Ván Records is a German

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 produ ...

based in

Herzogenrath Herzogenrath ( Ripuarian: ; li, Hertseraoj; nl, ’s-Hertogenrade) is a municipality in the district of Aachen in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It borders the Dutch town of Kerkrade, the national border in one section running alon ...

. It was founded in 2004 by Sven Dinninghoff, who was a member of

Black Metal Black metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. Common traits include fast tempos, a shrieking vocal style, heavily distorted guitars played with tremolo picking, raw (lo-fi) recording, unconventional song structures, and an emp ...

bands Nagelfar and Graupel in the mid-1990s. The label was founded in the environment of Wòd-Ván, an association of Black Metal fans near Aachen, which was founded by Dinninghoff and other members of Nagelfar. Under contract are mainly German and

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

bands, but also American bands like Škan or Svartidauði from

Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...

History

The label's first release was the album ''Unlock the Shrine'' by

The Ruins of Beverast The Ruins of Beverast is a German blackened doom metal project formed by Alexander von Meilenwald in 2003. Six albums have been released under the moniker through Ván Records.

. While the early releases are all related to the Black Metal or related genres, later albums by Doom Metal and Hard Rock bands as well as related styles were also published, bands like

The Devil's Blood The Devil's Blood was a Dutch occult rock band from Eindhoven, formed in 2006. Their style is hard rock in the vein of Black Widow, Coven, Black Sabbath, and a plethora of 1970s underground progressive and psychedelic rock. Their sound has be ...

and Vanderbuyst, both founded by former members of the Dutch metal band Powervice. In 2011, Ván Records cooperated for the first time with music magazines. ''The Burning'' by The Devil's Blood was released that way, as an addition to the regular label release as 7" single, both as a CD supplement of the '' Rock Hard'' Magazine as well as the '' Sweden Rock'' magazine, each with exclusive bonus titles. In addition to their own releases, most of which are available as CD and record, Ván Records also releases LP versions of albums by various non-label bands such as Count Raven and

Wolves in the Throne Room Wolves in the Throne Room is an American black metal band formed in 2002 in Olympia, Washington, by brothers Aaron and Nathan Weaver. They have released seven full-length albums, two live albums, and one EP to date. They have stated one of the f ...

. In 2015, the Acherontic Arts festival was held in Oberhausen, celebrating the 10th anniversary of the label. The festival proceeded in 2016 and 2017, but paused in 2018.

Selected releases

* 2004:

The Ruins of Beverast The Ruins of Beverast is a German blackened doom metal project formed by Alexander von Meilenwald in 2003. Six albums have been released under the moniker through Ván Records.

· ''Unlock the Shrine'' * 2006: Nagelfar · '' Virus West'' (re-release) * 2006: The Ruins of Beverast · '' Rain upon the Impure'' * 2006: Truppensturm · ''Truppensturm'' ( EP) * 2007: Truppensturm · '' Fields of Devastation'' * 2008:

· ''The Graveyard Shuffle'' (single) * 2008: The Devil's Blood · '' Come Reap'' (EP) * 2009: Fluisterwoud · '' Laat alle hoop varen'' * 2009: Griftegård · ''Solemn, Sacred, Severe'' * 2009: Nagelfar · '' Hünengrab im Herbst'' (re-release) * 2009: The Devil's Blood · ''I’ll Be Your Ghost'' (Single) * 2009: The Devil's Blood · '' The Time of No Time Evermore'' * 2009: The Ruins of Beverast · ''Foulest Semen of a Sheltered Elite'' * 2009:

Urfaust ''Faust'' is a tragic play in two parts by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, usually known in English as '' Faust, Part One'' and ''Faust, Part Two''. Nearly all of Part One and the majority of Part Two are written in rhymed verse. Although rarely st ...

· ''Einsiedler'' (EP) * 2010: Burden · ''A Hole in the Shell'' * 2010: Graupel · ''Am Pranger…'' * 2010: Nagelfar · '' Srontgorrth'' (re-release) * 2010: Tauthr · ''Life-Losing'' * 2010: Truppensturm · ''Salute to the Iron Emperors'' * 2010: Urfaust · ''Der freiwillige Bettler'' * 2010: Vanderbuyst · ''Vanderbuyst'' * 2011:

Necros Christos Necros Christos (Greek language, Greek νεκρός Χριστός for 'Dead Christ') was a German death doom band from Berlin. The band was founded in 2001 and is under contract to Ván Records. The group has released three studio albums. Histo ...

· '' Doom of the Occult'' * 2011: The Devil's Blood · ''Fire Burning'' (single) * 2011: The Ruins of Beverast · ''Enchanted by Gravemould'' (compilation) * 2011: The Devil's Blood · '' The Thousandfold Epicentre'' * 2012:

· ''Wolves in the Throne Room'' (re-release) * 2013: The Devil's Blood · '' III: Tabula Rasa or Death and the Seven Pillars'' * 2013: Helrunar/Árstíðir Lífsins · ''Fragments – A Mythological Excavation'' * 2013: Atlantean Kodex · ''The White Goddess'' * 2018:

Antlers Antlers are extensions of an animal's skull found in members of the Cervidae (deer) family. Antlers are a single structure composed of bone, cartilage, fibrous tissue, skin, nerves, and blood vessels. They are generally found only on males ...

· ''beneath.below.behold'' * 2018: Svartidauði · ''Revelations of the Red Sword'' * 2018: Sulphur Aeon · '' The Scythe of Cosmic Chaos''

References

External links

Official website
{{Authority control German independent record labels