# SharpTone Records

SharpTone Records is an American independent record label started on September 11, 2013. The label was founded by Nuclear Blast CEO Markus Staiger and former vice president of Sumerian Records Shawn Keith.

## History
### Conception and first releases (2013)

The record label was started by Markus Staiger, the current CEO of Nuclear Blast Records and Shawn Keith, the former vice president of Sumerian Records. The label has been described as an offshoot label of Nuclear Blast which primarily focuses on rock and alternative music, similar to Arising Empire. Arising Empire focuses on metalcore and punk bands. In an interview, Keith spoke about the label: "Developing this label has been very exciting for me. The opportunity to partner and cultivate new and established artists working toward broadening their global potential is thrilling. SharpTone will continue to diversify and evolve as a brand for music fans to truly identify with. We are not just another record label. We are a new-music company, allowing artists to be as creative and passionate as they choose to be."
The record label was first hinted at on June 23, 2016, when several bands shared a mysterious teaser image reading "A New Era of Music Begins..." on their social media. These bands included Attila, Don Broco, Loathe, Miss May I and We Came as Romans. The first release of the label would be a re-issue of the debut EP Prepare Consume Proceed by UK metal band Loathe less than a month later, but the labels first studio album release would be Attila's sixth album titled Chaos, released November 4 the same year. Other later releases for the year included the American release of Don Broco's Automatic, and a release of Craig Owens new side project, badXchannels, who was also signed later in 2016, with the EP being named WHYDFML. Emmure also signed in 2016.

### Releases and signings (2017–present)

The label's roster would increase from nine bands in 2016 to seventeen acts by the end of 2017. They released 12 studio albums from bands including Emmure's Look at Yourself, Loathe's The Cold Sun, While She Sleeps' You Are We, and Miss May I's Shadows Inside to name a few. In 2018, along with signing four new bands including Bleeding Through, the label's first band to move away from the label, Attila, said they wanted absolute creative freedom. That was their reason for going solo without the help of any record label. In 2018 the label issued Don Broco's Technology, Sink the Ship's Persevere, and Bleeding Through's Love Will Kill All among others.

## Music

The record label primarily focuses on different subgenres within rock music, more specifically the post-hardcore and progressive metalcore side of rock. Early signings included Attila, Emmure, Currents, and Loathe.

## Notable artists
### Current

List of all current artists signed with Sharptone :
| Artist | Year signed | Origin | Genre(s) |
| 156/Silence | 2020 | US: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania | Metalcore |
| Alpha Wolf | 2017 | Australia: Burnie, Tasmania | Metalcore |
| August Burns Red | 2022 | US: Lancaster, Pennsylvania | Metalcore |
| Better Lovers | 2023 | US: Buffalo, New York | Metalcore Hardcore punk Mathcore |
| Bleeding Through | 2018 | US: Orange County, California | Metalcore |
| Boston Manor | 2021 | UK: Blackpool, England | Punk rock |
| Broadside | 2020 | US: Richmond, Virginia | Pop-punk Emo |
| Currents | 2017 | US: Connecticut | Metalcore |
| Crystal Lake | 2018 | Japan: Tokyo | Metalcore |
| Don Broco | 2016 | UK: Bedford, England | Rock |
| Dying Wish | 2020 | US: Portland, Oregon | Metalcore |
| Emmure | 2016 | US: New Fairfield, Connecticut | Metalcore |
| Foreign Hands | 2022 | US: Wilmington, Delaware | Metalcore |
| Holding Absence | 2017 | UK: Cardiff, Wales | Post-hardcore Alternative rock |
| Jamie's Elsewhere | 2023 | US: Sacramento, California | Metalcore |
| Letters Sent Home | 2023 | Germany | Pop rock |
| LEVELS | 2023 | US: Little Rock, Arkansas | Metalcore |
| Loathe | 2016 | UK: Liverpool, England | Metalcore |
| Make Them Suffer | 2023 | Australia: Perth | Metalcore |
| Miss May I | 2016 | US: Troy, Ohio | Metalcore |
| No Cure | 2024 | US: Birmingham, Alabama | Metalcore |
| Of Mice & Men | 2021 | US: Costa Mesa, California | Metalcore |
| Polaris | 2017 | Australia: Sydney | Metalcore |
| Pridelands | 2021 | Australia: Mount Gambier | Alternative metal |
| Stepson | 2020 | Australia: Brisbane | Melodic hardcore |
| Stick to Your Guns | 2024 | US: Orange County, California | Hardcore punk Melodic hardcore Metalcore |
| Story of the Year | 2022 | US: St. Louis, Missouri | Post-hardcore Emo |
| The Gloom In The Corner | 2016 | Australia: Melbourne | Metalcore |
| Vukovi | 2023 | UK: Kilwinning, Scotland | Pop-punk |
| We Came as Romans | 2016 | US: Troy, Michigan | Metalcore Post-hardcore |

