
The smartest thing Heavy Metal Records ever did was come up with the name Heavy Metal Records. Everything else was a fucking disaster. The eye of the storm during the NWOBHM blitz, Heavy Metal Records calmly and methodically scooped up now-legendary bands, released their seminal albums with zero publicity, and then moved on.
They were responsible for glam-shockers Wrathchild, for doom-gods Witchfinder General, for Cloven Hoof, Quartz, punk-metal juggernauts Broken Bones, crust pioneers Amebix, and many more. As a young and voracious flash metal enthusiast, it was always a grand mystery stumbling on one of their releases. I mean, who the fuck are the Handsome Beasts, and what do they want from me?