Century Media was founded by Robert Kampf in Dortmund, Germany in 1988 and has gone on to start the careers of bands such as Divine Heresy,
Eyehategod, Nevermore, Moonspell, Diecast, Suicide Silence, Winds of Plague, Iced Earth, God Forbid, Lacuna Coil, In This Moment, and Shadows Fall. The label specializes in many different styles of heavy metal music.[1] A number of artists listed are licensed to Century Media for the American market from
labels mostly based in Europe. Century Media is also home to legendary acts such as Napalm Death and Celtic Frost. From 1995 to 2007, Marco Barbieri was the label’s president.
The label’s biggest band is Lacuna Coil, while Shadows Fall had the most success during their time with the label. Iconic hardcore punk band Sick Of It All also
resides in the Century Media family. Lacuna Coil’s 2002 album, Comalies, became Century Media’s first act to crack
the Billboard 200 chart two years after its release. Their fourth album, Karmacode, has sold over 490,000 copies since its release and debuted at number 28 on the Billboard Charts, also hitting number one on the Top
Independent Albums Chart. Shadows Fall’s 2004 album, The War Within, set a new milestone for the label with a Top 20 debut on the Billboard 200 and also debuted at number
one on the Independent Albums chart, having sold over 300,000 copies since its release. Other notable artists on the label that have also made appearances on the Billboard 200 include
Arch Enemy, Stuck Mojo, Nightrage, Behemoth, Strapping Young Lad, Suicide Silence and God Forbid. The Finnish band
Sentenced were awarded on August 14, 2008 for their platinum Buried Alive DVD labelled by Century Media. In April 2009, the label announced that they were extending their existing distribution deal with
EMI, who had been distributing their releases in the United
States since 1997, and in Europe since 2005, to include Australasia.[2]