Being a young Canadian discovering Heavy Metal in the 80s, Banzai Records is a record label that I discovered while buying records (vinyls and cassettes) from my favourites bands at the time (Metallica, Slayer, Raven, Venom, ..). Banzai Records was a company label that was founded in Montréal (Canada) by Michael Meese and the business model of this company was to license heavy metal records that weren't available in Canada domestically (i.e. that you couldn't get unless you were buying an import from the USA or Europe). At the time, I wasn't specifically looking for Banzai Records release (to be honest, the only thing I wanted was to buy my favourite albums at the cheapest price)...but I ended up having a lot of Banzai Record releases in my collection.
What's funny is that, at the time, my favourite record store was "Rock en Stock" located downtown Montreal. This record store speciality was Heavy Metal/Hard Rock and they had so many obscurs imports of all kind of bands from all around the world...not only official releases but bootlegs as well (metalhead paradise!!)! As soon as I got my driver's license, me and a friend a mine were driving to Montreal just to be able to purchase records from this store and go through their extensive inventory. Only later, while looking at the back at my Banzai Records Jacket, I found out that the head office of the labels and the record store had the same address!
A Banzai Records love built this fantastic website...which is a fantastic reference for any Banzai Records label fan:
http://www.banzai-records.duludepostprod.com
According to this website, Banzai release 113 titles, 92 albums, 12 EPs, 3 12", 1 double album, 2 compilation and 1 promo copy.
Here's the discography and some pictures of the Banzai Records I own:
BRC 1900 Venom - At War with Satan
BRC 1901 Metallica - Kill 'em All (2 versions exists... White and Black Label)
BRC 1902 Anthrax - Fistful of Metal (2 versions exists - White and Black label)
BRC 1903 Exciter - Violence & Force
BRC 1904 Raven - All for One
BRC 1905 Trouble - s/t (Psalm 9)
BRC 1906 Slayer - Show no Mercy (3 label versions exist - White Metal Blade and Black Roadrunner Wanted)
BRC 1907 Venom - Welcome to Hell
BRC 1908 Venom - Black Metal
BRC 1909 Metallica - Ride the Lightning (2 versions exists White and Black label)
BRC 1910 Overdrive - Swords and Axes
BRC 1911 Tokyo Blade - Midnight Rendez-Vous
BRC 1912 MainEEaxe - Shout it Out
BRC 1913 Eric Steel - s/t
BRC 1914 Sortilege - Metamorphose
BRC 1915 Sortilege - Metamorphosis
BRC 1916 Grave Digger - Heavy Metal Breakdown
BRC 1917 Avenger - Blood Sports
BRC 1918 Tokyo Blade - Night of the Blade
BRC 1919 Omen - Battle Cry
BRC 1920 Jaguar - Power Games
BRC 1921 Tysondog - Beware of the Dog
BRC 1922 Axewitch - Visions of the Past
BBRC 1923 Warfare - Pure Filth
BRC 1924 Warlord - And the Cannons of Destruction Have Begun
BRC 1925 Voivod - War and Pain
BRC 1926 Thrust - Fist Held High (Speed Metal Logo)
BRC 1927 Savage Grace - Master of Disguise (NEVER RELEASED)
BRC 1928 Jag Panzer - Ample Destruction
BRC 1929 Venom - Possessed
BRC 1930 Slayer - Hell Awaits
BRC 1931 Trouble - The Skull
BRC 1932 Fates Warning - Night on Bröcken
BRC 1933 Metal Church - s/t
BRC 1934 Bathory - s/t (Speed Metal Logo)
BRC 1935 Grave Digger - Witch Hunter
