- MeteorCity
-
MeteorCity 
Parent company All That is Heavy Founded 1997 Founder Jadd Shickler
Aaron EmmelStatus Active Distributor(s) All That is Heavy
Cobraside DistributionGenre stoner rock, doom, sludge, drone, psych Country of origin United States Location Tendoy, Idaho[1] Official Website meteorcity.com MeteorCity Records is an American record label based in Idaho. MeteorCity was founded in 1997 by Jadd Shickler and Aaron Emmel in Albuquerque, New Mexico. With the release of its compilation album Welcome to MeteorCity showcasing young unsigned Kyuss-like bands, MeteorCity helped launch the stoner rock genre and many of the genre's first bands, plus side projects from members of well-known bands including The Atomic Bitchwax and Hermano. From 2007 through the present the label has been owned and operated by All That is Heavy as their in-house record label.[2] All That is Heavy is the first online record store dedicated exclusively to stoner rock, doom, sludge, drone and psych.[3]
Contents
History
MeteorCity was founded in September of 1997[3] by Jadd Shickler (of band Spiritu) and Aaron Emmel in Albuquerque, New Mexico.[4] The first incarnation was an online store called All That's Heavy, which sold hard-to-find releases by stoner rock bands Kyuss, Monster Magnet, and Fu Manchu. They soon expanded the catalog to include artists that stylistically fit with the first three bands.[3]
After running the online store for about half a year, they were contacted by the former proprietor for the first Kyuss fan website. He recommended MeteorCity do a compilation of unsigned bands that Kyuss fans would enjoy.[5] MeteorCity Records was formed, and the result of the suggestion was the compilation Welcome to MeteorCity,[4] which was released in May of that year.[3] The compilation included both established desert and stoner rock acts, including new bands established by John Garcia of Kyuss (now in Unida), Ed Mundell of Monster Magnet, and Pete Stahl. The album was the first time that the bands Sixty Watt Shaman, Lowrider, The Atomic Bitchwax, Dozer, Goatsnake, Drag Pack, and Los Natas were heard on a record.[3] According to MeteorCity founders,
"When this was happening, there wasn't really a [stoner rock] scene yet, there were just a lot of people around the world who were still sad about the end of Kyuss, as well as the end of Slo Burn, and who listened to stuff like Monster Magnet and Fu Manchu but wanted more. The label took off when we appeared with Welcome To Meteor City, as though the world was waiting for someone to do what we were doing."[5]Around this time a MeteorCity intern purportedly coined the term desert rock to describe the burgeoning genre, which is still used interchangeably with the more known descriptor "stoner rock". Stoner rock originates from the title of the 1997 Roadrunner Records compilation Burn One Up! Music for Stoners.[3]
After the first compilation was released, that summer the label received a call from customer Henry Vasquez, who had the members of the band Nebula in his store. The bandmembers, which included founding Fu Manchu members Eddie Glass (guitar) and Ruben Romano (drums), had asked to talk with them. The band agreed to release their EP on MeteorCity, and MeteorCity offered to fund the band's recording session with Jack Endino. The result was MeteorCity's second release, the Nebula/Lowrider EP, which also featured tracks by Swedish band Lowrider. In 1999, the label released Unida/Dozer, a joint EP featuring the first non-compilation tracks by Unida and Swedish band Dozer.[5]
The label soon signed a number of musicians and bands from the Palm Desert Scene of desert rock, such as Hermano and Unida, both featuring former Kyuss frontman John Garcia. They have also released albums by The Atomic Bitchwax, which features Monster Magnet guitarist Ed Mundell, and the The Hidden Hand and Spirit Caravan led by Obsessed/St. Vitus guitarist Scott "Wino" Weinreich. In 2002 they released the first album by the Orquesta Del Desierto, which featured key members of the major desert rock bands.
