Editing Combat Records

{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2022}}
{{Short description|American record label}}
{{More citations needed|date=January 2015}}
{{Infobox record label <!-- See Wikipedia:WikiProject_Music -->
| name        = Combat Records
| image       = Combat records logo.gif
| parent      = [[Sony Music Entertainment|Sony]]<br />[[Koch Entertainment|Koch]]<br />[[EMP Label Group|EMP]]
| founded     = {{Start date|1982}}
| founder     = 
| distributor = Important/[[Relativity Records|Relativity]]/AMPED/SPV
| genre       = [[heavy metal music|Heavy metal]]
| country     = U.S.
| location    = New York City
}}

'''Combat Records''' was an American [[independent record label]] founded in 1982 and based in New York City. 

The label was made specifically for [[heavy metal music|heavy metal]] and [[punk rock]] acts. Notable artists include: [[Megadeth]], [[Circle Jerks]], [[Nuclear Assault]], [[Oz (Finnish band)|OZ]], [[Death (metal band)|Death]], [[Dead Brain Cells]], [[Possessed (band)|Possessed]], [[Crumbsuckers]], [[Agnostic Front]], [[Agent Steel]], [[Dark Angel (band)|Dark Angel]], [[Heathen (band)|Heathen]], [[Zoetrope (band)|Zoetrope]], [[Ludichrist]] and [[Exodus (band)|Exodus]]. In 2017, it was announced that Combat was being relaunched by Megadeth bassist [[David Ellefson]] and [[Thom Hazaert]] as a new label imprint under their [[EMP Label Group]].<ref name="XS">{{cite web|title=David Ellefson's EMP Label Group Brings Back Combat Records|url=http://xsrock.com/david-ellefsons-emp-label-group-brings-back-combat-records/|website=XS ROCK|publisher=XS ROCK|access-date=November 27, 2017|archive-date=December 31, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191231123113/https://xsrock.com/david-ellefsons-emp-label-group-brings-back-combat-records/|url-status=dead}}</ref>

==History==
Combat Records was the in-house [[Heavy metal music|heavy metal]] label for the independent powerhouse distributor Important Record Distributors.<ref name="Billboard-24Aug1985">{{cite magazine
|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=2iQEAAAAMBAJ&q=%22combat+records%22&pg=PT93
|last= Moleski |first= Linda
|title= Important Records Rediscovers Relativity
|date= August 24, 1985
|page=70
|magazine= Billboard
|access-date= January 18, 2015
|quote= Shortly after its formation in 1983, Relativity was put on hold because the company decided it would be more beneficial to "drop dance" and start a specialty label for heavy metal... As a result ... the money generated by Combat 'paved the way for us to start signing other [types of] bands.'
}}</ref> Important had several United States offices promoting and selling Combat's releases. Important Records was also home to [[Megaforce Records]] in the mid-1980s<ref name="Billboard-">{{cite magazine
|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=zSQEAAAAMBAJ&q=%22combat%20records%22&pg=PA54
|title=advertisement
|author1=Important Record Distributors
|author2=Megaforce Records
|author3=Combat Records
|magazine=Billboard
|date=December 8, 1984
|page= RB16
|access-date=January 15, 2015
}}</ref> and produced [[Metallica]]'s ''[[Kill 'Em All]]'' and ''[[Ride the Lightning]]'' (prior to Metallica's transfer to [[Elektra Records]]), [[Anthrax (American band)|Anthrax]]'s ''[[Fistful of Metal]]'' and many other early Megaforce releases.<ref name="Billboard-29Jan2000">{{cite magazine
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wg0EAAAAMBAJ&q=%22combat%20records%22&pg=PA50
|first=Don |last=Waller
|title=Secrets of RED's Success
|date=January 29, 2000
|page=R-2
|magazine=Billboard
|postscript=. The Billboard Salute to RED.
|access-date=January 15, 2015
}}</ref>

In mid-1986, the label [[Noise Records]] signed a deal with Combat to distribute records in the US. Noise represented the bands [[Voivod (band)|Voivod]], [[Celtic Frost]], [[Helloween]], [[Tankard (band)|Tankard]], and [[Running Wild (band)|Running Wild]]).<ref name="Billboard-7Jun1986">{{cite magazine
|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=-CMEAAAAMBAJ&q=%22combat+records%22&pg=PA43
|first=Linda |last=Moleski
|title=Grass Route
|page=43
|date=June 7, 1986
|magazine=Billboard
|access-date=January 15, 2015
}}</ref> [[Neat Records|Neat]] also signed with Combat, bringing [[Venom (band)|Venom]] and [[Raven (band)|Raven]] to the US. In contrast, [[Metal Blade]] brought [[Slayer]] and [[Trouble (band)|Trouble]].<ref name="Billboard-27Apr1985"/> Usually releases were issued in joint venture with the Combat logo.

The label signed [[thrash metal]] band [[Megadeth]] to a contract in November 1984. The band released their first album ''[[Killing Is My Business... and Business Is Good!]]'' in 1985. [[Capitol Records]] signed Megadeth in 1985, obtaining the rights from Combat to ''[[Peace Sells... but Who's Buying?]]'', Megadeth's second album. The Combat logo appeared on the back of every Megadeth album on Capitol up through 1992's ''[[Countdown to Extinction]]''. ''Killing Is My Business... and Business Is Good!'' is one of the highest selling albums released by Combat Records with more than 200,000 copies sold.

The label had distribution deals with [[Music for Nations]] and [[Under One Flag]] for European releases of their catalog.

===Purchase of the company===
Combat Records was later taken over by [[Relativity Records]]. Owned by [[Sony Music]], Relativity allowed Combat to exist for a brief period, before shutting it down. Later, Sony would discontinue Relativity Records as well. Sony Music Entertainment continues to retain rights to the majority of the label's catalog.

