Nuclear Blast Records

Background: Nuclear Blast Records was founded in 1987 by Markus Steiger in West Germany. Initially an hardcore punk-specialised label, Nuclear Blast soon became on of the most important heavy metal labels, as many major heavy metal acts have signed onto this label, including American thrash metal pioneers Slayer, while staying an independent label since its inception.

1st (known) Logo (early 2000s-2009)
Logo: We see the Nuclear Blast logo, with its biohazard sign, against a space background. The biohazard sign starts spinning like a swirl, while the "NUCLEAR BLAST" text zooms in until it disappears. The biohazard sign continues to float in space, until it reaches a planet and causes a nuclear explosion. Soon the flames engulf the screen, and "NUCLEAR BLAST" appears.

Technique: The biohazard sign spinning, and the explosion effect.

Music/Sounds: Futuristic sounds and an explosion.

Availability: Seen on releases from the company at the time.

2nd Logo (2009-)
Logo: We see a desert, with a skull and a guitar jack laying abandoned here. We later see a boot arriving from the right of the screen, as it appears to be a man. The camera quickly follows the jack until we see that it is connected to a guitar amp. We see the man plugging the guitar jack into a LTD Explorer guitar. He pinches the strings. We see an aerial view of the desert, with a windmill, then a nuclear explosion occurs. The flames destroy the windmill and engulf the screen. The biohazard sign appears piece by piece at the centre of screen, followed by "NUCLEAR BLAST" fading in, and vertical doors closing behind the logo. The doors fade out.

Trivia: This logo was made by FVM Productions in Germany, as the official trailer of Nuclear Blast's then recently-opened YouTube channel.

Technique: The desert, amp and explosion are in CGI, while the man and guitar are live-action.

Music/Sounds: The sounds of the wind and animals in the desert, followed by the sound of the amplifier. We also hear the guitar playing C and E chords, followed by the sound of the explosion.

Music/Sounds Variant: On Blu-ray releases from the company, the logo is lower-pitched.

Availability: Seen on current releases from the company. It is also available on Nuclear Blast's YouTube channel.