Seventh Level Records
Encyclopedia
| Seventh Level Records | |||
| Former Name | Judas Cradle Productions | ||
| Founded | 2001 | ||
| Founder | Shane Tierney | ||
| Distributing labels | The Orchard CD Baby CD Baby CD Baby is an online music store specializing in the sale of CDs and digital music downloads from independent musicians to consumers. The company is also a digital aggregator of independent music recordings, distributing content to several online digital music retailers.CD Baby has achieved recent... |
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| Genre(s) | Heavy Metal music Heavy metal music Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States... , Alternative Alternative rock Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s... |
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| Country | US United States The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district... |
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| Web address | http://www.seventhlevelrecords.com/ | ||
Founded by Shane Tierney, Seventh Level Records was previously known as Judas Cradle Productions from 2001
2001 in music
See also:* 2001 in music Record labels established in 2001-Events:*January 1**Comeback of Guns N' Roses in House of Blues**Hum disbands.*January 17 – Bass player Jason Newsted leaves Metallica after 14 years with the band....
-2005
2005 in music
-Events:*During the year 2005, 12 rock music albums scored number 1 in the USA. This was the first time even ten albums have scored number 1 since 1996.-January:...
. Judas Cradle Productions was the label for Leviathan
Leviathan (punk)
Leviathan was a hard rock band that formed in New York City, N.Y. in 2001, and despite a three year hiatus, continues to perform today. During their career, they've played with Glenn Danzig, The Exploited, Nuclear Assault, Body Count, Jello Biafra, Clutch, Michale Graves, The Misfits, Hirax, Six...
, a metal / punk band that Shane Tierney was the front man for at the time. Though there was the intent to produce multiple artists under the moniker of Judas Cradle Productions, including an album to benefit the West Memphis Three
West Memphis Three
The West Memphis Three are three men who were tried and convicted as teenagers in 1994 of the 1993 murders of three boys in West Memphis, Arkansas. Damien Echols was sentenced to death, Jessie Misskelley, Jr. was sentenced to life imprisonment plus two 20-year sentences, and Jason Baldwin was...
with contributions from Jello Biafra
Jello Biafra
Jello Biafra is an American musician, spoken word artist and leading figure of the Green Party of the United States. Biafra first gained attention as the lead singer and songwriter for San Francisco punk rock band Dead Kennedys...
and Henry Rollins
Henry Rollins
Henry Rollins is an American singer-songwriter, spoken word artist, writer, comedian, publisher, actor, and radio DJ....
, monetary and time constraints kept the fledgling label from releasing anything other than two CDs from Leviathan
Leviathan (punk)
Leviathan was a hard rock band that formed in New York City, N.Y. in 2001, and despite a three year hiatus, continues to perform today. During their career, they've played with Glenn Danzig, The Exploited, Nuclear Assault, Body Count, Jello Biafra, Clutch, Michale Graves, The Misfits, Hirax, Six...
. When Leviathan
Leviathan (punk)
Leviathan was a hard rock band that formed in New York City, N.Y. in 2001, and despite a three year hiatus, continues to perform today. During their career, they've played with Glenn Danzig, The Exploited, Nuclear Assault, Body Count, Jello Biafra, Clutch, Michale Graves, The Misfits, Hirax, Six...
broke up, Shane reorganized what support structure there was from Judas Cradle Productions and formed Seventh Level Records in August 2005. The label's name comes from The Divine Comedy
The Divine Comedy
The Divine Comedy is an epic poem written by Dante Alighieri between 1308 and his death in 1321. It is widely considered the preeminent work of Italian literature, and is seen as one of the greatest works of world literature...
by author Dante Alighieri
Dante Alighieri
Durante degli Alighieri, mononymously referred to as Dante , was an Italian poet, prose writer, literary theorist, moral philosopher, and political thinker. He is best known for the monumental epic poem La commedia, later named La divina commedia ...
, where the seventh level of hell is the residence of those who were violent towards themselves, others, or god in their mortal lives.
Aimed at providing a platform for local New York City independent bands, Seventh Level is a quickly expanding outlet for numerous musicians, mainly of the heavy metal music
Heavy metal music
Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...
genre, located around the NYC metropolitan area. The operational tempo of Seventh Level Records is vastly different than that of its predecessor, Judas Cradle Productions. The label launched with ten bands on their roster, with signs that they intend to add more in the coming year, and they are also producing their own podcast radio show, entitled Hard, Fast, & Loud, which showcases the artists on the label, as well as giving news on the NYC area hard music underground.
