Shrapnel Records is an American

record label A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the prod ...

founded in 1980 by record producer Mike Varney.

History

Guitarist Marty Friedman (formerly of

Megadeth Megadeth is an American thrash metal band formed in Los Angeles in 1983 by vocalist/guitarist Dave Mustaine. Known for their technically complex guitar work and musicianship, Megadeth is one of the "big four" of American thrash metal along wi ...

and Cacophony), one of the label's most successful artists, first appeared on the album ''Unsung Guitar Heroes II'' in 1980 with the band Vixen. Vixen would later change their name to

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only ...

and release the album '' One Nation Underground'' for Shrapnel. In 1981, a friend gave Mike Varney a tape featuring a 17-year-old Swedish guitarist named

Yngwie Malmsteen Yngwie Johan Malmsteen ( ; born Lars Johan Yngve Lannerbäck, 30 June 1963) is a Swedish guitarist. He first became known in the 1980s for his neoclassical playing style in heavy metal, and has released 22 studio albums in a career spanning ov ...

. A year later, Malmsteen wrote to the label stating that he wanted to export his music to America. Varney, who started writing a column called "Spotlight" for '' Guitar Player'' magazine in 1982, featured Malmsteen in his February 1983 column. The record executive flew Yngwie to California and set him up with vocalist

Ron Keel Ron is a shortening of the name Ronald. Ron or RON may also refer to: Arts and media * Big Ron (''EastEnders''), a TV character * Ron (''King of Fighters''), a video game character *Ron Douglas, the protagonist in '' Lucky Stiff'' played by Joe ...

's new band called Steeler. Steeler's self-titled album became a best selling release for Shrapnel Records. The label was acquired by

The Orchard The Orchard may refer to: * The Orchard (company), American music and entertainment company * The Orchard (band), Canadian country music duo * ''The Orchard'' (Lizz Wright album), 2008 * ''The Orchard'' (Ra Ra Riot album), 2010 * The Orchard (t ...

, subsidiary of

Sony Music Entertainment Sony Music Entertainment (SME), also known as simply Sony Music, is an American multinational music company. Being owned by the parent conglomerate Sony Group Corporation, it is part of the Sony Music Group, which is owned by Sony Entertainmen ...

, in November 2015.

Related labels

In 1989, Mike Varney co-founded

progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog; sometimes conflated with art rock) is a broad genre of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom and United States through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early 1970s. Init ...

metal A metal (from Greek μέταλλον ''métallon'', "mine, quarry, metal") is a material that, when freshly prepared, polished, or fractured, shows a lustrous appearance, and conducts electricity and heat relatively well. Metals are typi ...

label Magna Carta Records. In the 1990s, he also started the Tone Center Records and

Blues Bureau International Blues Bureau International is an American guitar oriented, blues, and blues rock independent record label. Blues Bureau is a member of Mike Varney's Shrapnel Label Group, which also includes Shrapnel Records, another guitar oriented label which fe ...

sublabels to promote fusion and blues.

Notable releases

References

External links

Official website
{{Authority control American record labels Record labels established in 1980 Sony Music Heavy metal record labels