Countless times each and every one of you have heard hundreds of perspectives on the metal world from the huge plethora of bands that make the metal world tick. However, for something different I thought it would be interesting reading if I took some time out to chat with Chris from Retribute Records, manager and day-to-day desk-boy, about the scene. Chris is a pretty humble and down to earth fellow. He's no-nonsense with a good outlook on life, and was kind enough to answer my questions concerning metal trends, new releases on his label, the realities of running a label and heaps of other good metal shit that you wouldn't get to hear about from your average metal band.

Jack 'Odel'


How did it all begin for Retribute? Why metal? A passion for the music, a cunning marketing ploy?

Hi Jack. I've had plans for running my own label for years and had always been working towards it ever since I got heavily into music in my teens. Retribute finally came about in late 1999, not too long after I'd finished up university and thought to myself 'It's either now or never.'

I've loved metal and brutal music since I first heard Iron Maiden when I was 12 or 13. From there my tastes expanded out to all forms of metal and brutal music, so I think the concentration of the label was always going to be metal or related to metal. I missed out on the clever marketing bit, though. I should have signed J-Lo instead, really! [Laughs]!

Retribute has quickly worked its way up to being a record company that is releasing an album every couple of months. Do you want Retribute to eventually get to the stage of releasing multiple albums every month, obviously not compromising quality for quantity?

Yes, definitely, but as you said you always have to keep an ear on the quality. That's always been the main focus of Retribute, to take quality over quantity. Sometimes there just don't seem to be any bands that I'm hearing that fit the bill for me, so a lot of times the release-schedule is completely dependent on that. That said though, more often than not it works the other way around. I just don't have the resources to release all the bands that I love that come along at once. It would be great to get to a point with the label where that wasn't a problem and I could just go with everything that I liked.

The most noticeable feature of the bands on your roster is that there is an undeniable fire within the belly of each band, and this translates to records that have seen the light via Retribute Records. I mean, perhaps there might be a few negative musical nuances or inconsistencies here and there, but overall there seems to be a real desire from each act to provide something new every time. Do you agree with this?

Whether a band is creating a new style, adding a new twist to a genre, or just adding their take on something that already exists, the main thing I look for is that they do it with conviction. That's what I've always found the most impressive when listening to bands. I love a lot of bands that are far from doing anything new, but they take a style and make it their own and that's what really matters to me, and I think all the bands on Retribute do that. I think I'm really lucky to have worked with the bands that I have, as I think they all add something unique to the landscape of extreme metal and as they all, to me, have such unique personalities and that's really important to me. I'm not a big fan of experimentation in music for experimentation's sake (though it's always awesome to see a band take chances and pull it off) as it can often sound contrived, so I'm mainly looking for bands that are involved in the styles that I like and do it extremely well. As I said though, I think I'm lucky to have found bands that have injected all of their own personalities into metal.

How do you see the current metal scene? From a media standpoint the metal scene is a constant state of moving forward, and I don't really view it as slowing down for quite some time.

I always find it really hard to be objective, seeing as I'm so involved in it, so obviously it's a huge presence in my daily life. I have no real feel for what metal means to the 'outside' world. However, as you mentioned, from a media standpoint things do seem to have exploded again over the past few years, as the thrust of nu-metal into the public eye seems to have gradually filtered down to some degree to more exposure for 'underground' styles of metal. It seems to ebb and flow though, but hopefully there's an increase in the amount of people staying into this music after the media leaves it each time. As you said though, this time it does feel different and metal seems to have staked it's place very firmly in the mainstream now in a way that hasn't happened in years.

You work in the UK. Do you think it would be easier running your Retribute if you were living in a larger metal country? Sweden/Germany for instance...

Maybe, I don't know. As with the above question it's hard to think objectively as someone in those countries may have encountered all the same problems as I have. Overall though, a lot of great metal has always come out of the UK and the scene seems to be on the up at the moment, so I'm definitely proud of it from a heritage point of view.

