How Brian Slagel Found His Purpose Through Heavy Metal Music

Posted August 4, 2023 | Reviewed by Tyler Woods

A sense of purpose can be defined as the ongoing process by which we identify and work toward meaningful goals in our life. Often, a sense of purpose refers to a more holistic and enduring prioritization and commitment to an ideal, cause, or culture. Our sense of purpose may not only give us a better sense of who we are, but also may help us direct our energy and efforts towards building a more authentic and fulfilling life. In fact, a growing body of research suggests that people who have a stronger sense of purpose live longer, healthier, and happier lives.

So, how do we discover and nurture a stronger sense of purpose in our lives? We may be able to learn from the experience of people who have lived a purpose-driven life.

It was with this goal that I spoke with Brian Slagel, founder of heavy metal record label Metal Blade Records.

Heavy metal music and culture began in the late 1960’s with bands such as Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin, and Deep Purple. The genre has traditionally been characterized by loud and powerful guitars and drums, intense vocals, and lyrics that addressed substantive and dark themes such as war, death, and mental illness. Over the past 50-plus years, heavy metal has evolved into a worldwide phenomenon with a range of sub-genres, including thrash metal and grindcore. Heavy metal fans tend to be particularly devoted to the culture around the music. Further, it appears that heavy metal fans derive psychological benefits from the music and culture, including improved stress management.

In talking with Slagel, it became clear that he has found purpose in heavy metal music and has been consistently supporting and contributing to heavy metal culture for most of his life. In fact, Slagel recently celebrated Metal Blade Records 40th anniversary, and has shared his story in a new book, Swing of the Blade: More Stories from Metal Blade Records (2023). We can apply some of the lessons from his story as we attempt to build our own purpose-driven life.

One of the first things that I noticed from the conversation with Slagel was the simple, visceral, and all-encompassing way he loved heavy metal music. Identifying and understanding what we love and find important is one way that we can begin to identify a sense of purpose. Slagel recounted the first time he heard Iron Maiden. “I got a tape from a friend of mine... He said, 'Hey, there's this new band from England called Iron Maiden,'” Slagel told me. “The tape changed my life… I was like, ‘What is this?’”

One barrier that many of us may face in finding their sense of purpose is when something we are passionate about is not supported, and even condemned by others. Heavy metal music has often been maligned and stigmatized as being unhealthy or even dangerous. And yet Slagel was able to check in with himself and recognize that he did not want to embrace more conventional approaches to life, or more traditional notions of "acceptable" music.

“When I grew up… I liked Alice Cooper. I liked Kiss. I liked things that you weren't supposed to like. So I guess I liked kind of pushing the boundaries of the mainstream,” Slagel recalled. “I didn't want to become a guy that had to wear a suit and a tie and get up early and go to work. I was never that guy. So I think that musical thing appealed to me, because that was the antithesis of that sort of stuff.”

While simply knowing our sense of purpose can be beneficial as a way to understand ourselves and give our life meaning, putting our sense of purpose into action can be a particularly powerful way to improve the quality of our lives. It can help us organize and prioritize spending time on things that matter to us, which will inherently be fulfilling. And as we work towards our sense of purpose, we are more likely to attain tangible improvements in our life. While Slagel began as primarily a fan of heavy metal music, he soon found himself wanting to contribute directly to its culture.

In the absence of heavy metal music on the radio, fans needed another way to share their music. One of the ways was "tape trading." Fans often recorded live performances of their favorite bands and shared the recordings. Slagel eventually sold his tapes in order to buy vinyl albums of his favorite bands.

“I was what you would call a 'tape trader.' That's the nice word we used in the '70s. 'Bootlegger' would be the other word. I used to sneak tape recorders into shows because I just loved the music so much,” he said. “And then I started trading them around the world. Then I started selling them at local swap meets to basically fuel my vinyl habit… With the money I made on the tapes, I bought records so I felt good in my head that I wasn't doing a bad thing because I'm repurposing all the money back into vinyl.”

Slagel recognized that heavy metal music was also not receiving attention from traditional music magazines. Eventually, Slagel started the Heavy Metal Revue to promote local bands. He also recognized that heavy metal bands were not signing to major record labels and decided to document the bands in the emerging scene. He eventually started The New Heavy Metal Revue presents Metal Massacre compilation albums, including songs from the bands such as Metallica, Ratt, and Cirith Ungol. And Metal Blade Records was born.

After initially focusing on compilation albums, Slagel took the next step of recording new music to be released on Metal Blade Records, including albums by the bands Bitch and Armored Saint.

“It took awhile… the first three years of this, I was all by myself... It took a couple of years before enough money started rolling in where I said, 'Okay, now we can actually record something.'”

Over the years, Slagel was able to build a community that shared his passion and purpose. That community further reinforced his sense of purpose and his desire to work hard to contribute to that culture.

When Slagel started Metal Blade Records, there was no guarantee the music and culture would grow as it did. But his sense of purpose—his love for the music and culture, his hard work to help develop that culture, and the resulting community he found—kept him committed and fulfilled.

“Our motto back in the day was 'Heavy metal will never die.' Because that was the big thing: It's a fad. It's gonna go away... You're gonna grow out of it,” Slagel said. “And I just never thought that that was really the case... There's something more here...not just musically, but culturally."

Slagel recounted a recent interaction with Lars Ulrich, drummer of heavy metal immortals Metallica. "We'll revert to 16- and 17-year-old kids when we listen to old-school metal. I think that also motivates us to continue doing this."