New Renaissance Records
| Company type | Record label |
|---|---|
| Industry | Music |
| Founded | 1984 |
| Founder | Ann Boleyn |
| Headquarters | United States |
Area served | Worldwide |
Key people | Ann Boleyn (founder) |
| Products | Music recordings |
New Renaissance Records is a United States-based record label created in 1984 by Ann Boleyn, who is the lead vocalist of the band Hellion.
History
Following Hellion's achievement of reaching number six on the UK Music Charts without securing a contract in the U.S., Ann Boleyn launched New Renaissance Records. To finance early compilation albums that showcased initial recordings from groups such as Wehrmacht, Morbid Angel, Artillery, Mayhem, Prong, Sepultura, At War, Savage Grace, and Flotsam and Jetsam, Boleyn parted with her car and musical instruments.
Early history
By 1985, the expanding heavy metal scene prompted a packaging and distribution deal with Greenworld Distribution. This partnership led to New Renaissance's first releases being issued under Greenworld labels with catalog numbers starting with "GWD". However, Greenworld ceased operations in 1986 due to legal complications involving the Frankenchrist album by the Dead Kennedys. Later New Renaissance releases adopted catalog numbers beginning with "NR".
In 1987, Bathory’s Quorthon collaborated with New Renaissance to conduct his inaugural press campaign in the United States.
The label's lineup has featured prominent bands including Chyld, Rock City Angels (which included actor Johnny Depp), Wehrmacht, Sepultura, Morbid Angel, Artillery, King Kobra, IronChrist, Kublai Khan, Wilder (Carmen Wilder), Holocross, Amulance, Blood Feast, Cerebus, Dream Death, Deadly Blessing, Forger with Geoff Mega, Genöcide, Medieval, Post Mortem, At War, Savage Grace, Mayhem, Prong, Whiplash, Indestroy, Screamer among others.
Current affairs
After temporarily stepping away from music to pursue legal studies, the label’s founder obtained her law license in December 2007. New Renaissance Records currently oversees a catalog exceeding thirty titles distributed worldwide.
In 2009, At War, an artist signed to New Renaissance, released Infidel, which received critical praise as a follow-up to their previous works Ordered to Kill and Retaliatory Strike.
The year 2014 saw the release of Hellion’s two-disc anthology To Hellion And Back, followed by their first new album in over ten years titled Karma's a Bitch.