look back on it fondly. Praetorius were the first metal band for us and they complemented my love for the N.W.O.B.H.M. sound perfectly.
HR: And how do you choose next bands to sign? As I see you are not limited to Traditional Metal only?
JG: I have never narrowed myself musically to one genre and certainly not to one type of heavy metal. I will work with whatever appeals to me. Every band on the label has something that grabs me, whether it's my love N.W.O.B.H.M. and the band has that feel, or it could be a death metal band like Natu Sabverata that reminds me of going around in a pit when I was a teenager. I believe if I ever come up with a formula on how I select bands that is when I will start to limit myself and I will not let that happen.
HR: Didn't you think about extending your activity, to I don't know - booking shows or tours for your bands?
JG: In years past before the label was started I did some small shows. They were always disappointing not because of the quality of bands or the effort put into the shows it was all because metal does not work well over here. We also tried a couple of bigger projects but it was very difficult finding like-minded people to come aboard.
I decided to focus all efforts on the label and the mail order Sounds of Purgatory. The label is difficult enough to run without trying to play tour manager, booking agent, promoter, etc. I leave those jobs to the people that are willing to take them on. That is not to say I will not toss the bands a bone when I get one, I’ll help them in any way I can. I helped book two weeks across the U.S. for Seventh Calling and Widow a few months ago. But my main gig is to run a label; press CDs, get them into distribution and press. This label is based on a DIY (do it yourself) system and it is no easy task at all.
HR: Your label is quite known in the States, but in Europe you are one the underground ones... Didn't you think about starting European division? Everyone knows that actually Europe is the home of Metal...
JG: Actually the label is not very well known in the States. It is often very difficult for people in other countries to understand how poorly metal does here in the States especially traditional metal. For starters very few record stores still exist here so that doesn’t help. Most radio stations do not play or support metal, even college stations. There are not many metal publications left. And as for touring bands it is very difficult to get shows over here. All of these issues make it very difficult to carry on in the U.S. Granted bigger labels are in the major retail stores and big package tours do go around the country but these are bigger labels. It is very difficult to get attention here because the larger percentages of people do not care about underground metal. Sometimes it seems like an uphill battle trying to get attention in America. The attitude towards heavy metal is just so very different here than in the rest of the world like Europe.
Sometimes I see hope for the “scene” due to things like Glenn Harvester’s ProgPower USA that has gone on for 11 years now but still that is still somewhat of a niche market. And there are some people who try and put on metal festivals but they either suffer from lack of promotion or lack of interest. Still there are those who do bust their ass at trying to get things off the ground like Hoyt Parris and Pathfinder Productions but I think they suffer from the same issues that labels and bands all across the country suffer from and that is that there is very little interest in metal here.
Although there is an irony here; heavy metal in one form or another seems to pop up in television commercials, video games, mainstream movie soundtracks and other media still there is no interest in the underground. You have to understand the American mentality to grasp this. The American mentality is very consumer focused and commercially influenced. Thankfully the internet has made the world smaller. (laughs)
As for H&H’s presents outside of the U.S. well most of our sells are to other countries. Many Hellrazor and Seventh Calling have been ordered from Germany, Greece, Norway, Brazil and other countries. And several glowing reviews for Witches Mark came in from Germany. I have never thought of starting a branch in Europe or anywhere else because there is no need to. Today people can get whatever they want from where ever they want it thanks to the internet. Our titles are already carried all over Europe, in South America, Japan, Canada, actually more in these countries than here in the U.S.. So we are getting out there yes, but would I like more exposure of course.
Today there is no right answer or perfect plan on how to do things in this “industry” or the lack there of. Everything is trial and error and we are all doing whatever we can to survive and continue doing what we love.
HR: What are your next plans? New releases, maybe you discovered some cool new bands?
JG: I want to eat a bowl of cereal and watch some cartoons, maybe take a nap. (laughs)
Oh you mean with the label? Well we are always looking for new bands and we have our eye on a few.
Recently we launched a new series on the label called Lost Relics which is a reissue and achieves series for collectors. I am a huge collector and I love digging up rare and obscure hard rock and metal. I knew there were other people out there who shared this interest so I decided to track down these bands. We started with three releases - a hard rock band from New Jersey called Ritual, traditional proto-doom band from Canada called Overlord, and the Texas cult black metal outfit Demontuary (formerly known as Of the Fallen). I really like working on these but some do prove to be difficult trying to track down the bands and the material. But I plan to do some more Lost Relics releases; I am looking into a few prospects now. Some are unknown while others will be nice surprises if I can get them out.
Also Preatorius, The Reticent, and Hellrazor are all working on new material. We may also see a new Seventh Calling release at the beginning of the year before they head out on their planned European dates. But for now nothing is planned for the rest of 2010. Now I’m going to take a much needed break and we we’ll see what happens next year.
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English translation:
HR: Name of your label is not a mysterious one: were you so much inspired by Dio & Black Sabbath to start own record company, or there was other reason?
Jeremy Golden: Oh you noticed that did you? (laughs) I have always been a big Dio fan and Heaven and Hell is one of my favorite Sabbath albums, for that matter one of my favorite albums ever. I even have the Dio mascot Murray and the Heaven and Hell angels tattooed on my arm. Dio has always and forever been an inspiration in whatever I do. I hold on to something he said to me several years ago and that helps me though a lot.
When I came up with the name and started using it Black Sabbath had not yet changed their moniker to Heaven and Hell. But Dio/Sabbath was not the only reason for the choice of name I also studied religions in college and wanted to use that somehow in what I would do with the label as far as imagery, gimmicks, and tactics. Unfortunately, there just has not been opportunity to incorporate the ideas yet. Also the name Heaven and Hell is two opposites that left open a lot of area for whatever kind of music I wanted to work with. However for the first couple of years we were often mistaken as a Christian label. (laughs) I guess they did not read the “Hell” in the name. I think that issue is cleared up by now; if not I’m sure the Demontuary album cover will make it quite clear!
