'Damn The Machine - The Story Of Noise Records' Book Author Guests On 'Black Night Meditations' (Audio)

On Friday, March 3, WSCA 106.1 FM‘s metal show “Black Night Meditations” broadcast a special four-hour program that focused solely on seminal German record label Noise Records, airing music from KREATOR, CORONER, DARK AVENGER, GRINDER, DEATHROW, WATCHTOWER, D.A.M., HELLOWEEN, VENDETTA, IRON FORCE, CELTIC FROST, MIDAS TOUCH, V2, ROSY VISTA, and many more. In addition to the music aired, “Damn The Machine – The Story Of Noise Records” author David Gehlke called in to talk about the history of the highly revered and controversial record label. The two-hour conversation can be streamed below.

Among the many topics discussed include how Gehlke came to write the book, the insider access Gehlke was given to gather detailed label information, the participation of label founder/owner Karl Walterbach, punk music and specifically BLACK FLAG‘s role in the formation of the label, whether bands such as HELLHAMMER (pre-CELTIC FROST) and TORMENTOR (pre-KREATOR) would have otherwise been discovered, the label’s extensive discography, how bands felt about their contracts with Noise, the label’s problems with product control and distribution, the circumstances surrounding HELLOWEEN guitarist Kai Hansen quitting and drummer Ingo Schwictenberg‘s untimely passing, RUNNING WILD incorporating a pirate image in 1987, commercial releases by GRAVE DIGGER and CELTIC FROST, the label’s identity crisis and eventual successful releases by STRATOVARIUS and KAMELOT in the ’90s, and much more.

“Black Night Meditations” is a four-hour program focusing on black, death, speed, thrash, doom, shred, power, prog, folk and traditional metal, and broadcasts every Friday evening at 9 p.m. EST on WSCA 106.1 FM in Portsmouth, New Hampshire.

“Damn The Machine – The Story Of Noise Records” is the tale of Europe’s most groundbreaking — and important — heavy metal record company of the 1980s. Founded in the shadow of the Berlin Wall by self-proclaimed anarchist Karl-Ulrich Walterbach, Noise‘s key bands — CELTIC FROST, CORONER, GAMMA RAY, GRAVE DIGGER, HELLHAMMER, HELLOWEEN, KREATOR, RUNNING WILD, SABBAT, STRATOVARIUS, TANKARD and VOIVOD — were brash, innovative, and highly influential, helping shape the global metal scene as we know today.

With first-hand accounts from Walterbach, his bands, employees, and fellow music industry comrades, “Damn The Machine” provides an unflinching look at the tumultuous history of Noise Records. Amidst the classic albums and legendary bands came court battles, contract squabbles, botched tours, disastrous shifts in sound, and complicated, sometimes strained relationships between Walterbach and the bands he was responsible for. “Damn The Machine” shows few metal record companies have a legacy comparable to Noise‘s.

With over 75 exclusive interviews from every main Noise bandmember, manager, and industry personality, along with countless never-before-seen photos, “Damn The Machine” provides a thorough, balanced look into a record company that helped establish mainland Europe as a global force in metal.

“Damn The Machine – The Story Of Noise Records” will be released on Friday, March 24 via Deliberation Press. The book can be pre-ordered at this location.