Digby Pearson
Encyclopedia
Digby Pearson, also known as "Dig," is a British musician who founded Earache Records
, which signed some of the most infamous heavy metal
acts worldwide in the 1980s and early 1990s.
He was raised in Nottingham
, UK
where he began playing music focusing on heavy metal
. His band "Scum Dribblers" failed to achieve success and he began releasing 7" albums of local bands.
As his business success grew he signed unknown acts like Napalm Death
, Bolt Thrower
, Carcass
, Cathedral
, Godflesh
, Anal Cunt
, Entombed
, Morbid Angel
and many others throughout the 1980s. Into the 1990s, Sony Music expected death metal
and grindcore
to be "the next big thing" and Earache Records licensed Earache's main bands such as Cathedral, Fudge Tunnel
and Carcass to Sony.
When the success never occurred Earache was without its main acts and Cathedral and Carcass were left in label limbo. Digby pushed on and signed acts such as Deicide
, Mortiis
, and The Berzerker
into the next century; meanwhile reissuing the albums from the acts that established the indie label as an important force in metal.
Earache Records
Earache Records is a heavy metal-oriented record label based in Nottingham, UK and New York, USA. It helped to pioneer extreme metal by releasing many of the earliest grindcore and death metal records in the period 1988-1994.-History:...
, which signed some of the most infamous heavy metal
Heavy metal music
Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...
acts worldwide in the 1980s and early 1990s.
He was raised in Nottingham
Nottingham
Nottingham is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England. It is located in the ceremonial county of Nottinghamshire and represents one of eight members of the English Core Cities Group...
, UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
where he began playing music focusing on heavy metal
Heavy metal music
Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...
. His band "Scum Dribblers" failed to achieve success and he began releasing 7" albums of local bands.
As his business success grew he signed unknown acts like Napalm Death
Napalm Death
Napalm Death are a death metal band formed in Birmingham, England in 1981. While none of its original members remain in the group, the lineup of vocalist Mark "Barney" Greenway, bassist Shane Embury, guitarist Mitch Harris and drummer Danny Herrera has remained consistent for most of the band's ...
, Bolt Thrower
Bolt Thrower (band)
Bolt Thrower are a British death metal band from Coventry, England. They formed in 1986 and released their first album with Vinyl Solution in 1988. The band then shifted to a new record label, Earache Records, soon becoming one of the best selling bands on that label. Their current label is Metal...
, Carcass
Carcass (band)
Carcass are an extreme metal band from England, who formed in 1985 and disbanded in 1995. A reunion was enacted in 2008 without one of its original members, drummer Ken Owen, due to health reasons....
, Cathedral
Cathedral (band)
Cathedral are a doom metal band from Coventry, England. The group forged a link between early doom metal and a 1990s extreme metal aesthetic, making doom slower and heavier. Their debut album, Forest of Equilibrium, is considered a classic of the genre. They later on changed their doom style,...
, Godflesh
Godflesh
Godflesh are an English industrial metal band from Birmingham, England. Originally known as Fall of Because, they formed in 1988 by Justin K. Broadrick and G.C. Green and disbanded in 2002. Godflesh's innovative music is widely regarded as a foundational influence on industrial metal and post-metal...
, Anal Cunt
Anal Cunt
Anal Cunt, also known as AxCx and A.C., was an American grindcore band that formed in Newton, Massachusetts in 1988. Since its inception, the band underwent a number of line-up changes. Known for its grindcore musical style and controversial lyrics, Anal Cunt released eight full-length studio...
, Entombed
Entombed (band)
Entombed is a Swedish death metal band which formed in 1987 under the name of Nihilist. Though Entombed began their career as an early pioneer of Scandinavian death metal which initially differed itself from its American counterpart with its distinct guitar tone, by the early 1990s their sound had...
, Morbid Angel
Morbid Angel
Morbid Angel is an American death metal band based in Tampa, Florida. UK music magazine Terrorizer ranked one Morbid Angel album in its “Top 40 greatest death metal albums”, with their 1989 debut Altars of Madness appearing at number 1...
and many others throughout the 1980s. Into the 1990s, Sony Music expected death metal
Death metal
Death metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal. It typically employs heavily distorted guitars, tremolo picking, deep growling vocals, blast beat drumming, minor keys or atonality, and complex song structures with multiple tempo changes....
and grindcore
Grindcore
Grindcore is an extreme genre of music that started in the early- to mid-1980s. It draws inspiration from some of the most abrasive music genres – including death metal, industrial music, noise and the more extreme varieties of hardcore punk....
to be "the next big thing" and Earache Records licensed Earache's main bands such as Cathedral, Fudge Tunnel
Fudge Tunnel
Fudge Tunnel were a band formed in Nottingham, England by Alex Newport, David Ryley and Adrian Parkin. After two critically acclaimed singles on Pigboy Records , they signed to Nottingham's Earache Records...
and Carcass to Sony.
When the success never occurred Earache was without its main acts and Cathedral and Carcass were left in label limbo. Digby pushed on and signed acts such as Deicide
Deicide (band)
Deicide is an American death metal band formed in 1987. Their first two albums, Deicide and Legion, are ranked second and third place in best-selling death metal albums of the SoundScan era.-As Amon/Carnage :...
, Mortiis
Mortiis
Mortiis is a band from Notodden, Norway fronted by Håvard Ellefsen, who is also known as the namesake of the band. The name is a misspelling of the word 'mortis', which is the pronunciation used by the band. However, Mortiis started as the solo project of Ellefsen as a means to convey a story...
, and The Berzerker
The Berzerker
The Berzerker was an extreme metal band from Melbourne, Australia and was formed in 1995. The band's music, heavily influenced by older death metal and grindcore, can be characterized as a fusion of these with speedcore, and gabber...
into the next century; meanwhile reissuing the albums from the acts that established the indie label as an important force in metal.