AFM Records: 15 Years Metal Addiction

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It’s absolutely right that German metal label AFM should celebrate their 15th anniversary. For a label who have made it their mission to specialise in genuine metal, maintaining sincerity and honesty along the way, they have done incredibly well, and have avoided the God complex certain other similar labels (two in particular from America and Italy) have succumbed to. Although it hasn’t achieved the notable line-up the label deserve (several important names from their roster are missing for whatever reason), a particularly good representation of this achievement is the Metal Addiction festival set to take place in Hamburg in December, headlined by U.D.O.. And to precede that, and mark the anniversary in a slightly more permanent way, the label are releasing this three-disc compilation, sharing its name with the festival, spanning near enough every band they’ve ever had, which includes a lot of important names who are now on other labels, like Grave Digger, Edguy and Destruction. Another worthy move, in theory, but what it really needs is exclusive material. Maybe they can’t get any exclusive material from bands they no longer own, although surely there are rare bonus tracks or b-sides which could have been included, but at least exclusive material from their current artists can’t be beyond the realms of reality. Unfortunately, there’s none. At all. Apart from one or two “single versions” here and there, which are just shortened versions of the album tracks, everything here is lifted from an existing album, making it nothing more than a very extensive label sampler. Their selections are good, and not necessarily the most obvious songs by each band, which is refreshing in the context of label samplers, but with the internet being what it is these days, label samplers are pretty worthless products without exclusive content. AFM should be supported, more so than many other labels, they’re an example of how to do things right, but this compilation isn’t the way to do it.

Written by Andy Lye
More: 2011, Compilation Albums, Heavy Metal, Quick.Play Reviews, Various