MeteorCity

Last updated

MeteorCity
MeteorCitylogo.png
Founded1997 (1997)
FounderJadd Shickler
Aaron Emmel
StatusActive
Genre Stoner rock, doom metal, sludge metal, drone metal, psychedelic rock
Country of originUnited States
Official website meteorcity.com

MeteorCity Records is an American record label founded in 1997 by Jadd Shickler and Aaron Emmel in Albuquerque, New Mexico. With the release of its compilation album Welcome to MeteorCity showcasing young unsigned Kyuss-like bands, MeteorCity helped launch the stoner rock genre and many of the genre's first bands, plus side projects from members of well-known bands including The Atomic Bitchwax and Hermano. MeteorCity Records was one of the first record labels dedicated exclusively to Stoner rock, doom metal, sludge metal, drone metal and psychedelic rock. [1]

Contents

History

MeteorCity was founded in September 1997 [1] by Jadd Shickler (of band Spiritu) and Aaron Emmel in Albuquerque, New Mexico. [2] The first incarnation was an online store called All That's Heavy, which sold hard-to-find releases by stoner rock bands Kyuss, Monster Magnet, and Fu Manchu. They soon expanded the catalog to include artists that stylistically fit with the first three bands. [1]

After running the online store for about half a year, they were contacted by the former proprietor for the first Kyuss fan website. He recommended MeteorCity do a compilation of unsigned bands that Kyuss fans would enjoy. [3] MeteorCity Records was formed, and the result of the suggestion was the compilation Welcome to MeteorCity, [2] which was released in May of that year. [1] The compilation included both established desert and stoner rock acts, including new bands established by John Garcia of Kyuss (now in Unida), Ed Mundell of Monster Magnet, and Pete Stahl. The album was the first time that the bands Sixty Watt Shaman, Lowrider, The Atomic Bitchwax, Dozer, Goatsnake, Drag Pack, and Los Natas were heard on a record. [1] According to MeteorCity founders,

"When this was happening, there wasn't really a [stoner rock] scene yet, there were just a lot of people around the world who were still sad about the end of Kyuss, as well as the end of Slo Burn, and who listened to stuff like Monster Magnet and Fu Manchu but wanted more. The label took off when we appeared with Welcome To Meteor City, as though the world was waiting for someone to do what we were doing." [3]

Around this time a MeteorCity intern purportedly coined the term desert rock to describe the burgeoning genre, which is still used interchangeably with the more known descriptor "stoner rock". Stoner rock originates from the title of the 1997 Roadrunner Records compilation Burn One Up! Music for Stoners. [1]

After the first compilation was released, that summer the label received a call from customer Henry Vasquez, who had the members of the band Nebula in his store. The bandmembers, which included founding Fu Manchu members Eddie Glass (guitar) and Ruben Romano (drums), had asked to talk with them. The band agreed to release their EP on MeteorCity, and MeteorCity offered to fund the band's recording session with Jack Endino. The result was MeteorCity's second release, the Nebula/Lowrider EP, which also featured tracks by Swedish band Lowrider. In 1999, the label released Unida/Dozer , a joint EP featuring the first non-compilation tracks by Unida and Swedish band Dozer. [3]

The label soon signed a number of musicians and bands from the Palm Desert Scene of desert rock, such as Hermano and Unida, both featuring former Kyuss frontman John Garcia. They have also released albums by The Atomic Bitchwax, which features Monster Magnet guitarist Ed Mundell, and The Hidden Hand and Spirit Caravan led by Obsessed/St. Vitus guitarist Scott "Wino" Weinreich. In 2002 they released the first album by the Orquesta Del Desierto, which featured key members of the major desert rock bands.

Change of ownership

As the scene continued to develop, the popular website StonerRock.com was launched by Dan Beland in 1999. The website became a central community hub for heavy music artists and fans. [4] In March 2001, MeteorCity licensed StonerRock.com to take over management and operations of All That's Heavy. All That's Heavy's catalog grew to become the largest online store of stoner rock, doom metal, sludge metal, drone metal and psychedelic rock. MeteorCity in turn began to focus more on the label. All That's Heavy was officially sold to Dan Beland and Melanie Streko of StonerRock.com on May 15, 2004, [1] and renamed All That is Heavy. [2]

In 2007, Shickler and Emmel sold MeteorCity Records to Dan Beland and Melanie Streko as well. Their farewell release was a three disc compilation disc titled ...And Back to Earth Again. [2] MeteorCity continued to release albums by new bands, including full LPs from Black Pyramid, Elder, Snail and Freedom Hawk, among others. [2] In 2010 StonerRock.com was taken offline, and MeteorCity Records became the official label for All That is Heavy. [5] On September 1, 2014, Melanie Streko resigned from All That is Heavy and MeteorCity Records. Three years later, on August 1, 2017, All That is Heavy was sold to Casey and Taylor Kelch of Katy, Texas.

