Conception and first releases (2013) The record label was started by Markus Staiger, the current CEO of
Nuclear Blast Records and Shawn Keith, the former vice president of
Sumerian Records. The label has been described as an offshoot label of Nuclear Blast which primarily focuses on rock and alternative music, similar to
Arising Empire. Arising Empire focuses on metalcore and punk bands. In an interview, Keith spoke about the label: "Developing this label has been very exciting for me. The opportunity to partner and cultivate new and established artists working toward broadening their global potential is thrilling. SharpTone will continue to diversify and evolve as a brand for music fans to truly identify with. We are not just another record label. We are a new-music company, allowing artists to be as creative and passionate as they choose to be." when several bands shared a mysterious teaser image reading "A New Era of Music Begins..." on their social media. These bands included
Attila,
Don Broco,
Loathe,
Miss May I and
We Came as Romans. The first release of the label would be a re-issue of the debut
EP Prepare Consume Proceed by UK metal band
Loathe less than a month later, but the labels first
studio album release would be Attila's sixth album titled
Chaos, released November 4 the same year. Other later releases for the year included the American release of Don Broco's
Automatic, and a release of
Craig Owens new side project,
badXchannels, who was also signed later in 2016, with the EP being named
WHYDFML.
Emmure also signed in 2016. ==Music==