// Workers AI · dad joke modeIs SharpTone Records a cut above the rest?
| SharpTone Records | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Founded | September 11, 2013 |
| Founder |
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| Distributors | |
| Genre | |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Location | Los Angeles, California |
| Official website | sharptonerecords |
SharpTone Records is an American independent record label started on September 11, 2013. The label was founded by Nuclear Blast CEO Markus Staiger and former vice president of Sumerian Records Shawn Keith.
History
[edit source]Conception and first releases (2013)
[edit source]The record label was started by Markus Staiger, the current CEO of Nuclear Blast Records and Shawn Keith, the former vice president of Sumerian Records.[1] The label has been described as an offshoot label of Nuclear Blast which primarily focuses on rock and alternative music, similar to Arising Empire. Arising Empire focuses on metalcore and punk bands.[2] In an interview, Keith spoke about the label: "Developing this label has been very exciting for me. The opportunity to partner and cultivate new and established artists working toward broadening their global potential is thrilling. SharpTone will continue to diversify and evolve as a brand for music fans to truly identify with. We are not just another record label. We are a new-music company, allowing artists to be as creative and passionate as they choose to be."[1]
The record label was first hinted at on June 23, 2016,[3] when several bands shared a mysterious teaser image reading "A New Era of Music Begins..." on their social media. These bands included Attila, Don Broco, Loathe, Miss May I and We Came as Romans.[4] The first release of the label would be a re-issue of the debut EP Prepare Consume Proceed by UK metal band Loathe less than a month later, but the labels first studio album release would be Attila's sixth album titled Chaos, released November 4 the same year.[5][6] Other later releases for the year included the American release of Don Broco's Automatic, and a release of Craig Owens new side project, badXchannels, who was also signed later in 2016, with the EP being named WHYDFML. Emmure also signed in 2016.[7][8]
Releases and signings (2017–present)
[edit source]The label's roster would increase from nine bands in 2016 to seventeen acts by the end of 2017. They released 12 studio albums from bands including Emmure's Look at Yourself, Loathe's The Cold Sun, While She Sleeps' You Are We, and Miss May I's Shadows Inside to name a few. In 2018, along with signing four new bands including Bleeding Through, the label's first band to move away from the label, Attila, said they wanted absolute creative freedom. That was their reason for going solo without the help of any record label.[9][10] In 2018 the label issued Don Broco's Technology, Sink the Ship's Persevere, and Bleeding Through's Love Will Kill All among others.[11][12]
Music
[edit source]The record label primarily focuses on different subgenres within rock music, more specifically the post-hardcore and progressive metalcore side of rock.[13] Early signings included Attila,[14] Emmure,[8] Currents,[15] and Loathe.[16]
Notable artists
[edit source]Current
[edit source]Former
[edit source]Releases
[edit source]| Album | Type | Artist | Release date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Prepare Consume Proceed (Re-issue) | EP | Loathe | July 8, 2016 |
| Chaos | Studio Album | Attila | November 4, 2016 |
| Automatic (North American Release) | Don Broco | November 11, 2016 | |
| WHYDFML[7] | EP | badXchannels | November 18, 2016 |
| Look at Yourself | Studio Album | Emmure | March 3, 2017 |
| This Is Goodbye[47] | Imminence | March 31, 2017 | |
| The Cold Sun | Loathe | April 14, 2017 | |
| You Are We | While She Sleeps | April 21, 2017 | |
| Shadows Inside | Miss May I | June 2, 2017 | |
| The Place I Feel Safest[48] | Currents | June 16, 2017 | |
| Noir | Novelists | September 8, 2017 | |
| Cold Like War | We Came as Romans | October 20, 2017 | |
| The Mortal Coil | Polaris | November 3, 2017 | |
| Technology | Don Broco | February 2, 2018 | |
| This Is as One | Split EP | Loathe/Holding Absence | February 16, 2018 |
| Love Will Kill All | Studio album | Bleeding Through | May 25, 2018 |
| Arms | Annisokay | August 17, 2018 | |
| Waiting for Morning to Come (Deluxe Edition) | Being as an Ocean | September 7, 2018 | |
| The Legacy of Shi | Rise of the Northstar | October 19, 2018 | |
| Visions of Hollywood | Make Out Monday | October 26, 2018 | |
| Split Series #1 | Split EP | Kingsmen/ExitWounds | November 2, 2018 |
| I Let the Devil In | EP | Currents | December 14, 2018 |
| Everyone Around Me | Studio Album | Commonwealth | January 18, 2019 |
| Helix | Crystal Lake | February 15, 2019 | |
| Holding Absence | Holding Absence | March 8, 2019 | |
| Overpower | Any Given Day | March 15, 2019 | |
| Fault | EP | Alpha Wolf | April 19, 2019 |
| C'est La Vie | Studio album | Novelists | January 24, 2020 |
| I Let It In and It Took Everything | Studio album | Loathe | February 7, 2020 |
| The Death of Me | Studio album | Polaris | February 21, 2020 |
| The Way It Ends | Studio album | Currents | June 5, 2020 |
| Hindsight | Studio album | Emmure | June 26, 2020 |
| A Quiet Place to Die | Studio Album | Alpha Wolf | September 25, 2020 |
| The Things They Believe | Studio Album | Loathe | February 7, 2021 |
| The Greatest Mistake of My Life | Studio Album | Holding Absence | April 16, 2021 |
| Lost Souls | Studio Album | Caskets | August 13, 2021 |
| Fragments of a Bitter Memory | Studio Album | Dying Wish | October 1, 2021 |
| Amazing Things | Studio Album | Don Broco | October 22, 2021 |
| Echo | Studio Album | Of Mice & Men | December 3, 2021 |
| The Lost & the Longing | Split EP | Alpha Wolf/Holding Absence | August 15, 2022 |
| Curse of Existence | Studio Album | Miss May I | September 2, 2022 |
| Darkbloom | Studio Album | We Came as Romans | October 14, 2022 |
| Datura | Studio Album | Boston Manor | October 14, 2022 |
| Tear Me to Pieces | Studio Album | Story of the Year | March 10, 2023 |
| Death Below | Studio Album | August Burns Red | March 24, 2023 |
| The Death We Seek | Studio Album | Currents | May 5, 2023 |
| Reflections | Studio Album | Caskets | August 11, 2023 |
| The Noble Art of Self Destruction | Studio Album | Holding Absence | August 23, 2023 |
| Fatalism | Studio album | Polaris | September 1, 2023 |
| Symptoms of Survival | Studio Album | Dying Wish | November 3, 2023 |
| PULSE[49] | EP | LEVELS | February 2, 2024 |
| Half Living Things | Studio Album | Alpha Wolf | April 5, 2024 |
| What's Left Unsaid | Studio album | Foreign Hands | June 21, 2024 |
| Sundiver | Studio Album | Boston Manor | September 6, 2024 |
| Highly Irresponsible | Studio Album | Better Lovers | October 25, 2024 |
| Make Them Suffer | Studio Album | Make Them Suffer | November 8, 2024 |
| Oddworld | Studio Album | Ocean Grove | November 22, 2024 |
| Nine | Studio Album | Bleeding Through | February 14, 2025 |
| Clockworked | Studio Album | Stray from the Path | May 30, 2025 |
| All Is Beautiful... Because We're Doomed | Studio Album | We Came as Romans | August 22, 2025 |
| Flesh Stays Together | Studio Album | Dying Wish | September 26, 2025 |
| The Only Heaven You'll Know | Studio Album | Caskets | November 7, 2025 |
| Bastard Hymns | Studio Album | Excide | November 28, 2025 |
| A.R.S.O.N. | Studio Album | Story of the Year | February 13, 2026 |
| Peace in Place | Studio Album | Poison the Well | March 20, 2026 |
References
[edit source]- 1 2 3 4 5 6 "SharpTone Records Opens With Attila, Miss May I & We Came as Romans on Roster". Billboard. June 24, 2016. Retrieved May 2, 2018.
- ↑ "Nuclear Blast: Metal record label's 30-year history". loudersound. Retrieved May 7, 2018.
- ↑ "Attila, Miss May I, WCAR rumored to have signed with new label". Lambgoat. Retrieved June 16, 2021.
- ↑ "Multiple metalcore bands have shared this image". Alternative Press. June 24, 2016. Retrieved January 18, 2018.
- ↑ "Loathe Re-Release New EP, Prepare Consume Proceed - National Rock Review". www.nationalrockreview.com. July 12, 2016. Retrieved May 7, 2018.
- ↑ "Attila's "Chaos" is as much a celebration as it is a confrontation". Alternative Press. October 27, 2016. Retrieved May 7, 2018.
- 1 2 3 Sayce, Rob (October 31, 2016). "Craig Owens Has A Weird New Project - News - Rock Sound Magazine". Rock Sound Magazine. Retrieved May 7, 2018.
- 1 2 3 "Emmure drop first single with new lineup, sign deal with SharpTone Records—listen". Alternative Press. October 13, 2016. Retrieved January 18, 2018.
- 1 2 Robert Pasbani (January 22, 2018). "BLEEDING THROUGH Forging A Comeback, New Album Coming This Year?". Metal Injection. Retrieved May 2, 2018.
- 1 2 Natasha Heinz (February 13, 2018). "Attila announce they're unsigned, tease new music: 'We can do anything we want'". Alternative Press. Retrieved May 7, 2018.
- ↑ Everley, Dave (February 13, 2018). "Technology Sharptone Out Now Bedford Bro-Rock-Ers' Overdone Third Album". Q: 108. Retrieved May 8, 2018 – via PressReader.
- ↑ "Persevere - Sink the Ship | Releases". AllMusic. Retrieved May 7, 2018.
- ↑ Caitlyn Ralph (February 10, 2017). "Sharptone Records sign Cardiff heavyweights Holding Absence—watch their new video". Alternative Press. Retrieved May 2, 2018.
- ↑ "Attila announce new album, headlining tour". Alternative Press. August 2016. Retrieved January 18, 2018.
- ↑ Lindy Smith (April 7, 2017). "SharpTone Records signs new band and other news you might have missed today". Alternative Press. Retrieved January 18, 2018.
- ↑ "Watch Loathe's Crushing Video For New Song 'Dance On My Skin'". Rock Sound Magazine. Retrieved January 18, 2018.
- ↑ "Alpha Wolf Sign to SharpTone Records + Announce New EP 'Fault'". Sound Fiction. March 22, 2019. Archived from the original on April 23, 2019. Retrieved April 22, 2019.
- ↑ "ex-Every Time I Die members & Dillinger Escape Plan's Greg Puciato form new band Better Lovers, share debut single". Archived from the original on April 17, 2023. Retrieved January 3, 2025.
- ↑ "NEWS: Boston Manor sign to SharpTone Records!". Dead Press!. July 23, 2021. Archived from the original on September 26, 2021. Retrieved October 11, 2021.
- ↑ "NEWS: Caskets share video for new song, 'Glass Heart'!". Dead Press. December 3, 2020. Archived from the original on August 2, 2021.
- ↑ "Chiodos Return With First New Music In More Than A Decade, Sign To SharpTone Records". Noise 11. July 21, 2026. Retrieved July 21, 2026.
- ↑ "Currents Sign With SharpTone Records, Debut "Night Terrors" Video". Theprp.com. March 3, 2017. Retrieved May 2, 2018.
- ↑ "Foreign Hands Sign With SharpTone Records, Drop New Metalcore Rager "Chlorine Tears"". No Echo. August 23, 2022. Retrieved December 18, 2024.
- ↑ "Kingdom of Giants Announce First New EP Release in Four years, 'Bleeding Star'". knotfest. July 24, 2024. Retrieved December 6, 2024.