The artists that are a part of the Seventh Level Records collective are all from the "active rock" category, but vary in style from more traditional metal and hard rock to hardcore, death metal and experimental projects. The label prides itself on considering the content of the individual artists character and personality as much as it does the music they create.
Business wise, Seventh Level Records is designed to be a contemporary version of the DIY punk ethic labels formed in the punk
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
era of the 1970s like Alternative Tentacles
Alternative Tentacles
Alternative Tentacles is an independent record label originally based in San Francisco, California and was established in 1979. It was originally used as the label name by the Dead Kennedys for the self-produced single "California Über Alles", and after realizing the potential for an independent...
and Dischord. The label itself runs without taking any money from its artists for album sales, prides itself on not interfering in any way with creativity of the artist, and makes all its advertising, touring, and marketing decisions based on a majority vote. Artists that call this label their home do not get loans from the label, but instead can use its resources of information and distribution to assist each other.
Seventh Level Records has announced aggressive plans for 2007, with at least 4 new albums coming out along with regional tours to match. Concert posters illustrated by artist JayJay Jackson appear in the movie Reign Over Me featuring Adam Sandler
Adam Sandler
Adam Richard Sandler is an American actor, comedian, screenwriter, musician, and film producer.After becoming a Saturday Night Live cast member, Sandler went on to star in several Hollywood feature films that grossed over $100 million at the box office...
, Don Cheadle
Don Cheadle
Donald Frank "Don" Cheadle, Jr. is an American film actor and producer. Cheadle rose to prominence in the late 1990s and the early 2000s for his supporting roles in the Steven Soderbergh-directed films Out of Sight, Traffic, and Ocean's Eleven...
, Liv Tyler
Liv Tyler
Liv Rundgren Tyler is an American actress and model. She is the daughter of Aerosmith's lead singer, Steven Tyler, and Bebe Buell, model and singer. Tyler began a career in modeling at the age of 14, but after less than a year she decided to focus on acting. She made her film debut in the 1994...
, and Jada Pinkett Smith
Jada Pinkett Smith
Jada Koren Pinkett Smith is an American actress, producer, director, author, singer-songwriter, and businesswoman. She began her career in 1990, when she made a guest appearance in the short-lived sitcom True Colors. She starred in A Different World, produced by Bill Cosby, and she featured...
seen in the record store interior scenes. In late summer 2007, the label will produce their 1st compilation CD, showcasing all the bands in their stable.
Artists
Artists appearing on the label include:- Antipathy
- Conspiracy Of Four
- Dedicated Aggression
- Devile
- Dirty Brown Eye
- EngineEngine (band)Engine is an American progressive metal band. Engine's lead singer is Ray Alder of Fates Warning.The side project of Fates Warning vocalist Ray Alder, metal band Engine also featured ex-Agent Steel guitarist Bernie Versailles, Armored Saint bassist Joey Vera and Face to Face drummer Pete Parada...
- VIII Weeks Dead
- Head Trauma
- Infinite SystemInfinite systemInfinite System is an American heavy metal band based in Mount Vernon, New York. They are represented by Seventh Level Records. Their band name is a collaboration of two ideas that current and founding members had for the band name - Infinite Cycle, and System Addict. -History:Infinite System...
- King Hell
- LeviathanLeviathan (punk)Leviathan was a hard rock band that formed in New York City, N.Y. in 2001, and despite a three year hiatus, continues to perform today. During their career, they've played with Glenn Danzig, The Exploited, Nuclear Assault, Body Count, Jello Biafra, Clutch, Michale Graves, The Misfits, Hirax, Six...
- Meatball Tanktop
- No Affiliation
- Primer Black
- Resolution 15
- Through Adversity
- Travesty
Releases
- Antipathy - Removal Of The Mind (2005)
- Conspiracy Of Four - V.I.T.R.I.O.L. (2004)
- Conspiracy Of Four - The Sacred And The Profane (2007)
- Dedicated Aggression - Hardcore Is Dead (2007)
- DeVile - Raised By Yonkers (2006)
- Dirty Brown Eye - Vol. 1 (2000)
- Dirty Brown Eye - Vol. 2 (2004)
- 8 Weeks Dead - Projects From The Junkyard (2007)
- Head Trauma - Psychotic Episode (2004)
- Infinite System - Human Race (2007)
- Leviathan (2002)
- Leviathan - Internal Inferno (2004)
- No Affiliation (2004)
- Primer Black - Blood On The Headlights (2005)
- Resolution 15 (2007)
- Travesty - Adverse Effects (2006)
- Rhythm & Bruise (2009)