Relapse Records is inarguably one of the most well respected and most important record labels, not only in metal, but all underground music. It seems incredible how already this year Relapse celebrates its 25th anniversary.
On the label's bandcamp there is this epic compilation called Relapse Records: 25 Years of Contamination, including 184 tracks spanning their history from the early 90s until today and it's available for name-your-price download or totally free. From the death metal drenched early days of bands like Incantation and Deceased, through the grounbreaking acts like Neurosis, Mastodon and High On Fire, to our currently favourites Nothing, this release features about every band Relapse ever released, so grabbing this is really a no-brainer.
Relapse's founder Matt Jacobson has to say about the occassion:
In 1990 I started Relapse as a teenager in my parents’ basement. It was a dream with a simple mission: to share the music that I was so passionate about with as many people as possible. Over the course of 25 years we have had the honor of working with a diverse array of amazing artists and releasing a vast catalog of incredible records that includes numerous influential and genre defining albums. We are very proud that we have been able to bring the music that we love to a global audience.
On that same bandcamp page you get the chance to grab some great looking limited merch and make sure to keep an eye on the silver vinyl reissues (pun intended for the "silver anniversary") including classic titles from Nile, Bedemon, Zombi as well as new titles from Torche, Primitive Man, Minsk and with much more releases to be announced for the series throughout 2015.
Download the 184-track sampler
Relapse: 25
ZR