Change of ownership
As the scene continued to develop, the popular website StonerRock.com was launched by Dan Beland in 1999. The website became a central community hub for heavy music artists and fans.[6] In March of 2001, MeteorCity licensed StonerRock.com to take over management and operations of All That's Heavy. All That's Heavy's catalog grew to become the largest online store of stoner rock, doom, sludge, drone and psych. MeteorCity in turn began to focus more on the label. All That's Heavy was officially sold to Dan and Melanie Beland of StonerRock.com on May 15, 2004,[3] and renamed All That is Heavy.[4]
In 2007, Shickler and Emmel sold MeteorCity Records to the Belands as well. Their farewell release was a three disc compilation disc titled ...And Back to Earth Again. [4] MeteorCity moved to Tendoy, Idaho,[1] and continued to release albums by new bands, including full LPs from Black Pyramid, Elder, Snail and Freedom Hawk, among others.[4] In 2010 StonerRock.com was taken offline, and MeteorCity Records became the official label for All That is Heavy.[1]
Artists
- Abdullah
- Ararat
- The Atomic Bitchwax
- Black NASA
- Blind Dog
- Black Pyramid
- Dead Man
- Dozer
- Egypt
- Eighteen Wheels Burning
- Elder
- Eternal Elysium
- Farflung
- Flood
- Freedom Hawk
- Gallery of Mites
- Hermano
- The Hidden Hand
- Humo Del Cairo
- Leeches of Lore
- Let the Night Roar
- Los Natas
- Lowrider
- Misdemeanor
- The Mushroom River Band
- Nebula
- New Keepers of The Water Towers
- Nightstalker
- The Obsessed
- Olde Growth
- Orquesta del Desierto
- The Quill
- The Ribeye Brothers
- SardoniS
- Scene Killer
- Snail
- Solace
- Solarized
- Spirit Caravan
- Spiritu
- Truckfighters
- Unida
- Valkyrie
- Village of Dead Roads
- WhiteBuzz
Release history
Year No. Artist Title 1998 MCY-001 Various (Sixty Watt Shaman, Sparzanza, Fatso Jetson, The Atomic Bitchwax, Rotors to Rust, Demoncleaner, Goatsnake, Drag Pack, Lowrider, Roadsaw, Sheavy, Dozer, Los Natas, JM.J, Core, Celestial Season, etc.) Welcome to MeteorCity FMC-001 Solace, Solarized Jersey Devils Double EP MCY-002
MCY-004Nebula, Lowrider Nebula/Lowrider 1999 MCY-003
MCY-005Unida, Dozer Unida/Dozer MCY-006 Five Wheel Drive Misdemeanor MCY-007 Spirit Caravan Dreamwheel 2000 MCY-008 The Quill The Quill MCY-009 Various (Electric Frankenstein, Solace, Sebastian Bach, Zébulon, Iron Savior, Las Cruces, Eternal Elysium, The Quill, Blind Dog, etc.) Slave to the Power - The Iron Maiden Tribute MCY-010 Solace Further MCY-011 Eternal Elysium Spiritualized D MCY-012 Lowrider Ode to Io MCY-013 The Mushroom River Band Music for the World Beyond MCY-014 Abdullah Abdullah MCY-015 Blind Dog The Last Adventures of Captain Dog 2001 MCY-016 Various (Lowrider, Eternal Elysium, Sheavy, The Awesome Machine, etc.) I Am Vengeance Soundtrack MCY-017 Scene Killer (Members of The Atomic Bitchwax, Burnout King, Core, Daisycutter, Drag Pack) Scene Killer MCY-018 Solarized Driven 2002 MCY-019 Eternal Elysium Share MCY-020 The Atomic Bitchwax Spit Blood MCY-021 The Ribeye Brothers If I Had a Horse MCY-022 Orquesta Del Desierto Orquesta Del Desierto MCY-023 Nebula Dos EPs MCY-024 The Mushroom River Band Simsalabim 2003 MCY-025 Spiritu Spiritu 2002 MCY-026 Abdullah Graveyard Poetry 2003 MCY-027 Solace 13 MCY-028 Gallery of Mites Bugs