In this period, MCA signed a distribution agreement with WEA international which lasted until 1990. In the late 1980s, MCA formed Mechanic Records as a sub-label for releasing heavy metal music. Bands signed to Mechanic included Voivod, Dream Theater, Bang Tango, and Trixter. Another sub-label, called The Futurist Label, was created to release progressive rock and death metal albums. In 1993 William Knoedelseder, a business writer for the Los Angeles Times, released the book "Stiffed: A True Story of MCA, the Music Business, and the Mafia". This volume detailed MCA's connections to organized crime during the 1980s.