Inside the history, evolution, and global impact of Battlegod Productions — Australia’s longest-running heavy metal label supporting underground, hard rock, and extreme metal artists since 1994. A deep-dive interview with Battlegod Productions, Australia’s longest-running heavy metal label. Explore its origins, evolution, international success, roster highlights, and future plans.

Battlegod Productions: Inside Australia’s Longest-Running Heavy Metal Label -Exclusive Interview

For more than three decades, Battlegod Productions has stood as a pillar of Australia’s heavy metal underground. Founded in 1994, the label has earned a global reputation for championing Heavy Metal, Hard Rock, Melodic Rock, Power Metal and extreme music while helping artists break into international markets. From old-school tape-trading origins to worldwide distribution, Battlegod Productions has remained fiercely independent and deeply committed to supporting metal bands with real promotion, PR strength, and global visibility.

As the longest-running heavy metal label in Australia, Battlegod has played a crucial role in shaping the national scene and exporting Australian metal to the UK, Europe, and Scandinavia- markets where the label has seen huge success. With a roster spanning legendary names, rising acts, Norwegian heavyweights, and female-fronted modern metal, Battlegod Productions continues to evolve while holding onto the core values that launched it in 1994.

In this exclusive Heavy Metal Merchant interview, we dive into the label’s origins, its place in Australian metal history, how bands get signed, the challenges of the digital age, and what the next decade of Battlegod looks like. From handwritten international letters to global magazine coverage, from Black Metal beginnings to Hard Rock evolution - this is the story of one of Australia’s most enduring independent metal labels.

Read on as Battlegod Productions founder Peter Kotevski shares 30 years of insights, including label milestones, the changing Australian metal scene, international success stories, and exciting new projects set for release.

1. How did Battlegod Productions begin, and what inspired the label’s name?

Being into Rock and Heavy Metal from an early age, I really loved it. I was in a few bands back in the early to mid-90s, and soon after I thought about starting a label to see how it would go. I was playing extreme music at the time, and choosing a name like Battlegod Productions sounded great back then. It also felt right and suited what was going on during those years. BATTLEGOD PRODUCTIONS started in May 1994.

2. What was the Australian metal scene like when you first started the label?

The Australian heavy metal scene seemed a lot more supportive in those days. Everyone used to go to local shows. Having 100 to 300 people was normal, and the bigger bands would always get 300 to 500+. Times were different - it was before mobile phones, before the internet, and before social media. We all seemed to socialise and hang out more, and live shows always finished way past midnight. Today, I’ve noticed people tend to leave before the headlining band completes their set.

That’s what I know about the Sydney scene. Melbourne is different - the live scene seems to boom more than Sydney’s, and shows there, I’ve heard, finish way after midnight. I enjoyed the 90s; they were fun and full of entertainment and energy.

Back then, there were fewer international shows. We would be lucky to get two or three major shows throughout the year. Today, there are so many international shows - sometimes two or more a month - and I strongly believe that is destroying the local scene. Times are hard, and not everyone can attend every show, so they go to the international ones more, and the local scene is being pushed aside.

3. Which was your first signed band, and how did you discover them?

MORTIFIER were the first signing on the label. They are an old-school Black Metal band from Italy with touches of Celtic Frost, Hellhammer, etc. They contacted me via post. One day I received their demo cassette in my mailbox and gave it a few good listens. We corresponded via handwritten letters back and forth between Australia and Italy. We used to wait four to five weeks - or more - sometimes just to get a reply.

4. How has Battlegod’s sound and roster evolved over the years?

In the early years of BATTLEGOD PRODUCTIONS, the music was more Black and Death Metal. Year after year, the label slowly moved away from that genre and became more Hard Rock, Melodic Rock and traditional Heavy Metal, although some heavier material was still released from time to time. It has been about eight to ten years since there has been an extreme album release.

With Norwegian bands Harm & Wyruz end of tour 2016

These days, it seems there are more and more female-fronted bands on the label, such as FLIGHT OF ICARUS from Sweden and DARKYRA from Perth, Australia. From those two releases, more female-fronted bands have approached the label, and there will be more female-fronted material released in the near future.


Darkyra (Australia)

5. What makes Battlegod stand out among other independent metal labels?

There has been a lot of promotional activity with European PR agencies, and also a lot of BATTLEGOD PRODUCTIONS advertisements in foreign media such as Metal Hammer (UK), Classic Rock Magazine (UK), Fistful of Metal (UK), Sweden Rock Magazine (Sweden), Legacy Magazine (Germany), Rock Hard Magazine (Germany and Italy), Deaf Forever (Germany), and many more. These magazines feature full-page advertisements, along with reviews and interviews of the bands on the roster. There have also been many label profile features.

Being in the media alongside bigger, more established labels like Nuclear Blast, Napalm Records, Massacre, LMP, Metal Blade, Century Media and others has been a massive buzz. It has helped the label become more known internationally and led to many bands from Scandinavia, Europe, and the UK approaching the label with their submissions.

6. How do you find and choose new bands to work with?

Over the last 10 years or so, we have been releasing bands that have a discography - multiple album releases. Bands with a fan base make it easier to move/sell copies, and we focus more on bands that are internationally established. There are always bands approaching the label, and it’s a shame they can’t all be signed.Bands need to be reliable, complete interviews by the deadline, and present themselves well. Image and presentation are very important, as well as having a killer production. The label has been fussy with new signings.


With the Norwegian thrash metal band Harm

7. Which Battlegod release has been your biggest milestone so far?

I’ve noticed it has been a building process to reach the biggest milestone, and it is still growing in different ways. I would have to say it began around 2010 when I started signing more Norwegian bands such as HARM, WYRUZ, and FORGERY. Then things took an unexpected turn with more Hard Rock, Heavy Metal, and Progressive Metal coming from Norwegian acts like NERGARD - featuring Ralf Scheepers from Primal Fear, Tony Mills from SHY, TNT, and more—as well as TOMORROW’S OUTLOOK, which also featured Ralf Scheepers, Graham Bonnet (Rainbow, MSG, Alcatrazz), and others.


With Andreas Nergard and the Subliritum brothers


The Norwegian death/thrash metal band Wyruz

Then I signed TONY MILLS, with whom we released three albums until his passing in 2019. Through Tony Mills’ recommendations, former BLACK SABBATH vocalist TONY MARTIN was also signed. Being a fan of both Tony Mills and Tony Martin, it is a great pleasure to say they are part of the Battlegod Productions roster. Having known artists or well-known bands is a big asset to the label.


Pete Kotevski (Battlegod) & Tony Martin (ex-Black Sabbath/solo)

8. How have streaming and digital platforms changed the way you release music?

I am not a fan of digital streaming platforms or digital distribution. I have noticed it is harder to sell physical music products these days. The internet has totally destroyed the entire entertainment industry. The 90s to about 2004 were good years - much more physical product sold before the digital era.

If I were to start an indie label today, I would probably not bother. There is a lot more to running a label than simply using social media or digital platforms to promote it.

9. What international markets have been most supportive of your artists?

I would say about 80% or more of the sales have been in the UK, Europe, and Scandinavia, with some in Japan. Sweden and Norway have been massive supporters, especially with physical CD distribution and media marketing in major publications like Sweden Rock Magazine, Classic Rock Magazine, Metal Hammer, Rock Hard, and many more. The support has been phenomenal, and I am very grateful for everyone’s support there. The international scene overseas is where it is all happening.

Even exporting Australian bands like NOBODY’S FOOL, DARKYRA, and HERRATIK has been much more successful overseas than locally.



Battlegod with Australian hard rock band Nobody's Fool

10. How important is album artwork and packaging to your releases?

It is very important to have eye-catching artwork and good packaging. You have to stand out among the other bigger label releases out there.

11. What role do live shows and festivals play in promoting your roster?

There have been many shows under the BATTLEGOD banner, including our own ROCKDALE METALFEST, which aims to feature more roster bands. STEEL ASSASSINS every November—hosted by METAL EVILUTION and BLACK-ROOS ENTERTAINMENT—have also been big supporters. UTOPIA RECORDS supports us with posters and flyers, and HEAVY METAL MERCHANT has also been including flyers in their orders.

In the good old days, we had Drum Media publications here in NSW. Every state had its own printed publication back then. Today is a more digital world, and I like to mix the modern with the old to get the best results. For international shows, the promotion is targeted through metal publications in the countries where those shows take place.

12. What’s been the proudest moment in Battlegod’s history?

There have been two proudest moments in my life: the first was meeting TONY MILLS at the Hard Rock Cafe in Oslo, Norway in 2013. The second was meeting TONY MARTIN during his stay in Sydney in 2024. There have been many proud moments throughout the label’s history.


The late English melodic rock singer Tony Mills (Shy, TNT)

13. What advice would you give new metal bands hoping to get signed?

There are more and more bands these days on a world scale. You have to stand out, be different, have good presentation, good production and good luck!!!

14. What exciting new projects or bands should fans look out for?

The bands currently on the label roster are working on new albums, including DARK HEART (UK), NOBODY’S FOOL (AU), John Wardi Ward’s PSYCHOWARD (UK), DARKYRA (AU), and SUBLIRITUM (NO).

We have just signed British Rock/Heavy Metal legends QUARTZ. Here is some information for those who may not have heard of them:

Quartz is a heavy metal band from Birmingham, England, prominent in the initial rise of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal (NWOBHM).

• Origins: Formed in 1974 as Bandy Legs, they changed their name to Quartz for their 1977 self-titled debut.
• Key Members/Connections: Founding member Geoff Nicholls later became a longtime keyboardist and off-stage musician for Black Sabbath (1979–2004). Their debut album was produced by Tony Iommi and featured contributions from Ozzy Osbourne and Brian May.
• Career: They were a popular live act, touring with Black Sabbath, AC/DC, Iron Maiden, and Rush, and played the Reading Festival three times. They disbanded in 1984 but reformed in 2011.
• Studio Albums: Quartz (1977), Stand Up and Fight (1980), Against All Odds (1983), Fear No Evil (2016), On the Edge of No Tomorrow (2022), and SIX (2025).

Quartz will begin writing their upcoming seventh album in 2026 for a Battlegod Productions release in late 2026 or early 2027.

Quartz - one of the original New Wave of British Heavy Metal (NWOBHM) bands.

15. Where do you see Battlegod Productions in the next decade?

Over the last decade, BATTLEGOD PRODUCTIONS has grown rapidly, and I believe that in the next decade, there will be many more well-known and bigger acts on the label roster.

Battlegod Discography & Artist Roster

Over the years, Battlegod Productions has worked with an impressive roster of both Australian and international metal acts, spanning Power Metal, Death Metal, Black Metal, and Progressive styles. While the full discography is extensive, here are some standout highlights:

Notable Australian Bands & Artists:

• Pegazus – Australia’s classic Heavy Metal band from Melbourne

• Nobody’s Fool – Hard Rock from Sydney, bringing the 80s alive with a heavier touch
• Doomed & Disgusting – Dave Slave from Sadistik Exekution’s solo project; Doom with gothic touches

• Darkyra – Female-fronted symphonic Rock/Metal from Perth
• Temtris – Female-fronted Heavy Metal (no longer on the roster)

Notable Album Releases:

• Tony Martin – Thorns (ex-Black Sabbath singer)

• Tony Mills – Streets of Chance (featuring Joel Hoekstra of WHITESNAKE, Tommy Denander of ALICE COOPER, and more)

• Tony Mills – Beyond the Law

• Nobody’s Fool – Time

• Tomorrow’s Outlook – A Voice Unheard (featuring Ralf Scheepers)

• Flight of Icarus – Terra Nova

• Nergard – Memorial for a Wish (featuring Ralf Scheepers, Tony Mills, Goran Edman, Mike Vescera, David Reece, and many more)

• Dark Heart – Out of the Shadows (NWOBHM, originally 1982)

• Psychoward – Committed (featuring John Wardi Ward, ex-SHY; formerly managed by Gene Simmons in 1993; a frontman since 1979)

From limited-edition CD deluxe digipak pressings to digital-first releases, Battlegod has maintained a reputation for high-quality production and collectible packaging, making each release a must-have for fans and collectors.

Conclusion

Battlegod Productions is more than just a record label - it is a cornerstone of Australia’s heavy metal heritage. From humble beginnings to becoming an internationally respected name in the scene, Battlegod continues to push forward, signing fresh talent and keeping the metal spirit alive.

Stay tuned for upcoming Battlegod releases, and support independent music by checking out their catalogue and following their latest news.

Shop Battlegod Productions album releases here