Artists

Release history

YearNo.ArtistTitle
1998MCY-001Various (Sixty Watt Shaman, Sparzanza, Fatso Jetson, The Atomic Bitchwax, Rotors to Rust, Demoncleaner, Goatsnake, Drag Pack, Lowrider, Roadsaw, Sheavy, Dozer, Los Natas, JM.J, Core, Celestial Season, etc.)Welcome to MeteorCity
FMC-001 Solace, SolarizedJersey Devils Double EP
MCY-002
MCY-004
Nebula, Lowrider Nebula/Lowrider
1999MCY-003
MCY-005
Unida, Dozer Unida/Dozer
MCY-006Five Wheel DriveMisdemeanor
MCY-007 Spirit Caravan Dreamwheel
2000MCY-008 The Quill The Quill
MCY-009Various (Electric Frankenstein, Solace, Sebastian Bach, Zébulon, Iron Savior, Las Cruces, Eternal Elysium, The Quill, Blind Dog, etc.) Slave to the Power – The Iron Maiden Tribute
MCY-010 Solace Further
MCY-011 Eternal Elysium Spiritualized D
MCY-012 Lowrider Ode to Io
MCY-013 The Mushroom River Band Music for the World Beyond
MCY-014 Abdullah Abdullah
MCY-015Blind DogThe Last Adventures of Captain Dog
2001MCY-016Various (Lowrider, Eternal Elysium, Sheavy, The Awesome Machine, etc.)I Am Vengeance Soundtrack
MCY-017Scene Killer (Members of The Atomic Bitchwax, Burnout King, Core, Daisycutter, Drag Pack)Scene Killer
MCY-018SolarizedDriven
2002MCY-019 Eternal Elysium Share
MCY-020 The Atomic Bitchwax Spit Blood
MCY-021The Ribeye BrothersIf I Had a Horse
MCY-022 Orquesta Del Desierto Orquesta Del Desierto
MCY-023 Nebula Dos EPs
MCY-024 The Mushroom River Band Simsalabim
2003MCY-025SpirituSpiritu
2002MCY-026 Abdullah Graveyard Poetry
2003MCY-027 Solace 13
MCY-028Gallery of MitesBugs on the Bluefish
MCY-029Blind DogCaptain Dog Rides Again
2004MCY-030 The Hidden Hand Divine Propaganda
2003MCY-031 Spirit Caravan The Last Embrace
2004MCY-032 Orquesta del Desierto Dos
MCY-033 Black NASA Deuce
MCY-034 The Hidden Hand, Wooly Mammoth Night Letters
MCY-035 Hermano Dare I Say...
2005MCY-036 The Atomic Bitchwax 3
2006MCY-037Spiritu / Village of Dead RoadsHuman Failures
MCY-038 The Obsessed Lunar Womb
MCY-039 The Atomic Bitchwax Boxriff
2007MCY-040Various (Solace, The Atomic Bitchwax, Unida, Lowrider, Blind Dog, Dozer, Black NASA, Cosmosquad, Las Cruces, Spiritu, I am Droid, Truckfighters, etc.)...And Back to Earth Again – Ten Years of MeteorCity
2008MCY-041FarflungA Wound in Eternity
MCY-042Dead ManDead Man
MCY-043 Elder Elder
MCY-044Eighteen Wheels BurningTweak'd Out, Strung up and Redlined
2009MCY-045 Nightstalker Superfreak
MCY-046Freedom HawkFreedom Hawk
MCY-047Leeches of LoreLeeches of Lore
MCY-048New Keepers of the Water TowersChronicles
MCY-049Black PyramidBlack Pyramid
MCY-050SnailBlood
2008MCY-051Let the Night RoarLet the Night Roar
2009MCY-052FloodNative
2010MCY-053ValkyrieValkyrie
MCY-054ValkyrieMan of Two Visions
2009MCY-055AraratMusica de la Resistencia
MCY-056Village of Dead RoadsDesolation Will Destroy You
MCY-057WhitebuzzBook of Whyte
MCY-058EgyptEgypt
2010MCY-059Humo Del CairoHumo del Cairo
2011MCY-060New Keepers of the Water TowersThe Calydonian Hunt
2010MCY-061SardoniSSardonis
2010MCY-063 Dozer In the Tail of a Comet / Madre de Dios
MCY-064FarflungLive at Roadburn 2009
MCY-065Olde GrowthOlde Growth
2010MCY-666Various (Crushed Skulls, Flood, Egypt, Whitebuzz, SardoniS, Ararat, Freedom Hawk, Elder, Farflung, Black Pyramid, etc.)Welcome Back to MeteorCity
2011MCY-066 Elder Dead Roots Stirring
2012MCY-067Black PyramidII
YearNo.ArtistTitle
2005MCY-999 The Atomic Bitchwax Atomic Bitchwax I (limited edition with alternate cover art)
2005MCY-998 Solace Further (reissue)
MCY-997 Unida, Dozer Unida/Dozer (reissue)
MCY-996 Truckfighters Gravity X
2006MCY-995Village of Dead RoadsDwelling in Doubt
2007MCY-994 Los Natas El Universo Perdido De Los Natas
2008MCY-993 The Atomic Bitchwax Tab 4 (limited edition with alternate cover art)

