| Type | Online Record Store |
|---|---|
| Industry | Music industry |
| Founded | 1997 |
| Headquarters | Tendoy, Idaho |
| Key people | Dan and Melanie Beland |
| Products | CDs, DVD, Vinyl, T-shirts |
| Website | AllThatisHeavy.com |
All That is Heavy (originally All That's Heavy) is an online music store based in Idaho and founded in 1997. It is the first online record store dedicated exclusively to the genres of stoner rock, doom, sludge, drone and psych.[1] All That is Heavy owns and operates MeteorCity Records, which was instrumental in the growth of the late 1990s stoner rock scene.[2] Distributed labels, besides their in-house MeteorCity Records,[3] include Tee Pee, Volcom Entertainment, Small Stone Records, Rise Above Records, and others.[2] The store was operated by the now defunct StonerRock.com from 2001 to 2010, and is currently owned by Dan and Melanie Beland.[4]
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All That's Heavy was founded in September 1997[1] by Jadd Shickler (of band Spiritu) and Aaron Emmel in Albuquerque, New Mexico.[5] Its first incarnation was an online store selling hard-to-find releases by stoner rock bands Kyuss, Monster Magnet, and Fu Manchu. They soon expanded the catalog to include artists that stylistically fit with the first three bands.[1]
After running the online store for about half a year, they were contacted by the former proprietor for the first Kyuss fan website. He recommended MeteorCity do a compilation of unsigned bands that Kyuss fans would enjoy.[6] MeteorCity Records was formed, and the result of the suggestion was the compilation Welcome to MeteorCity,[5] which was released in May of that year. The compilation included both established desert and stoner rock acts, including new bands established by John Garcia of Kyuss (now in Unida), Ed Mundell of Monster Magnet, and Pete Stahl. The album was the first time that the bands Sixty Watt Shaman, Lowrider, The Atomic Bitchwax, Dozer, Goatsnake, Drag Pack, and Los Natas were heard on a record. The record label and store both increased in popularity after the release. Around this time a MeteorCity intern purportedly coined the term desert rock to describe the burgeoning genre, which is still used interchangeably with the more known descriptor "stoner rock".[1]
As the scene continued to develop, the popular website StonerRock.com was launched by Dan Beland in 1999. The website became a central community hub for heavy music artists and fans, and frequently featured reviews and interviews with stoner rock musicians.[7] In March 2001, MeteorCity licensed StonerRock.com to take over management and operations of All That's Heavy. All That's Heavy's catalog grew to become the largest online store of stoner rock, doom, sludge, drone and psych. MeteorCity in turn began to focus more on the label. All That's Heavy was officially sold to Dan and Melanie Beland of StonerRock.com on May 15, 2004,[1] and renamed All That is Heavy. In 2007, Shickler and Emmel sold MeteorCity Records to the Belands as well.[5] MeteorCity moved to Tendoy, Idaho, and in 2010 StonerRock.com was taken offline, and MeteorCity Records became the official label for All That is Heavy.[4]