There may very well be some other stuff going on that I’m not aware of, but I fully expect 2020 to go down in history as the year Clobber Records unleashed hell.
We had a bloody strong start to the year; releasing two incredible debut albums. Firstly, the symphonic black metal majesty of Argesk’s ‘Realm of Eternal Night’ and then the no nonsense black thrash attack from Devastator’s ‘Baptised In Blasphemy’. We also released a groove-laden black metal masterpiece in the form of Shadowflag’s fourth album ‘In Asylum Requiem’.
It’s been a mad few months – we’ve never sold so much stock and gained so many new followers. At the same time, we’ve not been able to meet as a team. It’s been many months since I’ve seen my business partner’s bedraggled face. I’m not going to say that our success is necessarily related to the fact that we haven’t been able to partake in our traditional business meeting, where we sit in one of Birmingham’s grotty pubs until I inevitably take a tumble down a train station escalator, but it’s hard to ignore the correlation.
So where do we go from here? We are looking for our next big release, but what does that look like? And what advice can we give anyone thinking of submitting music to Clobber Records?
A labour of love
Eww. There’s no place for love in extreme metal – everyone knows that – but, when it comes to Clobber, we’re all about the love. There isn’t a lot (or any) money to be made from underground extreme metal. Sorry to shatter any illusions that you might be under that we’re living the high life on our Clobber millions! We hand select releases that we can be passionate about. We plough a lot of our own time and money into the music we release so it’s important for us that it’s music we believe in.
Don’t send us a release that you’ve churned out in your bedroom in a day. It’s understandable that recently many musicians have had a lot of extra free time to work on their craft but if you can’t be bothered to spend a few months working on a release, why should we? Take your time with your music, give it room to breathe and develop. There’s a lot more to music making than simply making music. Spend time developing your project. Submit it to us when it’s ready.
Unique and bold
There may be a place for generic, derivative or uninteresting music but that isn’t here at Clobber Records. We’re not elitist. We’re very open to a broad spectrum of styles, but essentially, we’re looking for interesting releases to sink our teeth into. Please don’t submit a note-for-note cover of ’De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas’. This goes back to our previous point about selecting music we can be passionate about – if your music doesn’t light a fire in our cold dead hearts, then we’re going to struggle to sell it to our discerning customers.
Not every release deserves to have label backing. It’s hard to be subjective with your creation but before hitting send on your submission ask yourself; does this deserve a place alongside the rest of the Clobber roster? If you’re new to music making, it might be that you’d do better to practise your craft and perhaps self-release your work until you’re label-ready.
Don’t be a dick
If I’ve learnt anything, it’s that UK extreme metal is absolutely choc full of ‘characters’. Some of them happen to be my closest friends. When we add a band to our roster, we ask them to sign a contract for at least a year and we work very closely with them on the presentation and promotion of their release. This working relationship can make or break a release – so we think carefully before taking the plunge.
We want to enjoy working with our artists and for them to enjoy working with us. Be passionate, reliable and support your brothers and sisters in extreme metal. Oh and wear big sunglasses! Very important.
Still interested?
Head to our submissions page.