In the 1980s, GAMA, based in Kirchheim/Teck, was regarded – alongside Noise Records and Steamhammer – as a key label for a new scene in Germany: heavy metal! Alongside companies such as Earthshaker, Wishbone and Mausoleum, they catered to the slightly smaller end of the market in this segment and never quite managed to make the same impact with the press as the big names. Nevertheless, names such as Stormwitch, Darkness and SDI are still household names today – or rather: they’re back in the spotlight today! A lot has happened since GAMA and its labels – Scratch, SLRecords, Sri Lanca, Hot Blood, Wave, Camel, Scratchcore, Peak and Tales Of Thrash – disappeared from the scene around 1990, and the following years were exploited by budget labels such as WZ and Laserlight Digital, which initially damaged the reputation of some bands. Yet a new metal scene is celebrating the old-school sound of the 1980s and had already discovered the repertoire of the cult label from Kirchheim/Teck back in the early 2000s. Records that you used to find for two DM in bargain bins suddenly shot up in price and became collector’s items. Bands such as SDI, Stormwitch and Necronomicon are rocking the stages once again and connecting with a new generation of fans. In South America and Eastern Europe, there are proper GAMA fan clubs. No wonder a book about the long-defunct label was published in Brazil (‘Cry Out For Metal’). There is countless evidence that GAMA’s reputation as a ‘secondrate’ label is, in most cases, unfounded, but is certainly outdated. This is also demonstrated by the 3-disc vinyl box set „GAMA Records – The Vinyl Boxset“. Two bands are no strangers to the GAMA universe: VETO and TOX. SCHLOSS, on the other hand, are a rare hidden gem from the label today. Both a GAMA compilation (2CD) and many individual tracks released as remastered editions on Golden Core/ZYX have not only garnered good reviews and delighted fans, but also generated decent sales. Now three of these classics are available in a box set!
