Welcome to Episode 29 of the Loudwire Podcast! This time, we invited Metal Blade Records founder Brian Slagel and The Black Dahlia Murder vocalist Trevor Strnad to talk about Slagel’s new book, For the Sake of Heaviness, which details 35 years of Metal Blade Records.

Metal Blade’s storied history has been told endlessly throughout the decades, especially when it comes to Slagel’s discovery of Metallica, signing Slayer to their first contract and more. In For the Sake of Heaviness, Slagel tells the entire story from his perspective, while some of his most successful artists add their take on the mogul’s legendary career.

Slagel was the man who suggested Cliff Burton when Metallica was looking for its first bassist, but you may not know that Slagel was also the man who recommended Jason Newsted to the thrash legends. He speaks in detail about those conversations before moving on to metal’s dark ages in the ‘90s. Metal Blade actually had no problems staying afloat during the decade even though Slagel refused to sign any nu-metal bands, instead focusing on extreme pioneers like Cannibal Corpse — an investment that has more than paid off in the long run.

As for Strnad, he recalls the moment Metal Blade reached out to sign The Black Dahlia Murder. TBDM was just another act on MySpace at the time, so Slagel reaching out to the group left Strnad completely stunned. As a Metal Blade lifer, Strnad speaks about how Slagel brilliantly walks the line between boss and friend, echoing Slagel’s own sentiments that it’s always music first, friendship second and business third.

Take a listen to Episode 29 of the Loudwire Podcast above! Be sure to subscribe on iTunes and YouTube so you never miss an episode. To grab a copy of For the Sake of Heaviness, click here.

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