Visigoth being released by Swords & Chains Records

[SteelFireRecs]

Yes, Steel & Fire Records has changed names to Swords and Chains Records to avoid any future legal issues with Steel and Fire Webzine. The whole Overlorde thing made me do it, especially with the first release scheduled to come out next month.

We will be releasing the new Visigoth Final Spell EP along with their 2010 demo Vengeance on tape limited to 100 copies. If i was able to uploa photos or knew how to id put the flyer up here but got to our facebook page for it: www.facebook.com/swordsandchains and our new web address: www.swordsandchains.storenvy.com

And yes i realize alot of you dont care about tapes anymore.

 

[Jasonic]

 

[Jasonic]

How much will these tapes cost homeboy?
Cover of "Battle Cry"? Definitely worth a shot!
Post some audio samples if you can.

 

[dcowboys311]

Awesome. Will purchase.

 

[Diabolik]

there has been a bunch of different people talking about this band on Facebook for a while now. I wish you the best of luck but you are realy cutting off a lot of people from their music. Worst case scenario.....do a small pressing of CD-R's or something as well. I have a few demo CDs like that. At least you can get a larger base of people who will buy it. Like myself.

You should talk to mike about getting these guys to play at Ragnarokkr. It would be great promotion for you and the fest gets a newer band with some buzz going on.

They are not bad actaully.








whoops....wrong Visigoths.

 

[dcowboys311]

I wish you the best of luck but you are realy cutting off a lot of people from their music. Worst case scenario.....do a small pressing of CD-R's or something as well. I have a few demo CDs like that. At least you can get a larger base of people who will buy it. Like myself.

Maybe. The same could be said for vinyl-only releases too. There's still a market for tapes, admittedly not as big as for CD or vinyl, but a sizable one nonetheless. I personally love the format.

 

[Diabolik]

HA HA HA HA HA. There is no market for tapes. It is basically all the KIDS who missed that format first time around. I wish Mike the best of luck and I will help him spread the word but coming from a guy who finally updated from tape deck to CD player in my car 2 years ago....tapes are not cool. It is like rise of vinyl again. It is cool and retro so first timers jump at it. It is what it is but a cassette only release will just seem forced for rarity and coolness. It just comes across by trying to be underground for the sake of being underground.

If there was a small pressing of CD-Rs made of this...I would order first thing.

 

[Jasonic]

I do know what Bob means.
At the same token, I am sure it comes down to cost.

This is a re-release of their demos, which were probably originally on CDR-S.

I will check the clips later. Thanks for posting.

Yeah, as far as getting them for the fest, why not?

 

[dcowboys311]

HA HA HA HA HA. There is no market for tapes. It is basically all the KIDS who missed that format first time around. I wish Mike the best of luck and I will help him spread the word but coming from a guy who finally updated from tape deck to CD player in my car 2 years ago....tapes are not cool. It is like rise of vinyl again. It is cool and retro so first timers jump at it. It is what it is but a cassette only release will just seem forced for rarity and coolness. It just comes across by trying to be underground for the sake of being underground.

If there was a small pressing of CD-Rs made of this...I would order first thing.

Really? Then why are there tape-only distros? Why do most distros sell them and constantly order new ones and replenish their stock? Why do pressings of tapes sell out quickly? Maybe YOU don't like tapes but there certainly is a market. Not one as big as vinyl or CD but there is one.

Tapes are great. They're cheap so you can blind-buy without feeling too bad, don't take up much space, sound quality is fine, they look cool, expensive gear isn't necessary, and it's a different listening experience than CDs, vinyl, and mp3s since it's much harder to skip tracks at will.

You might want to go tell Cold Void Emanations, Tour de Garde, Nuclear War Now, Hells Headbangers, Satanic Skinhead Propaganda, Fallen Empire, Necrocosm, Analog Worship, Red Stream, Nuclear Winter, CW Productions, and any other underground label/distro that there's no market for the merch they keep selling out of and while you're at it go to 250+ page threads like this that are nothing but people discussing tapes they got in the mail.

 

[Jasonic]

LOL.............
Don't argue with Bob.
He won't validate any format he doesn't use.

I don't love tapes either, but I know their is a market, esp in DM and black metal.

As for vinyl, while not the most convenient format, NOTHING beats it sonically.
I have recently gotten back into vinyl after being away for over 10 years.
Man, it is so nice to hear non-compressed warm tones, esp for the bottom end.

 

[Jasonic]

I want to know what Bob is going to do when the CD format dies.

 

[Diabolik]

I get what labels and distros are trying to do with cassettes. I just feel that it is trying way to hard to be underground / retro. People buy into it so they can feel KVLT, trying to be so far away from mainstream. In the end it just feels forced. Like going to a high end fashion store to buy retro concert shirts by glam rock bands and having the shirt already washed out. This kind of stuff worked back in the old punk / hardcore days when bands could not afford it and stuff and it was a quick way to get the music out....now a days there are so many other mediums that can your music out.

