For a very long time; labels like Repulse Records and Morbid Records was the only European labels who seriously released Death Metal and Grind Core. But after Black Metal started to become more commercial and melodic; some pure Death Metal and Grind Core labels has started to appear again. Perhaps the most promising of these labels, are Erebos Production from Slovakia. Their album with Sanatorium was pure fucking brilliant.
We caught up with Martin for a label profile.
1. Please give us a brief history of your life until you started Erebos Production.
I am 24 years old, I started to listen metal music in about 1987 and I am totally addicted to brutal death metal and death/grind for years... I finished university few months ago, but I decided to concentrate my attention on label after it... I play actively in Sanatorium and together with label, girlfriend, alcohol, weed etc it is my whole life.
2. Why and when did you start Erebos Production ? Why did you choose that name ?
I think it was sometime in spring 1996 with my friend Peter... we had big ideas about started first only small demo/zines distribution, but after few month it was still bigger and bigger as here in our region was total lack of similar activities... I think the name comes from some book of Lovecraft, it is some mountain in his fantastic world... We started with Erebos due to lack of opportunities to buy stuff here, many people used to order them for expensive prices from foreign labels... And we had a lot of free time too.
3. Please give us a list of your releases. Please present these releases for us.
It would be very long I think and maybe I will forget something, but OK:
ere 001 Sanatorium "Autumn Shadows" MC - december 96 - death metal
ere 002 Sanatorium "Autumn Shadows" 7"EP - may 97, co-release with VIew Beyond Records - sold out
ere 003 Biotech "Eayes full of blood" 7"EP - summer 97 - death metal - sold out
ere 004 Psychoparadox "Labyrinths..." MC - autumn 97 - death/black metal - sold out
ere 005 Daybreak "???" (I donīt remember the name, shit) MC - end of 97 - technical death metal - sold out
ere 006 MORGAIN "Frostbitten nakedness" CD/MC - summer 98 - doom/gothic, our first CD - CD sold out, MC still available
ere 007 Suffocate "Exit 64" MC - summer 98 - death/grind
ere 008 Sanatorium "Necrologue" MC - summer 98 - death metal
ere 009 THEMGOROTH "Highway into the unknown" CD/MC - spring 99 - black/doom
ere 010 V.E.C./Vnutromaternicovy Kanibalizmus split MC/T-shirt - spring 99 - grind core
ere 011 SANATORIUM "Arrival of the forgotten ones" CD/MC/T-shirt - summer 99 - death metal
ere 012 SURGICAL DISSECTION "The inborn malignance" CD/MC/T-shirt - autumn 99 - death/grind
ere 013 Mysterious Eclipse "Deathwings" MC - spring 2000 - death/black metal
ere 014 OBLITERATE "The feelings" CD/MC/T-shirt - summer 2000 - grind core/HC
ere 015 Bizarre of Brutality "Metaphor" MC - death metal
ere 016 EMBOLISM "and we all hate ourselves" CD/MC/T-shirt - summer 2000 - grind core
ere 017 DEEDS OF FLESH "Path of weakening" CD/MC/T-shirt - summer 2000 - brutal death metal
ere 018 DISGORGE "She lay gutted" CD/MC/T-shirt - summer 2000 - sickening death/grind
ere 019 SUFFOCATE "Lustforheaven" CD/MC/T-shirt - brutal grind/HC/death metal
ere 020 Haemorrhage/Embolism/Suffocate/Obliterate 4-way split 7"EP/T-shirt - summer 2000 - grind core
ere 021 LIVIDITY "Age of clitorial decay" CD/MC/T-shirt - autumn 2000 - porn/gore/death
4. Please tell us more about the festivals and the other activities you are involved in.
I organise many gigs here in Slovakia or Czech... I did shows and tour dates for bands like Lividity, Sepsism, Centinex, Skinless, Haemrrhage etc... We do here in our town cult UG festival called SHITFEST. It is regularly about 5-6 times a year... Now in Zilina will play bands like Napalm Death, Nasum, Disgorge etc... Next year I wanna do tour for Lividity in Europe.
5. Please give us an update on the Slovak metal scene.
I think Slovak scene is OK, not very big, only few bands from here are a little known abroad - maybe Dementor, Depresy, Sanatorium + I work on Erebos bands to push them out from this small state... We have only few labels like Metal Age or Immortal Souls who are not the best for me, I see many mistakes in their work during the years... We have a lot of dedicated fans, on good bands are always several hundreds fans... The problem is that we donīt have any metal magazine here, just few small zines, radios are commercially oriented and only few regional radios have some metal airplay 1-2 hours a week late in the night...
6. What is the advantages and disadvantages being based in Slovakia ?
Well, I like to be here, Slovakia is Ok country, but many people thinks that all bands from east Europe sux and labels are rip-off. Thatīs the reality. It is more hard for our bands or labels to take some attention from foreign media or people, but I donīt care. Still better to be in Slovakia and support our favourite music like be in Germany and release tons of shitty power metal excrements. We have here all communication possibilities like internet, fax, cellar phones as some people thinks that we live in caves or something like that... we are not Russia...
7. What is your views on the Death Metal/Grind Core scene in the Eastern Europe ??
I think it is OK, I like many bands from Czech, Poland, Slovakia... Personally I am very much into US brutal death metal, thatīs my style of music, but we have plenty of promising bands here... In Czech is very active grind core scene, bands like Ingrowing, Malignant Tumour etc...
8. How is the distribution of underground metal in Slovakia ??
Only few shops are open to metal music, but we prefer to sell stuff through mail-order, internet and on concerts and festivals. Big metal labels are of course distributed through shops, you can find things like Iron Maiden or Gamma Ray everywhere, but UG stuff like gore/grind/death metal is only through Erebos mailorder and soon all Slovak people will have a lot opportunities to order it through our web, we are slowly establish also credit card ordering...
9. Do you have any plans starting up a more record shop focused distribution service in Slovakia ?
No, we donīt have any plans in this direction, we donīt want to on the eyes of "normal" people, it is good to stay in UG and for only dedicated fans... For our customers it is always better to order directly through us as it is much cheaper than in shops...
10. There is a general, very stereotype impression that the Eastern Europe metal musicians are poor and do second rate music. This impression was created from Polish bands like Dragon and Turbo. What is the
truth ?
Yes, thatīs true. It is problem for musicians from here to buy quality instruments... in Western Europe you can buy from month salary all what you need for start a band, but here.... ugggg. Almost nothing. Many our bands use second-rate guitars, terrible effects and thatīs it. But musicians are same like everywhere I think.
11. To follow up this question; is the Eastern Europe Metal scene now accepted in the world wide metal scene ?
I donīt think so, only few bands like Vader or Krabathor has some attention in metal scene, but most of East European bands are taken like shit without any chance to change it as almost nobody is buying their stuff...
12. How are the Slovak media dealing with the underground metal scene in Slovakia ?
I wrote something in previous answer about radios and thatīs probably all... Maybe some regional newspapers can help with promotion of concerts, but thatīs all... But I think it is OK, still better like nothing and metal is totally in deep underground here and thatīs great, I like it.
13. What is your view on the MP 3 revolution ? Do you regard this as threat to your livelihood ?
Well, I donīt like MP3 personally and I have never downloaded any fucking MP3 yet. Maybe it is unbelievable.... I donīt care if somebody does it this way or not, it is danger more for major labels like for UG labels like Erebos I think, but who knows? MAybe soon it will destroy every kind of music business, all people will just sit at the monitor and listen MP3s... hehe.
14. Please tell us more about your website and how much it means for Erebos Production.
We have finally registered our own domain and we are working hard on it. It is not easy to register credit card online secure shop for East European company, but we have finally done it and in few days we start our online shop with the most disgusting metal and core CDs... On our old web we had over 7000 visitor... it helps us with spreading info about gigs and our bands of course, so it is very important. I canīt imagine to return back and do label just through fliers and advertisements...
15. What is your future release plans and other plans for Erebos Productions ?
Well, nothing special, we are just doing what we like to support good bands and we will do that till the time there would be good bands and people who are interested in them... We donīt have any new bands signed yet, so we are looking for brutal death metal and grind core promising bands...
16. Any final comments ???
Thanx a lot for your interest, please email us and ask for our catalogue or jsut check out our web, sign a guestbook and write your e-mail address to mailing list...
Thanx