CVLT Nation is an international online magazine established by Sean Reveron and Meghan MacRae in 2011 in Los Angeles, California.[1] Founded primarily as an independent clothing brand inspired by crust punk and extreme metal, its articles and music projects have gained considerable recognition. CVLT Nation is now based in Vancouver, Canada.[2]
| Type of business | Private |
|---|---|
Type of site | Music, arts and fashion magazine; online store |
| Available in | English |
| Founded | March 2011 |
| Headquarters | Vancouver, Canada; Los Angeles, United States |
| Area served | Worldwide |
| Founder(s) | Sean Reveron Meghan MacRae |
| Industry | Music, apparels, accessories |
| URL | www.cvltnation.com |
| Launched | 2011 |
| Current status | Active |
The publication focuses on music, art and fashion, especially relating to underground musicians and visual artists of extreme metal, crust punk and punk rock's heavier subgenres.[2][3] It also features articles on real-life horror stories, such as cults and murders.[3] CVLT Nation's clothing art is either made by them or commissioned from metal and punk tattoo artists, musicians and illustrators around the world, wherein black metal artists play a substantial part.[4][5] According to Reveron, the company was intended to be international from the beginning and most of its collaborators are from outside the United States.[6]
History
editCVLT Nation was founded in 2011 by Sean Reveron and his partner Meghan MacRae.[4] Previously, both were part of the streetwear company RockersNYC from New York and God's Prey from Los Angeles.[5] The couple decided to launch the company after attending an Amebix show in 2010 in Los Angeles, where they "felt at home" because their fashion and music tastes were based on metal and crust punk, as well as the community of these subcultures, said Reveron, which is at variance with the competitiveness of the fashion industry.[1][5] Reveron stated that they were "trying to build a bridge between the music we love and the clothing we make".[5] They started a blog as a complement for the clothing line, which soon became a proper web magazine; according to Arkansas Times, CVLT Nation had become an "indispensable metal/punk/hardcore online magazine" by 2012.[7][6]
In August 2015, CVLT Nation established the new marketplace site CVLT Nation Bizarre to sell their clothing alongside small-batch goods from other underground companies and record labels.[8]
Music projects
editSince its beginning, CVLT Nation has released series of free albums.[7][9] The "Sonic Cathedrals" series are mixtapes curated by artists such as Nails, Pallbearer and The Body, who choose songs from bands that influenced them.[7][10] The "Doom Nation" series are doom metal mixtapes.[11]
In January 2014, the publication began releasing the "CVLT Nation Sessions" series, which are cover compilation albums of classic recordings by underground artists.[9] Albums covered include Black Sabbath's Master of Reality, Dead Kennedys' Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables, The Cure's Pornography, Black Flag's My War and Sleep's Holy Mountain.[2][12] The CVLT Nation Sessions have been featured on Episode 67 of the metal and motorcycle podcast Chop N' Roll Archived November 15, 2019, at the Wayback Machine.[13]
Recognitions
editIn March 2015, Noisey called CVLT Nation a "crucial resource for underground music".[4] In March 2019, Czech Radio named it one of the four best independent punk websites, praising the quality of the underground artists featured despite the brand's substantial growth.[3] Dave Cantrell of XRAY.FM credits the darkwave articles of CVLT Nation for the foundation of his radio program Songs From Under the Floorboard and the Out From the Shadows music festival which started in 2018.[14]
CVLT Nation's album series have been praised by Kerrang!,[15] Metal Injection[16] and MetalSucks.[11]
References
edit- ^ a b Voulters, Sam (March 7, 2012). "Shirt Heads: CVLT Nation". Vice. Archived from the original on June 18, 2019. Retrieved June 18, 2019.
- ^ a b c Ramos, Octavio (July 9, 2015). "Sleep's 'Holy Mountain' inspires CVLT Nation's compilation series". AXS.com. Archived from the original on July 28, 2016. Retrieved June 18, 2019.
- ^ a b c Císarová, Judita; Wagner, Petr; Šamánek, Honza (March 1, 2019). "Srdcarské blogy, skanzeny devadesátek i screamo revivaly: Špína surfuje po punkových zákoutích internetu". Czech Radio (audio and text) (in Czech). Archived from the original on April 25, 2019. Retrieved May 6, 2019.
- ^ a b c Kelly, Kim (March 25, 2015). "H&M Sucks at "Metal Fashion," But These Independent Brands Deserve Headbangers' Support". Noisey. Vice Media. Archived from the original on June 17, 2019. Retrieved June 17, 2019.
- ^ a b c d Fischer, David (June 10, 2011). "Talking CVLT Nation With… Sean Reveron & Meghan MacRae". Highsnobiety. Archived from the original on April 2, 2013. Retrieved June 18, 2019.
- ^ a b Capelli, Marco (October 30, 2012). "Cvlt Nation interview – original version". Salad Days (in Italian and English). pp. 24–26. Archived from the original on October 30, 2016. Retrieved June 18, 2019.
- ^ a b c Bell, Robert (July 26, 2012). "CVLT Nation posts mix from Pallbearer's Rowland". Arkansas Times. Archived from the original on June 23, 2019. Retrieved June 23, 2019.
- ^ MacRae, Meghan (August 10, 2015). "RIP CVLT Nation Store… CVLT Nation Bizarre is ALIVE!". Cvltnation.com. Archived from the original on August 16, 2015. Retrieved June 20, 2019.
- ^ a b "DISCHARGE: Hear Nothing See Nothing Say Nothing – The CVLT Nation Sessions Covers Compilation". Earsplit. January 16, 2014. Archived from the original on June 22, 2019. Retrieved June 21, 2019.
- ^ "Sonic Cathedrals Mixtape Series Vol. XIV Curated by NAILS". Cvltnation.com. October 21, 2011. Archived from the original on October 23, 2011. Retrieved June 23, 2019.
- ^ a b Neilstein, Vince (March 4, 2014). "Doom Nation Vol. III: Nearly Three Hours of Crushing Dooooom…. for Free!". MetalSucks. Archived from the original on March 26, 2014. Retrieved June 20, 2019.
- ^ "TENTH INSTALLMENT OF CVLT NATION'S COMPILATION SERIES NOW PLAYING WITH DEAD KENNEDYS' FRESH FRUIT FOR ROTTING VEGETABLES". The Spill Magazine. March 23, 2016. Archived from the original on March 23, 2016. Retrieved June 18, 2019.
- ^ "Chop n Roll: Episode 67 - The CVLT Nation Sessions on Apple Podcasts". Apple Podcasts. Retrieved November 15, 2019.
- ^ Rollmann, Hans (April 20, 2018). "The Enduring Power of Darkwave: An Interview with Dave Cantrell". PopMatters. Archived from the original on June 17, 2019. Retrieved June 18, 2019.
- ^ "Sludge Bands Cover Black Flag's My War For Cvlt Nation Compilation Series". Kerrang!. March 13, 2018. Archived from the original on March 13, 2018. Retrieved June 20, 2019.
- ^ Kennelty, Greg (March 10, 2018). "Sludge Bands Like -(16)- & NO FUNERAL Team Up To Cover BLACK FLAG's My War". Metal Injection. Archived from the original on March 13, 2018. Retrieved June 20, 2019.