Monte Conner | |
---|---|
![]() Conner in 2012 | |
Background information | |
Origin | Staten Island, United States |
Genres | |
Occupation(s) | Music executive (A&R) |
Years active | 1982–present |
Labels |
Monte Conner is an American music executive and artists and repertoire (A&R) representative. He was the former senior vice president of A&R for Roadrunner Records from 1988 until 2012, and is currently the head of A&R at Nuclear Blast Records. [1] [2] [3] MetalSucks has called him "the most successful A&R dude in the history of metal." [4]
Conner is considered to be an expert not only in the genre of Heavy Metal, but also in the genres of Rock, Hard Rock and Classic Rock, and frequently discusses bands from these genres in magazines, on radio programs and podcasts, and in music films and documentaries. He occasionally serves as a consultant on reissue albums for various labels. He is also a music journalist and has written for Metal Mania magazine in the US, Classic Rock magazine in the UK, Rock Hard magazine in Germany, and currently writes in his own online blog on Facebook.[ citation needed ]
His path into the music industry began while at Baruch College in Manhattan, where he hosted a weekly underground metal radio show, called “The Witching Hour,” at the school's radio station WBMB. The show ran from September 1982 to December 1986 and during that time Conner immersed himself in the emerging thrash and death metal scenes, honing his skills for discovering new talent. After graduating college, he landed a job at Shatter Records handling College Radio Promotion. He was at Shatter for nine months, from March to November 1987, before leaving to join Roadrunner Records in December 1987, also doing College Radio Promotion. [5] By January 1988, he added A&R to his duties at the label, [5] and by late 1988 he became the label's Head of A&R for North America.
The bands he signed to Roadrunner Records, in alphabetical order, are:
Amen, Annihilator, [6] Artillery, Atrocity, Believer, Biohazard, Both Worlds, Brujeria, Buzzov-en, Jerry Cantrell, [7] Keith Caputo, Cavalera Conspiracy, Chimaira, [8] CKY, [9] Coal Chamber, Cynic, Dååth, [10] Death, Deicide, [11] Defiance, [12] DevilDriver, [13] Dirty Americans, [14] Disincarnate, Dommin, [15] Downthesun, [16] Earth Crisis, Exhorder, [17] Fear Factory, [18] Floodgate, [17] Glassjaw, [19] Gojira, [20] Gorguts, Gruntruck, Heathen, [21] Immolation, [22] Kinetic Dissent, Last Crack, Leadfoot, Life Of Agony, Machine Head, [23] Malevolent Creation, Murderdolls, Nailbomb, [24] Obituary, Optimum Wound Profile, Pestilence, Porcupine Tree, [25] Powersurge, Realm, [26] Revoker, Rush, [27] Sadus, Sanctity, [28] Sepultura, [29] Shank 456, Skin Chamber, Slipknot, [30] Solitude Aeturnus, Sorrow, Soulfly, Spineshank, Star Star, Stone Sour, Storm Corrosion, [31] Suffocation, Taking Dawn, 36 Crazyfists, [32] Times Of Grace, To My Surprise, Toyshop, Treponem Pal, Trivium, [33] Type O Negative, [34] Wednesday 13, [35] Willard, The Workhorse Movement. [36] [37] [38]
In addition, Conner signed licensing deals for Roadrunner outside North America for the following bands: Acid Bath, Divine Heresy, Hatebreed, Heaven & Hell, [39] Glen Hughes, Karma To Burn, Periphery, [40] Queens Of The Stone Age, Satyricon, [41] Sevendust, [42] Shadows Fall. [43]
Conner also signed licensing deals for catalogue records from these bands for release on Roadrunner in the U.S.: Angelwitch, Budgie, Destruction, Entombed, Evildead, Hitmann, Gary Moore, Motörhead, Raven, Razor, Saint Vitus, Sodom, Uriah Heep.
He signed producer Ross Robinson to a worldwide production deal with Roadrunner for his I Am Recordings imprint. [44]
He also brought in the following label deals to Roadrunner outside North America: Energy Records, Ferret Music, [45] Soundfront Records, Trustkill Records. [46]
Conner conceived of and oversaw the Roadrunner United album and live DVD, [47] compiled the “MTV2 Headbanger’s Ball” and “The Return Of The Rock” series, compiled various compilations (“At Death’s Door,” “At Death’s Door II,” “Burn One Up!,” “XXX: Three Decades Of Roadrunner Records, [48] ” and more) and soundtracks (“Resident Evil,” “Resident Evil: Apocalypse,” “Freddy Vs. Jason,” “MTV Road Rules,” “Ginger Snaps,” and “Faust”) and oversaw all Roadrunner's catalogue reissues and remasters. [49]
Other Roadrunner artists Conner has also A&R’ed but did not sign include: Atrophy, Chastain, Dream Theater, Front Line Assembly, Holy Terror, The Great Kat, [50] Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Killswitch Engage, King Diamond, Korn, Lynyrd Skynyrd, [51] Mutiny Within, [15] Nightwish, Opeth, Rob Zombie, Shelter, The Steve Miller Band, Toxik, Whiplash, Znöwhite.
