| Label: | Church Road Records |
| Location: | England |
| Genres: | Black Metal, Hardcore, Metal, Shoegaze |
| Active since: | 2017 |
“Church Road Records was founded in 2017 by Sammy Urwin and is co-run by Justine Jones with help from friends.
Self isolating with records since forever \m/”
Founded as a distro in 2017 and switching over to a full-blown record label in 2020, Church Road Records have been a driving force of the UK Metal/Hardcore-scene. Employed to Serve‘s Justine Jones and Sammy Urwin are the two heads behind this fine label and are currently on tour in Europe supporting the almighty Killswitch Engage. After their set in Cologne the woman herself took her time to answer some questions regarding the history and present of Church Road Records.
A little fun fact on the side: Church Road Records was the first record label, which approached our very little blog to write about one of their releases.
What would you say are three milestones in the history of Church Road Records and what has changed since the beginning?
Let me think, our fifth year that was a really big milestone. The fact that we started out as a distro just for fun and survived five years and more that is incredible to me.
Also when we reached the 100 vinyl-subscribers that was also very exciting. People trusted us enough to pay us monthly. It is like a taste-making subscription, people don’t know what they will get, they trusted us to pay us monthly. That was really flattering.
And maybe the Lowen record. This was a record that has done really well on our label. I feel like that is the one that really took off. it was really exciting to see.
Since 2017 happened so much regarding music promotion. What would you say is the best way to get your music out there?
I think you have to do a little bit of everything, there is not one way that is “the best”. Because it is very hard to got by a rule, like reach people on Instagram, you just have to cover all your bases: do bandcamp, all you independent stuff but also make sure you are on Spotify. People don’t have a lot of money. Being on a service that doesn’t charge a lot a month really helps people. When I was younger, it cost me 20 pounds to get a CD and it took me a month to save up for it with my pocket money. So the fact that people aren’t limited by their family’s income for music is wonderful.
You’ve already mentioned Lowen, so who would say is your most “out of line” artist in your roster?
I would say (Lowen are) one of, because most of our artists are “out there”. I’d say it is one of our most unique artists. I hadn’t heard of any middle-eastern-tinged Heavy Metal before. So that was very exciting to work on. I learned a lot about Iranian culture which I hadn’t before. In our school system we very much concentrate on Europe and the UK. So it is really interesting listening to and researching the lyrics. I had a good time with that one.
Can you tell us something about any upcoming releases, maybe genre-wise or anything that 2026 has to offer for Church Road Records?
It is the end of 2025 and we already have booked a full year of music and ready to go. We just hope to slowly grow. I’ve never been a fan of overnight success cause that scares me, just to maintain that. I like small incremental growth, staying true to our music taste or quality and just enjoying it and things I care about.
If you could dream, who would be your favorite artist to acquire or bring back from “retirement”?
I think I’d like to work with something like Ovlov, they are more sort of Indie, Garage, Noise-Rock. I quite like that.
Where do you see yourself compared to the beginning? Imagine your label as a human, what stage would it be in?
I would say we are teenagers. Although I’ve been working in this industry for so long, it has changed so much since the pandemic, like tariffs, recessions and plenty other things. It has been very much about balancing the books. It has been a very different landscape since the pandemic. It has been a lot of learning. It kept me on my toes. I still feel like a teenager. We are not quite the nice adults.
Church Road Records Releases
(Thomas’ Selection)
Filth is eternal – Love is a Lie, Filth is eternal
The first album we received from Church Road Records, so it has a special place in my heart (besides the fact, that it still slaps).
“Filth is Eternal is the reincarnation of Fucked and Bound and mean serious business. Love is a Lie, Filth is Eternal is a record that doesn’t waste a second of time. Everything is as barebones as it should be. 12 tracks in 20 minutes speak for themselves.
Filth is Eternal, Love is a Lie is a great re-start for this band. While other bands tend to create a pumped up wrestler of a record, this is the equivalent bare-knuckle boxer ready to take on the world.”
Heriot – Profound Morality
This EP of Metal Juggernaut Heriot a proof for the fine taste the folks of Church Road Record have. We certainly knew that something special is at hand here. Now they play big shows and the sky is the limit.
“Heriot remind me of the first time I listend to Code Orange‘s album Forever. You thought you had an idea which direction this band would take but they just threw them out of the window within the first minutes. Profound Morality serves as a big exclamation mark in this year’s Metal releases and must not be missed by any fan of truly heavy music.”
Outlander – Acts of Harm
Another favorite of mine in their roster. Post-Rock par excellence.
“Outlander are masters of their craft in creating songs that are pretty huge sounding but at the same time there is this tranquility that shines through in songs like “Want No More” or “New Motive Power”. ”Lye Waste” is 12 minutes of being high above the ground while natural forces are raging. Personally I felt reminded of the earlier Outlander releases like Taking Turns or Valium Machine. Zoning out has never been more beautiful than here.
Acts of Harm is a slow-motion-wellness-treatment for your ears. This isn’t a Post-Rock album of fast and slow, this is an album of descending and ascending. You won’t get surprised by sudden tempo-changes but you will mostly be caught off guard by the out-the-blue-beauty that “strikes” you.”
Copse – MMXXIV
This is the prime example of “right people at the right place”. I adored the first EP Mara | Mondrem. When I heard Church Road Records would sign them I was and still am beyond excited.
“You can be beyond excited what Copse will have in store for us. An album is already in the works and judging by the quality of this EP cannot be not awesome. In round about 20 minutes you’ll get the full Post-Black-Metal treatment: melodies, great crescendos and the musical promise that Copse is a force to be reckoned with in the future.
The promises given on their debut are more than fulfilled here: Copse continue to be one of the most exciting bands coming out of the Post-Black Metal genre.”
Believe in Nothing – Rot
One of the newest entries in my Church Road Records recommendations. Very experimental, very heavy and very good.
“Rot is 42 minute debut of bleakness and viciousness. Believe in Nothing have bred a work of art that in all its ugliness is hard to ignore. Rot drags you along with it, it pushes you in dark corners and absorbs the light surrounding you. If you can stomach the aural hostility you are in for an enthralling experience that will surely be just the beginning of Believe in Nothing‘s journey.”