BRC 1936 Exciter - Long Live the Loud (2 versions of the label exist - Black Version Wanted)
BRC 1937 MainEEaxe - Going for Gold
BRC 1938 Torch - s/t
BRC 1939 Exodus - Bonded By Blood
BRC 1940 Megadeth - Killing is my Business...and Business is Good
BRC 1941 Oz - III Warning
BRC 1942 Destruction - Infernal Overkill (Speed Metal Logo)
BRC 1943 Torch - Electrikiss
BRC 1944 Abattoir - Vicious Attack
BRC 1945 TKO - In Your Face
BRC 1946 Laaz Rockit - City's Gonna Burn
BRC 1947 Lizzy Borden - Love You to Pieces
BRC 1948 Hallow's Eve - Tales of Terror
BRC 1949 Oz - Fire in the Brain (NEVER RELEASED)
BRC 1950 Nasty Savage - s/t
BRC 1951 Kreator - Endless Pain (Speed Metal Logo - 2 versions of Black Label Exists - smaller logo version wanted)
BRC 1952 Warrant - The Enforcer (Speed Metal Logo)
BRC 1953 Tyrant - Legions of the Dead
BRC 1954 Thrasher - Burning at the Speed of Light
BRC 1955 Bathory - The Return... (Speed Metal Logo)
BRC 1956 Agent Steel - Skeptics Apocalypse
BRC 1957 Gravestone - Back to Attack
BRC 1958 Running Wild - Branded & Exiled (Speed Metal Logo)
BRC 1959 Iron Angel - Hellish Crossfire (Speed Metal Logo)
BRC 1960 Liege Lord - Freedom's Rise
BRC 1961 Restless - We Rock the Nation
BRC 1962 Tyrant - Mean Machine (Speed Metal Logo)
BRC 1963 Fates Warning - The Spectre Within
BRC 1964 Celtic Frost - To Mega Therion
BRC 1965 Possessed - Seven Churches (Speed Metal Logo)
BRC 1966 Helloween - Walls of Jericho
BRC 1967 Stormwitch - Tales of Terror
BRC 1968 Savatage - Sirens
BRC 1969 Tokyo Blade - Blackhearts and Jaded Spades
BRC 1970 Living Death - Metal Revolution (Speed Metal logo)
BRC 1971 Omen - Warning of Danger
BRC 1972 Kreator - Pleasure to Kill (Speed Metal Logo)
BRC 1973 Voivod - Rrröööaaarrr (Speed Metal Logo + Signed)
BRC 1974 Iron Angel - Winds of War
BRC 1975 Tyran Pace - Long Live Metal
BRC 1976 Sound Barrier - Speed of Light
BRC 1977 Destruction - Eternal Devastation
BRC 1978 Sodom - Obsessed by Cruelty
BRC 1979 Paul Di'Anno's Battlezone - Fighting Back
BRC 1980 Jag Wire - Made in Heaven
BRC 1981 Tony MacAlpine - Edge of Insanity
BRC 1982 Lizzy Borden - The Murderess Metal Road Show
BRC 1983 DĂ©tente - Recognize No Authority
BRC 1984 Fifth Angel - s/t
BRC 1985 Flotsam & Jetsam - Doomsday for the Deciever
BRC 1986 Cryptic Slaughter - Convicted (Speed Metal Logo)
BRC 1987 MacAlpine, Aldridge, Rock, Sarzo - Project: Driver
BRC 1988 Chastain - Ruler of the Wasteland
BRC 1989 Racer X - Street Lethal
BRC 1990 Vinnie Moore - Mind's Eye
BRC 2001 Mercyful Fate - The Beginning
BRC 2002 Infernäl Mäjesty - None Shall Defy
BRC 2003 Aggression - The Full Treatment
BRD 2900 Raven - Live at the Inferno
BAM 1001 Raven - Break the Chain
BAM 1002 Venom - Canadian Assault
BAM 1003 Hellhammer - Apocalyptic Raids (With and Without Speed Metal Logo)
BAM 1004 Destruction - Sentence of Death (Speed Metal Logo)
BAM 1005 Slayer - Haunting the Chapel
BAM 1006 Tokyo Blade - Madame Guillotine
BAM 1007 Celtic Frost - Morbid Tales (Speed Metal Logo)
BAM 1008 Parasite -s/t
BAM 1009 Strike - s/t
BAM 1010 Helloween - s/t
BAM 1011 Ruthless - Metal Without Mercy
BAM 1012 Savatage - The Dungeons are Calling
BRSX 101 Wasp - Animal (f**k like a Beast)
BRSX 102 Celtic Frost - Emperor's Return
BRSX 103 Celtic Frost - Tragic Serenades
BAXE 1 The Banzai Axe
FORCE 1 Force of the Blade
DJB 135 Advance DJ Sampler