Mike Bohatch has been doing some truly remarkable artwork for some Retribute acts (Visceral Bleeding and Imperious, most recently). Is he an artist you intend to recommend your bands to use in the future for their album coverart/imagery? Is there a special link between Retribute and Mike?

Yes. Mike's artwork has been great but it's been largely up to the bands whether or not they choose him. Visceral Bleeding were the first to introduce me to his work and then when Imperious were looking for stuff for their record, we tossed around some ideas and Mike came up again and they really liked the picture they saw that eventually became their front cover. For every release we throw around ideas for design and art and Mike will always be included in that list as he's a great artist.

Retribute runs with essentially the whole breadth of metal genres, except power metal (unless there are some special power metal acts lined up in the future). How come the Retribute power metal fans are yet to see their spandex clad warrior heroes sign up to Retribute for some releases under your label? Is the power metal scene something you don't want to get into, or is it a case of not really finding an act that fits your roster yet?

I don't know really. I never set out to cover every genre, just as I never set out to limit the label's signing policy, so I would never say 'I need a so and so band now so I must find one.' It's just whatever comes up that I like I sign. I'm a big fan of quite a lot of power metal but yeah, nothing has come up recently that I thought about signing.

One thing I have noticed in this past year particularly is that there seems to be a phenomenal amount of artists/bands that have released albums in 2002, but are due to release an album at the end of this year. What are your thoughts on this from a label perspective? Is this merely a reaction to the constant twists and turns of the metal industry or perhaps a response to the increasing label pressure for their artists to release more albums in shorter turn-around time?

I don't know how other labels work it, but I just release another album by a band when they feel that they want to do it. A year usually seems about the right length of time before airing new songs. From a fan's perspective I've never been into having to wait year after year to hear new stuff from my favorite bands and Retribute operates under the same criteria. Obviously I would never force a band to write a new record within a year if they didn't feel like doing it or just didn't have the songs. That's not the way I work at all. But if I speak to the guys in the band and they say 'We have a heap of new songs that we'd really like to record' and it's a reasonable time lapse (for example, at the moment I would never feel comfortable leaving it less than 11-12 months before doing a new record, because I need at least a year to properly market and distribute a record) then I would never say, 'Sit on them for 2 years and then we might think about doing another record.' It's natural for the bands that I work with to do another record when it feels right.

Tell me, how tough it is to be a smaller label and striving to find recognition in a field which is literally saturated with as many labels as there are metal acts (well maybe I am exaggerating a little)?

It's always going to be tough being one of the smaller guys, but that happens in every area of life and it's to be totally expected. You can't expect to burst onto the scene and gain instant recognition. I suppose if you have tons of cash you can find some way to buy initial hype, but that won't last long if there's nothing to back it up. The big guys are there because of years of putting the time in, working hard and releasing great records. Unless you're willing to do the same you won't get there. Hopefully, as the years progress and we get more and more great releases under our belts, the recognition will come for the label as a place for quality heavy music.

When bands first send you in their demos for consideration, do you look at the entire package when listening to what they have to offer? Does the way they have presented their biography, creativity in lyrics etc, etc. all factor into your thinking when considering bands? Would an unsigned act with no other information aside from their contact details, but with phenomenal talent stand as much chance to get signed as a band with slightly less music talent/creativity, but that takes the time with the other features of their band/music (bio, lyrics, presentation etc.)?

Obviously, presentation is always important for first impressions. However, I would never ever sign a band that I didn't think was talented or creative no matter what packaging they put with the demo (though pictures of naked women and money always helps! [Laughs]!). It's not as cut and dry as that really. If the band were good then I would consider them no matter what. If they had only included a contact address then I would contact them for more information if I thought it was worthwhile. Obviously though, the more information the better and it makes life a lot easier overall as it saves me writing e-mails to bands asking them to e-mail me pages of lyrics. I would always recommend bands put as much information as possible in with their demos, and as mentioned, the pictures of naked women and money!

