If you could be a fly on the wall of Metal Blade founder and CEO Brian Slagel, you’d probably have seen some crazy stuff. Him as a young tape trader that decided to release a compilation of some of his favorite bands, including Slayer and Metallica. Him signing Slayer to their first record deal. Attempting to sign Metallica. Expanding Metal Blade Records in 1988 after he could no longer run it by himself. Picking up bands like Cannibal Corpse, GWAR, Between the Buried and Me. Signing a deal with friend and celebrity chef Chris Santos. Co-owning a hockey team. There have probably been enough people that said “you should write a book” that he’s going to do just that.
Label and publishing company BMG is getting into the book business, and an article in Billboard about their new deal said that Slagel’s memoir will be out later this year. For the Sake of Heaviness will be out in conjunction with this, the label’s 35th year, and will include a foreword by Metallica’s Lars Ulrich. Slagel himself mentioned it via his Instagram:
