https://imgur.com/a/XHEGT0v

DEATH IS JUST THE BEGINNING: NECROPOLIS RECORDS - http://bravewords.com/news/death-is-just-the-beginning-necropolis-records

NECROPOLIS RECORDS have a reputation in the underground for releasing some excellent black/death in the early-to-mid ‘90s, including some classic albums (BURZUM, DISSECTION, WITCHERY). They also have a reputation equally as notorious for allegations of rip-offs, to the point where rumours have flown that Paul Thind, the man behind the whole operation, is currently doing time for tax evasion.

“In many ways it’s hilarious because it actually infers that I made money,” says Thind, who, we can safely report, is currently not behind bars. “The truth is that I was lucky to escape financially bleeding everything. Underground metal—especially what I was signing—is a fast way to bankruptcy. No offense to the bands or the music, but we didn’t do this for the money; we did it for the music and the passion, and our beliefs.”

Thind, who is now the CEO of a new San Francisco-based company in online and mobile games, started Necropolis in 1992 after publishing a fanzine with the same name, with the first batch of releases coming out in ‘93. The label got started with DEMILICH’s debut, an LP from ARCHGOAT, and, most notably, a 7” by cult blacksters BEHERIT. The early days, says Thind, were financed by his own money and through Necropolis’ mailorder and wholesale business.

“It was the one of the sole homes for black metal at the time due to my personal interest and alliances with many of the early cult bands from Scandinavia, particularly all the bands I would write with,” he says.

Thind says that when he started Necropolis fanzine in 1990, being involved with the tape-trading scene was incredibly influential.

“I don’t think anything made as much of an impact as getting the latest killer demo from an upstart band halfway across the world,” he says. “It was a great time for the underground. Watching local bands like VON here in San Francisco open for death metal bands was eye-opening and in ‘91 and ‘92 I connected with several other tape traders. We were supporting many Scandinavian bands that were ultra satanic, and that scene just made the most impact on me at the time.”

By 1993 Thind had taken those connections and signed a batch of bands he loved because he was “tired of sending demos to other labels asking them to sign my favourite bands so I just decided to do it myself.”

“The point of taking that action and the years that followed were when the music and lifestyle were aligned,” he continues. “You could see it in everything we did back then from the way I was living to the mail order to the messaging to the releases. I had many alliances in Norway and Sweden at the time. That all died with Euronymous and others who were imprisoned, but the feeling was alive for a few years after. Jon from Dissection and It of ABRUPTUM were great allies, and the scene continued for a while.”

Throughout the rest of the ‘90s, the label quickly rose to prominence in the underground, releasing many classic and influential albums, as well as tons of cool under-the-radar discs. Bands like Witchery, WAR, USURPER, NIFELHEIM, DARK FUNERAL, INCANTATION, and ROTTEN SOUND all released albums on Necropolis. By 1999, Necropolis was one of metal’s big labels and had been heralded by Billboard magazine as a hot underground metal label.

..One way that Thind did things differently from the other metal labels at the time, and it no doubt affected sales, was he signed lots of overseas bands, or North American side projects. He points to a label like Relapse signing INCANTATION and GOREAPHOBIA from near the label’s HQ, then getting the bands out on the road to spread the good word. Necropolis, well, they had Swedish jokesters CRANIUM…

...But Thind’s not just blaming the bands for some of Necropolis’ woes. He admits that he made some business mistakes as a young man, citing larger recording budgets, touring budgets, and record-licensing deals that “didn’t compute, saleswise.” This, tied together with the rise of music piracy, and “a bad American distributor” started to make things pretty tough for the label.

“Then there were some of the bands who used their album budgets to buy IRON MAIDEN collectibles, or drugs. That’s why some bands’ albums sounded like crap or didn’t even get released,” he says, but he’s not naming names. “I'll spare them the embarrassment of naming the three I can think of, one of which has still not released their debut on any label.”

Ah, yes, the bands… over the years there has been a few bands who have spoken out very strongly against Thind and the label—most notably and spoken most vocally, Dark Funeral—but, as it turns out, some bands also find Thind years later to say good things.

..California gore-grinders IMPALED (pictured above) put out two full-lengths and two EPs on Necropolis (through the label’s Deathvomit imprint), and guitarist/vocalist Sean McGrath admits that he has “mixed feelings about it.”