Southern Lord Records

Content sourced from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

Southern Lord Records is an American heavy metal record label based in Los Angeles. It was founded in April 1998 by Greg Anderson and Stephen O’Malley, the members of Thorr’s Hammer and Sunn O))). The label started so the musicians could control the release of their own music and soon expanded to release other artists in similar heavy, experimental styles.

What it does:
- Originated as a home for experimental metal—doom metal, stoner rock, and drone metal—and later broadened to include black metal, hardcore punk, and crust punk.
- Early releases included Thorr’s Hammer’s Dommedagsnatt and Burning Witch’s Crippled Lucifer. In 2002, Southern Lord released material from Sunn O))), which helped bring wider attention to the label.
- The roster grew to include influential bands like Earth, Goatsnake, and collaborations such as Probot. The label also released material by other notable acts and side projects.
- Over the years, Southern Lord became known for releasing heavy, challenging music and helping popularize the drone/doom scene. The label released landmark Sunn O))) and Earth releases, as well as work from Boris and other bands.

Notable artists (examples):
- Current representative acts include Earth, Sunn O))), Goatsnake, Pelican, Power Trip, Wolves in the Throne Room, and Xibalba.
- Former or notable past acts include Boris, Sleep, Saint Vitus, Pentagram, Thorr’s Hammer, and others associated with the doom, drone, and extreme metal scenes.

Where it’s from and how it’s distributed:
- Based in Los Angeles, California, United States.
- US distribution through Universal Music/Virgin; Europe through its own Southern Records network.

Website:
- Official site: www.southernlord.com

Southern Lord remains a key label in the extremes of metal, known for releasing influential and uncompromising music that helped shape doom, drone, and related genres.