Metalheadz

Since ive been a drum n bass fan for quite some time, I thought about putting down a couple of words for the people that got me into this about 10 years ago. I’m talking about a label that took a non-mainstream type of music by the hand, and led it all the way from a small East London basement onto making hundreds of people dance in one of the country’s biggest clubs on a Friday night. Formed in the UK in a period where the rave scene was still in all its glory, Metalheadz managed to make its name synonymous to quality drum n bass for almost 20 years since its formation that dates back in 1994. For those who know what this true pioneer of a label is all about, the first name that pops to someone’s head is none other than Goldie, one of the earliest and well respected drum n bass figures worldwide. Goldie was one of its three founding members along with Kemistry (RIP) and Storm, and is still responsible up to this day for discovering and bringing new talent to the label as well as dealing with the current roster, based on his early work experience of the same kind at 4Hero’s Reinforce record label. Goldie has even put out some music using the name Metalheadz as an alias before forming the label. Together with two other labels that run along called Metalheadz Platinum and Razors Edge, one thing Metalheadz can definitely brag about is it’s back catalogue which features some of the biggest names in the genre both new and old school such as Grooverider, Adam F, Dillinja, Andy C, Photek and the list goes on. Their first big break that laid the foundation and eventually led them to the next level was “Sunday Sessions” at the Blue Note in Hoxton Square, which became a massive hit in the mid 90’s among drum n bass fans a couple of years after the label was first formed. Around that time no matter how much the label had started to grow, drum n bass was still portrayed to the public in a way that was downgrading in terms of musical orientation. The label's release “Platinum Breaks” though was about to change this notion. Promoting a different kind of drum n bass which was much more sophisticated and carefully produced, borrowing different elements from various musical genres especially dub, hip hop and funk, this compilation helped the genre to become known to a much wider audience of club goers, from hip hop heads, to fans of flat and heavy bass lines. Despite the fact that the amount of its releases has been limited compared to other labels around the country, Metalheadz is still on top of the game, its djs and producers running full house parties and scoring residencies at clubs all around London such as Herbal and Cable, and of course being regular visitors at the Fabriclive Friday.