Conner left Roadrunner on August 2, 2012, after much turnover at the label. [52] [53] On August 16, 2012, it was announced that he would be partnering with Nuclear Blast Records. [54]
The bands he has signed to Nuclear Blast Records, in alphabetical order, are:
Alluvial, [55] Anti-Mortem, [56] Arrival Of Autumn, [57] As I Lay Dying, [58] Atheist (catalog), [59] Aversions Crown, [60] Black Star Riders, [61] Brujeria, [62] Cavalera, [63] Conjurer, [64] Corrosion Of Conformity, [65] Crobot, [66] The Damned Things, [67] Danzig, [68] The Defiled, [69] The Depression/Aggression Sessions (project), [70] Devilment, [71] Devil You Know, [72] Earthless, [73] Elegant Weapons, [74] Exhorder, [75] Fallujah, [76] Fear Factory, [77] Fit For An Autopsy, [78] Fuming Mouth, [79] Gatecreeper, [80] Ghost Bath, [81] Hatebreed (North America only), [82] Ibaraki, [83] Irist, [84] Khemmis, [85] Killer Be Killed, Lamb Of God, [86] Light The Torch, [72] Machine Head, [87] Metal Allegiance, [88] Nails, [89] Nightwish (North America only), [90] Opeth, [91] Pallbearer, [92] Satyricon, [93] Scorpion Child, [94] Sadus, [95] Soulfly, [96] Stellar Circuits, [97] Suicide Silence, [98] Tax The Heat, [99] Thy Art Is Murder, [100] Till The Dirt, [101] Vein.fm, Ricky Warwick, [102] Wednesday 13, [103] Within Temptation, [104] Rob Zombie.
Other artists Monte has A&R’ed at Nuclear Blast but did not sign include: 96 Bitter Beings, Go Ahead And Die.
Satyricon is a Norwegian black metal band formed in Oslo in 1991. Satyr and Frost have been the band's core members since 1993. The band's first three albums typify the Norwegian black metal style. Since its fourth album in 1999, the band has strayed from this style and included elements of traditional heavy metal in their sound. Satyricon was the first Norwegian black metal band to join a multi-national record label (EMI).
Nuclear Blast Records is a German record label with subsidiaries in Germany, the United States and Brazil. It was founded in 1987 by Markus Staiger in Donzdorf. Originally releasing hardcore punk records, the label moved on to releasing albums by thrash metal, melodic death metal, grindcore, industrial metal, power metal and black metal bands, as well as tribute albums. It also distributes and promotes post-hardcore/metalcore labels SharpTone Records; another post-hardcore/metalcore label, Arising Empire, was in Nuclear Blast portfolio until its acquirement by Kontor New Media in 2020.
Roadrunner Records is an American record label focused on heavy metal and hard rock bands. Founded in the Netherlands in 1980, it is now a division of Warner Music Group and is based in New York City.
Machine Head is an American heavy metal band from Oakland, California. The band was formed in 1991 by vocalist/rhythm guitarist Robb Flynn, who remains the only original member of the band. Machine Head's aggressive musicianship made it one of the pioneering bands in the new wave of American heavy metal. Its current lineup comprises Flynn, bassist Jared MacEachern and drummer Matt Alston. Bassist Adam Duce, lead guitarists Logan Mader, Ahrue Luster and Phil Demmel, and drummers Tony Costanza, Chris Kontos and Dave McClain are former members of the band; Mader and Kontos toured with the band in 2019 and 2020 as part of the 25th anniversary tour for its first album, Burn My Eyes (1994).
Unleashed is a Swedish death metal band that was formed in 1989 by Johnny Hedlund in Stockholm. Common lyrical themes found in the band's music include Viking culture, recollection of a pre-Christian world, and Norse folklore. A number of their recent songs also contain references to J. R. R. Tolkien. Unleashed is considered one of the "big four" of Swedish death metal.
Nicholas Howard Barker is an English extreme metal drummer best known for his work in Cradle of Filth from 1993 to 1999, Dimmu Borgir from 1999 to 2004, Brujeria from 2003 to 2005 and from 2016 to 2022, and Shining from 2022 to 2023. Currently he is the drummer for Borstal, Liquid Graveyard, Twilight of the Gods, and United Forces.
