#nuclear blast

[cuda-cuda]

Fallout

[yoan-le-grall]

[clouds-of-wings]

Power Metal reddit currently has a discussion about Nuclear Blast, about what has changed with them and why, and man I have learned a lot of disturbing facts about what has happened there in the past 5 years. Someone posted an in-depth investigative article about it (from November 2021), which you should read if you speak German and are interested, otherwise or if it's too long here are the main points...

If you're into Nightwish, Sabaton, Blind Guardian etc., this is relevant information.

In 2018, the French Believe Music, which is a large corporation that mainly specializes in digital distribution, became majority owner of NB

Believe is not really interested in physical media like CDs and vinyls even though the people who worked at NB told their new corporate overlords that metal fans like physical media, both because many fans of especially the oldest and most successful bands are 50+ and because it's more ingrained in the subculture. Believe doesn't care and doesn't listen. They have their experiences from pop and hip-hop, where phone-based streaming subscriptions are the norm, and that's all they want to know. They are also ignoring printed magazines and don't advertise there much anymore.

Less focus on physical media means that bands now earn less, that they rank less highly in album charts, which in turn means that they lose negotiation power when they try to plan tours and negotiate with venues etc., because they "look" less successful

Believe has been dealing with this by signing mainly bands that are easy to market digitally and ending co-operations with bands that aren't, even ones that had been with NB for decades (like Rage and Nile, who went to Napalm)

The personal cooperation between bands and NB has really suffered, everything is more profit-oriented and impersonal, a lot of budgets have been decreased and the real decisions are made by Believe in Paris, not by any specific NB team

Believe has been stock market traded since 2021. Their stock value went down at first, was at about the price it had started out at when the article was written - I looked it up and in March 23 it's down 40% from its original value. Ouch.

The original founder of NB started a new label, Atomic Fire, and took "Amorphis, Helloween, Opeth, Sonata Arctica, Meshuggah, Primal Fear, Agnostic Front, Rise Of The Northstar, Silver Lake, White Stones and Michael Schenker Group" with him, also because Believe didn't really do much to keep many of these bands

It's certainly interesting to learn about, also because I had already wondered if NB, and some of their bands, had intentionally taken a more "commercial" approach in recent years, but I didn't know about the Believe thing. I thought it maybe had something to do with losses from the pandemic or something. Turns out they have a new owner.

[a-silent-symphony]

📢 NEWS 📢

Nightwish renews their partnership with Nuclear Blast

[drondskaath]

Aborted | Vault of Horrors | 15th March, 2024

Belgian Death Metal

Artwork by Dan Goldsworthy

[soillodge]

Listen/purchase: Les Chants de l'Aurore by Alcest

[spockvarietyhour]

A set of Mark-9 tactical nukes housed in a custom-made weapons platform codenamed Horizon. The Horizon carries six warheads and four decoys.

Stargate Atlantis "First Strike"

[metalsongoftheday]

Thursday, November 23: Kreator, "Army of Storms"

Gods of Violence was more than just a continuation of Kreator’s remarkable hot streak- it was an escalation and elevation of the simultaneously manic, focused and hooky aggression Mille Petrozza, Ventor and crew had been consistently delivering since Violent Revolution all the way back in 2001, and turned out to be something of a late-career masterpiece.  There was a bit more of a groove to “Army of Storms”, but it still kicked ass mightily, with Petrozza snarling and gargling in fine form and the band sounding so purposeful they were basically undeniable.  There was a ruthless efficiency to Kreator at their prime, and the track was of a piece with their recent material while also amplifying the signal with a balance of tightness and frazzled fury.

[deadmandeadsoul]

Fit For An Autopsy

[triste-guillotine]

DISMEMBER "Like an everflowing stream" LP 1991 ('...As I become one with the earth, My soul has passed the rebirth. In this world I leave my flesh to rot. No regrets, this is my lot...')

"Bitter bloodstained tears Filling my saddened eyes From personal fears And all once told lies The anger inside Waiting for tomorrow Sinful suicide Wrapped in the cause of sorrow

At the fiery gates With hate I resign Though I'll be forever more Even the dead can die Marching on and on Experience the dismal fate Through the hellish scorn Gather beyond the gates

Reality now slips away Death is the only way The moonlight is my blanket And my bed is the grave Life ends so sadly With tears, pain and grief All my loved ones gone And I'm rotting with belief

And so is life At its end Never to be More again Entered it all With belief A fucking life I never lived

I end my life I fucking kill myself Accept this death With open arms A piercin' pain When I cut it all From life to death I breathe my last breath

And so is life At its end Never to be More again And so is life"

[yoan-le-grall]

[clouds-of-wings]

Just unfollowed Napalm and Nuclear Blast everywhere. It's strange, after following them for like 15 years (on YT at least, where I was before 'other' social media). But the AI crap they like to do still throws me for a loop, and the few good bands they have left aren't worth the feeling of getting punched in the face at random intervals. I had a migraine all day because of this yesterday. Fuck 'em. Not worth it. If they want to destroy the appreciation for human art that their entire business model depends on, they can do it without me. I can still torrent their shit. Since they don't respect intellectual property, I don't have any reason to do so either.

[metalcultbrigade]

Heathen - Empire of the Blind 18/09/2020

[drondskaath]

Suffocation | Hymns From The Apocrypha | 3rd November, 2023

American Brutal Death Metal

Artwork by Remedy Art Design

https://suffocation.bandcamp.com/album/hymns-from-the-apocrypha

[smak-annihilation]

if there is ever a nuclear blast near my house I will open the freezer, take out the lasagna and hide in the middle until the blast is over. Then I will leave the lasagna and put it in the microwave for a few more minutes to make sure it is fully cooked trough