Legendary COMBAT RECORDS Is Back Under New Ownership

Legendary U.S. metal label Combat Records will be relaunched this year under the new ownership of former Eternal Sound Records owner Robert Dujmusic and Alex Stojak.

Most will remember Combat as one of the seminal thrash labels of the 1980s, their most prominent artist being, of course, MEGADETH. Combat was also home to HELSTAR, CIRCLE JERKS, EXODUS, NUCLEAR ASSAULT and many of the most influential metal and punk bands of all time.

After a handful of ownership changes and attempted reboots, Combat went dormant in the mid-2000s, the catalog got absorbed by Sony, and the label itself ceased to exist. In 2016, then-MEGADETH bassist David Ellefson, with his then-partner Thom Hazaert from EMP Label Group, did the due diligence to research and acquire the intellectual property for the Combat Records brand, and bring it home to the EMP family.

As of January 2026, Combat Records will now be run under the new ownership of independent movie producers Alex Stojak and Robert Dujmusic from its new office in Gottingen, Germany.

The label has already expanded its infrastructure into distribution, PR, festivals and touring and has confirmed its first wave of releases, including several established bands as well as offering
development opportunities to emerging artists. Also on the team is former Eternal Sound partner Nicole Wendeborn as A&R manager and Christian "Opus" Lawrence (ex-CRO-MAGS drummer and current drummer for DEAD BY WEDNESDAY and TANTRIC) as U.S. manager.

Dujmusic, former owner of the now inactive Eternal Sound Records and Heavyspace touring agency, says of the acquisition: "It is the honor of a lifetime to be able to continue the legacy of such an important part of heavy music history and I'm super excited for what we've got coming up. Combat is back!"

Ellefson adds: "It's good to know that the Combat Records brand has landed into the right hands and will continue to thrive with Christian and Rob at the helm."

Updates will be announced on the newly invigorated Combat Records web site and social media accounts, to be launched soon.

2017 artwork by Melody Myers (courtesy of O'Donnell Media Group / Combat)