Banzai Records

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 Détente - 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