The Sandbox Opens Nuclear Blast Records ‘Metal-Verse’

Nuclear Blast Records, one of the world’s premier record labels for heavy metal music, has struck a deal with The Sandbox to open a music metaverse, the latter revealed on Monday.

The Metaverse company said it was “thrilled” to announce its partnership with the German record label. Nuclear Blast has seen a meteoric rise in popularity and a massive fanbase since its founding in 1987.

Blast Valley Gains Stream

The deal will launch ‘Blast Valley,’ a metaverse venue dedicated to showcasing top-rated immersive experiences from heavy metal musicians.

In a recent blog post, The Sandbox said its partnership with the celebrated record label would “bring the music and culture of heavy metal into the metaverse.”

Featuring a massive digital volcano, Blast Valley will unite guests and their avatars to join immersive concerts online.

“Exciting day for metalheads worldwide,” a spokesperson from the Sandbox said in a blog post.

It continued,

“Through our partnership, we’re excited to bring the music and culture of heavy metal into the metaverse with a dedicated environment designed by heavy metal fans, for heavy metal fans”

The spokesperson added that Nuclear Blast aims to leverage its influence to “promote and host virtual events” on the metaverse platform.

Sebastien Borget, Chief Operating Officer and Co-Founder, The Sandbox, said that working with the record label would bring the latter’s “global influence and an entirely new energy to the metaverse.”

He explained further,

“Heavy metal belongs in our platform and provides the opportunity for tremendous creative expression, resulting in an immersive world unlike any other. We’re tremendously excited to make The Sandbox the home of the genre in the metaverse, and look forward to participating in the novel experiences that will launch in Blast Valley.”

Artists Take to the (Virtual) Stage

The news comes amid a wave of artists taking to the digital stage in a bid to leverage emerging technologies to engage with audiences.

XR Today continues to cover numerous updates from the music community to demonstrate the use value of immersive mediums. This has included musicians such as Avenged Sevenfold, VNCCII, Fatboy Slim, Steve Aoki, 22Gz, Justin Bieber, Ariana Grande, Eminem, Snoop Dogg, Shaquille O’Neal, MUSE, and many others.

Artists have found greater levels of engagement in the Metaverse, allowing them to connect with audiences across the world at the same time. Using immersive platforms, they have reported new forms of expression,

Recently, Fatboy Slim Manager, Garry Blackburn, told XR Today that he and his colleagues had launched the immersive concert to ‘learn the language of VR.’

Doing so boosted presence for concertgoers during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. Fatboy Slim had launched a concert with ENGAGE XR at the time of the concert.

However, greater benefits to XR music, such as exclusive interactive content and bespoke connectivity for fans, would drive greater engagement. Furthermore, selling digital content and concert experiences could provide artists with additional revenue streams, Blackburn added.