on the Bluefish MCY-029 Blind Dog Captain Dog Rides Again 2004 MCY-030 The Hidden Hand Divine Propaganda 2003 MCY-031 Spirit Caravan The Last Embrace 2004 MCY-032 Orquesta del Desierto Dos MCY-033 Black NASA Deuce MCY-034 The Hidden Hand, Wooly Mammoth Night Letters MCY-035 Hermano Dare I Say... 2005 MCY-036 The Atomic Bitchwax 3 2006 MCY-037 Spiritu / Village of Dead Roads Human Failures MCY-038 The Obsessed Lunar Womb MCY-039 The Atomic Bitchwax Boxriff 2007 MCY-040 Various (Solace, The Atomic Bitchwax, Unida, Lowrider, Blind Dog, Dozer, Black NASA, Cosmosquad, Las Cruces, Spiritu, I am Droid, Truckfighters, etc.) ...And Back to Earth Again - Ten Years of MeteorCity 2008 MCY-041 Farflung A Wound in Eternity MCY-042 Dead Man Dead Man MCY-043 Elder Elder MCY-044 Eighteen Wheels Burning Tweak'd Out, Strung up and Redlined 2009 MCY-045 Nightstalker Superfreak MCY-046 Freedom Hawk Freedom Hawk MCY-047 Leeches of Lore Leeches of Lore MCY-048 New Keepers of the Water Towers Chronicles MCY-049 Black Pyramid Black Pyramid MCY-050 Snail Blood 2008 MCY-051 Let the Night Roar Let the Night Roar 2009 MCY-052 Flood Native 2010 MCY-053 Valkyrie Valkyrie MCY-054 Valkyrie Man of Two Visions 2009 MCY-055 Ararat Musica de la Resistencia MCY-056 Village of Dead Roads Desolation Will Destroy You MCY-057 Whitebuzz Book of Whyte MCY-058 Egypt Egypt 2010 MCY-059 Humo Del Cairo Humo del Cairo 2011 MCY-060 New Keepers of the Water Towers The Calydonian Hunt 2010 MCY-061 SardoniS Sardonis 2010 MCY-063 Dozer In the Tail of a Comet / Madre de Dios MCY-064 Farflung Live at Roadburn 2009 MCY-065 Olde Growth Olde Growth 2010 MCY-666 Various (Crushed Skulls, Flood, Egypt, Whitebuzz, SardoniS, Ararat, Freedom Hawk, Elder, Farflung, Black Pyramids, etc.) Welcome Back to MeteorCity 2011 MCY-066 Elder Dead Roots Stirring 2012 MCY-067 Black Pyramid II Year No. Artist Title 1999 MCY-999 The Atomic Bitchwax Atomic Bitchwax I 2005 MCY-998 Solace Further (reissue) MCY-997 Unida, Dozer Unida/Dozer (reissue) MCY-996 Truckfighters Gravity X 2006 MCY-995 Village of Dead Roads Dwelling in Doubt 2007 MCY-994 Los Natas El Universo Perdido De Los Natas 2008 MCY-993 The Atomic Bitchwax Tab 4 References
- ^ a b c Van Horn, Jnr., Ray (September 26, 2009). "Label Spotlight: Meteor City Records". The Metal Minute. http://rayvanhornjr.blogspot.com/2009/09/label-spotlight-meteor-city-records.html. Retrieved 2011-08-26.
- ^ "Distributed Record Labels". All That is Heavy. http://www.allthatisheavy.com/distributed_record_labels.asp. Retrieved 2011-08-26.
- ^ a b c d e f g "News: StonerRock.com and MeteorCity Part Ways". Bravewords.com. May 19, 2004. http://www.bravewords.com/news/13824. Retrieved 2011-08-26.
- ^ a b c d e "Where to Start: MeteorCity". The Obelisk. http://theobelisk.net/obelisk/2011/07/08/meteorcitywts/. Retrieved 2011-08-26.
- ^ a b c Smith, Todd K.. "Meteor City". The Cutting Edge. http://www.cuttingedgerocks.com/Meteor.html. Retrieved 2011-08-26.
- ^ Christian, von (August 26, 2009). "MeteorCity: Play it Very Loud!". Metal Glory. http://www.metalglory.de/interviews.php?nr=708. Retrieved 2011-08-26.
Further reading
External links
Categories:- American record labels
- Doom metal record labels
- Companies based in New Mexico
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
