deathCAVE bassist/vocalist Freiburger has launched the new Seattle-based record label and clothing line, Satanik Royalty Records, and while the label gears up for its first release, Freiburger and friends have been doing quarantine supergroup covers of classic metal songs. They recently did Iron Maiden’s “Phantom of the Opera” (with members of Yatra, The Accüsed, and more) and Sepultura’s “Refuse/Resist” (with members of Rorschach, Kiss It Goodbye, Spacebag, and more), and now they’ve got a new cover of At The Gates‘ Slaughter of the Soul classic “Cold.” This one features Freiburger on bass and vocals, with Dave Webb (Moon Letters, Spacebag) on lead guitar, Alyssa Mocere (Lord Dying) on guitar, and Joe Axler (Theories, Skarp, Book of Black Earth, Samothrace) on drums.

“Covering At The Gates was almost a no brainer,” Freiburger said. “They have been such an inspirational band in my life. Especially vocally. When I was younger, I would try so fucking hard to sound exactly like Tompa singing. I loved that he enunciated his screams! So, I played bass and sang for this song. I chose the lead guitar player, Dave Webb, because we’ve worked on songs in the past and I love how well he speaks solos so perfectly! The song ‘Cold’ has an infamously hard solo that was written by Andy LaRocque from King Diamond. For the other guitar, I wanted to work with my friend Alyssa because she’s a ripper and shares a love for ATG. My dearest friend Joe Grindo is on drums because he has been begging and pleading to do a cover with me and this seemed like the best one. I just love Joe’s guts so dang much that I couldn’t say no! At The Gates’ Slaughter Of The Soul will always remain an incredibly important album to me and I am so happy to play one of the songs off of that album.”

Watch the videos for all three covers below…

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And here’s more info on the label, via press release:

Established to help supply a louder voice to heavy music and artists within the Seattle underground as well as transgender and indigenous communities, Freiburger’s vision has been a longtime in the making. “I’ve always had a voice in the back of my head screaming, ‘I wish I had the money to make a real label,” begins Freiburger on his decision to start the imprint. “My passion started in the late ‘90s when I would throw shows at the Dog Mushers Hall and Eagles Lodge in Fairbanks, Alaska, where I grew up. Since moving to the ‘big city,’ I’ve been immersed in and fascinated by the Seattle music scene and have been booking and playing DIY shows, punk houses, and eventually booking major venues ever since.

“There are so many truly awesome bands everywhere that struggle to find labels to sign them,” he continues. “Major local record labels are either too big or too indie to take on new, less commercial artists. The handful of respected underground labels here in Seattle have unfortunately faded. That leaves a lot of great bands left without local representation.”

The COVID-19 pandemic quite literally changed the face of music. Without a functioning live scene, bands of all genres have been forced to get creative just to sustain. For Freiburger, there seemed no better time than now to introduce SATANIK ROYALTY RECORDS. “It hurts my heart to know such amazing bands are struggling to find someone to put faith in them.”

With that in mind, Freiburger curated an eclectic roster of Seattle’s best kept secrets including Heiress (hardcore sludge), Dark Meditation (gritty black ‘n’ roll), Old Iron (psychedelic sludge), Sandrider (grunge), Izthmi (atmospheric/progressive black metal), and of course, Freiburger’s own DeathCAVE (doom/sludge), all scheduled to release material in the coming months via the label.

Watch a “Cribs” style video of the label’s headquarters: