Shaxul Records, SF
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Shaxul Records is that increasingly rare thing, the metal record store. “WE SELL METAL,” says a handwritten sign on the door. When I enter, Overkill’s Feel the Fire is playing on the turntable. The store is small, maybe 10′ x 20′. LP’s line the left wall; t-shirts the right. In between are grizzled posters – Iron Maiden, Death Angel, Yngwie Malmsteen. The store opened in 2008, but it feels ancient.
I ask proprietor Stone Clement what he’s been listening to. The first Saxon album, he says. Xasthur. Witchfinder General. The Mentors, since they recently dropped off their reissues at the store. Other reissues at Shaxul include Exodus’ records on Capitol (which I wrote about here) and Morbid Saint’s legendary debut (which I wrote about here). Shaxul’s CD section isn’t much to speak of, though it’s strong in local bands. The action is in the vinyl (Slayer picture discs!) and t-shirts (Onward to Golgotha in small!). Also available is a good selection of patches, books, and magazines, including Snakepit back issues. No ophidiophobia in this temple of doom!
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With his handlebar moustache, Clement is the spitting image of Frank Zappa. (He once dressed as Zappa for Halloween.) I ask him what it’s like to be across the street from Amoeba Records, the converted bowling alley that’s arguably the world’s best record store. He says it’s great; he gets more foot traffic as a result. Metalheads often visit both stores in one trip. Amoeba also has a good selection of metal, but it’s impossible for any one store to cover metal comprehensively. Thus, Shaxul and Amoeba complement each other.
I ogle the t-shirts, almost yield to a Darkthrone one with rare gray print, and instead leave with a strange relic: an unopened CD longbox of Skid Row’s Slave to the Grind. When I exit, it takes a few seconds to return to 2009.
Shaxul Records is located at 1816 Haight St., SF, CA.