===Rebirth===
Combat Records briefly reformed in 2005, as an imprint under [[Koch Entertainment|Koch Records]], releasing records from [[Look What I Did]], [[Horse the Band]], and At All Cost.<ref name="billboard">{{cite magazine
|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=ERUEAAAAMBAJ&q=%22combat+records%22&pg=PA22
|last=Titus |first=Christa
|title=Venerable Metal Label Again Ready for Combat
|date=October 22, 2005
|page=22
|magazine=Billboard
|access-date=January 15, 2015
}}</ref>

Sony Music Entertainment released most of the original Combat catalog digitally for the first time in 2015. The releases were marketed through the relaunched [[Music For Nations]] label.

In 2017, it was announced that [[Megadeth]] bassist [[David Ellefson]] and [[Thom Hazaert]] were relaunching Combat as an imprint of [[EMP Label Group]], who have released albums from [[Soulfly]] guitarist [[Marc Rizzo]], Wrath, [[Dead By Wednesday]], [[Hatchet (band)|Hatchet]], Sword, and more. On New Year's Day 2018, Ellefson announced that Throw the Goat was the first new band to be signed. In 2019, Ellefson and Hazaert's Combat Records, released joint venture reissues of several classic Combat catalog titles with [[Century Media Records]], including releases by [[Exodus (band)|Exodus]], [[Possessed (band)|Possessed]], and [[Dark Angel (band)|Dark Angel]].
Tech Death Metal [[End-Time Illusion (band)|End-Time Illusion]] released Anamnesis Genesis in late 2023 under Combat and Mindsnap Music.

==Former artists==
{{div-col|colwidth=20em}}
* [[Abattoir (band)|Abattoir]]<ref name="Billboard-27Apr1985">{{cite magazine
|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=CyQEAAAAMBAJ&q=%22combat+records%22&pg=PT46
|title= Bang Your Head 'Til You're Dead
|author=Combat Records
|page= HM-5
|magazine= Billboard
|date= April 27, 1985
|access-date= January 15, 2015
|postscript= (advertisement).
}}</ref>
* [[The Accüsed]]
* [[Agent Steel]]<ref name="Billboard-27Apr1985"/>
* [[Agnostic Front]]
* [[Agony (band)|Agony]]
* [[At All Cost]]<ref name="billboard"/>
* [[Blind Illusion]]
* [[Bolt Thrower (band)|Bolt Thrower]]
* [[Carcass (band)|Carcass]]
* [[Charged G.B.H.]]
* [[C.I.A. (band)|C.I.A.]]
* [[Circle Jerks]]<ref name="billboard"/>
* The Conduit{{Citation needed|date=January 2015}}
* [[Corrosion of Conformity]]
* [[Crumbsuckers]]
* [[Cyclone Temple]]
* [[Dead Brain Cells|D.B.C.]]
* [[Dark Angel (band)|Dark Angel]]
* [[Death (metal band)|Death]]
* [[Deathrow (band)|Deathrow]]
* Devastation
* [[End-Time Illusion (band)|End-Time Illusion]]
* [[Entombed (band)|Entombed]]
* [[The Exploited]]
* [[Exodus (band)|Exodus]]<ref name="Billboard-27Apr1985"/><ref name="billboard"/>
* Faith or Fear
* [[Forbidden (band)|Forbidden]]
* [[Forced Entry (band)|Forced Entry]]
* [[Godflesh]]
* Have Mercy
* [[Heathen (band)|Heathen]]
* [[Helstar]]
* [[Impaler (band)|Impaler]]<ref name="Billboard-27Apr1985"/>
* [[Look What I Did]]<ref name="billboard"/>
* [[Ludichrist]]
* [[Megadeth]]<ref name="Billboard-27Apr1985"/><ref name="billboard"/>
* [[Mercyful Fate]]
* [[Morbid Angel]]
* Murder in the First<ref name="billboard"/>
* [[Murphy's Law (band)|Murphy's Law]]
* [[Napalm Death]]
* [[Nocturnus]]
* [[Nuclear Assault]]
* [[Oz (Finnish band)|Oz]]
* [[Possessed (band)|Possessed]]
* [[Powermad]]
* [[Raven (band)|Raven]]
* [[Running Wild (band)|Running Wild]]<ref name="Billboard-27Apr1985"/>
* [[The Rods]]
* Thrasher<ref name="Billboard-27Apr1985"/>
* [[TKO (band)|TKO]]<ref name="Billboard-27Apr1985"/>
* [[Tokyo Blade]]
* [[Savatage]]<ref name="Billboard-27Apr1985"/>
* [[Steve Vai]]
* Sweet Pain<ref name="Billboard-27Apr1985"/>
* [[Venom (band)|Venom]]<ref name="Billboard-27Apr1985"/>
* Virus
* [[Zoetrope (Band)|Zoetrope]]
{{div-col-end}}
* Mercedes Sosa

==Videos==
Combat formed a video label in 1985.<ref name="Billboard-6Apr1985">{{cite magazine
|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=MCQEAAAAMBAJ&q=%22combat+records%22&pg=PT31
|title=Home Video ....newsline....
|date=April 6, 1985
|page=32
|magazine=Billboard
|access-date=January 15, 2015
}}</ref> It released one title, ''Combat Tour Live: The Ultimate Revenge'', later that year.<ref>{{cite magazine
|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=NiQEAAAAMBAJ&q=%22combat%20records%22&pg=PA29
|title=New Releases: Home Video
|page=29
|date=October 19, 1985
|magazine=Billboard
|access-date=January 15, 2015
}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:American independent record labels]]
[[Category:Heavy metal record labels]]
[[Category:Thrash metal record labels]]
[[Category:1982 establishments in New York City]]