HR: How do you remember signing your first band?
JG: The first act on the label, The Reticent, basically came together quite simply. I had known Chris (The Reticent) for a couple of years previously and he had already self-released one album. He was working on a second one when we starting talking about working together. I love his writing and music, it’s not metal by any stretch - well, it wasn’t at that time - but still it’s beautiful. He was going to self release a second CD and I had some distribution connections so we decided to work together.
I remember actually signing the first piece of paper with Praetorius on the back of a car in a club parking lot. I was actually looking at it last night; there are beer stains on the paper (laughs). It seems so long ago now and even though it wasn’t that far back still so much has happened since then. Those were humble beginnings and things have certainly improved since then; still I can look back on it fondly. Praetorius were the first metal band for us and they complemented my love for the N.W.O.B.H.M. sound perfectly.
HR: And how do you choose next bands to sign? As I see you are not limited to Traditional Metal only?
JG: I have never narrowed myself musically to one genre and certainly not to one type of heavy metal. I will work with whatever appeals to me. Every band on the label has something that grabs me, whether it's my love N.W.O.B.H.M. and the band has that feel, or it could be a death metal band like Natu Sabverata that reminds me of going around in a pit when I was a teenager. I believe if I ever come up with a formula on how I select bands that is when I will start to limit myself and I will not let that happen.
HR: Didn't you think about extending your activity, to I don't know - booking shows or tours for your bands?
JG: In years past before the label was started I did some small shows. They were always disappointing not because of the quality of bands or the effort put into the shows it was all because metal does not work well over here. We also tried a couple of bigger projects but it was very difficult finding like-minded people to come aboard.
I decided to focus all efforts on the label and the mail order Sounds of Purgatory. The label is difficult enough to run without trying to play tour manager, booking agent, promoter, etc. I leave those jobs to the people that are willing to take them on. That is not to say I will not toss the bands a bone when I get one, I’ll help them in any way I can. I helped book two weeks across the U.S. for Seventh Calling and Widow a few months ago. But my main gig is to run a label; press CDs, get them into distribution and press. This label is based on a DIY (do it yourself) system and it is no easy task at all.
HR: Your label is quite known in the States, but in Europe you are one the underground ones... Didn't you think about starting European division? Everyone knows that actually Europe is the home of Metal...
JG: Actually the label is not very well known in the States. It is often very difficult for people in other countries to understand how poorly metal does here in the States especially traditional metal. For starters very few record stores still exist here so that doesn’t help. Most radio stations do not play or support metal, even college stations. There are not many metal publications left. And as for touring bands it is very difficult to get shows over here. All of these issues make it very difficult to carry on in the U.S. Granted bigger labels are in the major retail stores and big package tours do go around the country but these are bigger labels. It is very difficult to get attention here because the larger percentages of people do not care about underground metal. Sometimes it seems like an uphill battle trying to get attention in America. The attitude towards heavy metal is just so very different here than in the rest of the world like Europe.
Sometimes I see hope for the “scene” due to things like Glenn Harvester’s ProgPower USA that has gone on for 11 years now but still that is still somewhat of a niche market. And there are some people who try and put on metal festivals but they either suffer from lack of promotion or lack of interest. Still there are those who do bust their ass at trying to get things off the ground like Hoyt Parris and Pathfinder Productions but I think they suffer from the same issues that labels and bands all across the country suffer from and that is that there is very little interest in metal here.
Although there is an irony here; heavy metal in one form or another seems to pop up in television commercials, video games, mainstream movie soundtracks and other media still there is no interest in the underground. You have to understand the American mentality to grasp this. The American mentality is very consumer focused and commercially influenced. Thankfully the internet has made the world smaller. (laughs)
As for H&H’s presents outside of the U.S. well most of our sells are to other countries. Many Hellrazor and Seventh Calling have been ordered from Germany, Greece, Norway, Brazil and other countries. And several glowing reviews for Witches Mark came in from Germany. I have never thought of starting a branch in Europe or anywhere else because there is no need to. Today people can get whatever they want from where ever they want it thanks to the internet. Our titles are already carried all over Europe, in South America, Japan, Canada, actually more in these countries than here in the U.S.. So we are getting out there yes, but would I like more exposure of course.
Today there is no right answer or perfect plan on how to do things in this “industry” or the lack there of. Everything is trial and error and we are all doing whatever we can to survive and continue doing what we love.
HR: What are your next plans? New releases, maybe you discovered some cool new bands?
JG: I want to eat a bowl of cereal and watch some cartoons, maybe take a nap. (laughs)
Oh you mean with the label? Well we are always looking for new bands and we have our eye on a few.
Recently we launched a new series on the label called Lost Relics which is a reissue and achieves series for collectors. I am a huge collector and I love digging up rare and obscure hard rock and metal. I knew there were other people out there who shared this interest so I decided to track down these bands. We started with three releases - a hard rock band from New Jersey called Ritual, traditional proto-doom band from Canada called Overlord, and the Texas cult black metal outfit Demontuary (formerly known as Of the Fallen). I really like working on these but some do prove to be difficult trying to track down the bands and the material. But I plan to do some more Lost Relics releases; I am looking into a few prospects now. Some are unknown while others will be nice surprises if I can get them out.
Also Preatorius, The Reticent, and Hellrazor are all working on new material. We may also see a new Seventh Calling release at the beginning of the year before they head out on their planned European dates. But for now nothing is planned for the rest of 2010. Now I’m going to take a much needed break and we we’ll see what happens next year.
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