### Former

List of all former artists no longer signed with Sharptone :
| Artist | Years Labelled | Origin | Genre's |
| Annisokay | 2017 | Germany: Halle (Saale), Saxony-Anhalt | Post-hardcore |
| Any Given Day | 2019 | Germany: Gelsenkirchen | Metalcore |
| Attila | 2016–2018 | US: Atlanta, Georgia | Metalcore |
| badXchannels | 2016 | US: Davison, Michigan | R&B, Pop-punk, Post-hardcore |
| Being as an Ocean | 2017 | US: San Diego, California | Post-hardcore |
| Imminence | 2017 | Sweden: Trelleborg | Post-hardcore |
| Make Out Monday | 2018 | US: Los Angeles, California | Rock |
| Novelists | 2017–2020 | France: Paris | Metalcore |
| Of Virtue | 2019 | US: Lansing, Michigan | Metalcore |
| Rise of the Northstar | 2018 | France: Paris | Hardcore punk |
| Stuck Out | 2020–2022 | Australia: Melbourne | Pop punk |
| While She Sleeps | 2017–2018 | UK: Sheffield, England | Metalcore |

## Releases

| Album | Type | Artist | Release date |
| Prepare Consume Proceed (Re-issue) | EP | Loathe | July 8, 2016 |
| Chaos | Studio Album | Attila | November 4, 2016 |
| Automatic (North American Release) | Studio Album | Don Broco | November 11, 2016 |
| WHYDFML | EP | badXchannels | November 18, 2016 |
| Look at Yourself | Studio Album | Emmure | March 3, 2017 |
| This Is Goodbye | Studio Album | Imminence | March 31, 2017 |
| The Cold Sun | Studio Album | Loathe | April 14, 2017 |
| You Are We | Studio Album | While She Sleeps | April 21, 2017 |
| Shadows Inside | Studio Album | Miss May I | June 2, 2017 |
| The Place I Feel Safest | Studio Album | Currents | June 16, 2017 |
| Cold Like War | Studio Album | We Came as Romans | October 20, 2017 |
| The Mortal Coil | Studio Album | Polaris | November 3, 2017 |
| Technology | Studio Album | Don Broco | February 2, 2018 |
| This Is as One | Split EP | Loathe/Holding Absence | February 16, 2018 |
| Love Will Kill All | Studio album | Bleeding Through | May 25, 2018 |
| Arms | Studio album | Annisokay | August 17, 2018 |
| Waiting for Morning to Come (Deluxe Edition) | Studio album | Being as an Ocean | September 7, 2018 |
| The Legacy of Shi | Studio album | Rise of the Northstar | October 19, 2018 |
| Visions of Hollywood | Studio album | Make Out Monday | October 26, 2018 |
| Split Series #1 | Split EP | Kingsmen/ExitWounds | November 2, 2018 |
| I Let the Devil In | EP | Currents | December 14, 2018 |
| Everyone Around Me | Studio Album | Commonwealth | January 18, 2019 |
| Helix | Studio Album | Crystal Lake | February 15, 2019 |
| Holding Absence | Studio Album | Holding Absence | March 8, 2019 |
| Overpower | Studio Album | Any Given Day | March 15, 2019 |
| Fault | EP | Alpha Wolf | April 19, 2019 |
| I Let It In and It Took Everything | Studio album | Loathe | February 7, 2020 |
| The Death of Me | Studio album | Polaris | February 21, 2020 |
| The Way It Ends | Studio album | Currents | June 5, 2020 |
| Hindsight | Studio album | Emmure | June 26, 2020 |
| A Quiet Place to Die | Studio Album | Alpha Wolf | September 25, 2020 |
| The Things They Believe | Studio Album | Loathe | February 7, 2021 |
| The Greatest Mistake of My Life | Studio Album | Holding Absence | April 16, 2021 |
| Fragments of a Bitter Memory | Studio Album | Dying Wish | October 1, 2021 |
| Amazing Things | Studio Album | Don Broco | October 22, 2021 |
| Echo | Studio Album | Of Mice & Men | December 3, 2021 |
| The Lost & the Longing | Split EP | Alpha Wolf/Holding Absence | August 15, 2022 |
| Curse of Existence | Studio Album | Miss May I | September 2, 2022 |
| Darkbloom | Studio Album | We Came As Romans | October 14, 2022 |
| Datura | Studio Album | Boston Manor | October 14, 2022 |
| Tear Me to Pieces | Studio Album | Story of the Year | March 10, 2023 |
| Death Below | Studio Album | August Burns Red | March 24, 2023 |
| The Death We Seek | Studio Album | Currents | May 5, 2023 |
| Fatalism | Studio album | Polaris | September 1, 2023 |
| Symptoms of Survival | Studio Album | Dying Wish | November 3, 2023 |
| PULSE | EP | LEVELS | February 2, 2024 |
| What's Left Unsaid | Studio album | Foreign Hands | June 21, 2024 |