Metal Monday: Art of the Label Sampler

posted in: Features • Rock

If you have ordered a metal CD online within the last couple years, there’s a fair chance it came with a bonus CD that you did not ask for. More times than not, the distributor or label sends out sampler albums, which often feature musical gems that you would have otherwise been unaware of.

The sampler CD can be hit-or-miss, however. Labels such as Listenable Records (based in France) have a stable full of artists from all different extreme metal styles, so there’s a good chance that if you knew who Gojira were you still wouldn’t have a clue about some of their other label mates, such as Ultra Vomit. In the summer of 2008, Listenable sent out a sampler CD crammed with 19 great songs from their highest profile artists such as Immolation, Gojira, Hacride, Aborted, and more”that’s 19 great free metal songs. How can you not like that?

There’s also the perennial Victory Metal Memorial Day Sampler”usually around 10 songs from Victory Records metal bands released every Memorial Day consisting of the 10 most popular and recent metal singles from various Victory Metal bands. Because Victory Records has a much smaller stable of metal acts than Listenable does, the scope and size of their sampler isn’t as large”but it’s still free!

For some labels, such as Sumerian Records, a label sampler doesn’t really offer them a whole lot of benefit. Sumerian Records is known for a very distinct sound that lumps all their bands into a metalcore niche known as “Sumeriancore.” Combine this with a less-than-full (but quality) roster and you’ve pretty much eliminated the need for a label sampler.

The next time you find yourself staring into the face of a CD full of songs you don’t know by artists you’ve never heard of, check it out! You never know what you’ll find on a sampler CD”it might be your new favorite band.