Combat Records was an American independent record label founded in 1983 and based in New York City. The label specifically was for heavy metal and punk rock acts, Notable artist include: Megadeth, Circle Jerks,

Nuclear Assault Nuclear Assault was an American thrash metal band formed in New York City in 1984. Part of the mid-to-late 1980s thrash metal movement, they were one of the main bands of the genre to emerge from the East Coast along with Overkill, Whiplash, ...

, OZ,

Death Death is the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain an organism. For organisms with a brain, death can also be defined as the irreversible cessation of functioning of the whole brain, including brainstem, and brain ...

, Dead Brain Cells, Possessed,

Crumbsuckers Crumbsuckers was an American crossover thrash band formed by bass player Gary Meskil in 1982, in Baldwin, Nassau County, New York. Crumbsuckers combined thrash and hardcore punk sounds and themes, making an impact on the scene with their 1986 ...

, Agnostic Front,

Agent Steel Agent Steel is an American speed metal band from Los Angeles, formed in 1984 by vocalist John Cyriis with drummer Chuck Profus. The band released two full-length albums and one EP before disbanding in 1988. They were most notable for Cyriis' hi ...

, Dark Angel, Heathen,

Zoetrope A zoetrope is one of several pre-film animation devices that produce the illusion of motion by displaying a sequence of drawings or photographs showing progressive phases of that motion. It was basically a cylindrical variation of the phénak ...

and Exodus. In 2017, it was announced that Combat was being relaunched by Megadeth bassist David Ellefson and

Thom Hazaert Thom Hazaert is an American musician, author/journalist, music executive and radio personality. He was co-founder and president of Corporate Punishment Records and currently runs THC: MUSIC, a management firm and label. With David Ellefson, he r ...

as a new label imprint under their EMP Label Group.

History

Combat Records was the in-house heavy metal label for the independent powerhouse distributor Important Record Distributors. Important had several offices in the United States that promoted and sold Combat's releases. Important Records was also home to Megaforce Records in the mid-1980s and produced Metallica's ''

Kill 'Em All ''Kill 'Em All'' is the debut studio album by American heavy metal band Metallica, released on July 25, 1983, through the independent label Megaforce Records. Metallica began by playing shows in local clubs in Los Angeles. They recorded severa ...

'' and '' Ride the Lightning'' (prior to Metallica's transfer to Elektra Records), Anthrax's ''

Fistful of Metal ''Fistful of Metal'' is the debut studio album by American heavy metal band Anthrax, released in January 1984 by Megaforce Records (US only) and Music for Nations internationally. The album includes a cover of Alice Cooper's "I'm Eighteen". Thi ...

'' and many other early Megaforce releases. In mid-1986, the

Noise Noise is unwanted sound considered unpleasant, loud or disruptive to hearing. From a physics standpoint, there is no distinction between noise and desired sound, as both are vibrations through a medium, such as air or water. The difference aris ...

label signed a deal with Combat to distribute records in the US. Noise represented the bands Voivod, Celtic Frost,

Helloween Helloween is a German power metal band founded in 1984 in Hamburg by members of bands Iron Fist, Gentry, Second Hell and Powerfool. Its first lineup consisted of singer and guitarist Kai Hansen, bassist Markus Grosskopf, guitarist Michael Wei ...

, Tankard, and Running Wild). Neat also signed with Combat, bringing

Venom Venom or zootoxin is a type of toxin produced by an animal that is actively delivered through a wound by means of a bite, sting, or similar action. The toxin is delivered through a specially evolved ''venom apparatus'', such as fangs or a st ...

, Raven to the US, while

Metal Blade Metal Blade Records is an American independent record label founded by Brian Slagel in 1982. The US office for Metal Blade is located in Agoura Hills, California. It also has offices in Germany, Japan, Canada, and the UK. The label is distri ...

brought Slayer and Trouble. Usually releases were issued in joint venture with the Combat logo. The label signed

thrash metal Thrash metal (or simply thrash) is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music characterized by its overall aggression and often fast tempo.Kahn-Harris, Keith, ''Extreme Metal: Music and Culture on the Edge'', pp. 2–3, 9. Oxford: Berg, 2007, . ...

band Megadeth to a contract in November 1984. The band released '' Killing Is My Business... and Business Is Good!'', their first album, in 1985. Capitol Records signed Megadeth in 1985, obtaining the rights from Combat to '' Peace Sells... but Who's Buying?'', Megadeth's second album. The Combat logo appeared on the back of every Megadeth album on Capitol up through 1992's '' Countdown to Extinction''. Megadeth's album ''Killing Is My Business... and Business Is Good!'' is one of the highest selling albums released by Combat Records with more than 200,000 copies sold. The label had distribution deals with Music for Nations and Under One Flag for European releases of their catalog.

Purchase of the company

Combat Records was later taken over by

Relativity Records Relativity Records was an American record label founded by Barry Kobrin at the site of his company, Important Record Distributors (IRD) in metro New York. Relativity released music that covers a wide variety of musical genres. When it entered in ...

. Owned by Sony Records, Relativity allowed Combat to exist for a brief period of time, before shutting it down. Later, Sony would discontinue Relativity Records as well. Sony Music Entertainment continues to retain rights to the majority of the label's catalog.

