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All That Is Heavy
All That Is Heavy
AtiH's logo.
Background information
Web Address All That Is Heavy
Creator Jadd Shickler, Aaron Emmel
Launch Date September 1997
Current Status Defunct

All That is Heavy (originally All That's Heavy) is an online music store based in Texas and founded in 1997. It is notable as the first online record store dedicated exclusively to the genres of stoner rock, doom metal, sludge metal, drone metal and psychedelic rock. All That is Heavy owns and operates MeteorCity Records, which was instrumental in the growth of the late 1990s stoner rock scene. Distributed labels, besides their in-house MeteorCity Records include Tee Pee, Volcom Entertainment, Small Stone Records and Rise Above Records among others. The store was operated by the now defunct Stonerrock.com from 2001 to 2010, and is currently owned by Casey Kelch.

History[]

All That's Heavy was founded in September 1997 by Jadd Shickler (Notably of the band Spiritu) and Aaron Emmel in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Its first incarnation was an online store selling hard-to-find releases by stoner rock bands Kyuss, Monster Magnet, and Fu Manchu. They soon expanded the catalog to include artists that stylistically fit with the first three bands.

After running the online store for about half a year, they were contacted by the former proprietor for the first Kyuss fan website. He recommended MeteorCity do a compilation of unsigned bands that Kyuss fans would enjoy. MeteorCity Records was formed, and the result of the suggestion was the compilation Welcome to MeteorCity, which was released in May of that year. The compilation included both established desert and stoner rock acts, including new bands established by John Garcia of Kyuss (now in Unida), Ed Mundell of Monster Magnet, and Pete Stahl. The album was the first time that the bands Sixty Watt Shaman, Lowrider, The Atomic Bitchwax, Dozer, Goatsnake, Drag Pack, and Los Natas were heard on a record. The record label and store both increased in popularity after the release. Around this time a MeteorCity intern purportedly coined the term desert rock to describe the burgeoning genre, which is still used interchangeably with the more known descriptor "stoner rock".

As the scene continued to develop, the popular website StonerRock.com was launched by Dan Beland in 1999. The website became a central community hub for heavy music artists and fans, and frequently featured reviews and interviews with stoner rock musicians. In March 2001, MeteorCity licensed StonerRock.com to take over management and operations of All That's Heavy. All That's Heavy's catalog grew to become the largest online store of stoner rock, doom metal, sludge metal, drone metal and psychedelic rock. MeteorCity in turn began to focus more on the label. All That's Heavy was officially sold to Dan Beland and Melanie Streko of StonerRock.com on May 15, 2004 and renamed All That is Heavy. In 2007, Shickler and Emmel sold MeteorCity Records to Dan Beland and Melanie Streko as well. MeteorCity moved to Tendoy, Idaho, and in 2010 StonerRock.com was taken offline, and MeteorCity Records became the official in-house label for All That is Heavy.[1]

Following personal reasons, Beland became sole owner of All That Is Heavy in 2014 and eventually announced the possibility of selling the site in the summer of 2017. On 25 August 2017 it was announced that All That Is Heavy would be taken into new ownership by Casey Kelch and relocated to Austin, Texas (Though Beland still owns the MeteorCity label).[2]

The site in recent years had developed a working relationship with Italian label Heavy Psych Sounds but as of May 2020 that label is no longer working with All That Is Heavy, with the two parties severing ties. All That Is Heavy would issue a statement on the issue circa 18 May 2020[3] while Heavy Psych Sounds would issue their own statement on 28 May 2020, citing shady business practices and pursuing legal action.[4] As of Spring 2020 the All That Is Heavy site is down along with most of their social medias.

Owners[]

  • Jadd Shickler (1997 - 2004)
  • Aaron Emmel (1997 - 2004)
  • Dan Beland (2004 - 2017)
  • Melanie Streko (2004 - 2014)
  • Casey Kelch (2017 - 2020)

External Links[]

References[]

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