From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Seventh Level Records
Former Name	Judas Cradle Productions
Founded	2001
Founder	Shane Tierney
Distributing labels	The Orchard CD Baby
Genre(s)	Heavy Metal music, Alternative
Country	US
Web address	http://www.seventhlevelrecords.com/

Founded by Shane Tierney, Seventh Level Records was previously known as Judas Cradle Productions from 2001-2005. Judas Cradle Productions was the label for Leviathan, a metal / punk band that Shane Tierney was the frontman for at the time. Though there was the intent to produce multiple artists under the moniker of Judas Cradle Productions, including an album to benefit the West Memphis Three with contributions from Jello Biafra and Henry Rollins, monetary and time constraints kept the fledgeling label from releasing anything other than two CD's from Leviathan. When Leviathan broke up, Shane reorganized what support structure there was from Judas Cradle Productions and formed Seventh Level Records in August 2005. The label's name comes from The Divine Comedy by author Dante Alighieri, where the seventh level of hell is the residence of those who were violent towards themselves, others, or god in their mortal lives.

Aimed at providing a platform for local New York City independent bands, Seventh Level is a quickly expanding outlet for numerous musicians, mainly of the heavy metal music genre, located around the NYC metropolitan area. The operational tempo of Seventh Level Records is vastly different than that of its predecessor, Judas Cradle Productions. The label launched with ten bands on their roster, with signs that they intend to add more in the coming year, and they are also producing their own podcast radio show, entitled Hard, Fast, & Loud, which showcases the artists on the label, as well as giving news on the NYC area hard music underground.

Business wise, Seventh Level Records is designed to be a contemporary version of the DIY punk ethic labels formed in the punk era of the 1970's like Alternative Tentacles and Dischord. The label itself runs without taking any money from its artists for album sales, prides itself on not interfering in any way with creativity of the artist, and makes all its advertising, touring, and marketing decisions based on a majority vote. Artists that call this label their home do not get loans from the label, but instead can use its resourses of information and distribution to assist each other.

Seventh Level Records has announced aggressive plans for 2006, with at least 4 new albums coming out along with tours to match. It is also rumored that concert posters illustrated by artist JayJay Jackson are slated to appear in the movie Reign Over Me featuring Adam Sandler, Don Cheadle, Liv Tyler, and Jada Pinkett Smith.

Artists appearing on the label include:

• Antipathy
• Conspiracy Of Four
• Dedicated Aggression
• Devile
• Dirty Brown Eye
• Engine
• VIII Weeks Dead
• Head Trauma
• Infinite system
• Leviathan
• Meatball Tanktop
• No Affiliation
• Primer Black
• S.T.D.
• Through Adversity
• Travesty

• Conspiracy Of Four (2004)
• Dirty Brown Eye - Vol. 1 (2000)
• Dirty Brown Eye - Vol. 2 (2004)
• Psychotic Episode (2004)
• Leviathan (2002)
• Internal Inferno (2004)
• No Affiliation (2004)
• Adverse Effects (2004)

• List of record labels