- ↑ Howell, Maddy (November 12, 2025). "Mothica Signs To SharpTone Records And Unleashes New Single 'Evergreen Misery'". Rock Sound. Retrieved July 19, 2026.
- ↑ "OCEAN GROVE Announce Label Launch + Release New Track 'Fly Away'". Good Call Live. May 29, 2024. Retrieved June 2, 2024.
- ↑ "【NEWS】オージー産メタルコアバンドPolaris (SharpTone Records)が今週リリースのデビューアルバムから新曲 "LUCID" のMusic Videoを公開". Alternative Press Japan (in Japanese). Archived from the original on May 3, 2018. Retrieved May 2, 2018.
- ↑ Poison The Well ‘Peace In Place’
- ↑ "SharpTone Records signs Vukovi". Lambgoat. July 28, 2023. Retrieved July 28, 2023.
- ↑ "156/Silence sign to SharpTone for expanded edition of new LP (stream a new song)". Brooklyn Vegan. October 9, 2020. Retrieved December 18, 2024.
- ↑ Gonzales, Ramon (October 15, 2025). "156/Silence Signs to Pure Noise Records; Debuts New Music "Our Parting Ways"". Knotfest. Retrieved October 16, 2025.
- ↑ "SharpTone Records Announces Signing of ANNISOKAY". Sound Fiction. July 13, 2018. Archived from the original on July 17, 2018. Retrieved November 27, 2018.
- ↑ "Any Given Day Release 'Overpower'". SharpTone Records. March 15, 2019. Retrieved April 22, 2019.[permanent dead link]
- ↑ Blabbermouth.net (February 20, 2026). "August Burns Red returns to Fearless Records, shares video for new single "Behemoth"". Blabbermouth. Retrieved February 20, 2026.
- ↑ "Being As An Ocean start pre-order for deluxe vinyl and release new music video". Frontview Magazine. July 24, 2018. Retrieved November 27, 2018.
- ↑ Magazine, Alternative Press. "Broadside announce Sharptone signing with new song "Foolish Believer"". Alternative Press.
- ↑ "Crystal Lake Joins Sharptone". SharpTone Records. November 28, 2018. Retrieved December 6, 2018.[permanent dead link]
- ↑ Emily Garner (April 2, 2026). "Holding Absence release huge new single, Whisper Of A Dream: "It felt like the perfect song to return with"". Kerrang. Retrieved April 2, 2026.
- ↑ "Imminence release awesome new video and other news you might have missed today". Alternative Press. March 31, 2017. Retrieved May 2, 2018.
- ↑ "Make Out Monday Sign To SharpTone Records & Share Music Video for New Single, "Bullet For Your Sweetheart"". The Prelude Press. October 26, 2018. Retrieved November 27, 2018.
- ↑ "Novelists announce new album 'Noir' - Distorted Sound Magazine". Distorted Sound Magazine. July 28, 2017. Retrieved May 7, 2018.
- ↑ "OF MICE & MEN Announces 'Timeless' EP, Drops New Song 'Obsolete'". Blabbermouth.net. January 13, 2021. Retrieved January 13, 2021.
- ↑ "Of Virtue Sign With SharpTone Records, Debut "Suffer" Music Video". Theprp.com. January 11, 2019. Retrieved February 8, 2019.
- ↑ "Rise Of The Northstar signs with SharpTone Records". Lambgoat. August 2, 2018. Retrieved November 27, 2018.
- ↑ Kennelty, Greg (February 5, 2025). "STRAY FROM THE PATH Signs To SharpTone Records, Streams New Single". Metal Injection. Retrieved February 20, 2025.
- ↑ "While She Sleeps announce UK headline tour". loudersound. Retrieved May 7, 2018.
- ↑ "This Is Goodbye - Imminence | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved May 7, 2018.
- ↑ "The Place I Feel Safest - Currents | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved May 7, 2018.
- ↑ Westbrook, Cori (November 30, 2023). "Levels Set to Release New 'Pulse' EP on SharpTone Records". KNOTFEST. Retrieved December 28, 2024.