Rebirth

Combat Records briefly reformed in 2005, as an imprint under

Koch Records MNRK Music Group (pronounced "monarch", formerly known as Koch Records and eOne Music) is a New York City-based independent record label and music management company. It was formed in 2009 from the music assets of Koch Entertainment, which had ...

, releasing records from Look What I Did,

Horse the Band Horse the Band (stylized as HORSE the band) is an American metalcore band from Lake Forest, California, who are best known for their 8-bit video game-influenced sound combined with metalcore. Frontman Nathan Winneke once jokingly described thei ...

, and At All Cost. Sony Music Entertainment released most of the original Combat catalog digitally for the first time in 2015. The releases were marketed through the relaunched Music For Nations label. In 2017, it was announced that Megadeth bassist David Ellefson, with partner

, was relaunching Combat as an imprint of EMP Label Group, who have released albums from

Soulfly Soulfly is an American heavy metal band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1997, and later based out of Phoenix, Arizona. Soulfly is led by former Sepultura frontman Max Cavalera, who formed the band after he left the Brazilian group in 19 ...

guitarist

Marc Rizzo Marc Rizzo (born August 2, 1977) is an American musician, best known as the former lead guitarist of metal band Soulfly. He has featured on eight Soulfly albums: ''Prophecy'', '' Dark Ages'', '' Conquer'', ''Omen'', '' Enslaved'', '' Savages'' ...

, Wrath, Dead By Wednesday,

Hatchet A hatchet (from the Old French , a diminutive form of ''hache'', ' axe' of Germanic origin) is a single-handed striking tool with a sharp blade on one side used to cut and split wood, and a hammerhead on the other side. Hatchets may also be us ...

, Sword, and more. On New Year's Day 2018, Ellefson announced that Throw the Goat was the first new band to be signed. In 2019, Ellefson and Hazaert's Combat Records, released joint venture reissues of several classic Combat catalog titles with Century Media Records, including releases by Exodus, Possessed, and Dark Angel.

Former artists

Abattoir A slaughterhouse, also called abattoir (), is a facility where animals are slaughtered to provide food. Slaughterhouses supply meat, which then becomes the responsibility of a packaging facility. Slaughterhouses that produce meat that is no ...

* The Accüsed *

* Agnostic Front *

Agony Agony may refer to: Concepts *Pain, anguish, or struggle, especially precededing death *Suffering of intense degree, relating to physical or mental suffering *Passion (Christianity), also called the Agony of Christ *Agony in the Garden, Christ' ...

* At All Cost * Blind Illusion *

Carcass Carcass or Carcase (both pronounced ) may refer to: *Dressed carcass, the body of a livestock animal ready for butchery, after removal of skin, visceral organs, head, feet etc. *Carrion, the decaying dead body of an animal or human being *The str ...

* Charged G.B.H. *

C.I.A. The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gathering, processing, ...

* Circle Jerks * The Conduit *

Corrosion of Conformity Corrosion of Conformity (also known as COC) is an American heavy metal band from Raleigh, North Carolina, formed in 1982. The band has undergone multiple line-up changes throughout its existence, with guitarist Woody Weatherman as the sole const ...

* Cyclone Temple * D.B.C. * Dark Angel *

* Deathrow * Devastation * Entombed *

The Exploited The Exploited are a Scottish punk rock band from Edinburgh, formed in 1979 by Stevie Ross and Terry Buchan, with Buchan soon replaced by his brother Wattie Buchan. They signed to Secret Records in March 1981,

* Exodus
Faith or Fear
* Forbidden * Forced Entry * Godflesh * Have Mercy * Heathen *

Helstar Helstar is an American heavy metal band formed in Houston, Texas, in 1982 by guitarist Larry Barragan. They were an influential force in the American power metal genre emerging in the mid-1980s. History Early days and Combat-era (1982–1986) H ...

* Impaler * Look What I Did * Ludichrist * Megadeth *

Mercyful Fate Mercyful Fate is a Danish heavy metal band from Copenhagen, formed in 1981 by vocalist King Diamond and guitarist Hank Shermann. Influenced by progressive rock and hard rock, and with lyrics dealing with Satan and the occult, Mercyful Fat ...

* Morbid Angel * Murder in the First * Murphy's Law * Napalm Death *

* Oz * Possessed *

Powermad Powermad is an American thrash/speed metal band formed in Minneapolis in 1984. The group has been called an "innovative and often forgotten speed metal band...who infused progressive metal styles and European styles into abstract American speed ...

* Raven * Running Wild * The Rods * Thrasher * TKO * Tokyo Blade *

Savatage Savatage () was an American heavy metal band founded by brothers Jon and Criss Oliva in 1979 in Tarpon Springs, Florida. The band was first called Avatar, but, shortly before the release of their debut album '' Sirens'' (1983), they changed t ...

Steve Vai Steven Siro Vai (; born June 6, 1960) is an American guitarist, composer, songwriter, and producer. A three-time Grammy Award winner and fifteen-time nominee, Vai started his music career in 1978 at the age of eighteen as a transcriptionist f ...

* Sweet Pain *

* Virus *

Videos

Combat formed a video label in 1985. It released one title, "Combat Tour Live: The Ultimate Revenge", later that year.

References

{{Authority control American independent record labels Heavy metal record labels Thrash metal record labels