Century Media Records has announced a worldwide partnership with reputable U.K. indie Siege Of Amida Records (known as Soar).

This new deal sees Soar utilized as a central launch pad for the metal and hardcore genres, focusing predominantly on the increasingly vibrant U.K. underground scene and launching emerging international acts onto the circuit.

Century Media is one of the leading independent labels in the industry, boasting a gigantic back catalog and a roster that spans almost every sub-genre within the sphere, as well as a reputation for being one of the strongest metal labels in the world.

Century Media label manager Antje Lange says of the deal: "We feel honored and excited to work with the highly acclaimed label Siege Of Amida. They've proved that they have the Midas touch and the instinct for catching great new bands early and we are confident that we can put the label to the next level on a worldwide basis."

After starting the careers of the likes of Whitechapel, Annotations Of An Autopsy, Heart In Hand, Ingested, Trc and Dyscarnate, as well as being the European vessel for U.S. bands such as Impending Doom and Molotov Solution, Soar is reputed for being one of the leading labels spearheading a movement of new exciting bands within extreme music. Many of their past bands are now with larger, internationally established labels such as Metal Blade, Victory, eOne and Nuclear Blast; this deal sees them no longer in the shadow of larger labels and able to compete with the heavyweights on every level.

Soar director Jamie Graham adds: "After six years of building this label from a comparatively low level, starting out in our bedrooms, we looked back at our catalog of releases and at the bands that moved onto bigger labels and our current roster. We realized we had something special to build on there. Century and their team understand the vision I have for this label and this deal allows our distribution and promotional network to increase a hundred fold. Working with a company as diverse, reputable and ambitious as Century Media in order to take Soar to the next stage is the logical step for us to take. It will mean great things for our artists and for the label's growth as a whole."

The first release to emerge from this new partnership will be from fast rising U.K. crew Heart In Hand, in the form of their second full-length, "Almost There", on May 13.