 

[Jasonic]

True,
I mean this cassette will not be the PRIMARY medium for folks to listen to this band.
Most will listen online or on MP3.
This is for the collectors for the most part, or folks like myself, who will get it just to assist Mike, since he is a nice guy.
I feel sorry for the lad, I mean he is going for an ISU education, so I know his future is sketchy.....

 

[SteelFireRecs]

It'll cost $6.50 plus shipping which should be $3.50 but ill probably do a preorder and save everyone a dollar or so. And im waiting on the license for the Battle Cry cover to go through, so hopefully it does and i get the license back next week and then these will be off to the presses (if i dont get the license then i can't use which will suck but im pretty sure i will).

Yes there is a market for tapes, i dont know how anyone could argue there isn't? If there are still dozens of companies that make them then there is a market, period. And like dcowboys311 said, look at all the tape only labels and the dozens of distros that sell tapes, not only sell but sell out of tapes.

Im not trying to be kvlt or anything, i would love to put stuff out on cd and vinyl but simply can't afford it. A year ago i never wouldve done a tape release but over the past months ive been really liking and digging them thanks to bands like Amulet, Imperial Cross, Metal Grave, Convent Guilt, Demon Bitch, and many more. After 2 years of doing label work, i dont want to be just a distro anymore, i want to do releases and if that means by getting music out via tape ill do it. If anyone wants give me a free $1,500 ill be happy to do a cd release and give them executive producer credits and a free handful of the cds

These were never officially released before, they just burned them onto cdrs and handed them out for free at shows. Ill see if the guys would maybe would want to do a run of pro cd-rs but i'll see what happens. I know they have something brewing for the Final Spell EP with a certain label but im not saying anything until its confirmed.

They would be great for Ragnarokkr, great! I suggested them a earlier this year for 2013 on this forumn but not many other people seemed to say anything about them. Id love to see em out here in 2013.

 

[Jasonic]

I used to do a 7" only label.
Trust me, I know it isn't cheap!!!!!!
I have boxes full of unsold stock in my crawlspace as we speak.
To me it was always about putting out product at a cost where people will actually check it out.

So few people purchase CDs these days (Sorry Bob, but this is fact).

It would be very hard (IE - operating on RAZOR thin margins, even if they sell out), to release a reasonably priced CD, esp for a new unknown band.

What's great with modern technology is that young bands can self release stuff on CDR.

Honestly, aside from an established label with a budget to do so, I don't see why anyone would press a silver CD.

Yeah, maybe if this does really well, you could generate some cash flow to do a second press on CDR.
Then Bob will have something to listen to on his discman on the way to work!!!!!!!!!

 

[Jasonic]

Their singer looks like Bam Bam Bigelow's (RIP) lost brother!!!!!

 

[modernwizardry]

Hey any way to get the music out is good. I downloaded the mp3s from bandcamp and it sounds good. I'll try to order the tape when they come out. I have a tape deck at home (though not hooked up at the moment) and in my car.

Bob - at least he is not releasing it on reel to reel

 

[DMR]

coming from a guy who finally updated from tape deck to CD player in my car 2 years ago....tapes are not cool.

I still haven't done this. But I don't like tapes either. I realized they were an inferior format when I was 14 and my copy of Gwar's Scumdogs of the Universe got screwed up a month after I bought it.

 

[Diabolik]

Hey any way to get the music out is good. I downloaded the mp3s from bandcamp and it sounds good. I'll try to order the tape when they come out. I have a tape deck at home (though not hooked up at the moment) and in my car.

Bob - at least he is not releasing it on reel to reel

We finally got rid of out reel to reel at work....some radio stations were still using it up to a year or so ago.

 

[Diabolik]

I still haven't done this. But I don't like tapes either. I realized they were an inferior format when I was 14 and my copy of Gwar's Scumdogs of the Universe got screwed up a month after I bought it.

I have had a few tapes snap or just not work in my car anymore. It is just an inferior product. I could go into the whole history of why it lasted and VHS as long as it did but I dont want to bore any of you.

But for the last time....I GET it why people seem to want to get back to cassettes but in reality....it is something I am not going to go back to. You should see all the VHS collectors now and acting like it was this great thing...oh yeah...most are kids who grew up with DVD as a main format and VHS was just something that was already almost gone. There are labels out there now who will release a small print run of VHS movies of current stuff for colloectors and stuff. I just dont like how things are made to be made collectable. The reason things are collectable or rare is because it was fate that made it that way. When pressings of some obscure metal band in the 80s were pressed limited it wasnt because they were hoping down the line 30 years that it would be worth hundreds....it just what it was.

I just think for a new label to start off that way will project an image of trying to be a collector / KVLT thing. Even though I know mike is not that way.