Coal Chamber is the debut studio album by American nu metal band Coal Chamber. It was released on February 11, 1997, by Roadrunner Records and contains the single "Loco". The special edition of the album contains the bonus tracks "Headstones and the Walking Dead", "Big Truck ", "Pig (Demo)", "Sway (Demo)", "Unspoiled (Demo)", and "Loco (Demo)". The DVD features two of the band's concerts, a live video of "Loco", and the music video of "Loco".
Exhorder is an American heavy metal band from New Orleans, Louisiana. They are considered progenitors of the groove-oriented thrash sound later made famous by bands such as Pantera and Machine Head, and their music has been regarded as a large influence on the New Orleans metal scene. Initially active from 1985 to 1994 and reformed from 2008 to 2011, Exhorder has since reformed in 2017. To date, the band has released four studio albums: Slaughter in the Vatican (1990), The Law (1992), Mourn the Southern Skies (2019) and Defectum Omnium (2024).
Scar Symmetry is a Swedish heavy metal band from Avesta, formed in 2004. The band has released seven albums, with seven released singles. They are signed to Nuclear Blast Records.
Heathen is an American thrash metal band originating from the San Francisco Bay Area, active from 1984 to 1993 and again from 2001 onwards. Despite never achieving commercial success, the band is often credited – alongside Exodus, Testament, Forbidden, Death Angel and Vio-lence – as one of the leaders of the Bay Area thrash metal scene of the mid-to-late 1980s, and they have gone through several lineup changes, leaving guitarist Lee Altus as the only constant member. To date, Heathen has released four studio albums: Breaking the Silence (1987), Victims of Deception (1991), The Evolution of Chaos (2009) and Empire of the Blind (2020).
Breeding the Spawn is the second studio album by American death metal band Suffocation, released in May 1993 through Roadrunner Records. It was the band's first album with bassist Chris Richards, and their last to feature drummer Mike Smith for over a decade, until Souls to Deny (2004). Building off of the sound of Suffocation's debut album Effigy of the Forgotten (1991), it features more technical songwritng incorporating melodic and dynamic arrangements. The album was produced by Suffocation and Paul Bagin at Noise Lab in West Islip, New York. Suffocation originally planned to record the album in Florida with Effigy of the Forgotten producer Scott Burns, but were prevented from doing so by financial constraints and Roadrunner Records themselves, whose head of A&R, Monte Conner, wanted the band to return to the raw sound of their debut EP Human Waste (1991).
Grand Magus are a three-piece heavy metal band from Stockholm, Sweden that draws influence from classic heavy metal bands and elements of doom metal.
Pain is a musical project from Sweden that mixes heavy metal with influences from electronic music and techno. The project started out as a hobby project for frontman Peter Tägtgren, whose idea was to fuse heavy metal with 1980s-inspired electro-industrial and techno influences. Tägtgren, who is also the vocalist/guitarist of Hypocrisy and producer of his own The Abyss studios, is the only current member.
Blabbermouth.net is a website dedicated to heavy metal and hard rock news, as well as album and music DVD reviews. It is run by the website's founder Borivoj Krgin. The first version of the website was launched in March 2001. In October 2001, the record label Roadrunner Records began hosting it.
The Wörld Is Yours is the twentieth studio album by British rock band Motörhead, released on 14 December 2010 as an exclusive edition, and a month later on 17 January 2011 as a standard release. It is dedicated by Lemmy to Ronnie James Dio who had died from cancer seven months earlier.
Requiem for the Indifferent is the fifth studio album by Dutch symphonic metal band Epica. It was released on 9 March 2012. The album was the first to feature solos by keyboardist Coen Janssen, which very rarely occur on the band's other releases, and was the final album to feature original member Yves Huts on bass guitar.
Blind Rage is the 14th studio album by German heavy metal band Accept. It was released on 15 August 2014 on Nuclear Blast Records. The album debuted at number one on the German albums chart. This is Accept's last album with guitarist Herman Frank and drummer Stefan Schwarzmann, who both left the band in December 2014.
Metal Allegiance is an American thrash metal supergroup formed on Long Island, New York, in 2014 by bassist and songwriter Mark Menghi. Shortly after, he recruited bassist David Ellefson, guitarist Alex Skolnick, and drummer Mike Portnoy. Though the group does not have an official lead singer, they usually hire guest musicians to contribute vocals and/or guitar parts to their studio recordings and live shows, including Andreas Kisser of Sepultura and Mark Osegueda of Death Angel. To date, Metal Allegiance has released two studio albums and one EP.
Mourn the Southern Skies is the third studio album by American metal band Exhorder, released on September 20, 2019 through Nuclear Blast. It is the band's first studio release in 27 years, after their 1992 album The Law. This is also the last album to feature founding guitarist Vinnie LaBella, who left the band in February 2020, and their only album with guitarist Marzi Montazeri, who would leave Exhorder two years later.