Beyond UK borders, I assume the US would be the second biggest country that Retribute would sell to (largely basing this assumption from quite a number of bands on Retribute are established in the US). Is this correct, and are there many other 'receptive' countries that seem to have taken a liking for what you have been serving up recently?

Actually things seem to be doing well worldwide really. Obviously the US has such a huge population that by nature it will have more metal fans just due to the law of averages, but on basic reaction there are tons of places that our releases do well in outside of the UK and US, such as Sweden, Germany, Italy, Brazil, etc...

What has been the most satisfying moment for you during the lifespan of Retribute?

Not wanting to kiss ass, but mainly getting the chance to work with bands that I think are great musically and have turned out to be cool people to work with as well. Also, meeting other people within the music/metal world such as yourself that do 'zines, webzines, run stores etc, etc. I've met, talked to and e-mailed with a lot of great people that I would never have had a chance to talk with otherwise and it's working within extreme music that's done that. I don't think there's any other job in which I would have met such a cool mix of people.

And by the same token, what has disappointed you greatly (not too sad, mind you. We have some sensitive readers.)?

Nothing has really ever disappointed me as I generally have a healthy pessimistic view of humanity in general, so the good things are really good and are a nice surprise when people turn out to be cool, and the bad things don't disappoint or surprise me. Throughout life we all meet assholes and liars and the metal world is no different at all and I would never expect it to be, so I think generally my experiences have been good as all the rest of the stuff just gets forgotten. Life's too short to waste it on the idiots that exist around us.

How time consuming is running Retribute? Is this a job you can take a three day sick leave from and expect things to be doing fine when you return?

[Laughs]! No, not at all. I tend to come back from holidays more stressed than I ever, as I just spend the time wondering what I might have forgotten to do before I left or what will need doing when I get back. I never forget that how well the label does, from a general running it day-to-day perspective, completely and utterly hangs on me. If I drop the ball it's screwed, so that causes me a number of sleepless nights!

What new records are forthcoming on Retribute Records for the rest of the year? Anything that is really exciting you?

Upcoming releases are always exciting for me, as when I hear a demo that I really like, I can't wait to hear what they'll come up with next. Coming up is the debut full length from Sofa King Killer. Their new stuff will kill. They're a sludge band from Ohio and have been in and out of studio working on it for a couple of months and that will be out in August some time. I can't wait for that one. Everything else is under wraps at the moment. I'm speaking to a few bands, but I can't announce anything until everything is done and dusted, so keep your eye on the website for news as it's announced.

Where do you see Retribute Records in 5 years? Realistically, and ideally...

Ideally I'd like Retribute to be a huge million selling record label so I can have my car engine gold plated and a pool table made of marble and gold! [Laughs]! Nah, ideally and realistically I'd like Retribute to be a well respected heavy/extreme music label with enough financial security to release a couple of records a month.

From a fan perspective and from a marketing standpoint, what acts would you dream of signing for Retribute Records?

I think really I've been lucky in who I have signed so far. The majority of the bands whose demos I've heard and really liked and have wanted to work with, I've had the chance to work with. Obviously if we're thinking pure cash-flow marketing right now then I'd plumb for Slayer or Cannibal Corpse, but I've never been a one to sign a band purely to chase money. All bands have potential in them though, from the very definition of getting up and doing this in the first place, so some of them could reach those heights in a few years anyway. Belief in yourself and what you're doing is the key.

Ok, Chris. Many thanks for your time in answering these questions. Feel free to promote your upcoming releases on Retribute Records. I look forward to the new onslaught.

Thanks a ton for asking me to do this in the first place and for supporting Retribute, Jack. As mentioned, next up is the Sofa King Killer full length, which will be awesome. Check out www.retributerecords.com and join our mailing list for up the minute news and bulletins.

Take care, Chris.