Nuclear Blast is a recor label and mail order record distributor with subsidiaries in Germany, the United States and Brazil. The record label was founded in 1987 by Markus Staiger in Germany. Originally releasing hardcore punk records, the label moved on to releasing albums by melodic death metal, grindcore, power metal and black metal bands, as well as tribute albums. Nuclear Blast is widely respected as the top label for the melodic metal scene, along with fellow non-RIAA label Century Media. The label's main office is in Donzdorf, Göppingen. Nuclear Blast America is distributed through Century Media, as part of a strategic partnership between the two independent metal labels. Their most successful artists include Blind Guardian, Soilwork, In Flames, Meshuggah, Therion, Dimmu Borgir, Nile, Death, Sonata Arctica, Epica and Nightwish.