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kyuss</span> American stoner rock band

Kyuss was an American stoner rock band formed in Palm Desert, California, in 1987, and considered one of the pioneers of the genre. After disbanding in 1995, a number of band members have gone on to form or play in several notable bands including Queens of the Stone Age, Screaming Trees, Fu Manchu, Dwarves, Eagles of Death Metal, Mondo Generator, Hermano, Unida, Slo Burn and Them Crooked Vultures.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Garcia (singer)</span> American singer

John Garcia is an American singer and songwriter. He is best known as the vocalist and founding member of stoner rock bands Kyuss, Slo Burn, Unida and Hermano. Garcia also performed in Vista Chino, formerly Kyuss Lives!, with former Kyuss members Brant Bjork and Nick Oliveri. Garcia has since decided to pursue his solo career, having formed his band, John Garcia and the Band of Gold, in 2019.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brant Bjork</span> American musician

Brant Bjork is an American musician, singer, songwriter and record producer. He is best known as the drummer and founder of the influential Californian stoner rock band Kyuss. Bjork has also been a member of Fu Manchu, Mondo Generator and Vista Chino, the latter with former Kyuss members John Garcia and Nick Oliveri. He is currently the frontman and co-founder of the stoner rock power trio, Stöner. Bjork is one of the more notable figures in the stoner rock and Palm Desert scene and maintains a prolific solo career with over a dozen released albums.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fu Manchu (band)</span> American stoner rock band

Fu Manchu is an American stoner rock band formed in Orange County, California in 1985. The band underwent multiple lineup changes throughout the 80s and 90s, but has remained consistent since 2001. The band currently consists of founding guitarist turned lead vocalist Scott Hill, bassist Brad Davis, lead guitarist Bob Balch and drummer Scott Reeder.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Los Natas</span> Argentine stoner rock band

Los Natas or Natas were an Argentine stoner rock band formed in 1993 in Martínez, Greater Buenos Aires. In their later releases, they had been leaning towards a more experimental sound described by them as free rock.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Atomic Bitchwax</span> American stoner rock band

The Atomic Bitchwax is an American stoner rock band from New Jersey, formed in 1992 by bassist/singer/songwriter Chris Kosnik, guitarist Ed Mundell, and drummer Keith Ackerman. They did not release their first full-length album until 1999, upon signing with Tee Pee Records. Mixing elements of 1960s psychedelic rock and 1970s riff rock filtered through modern progressive rock, their music has appeared in TV shows such as Jackass, Homewrecker, and various Fox Sports broadcasts.

Sixty Watt Shaman is an American rock band known for incorporating hard rock with blues, southern rock, doom, punk rock and heavy metal influences, originally based out of Towson, Maryland, Montgomery Village, Maryland, and currently Winchester, Virginia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nebula (band)</span> American stoner rock band

Nebula is an American stoner rock band formed by guitarist Eddie Glass and drummer Ruben Romano upon departing Fu Manchu in 1997.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lowrider (Swedish band)</span> Swedish stoner rock band

Lowrider is a Swedish stoner rock band formed in Karlstad in the mid-1990s by bassist/singer Peder Bergstrand and lead guitarist/singer Ole Hellquist, along with guitarist Niclas Stalfors and drummer Andreas Eriksson.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Unida</span> American rock band

Unida is an American stoner rock band formed in 1998. The band's current line-up consists of John Garcia, Arthur Seay, Miguel Cancino and Collyn McCoy. Their debut album, Coping with the Urban Coyote, was released in 1999. A follow-up album, initially titled The Great Divide and later titled For the Working Man, was recorded in the early 2000s, but has remained unreleased.

<i>Unida/Dozer</i> 1999 EP by Dozer / Unida

Unida/Dozer is a split EP featuring the stoner rock bands Dozer and Unida. It is one of the first releases for both bands. It was released in 1999 by MeteorCity and re-issued in 2006.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fatso Jetson</span> American rock band

Fatso Jetson is an American desert rock band from Palm Desert, California, formed in 1994 by Yawning Man members Mario Lalli and Larry Lalli, along with Tony Tornay. They are often credited as the fathers of the desert strain of stoner rock later made most famous by their slightly younger neighbors Kyuss and Queens of the Stone Age. While musically similar to some of their stoner brethren, Fatso Jetson incorporate a broader variety of musical influences that includes punk and surf.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ed Mundell</span> American guitarist

Edward Mundell is an American rock guitarist known for his space rock 1970's inspired sound. From 1992 to 2010, he was the lead guitarist for stoner rock band Monster Magnet, contributing to eight albums in total. As of 2024, Mundell contributes to various recordings and soundtracks as a studio musician based in Los Angeles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Core (band)</span> American rock band

Core was an American stoner rock band from New Jersey, active in the late 1990s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eddie Glass</span> American musician

Edward Glass is an American rock musician best known as the frontman of the stoner rock band Nebula. Glass was formerly the drummer for the punk rock band Olivelawn, as well as a guitarist of Fu Manchu. Nebula has been Glass' primary musical group since 1997, when he and drummer Ruben Romano left Fu Manchu.

The following is a comprehensive discography of Kyuss, a Southern California-based stoner/desert rock band active between 1988 and 1995 and again since 2010 as Kyuss Lives! During their initial seven-year run, Kyuss had four full-length studio albums, one split album, seven singles, and four music videos. They also released one EP under the name Sons of Kyuss.

<i>Ode to Io</i> 2000 studio album by Lowrider

Ode to Io is the first full-length album from the Swedish Rock band Lowrider, released on Meteor City.

Stoner rock, also known as stoner metal or stoner doom, is a rock music fusion genre that combines elements of doom metal with psychedelic rock and acid rock. The genre emerged during the early 1990s and was pioneered foremost by Kyuss and Sleep.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">All That Is Heavy</span> American online music store

All That is Heavy is an online music store based in Texas and founded in 1997. It is the first online record store dedicated exclusively to the genres of stoner rock, doom metal, sludge metal, drone metal and psychedelic rock. All That is Heavy was originally owned and operated MeteorCity Records, which was instrumental in the growth of the late 1990s stoner rock scene. Distributed labels, besides their formerly in-house MeteorCity Records, include Tee Pee, Volcom Entertainment, Small Stone Records, Rise Above Records, and others. The store was operated by the now defunct StonerRock.com from 2001 to 2010, and was owned by Dan Beland. On 25 August 2017 it was announced that All That Is Heavy would be taken into new ownership by Casey Kelch and relocated to Houston, Texas.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "News: StonerRock.com and MeteorCity Part Ways". Bravewords.com. May 19, 2004. Retrieved August 26, 2011.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 "Where to Start: MeteorCity". The Obelisk. Retrieved August 26, 2011.
  3. 1 2 3 Smith, Todd K. "Meteor City". The Cutting Edge. Archived from the original on October 4, 2011. Retrieved August 26, 2011.
  4. Christian, von (August 26, 2009). "MeteorCity: Play it Very Loud!". Metal Glory. Retrieved August 26, 2011.
  5. Van Horn, Jnr., Ray (September 26, 2009). "Label Spotlight: Meteor City Records". The Metal Minute. Archived from the original on November 30, 2012. Retrieved August 26, 2011.

Further reading