| Hydra Head Records | ||
|---|---|---|
 Hydra Head's old and new logos. | ||
| Record label information | ||
| Founded | 1993 | |
| Genre(s) | Punk Rock (Early), Emo (Early), Hardcore, Post-Hardcore, Math Rock, Post-Rock, Sludge Metal, Grindcore, Doom Metal, Post-metal, Drone Doom, Noise, Japanoise, Black Metal | |
| Country of Origin | United States | |
| Based in | New Mexico Boston, Massachusetts Los Angeles, California | |
| Website | Hydra Head Records Official | |
Hydra Head Records (also known as Hydra Head Industries) is an independent record label that specializes in extreme metal music, founded in New Mexico by Aaron Turner (the frontman of Isis) in 1993. Early on the label dealt with emo and pop-punk but evolved into more extreme and heavy forms of music. Along with main releases the label curated It has another imprint, Hydra Head Noise Industries, which specializes in experimental and noise music. The label also curated a Black Sabbath tribute series known as In These Black Days, spread out across seven 7" records, each of which featuring two bands.[1]
Hydra Head was founded in 1993 as a distribution company while Turner was still in high school. In 1995, he moved to Boston to attend art school. In late 1995, he was handed a demo by local band Vent. That seven-inch single would be the first record released on Hydra Head.[2] The label grew to accommodate local bands such as Roswell, Corrin, Piebald, and Converge, and after Turner graduated from college in 1999, it became a full-time endeavor. In 2011, Hydra Head relocated to Los Angeles, California, from its former home in Boston, Massachusetts.[3]
On 11 September 2012 Turner announced the "imminent demise of Hydra Head Records", stating that Hydra Head would take its first steps into shutdown "this December, at which point we are cutting off new releases from the label." However the label would continue to stay operational, maintaining its back catalogue to pay off its "rather sizable debts." The label's final release of new material at the time was Worship is the Cleansing of the Imagination, a split album between JK Flesh & Prurient.[4] From that point all new releases were re-issues of old releases or bands in association the label.
In 2017, Hydra Head released Oxbow's Thin Black Duke, a long-germinating album that was slated to come out on Hydra Head and had been unable to find another label since Hydra Head's closure. Discussing the album, Turner appeared open to releasing more albums "on a case-by-case basis".[5] Since then the label has issued new and archival works by ENDON, Lustmord, Zozobra, Circle, Pharaoh Overlord and Cave-In.
Selected Roster[]
- 5ive
- Big Business
- Boris
- Harvey Milk
- Helms Alee
- Keelhaul
- Khanate
- Oxbow
- Pelican
- Buzzov*en
- ISIS
- Neurosis
- Sunn O)))
- Soilent Green
- Old Man Gloom
- Scissorfight
- Piebald
- Vent
- Corrin
- Milltown
- Today Is The Day
- Cave-In
- Converge
- Coalesce
- Cult of Luna
- The Dillinger Escape Plan
- Agoraphobic Nosebleed
- Greymachine
- Jesu
- Kayo Dot
- Lotus Eaters
- Lustmord
- Merzbow
- Torche
External Links[]
- Hydra Head Records Facebook
- Hydra Head Records Twitter
- Hydra Head Records Instagram
- Hydra Head Records Blogspot
- Hydra Head Records Bandcamp
- Hydra Head Records Merchtable
- Hydra Head Records Soundcloud
- Hydra Head Records YouTube