I was browsing the Distro Review thread (which didn't that used to be stickied?) and among the many dead links and distro/labels that are no longer around, I ended up clicking on The End Records and holy shit what a fucking travesty. The first artist on their roster is fucking Alient Ant Farm? Better Than Ezra? I remember in the early 2000's, The End Records was home to quite a few experimental metal bands, and a few are still on there, but now it's full of 90s has-beens and singer-songwriters SO! In your opinion, what are some labels (or even distros) that have fallen from grace?
Century Media has completely taken a shit. Before the US store had most of the releases and had a cool distro and clearance section. Now they only stock the most popular releases and they're fucking expensive as shit. ($22.98 for a single lp and 12.98-14.98 for cds) They dont stock most of the colored vinyls so you're just better off to buy from amazon, it'll be cheaper and you wont have to pay shipping.
Razorback Records used to be such a good label, now they're just a sad mediocre version of their former self.
that end records roster is seriously remarkable. is their M.O. to sign as many bands who became irrelevant 15 years ago as possible?
This and Roadrunner don't surprise me. I have a feeling that some of the label/distro vanguards from the early 2000s have gone downhill
Hasn’t Earache gone to shit to some extent also? I remember skimming a few articles about artists that had been fucked by them.
Earache's new band signings are pretty abysmal. I give them a pass because they keep their old important releases in print and affordable for the most part. They're guilty of 10 different random vinyl colors per release too, which shouldnt matter really... but the colors that look the best with a release are always the most limited and sell out instantly. I have a bright pink copy of Nocturnus - The Key. Why the fuck pink? One stupid thing about earache is that their "US Store" is located in the UK. Not kidding.
A lot of horseshit, but there's some good ones in there. Jethro Tull, Karl Sanders, Krokus, Fear, The Zombies (yes, those Zombies, the same Zombies who rival The Beatles).
They did. Century is basically a handful of underground legends like Coroner, Dark Funeral, and Napalm Death, and then a whole lot of nobodies roster wise right now.