Amphetamine Reptile Records (or AmRep Industries) is a

record label A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the produ ...

founded in 1986 by Tom Hazelmyer in Washington state. The label specializes in

noise rock Noise rock (sometimes called noise punk) is a noise-oriented style of experimental rock that spun off from punk rock in the 1980s. Drawing on movements such as minimalism, industrial music, and New York hardcore, artists indulge in extre ...

and also released '' Strap It On'', the debut album by alternative metal band

Helmet A helmet is a form of protective gear worn to protect the head. More specifically, a helmet complements the skull in protecting the human brain. Ceremonial or symbolic helmets (e.g., a policeman's helmet in the United Kingdom) without protect ...

which sold more than 40,000 records. According to Hazelmyer, the success of the album was vital to keeping AmRep going throughout the 1990s, as it "helped support the other things that sold less." The label was the subject of the 2014 documentary ''The Color of Noise''.

History

Hazelmyer originally started the label to release records by his band, Halo of Flies. Eventually the label's roster expanded to include releases by Helmet, Melvins,

Cows Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, cloven-hooved, herbivores. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus ''Bos''. Adult females are referred to as cows and adult mal ...

Helios Creed Barry Johnson (born on November 3, 1953), known professionally as Helios Creed, is an American guitarist, singer and bandleader. He first came to prominence in the mid-1970s with the San Francisco band Chrome, who were considered an early infl ...

Chokebore Chokebore is an American indie rock band formed in the early 1990s in Honolulu, Hawaii, and subsequently based in Los Angeles, California, United States. The group was active between 1993-2005 before taking a hiatus for 4 years. The group refo ...

, Servotron and others. Hazelmyer later moved the label to

Minneapolis Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...

. Today the label is used by the Melvins, H•O•F and other legacy AmRep acts to release limited edition vinyl. These releases are generally noted for their

Linocut Linocut, also known as lino print, lino printing or linoleum art, is a printmaking technique, a variant of woodcut in which a sheet of linoleum (sometimes mounted on a wooden block) is used for a relief surface. A design is cut into the linoleum s ...

artwork, hand carved by Hazelmyer, their limited availability and their highly sought after nature as collector's items. Much of the AmRep back catalog is now out of print, although many of the releases are available in digital download format and streaming. On May 13, 2020 Tom Hazelmyer participated in an in-depth interview about the label on Conan Neutron's Protonic Reversal.

Artists

Bailter Space Bailter Space (a.k.a. Bailterspace) is a New Zealand shoegaze and noise rock band that formed in Christchurch, in 1987 as Nelsh Bailter Space; they had previously recorded as The Gordons. Its members are Alister Parker (guitar, bass), John Halvo ...

* Boredoms * Boss Hog * Brainiac * Calvin Krime * Casus Belli * Cherubs *

* Chrome Cranks *

Cosmic Psychos Cosmic Psychos are an Australian punk rock band which formed in 1982 as Spring Plains. Founding members included Ross Knight on bass guitar and vocals; Robbie Addington on guitar and vocals; and Steve Morrow on vocals. Australian rock music hi ...

* Dwarves *

feedtime Feedtime (stylised as feedtime) is an Australian noise rock band from Sydney, New South Wales, that was initially formed as a duo in 1979 by Rick Johnson on guitar and vocals and Allen Larkin on bass guitar and vocals. They soon became a trio ...

* Fetish 69 * Freedom Fighters *

Gas Huffer Gas Huffer was an American garage rock band from Washington. They were known for their informal and comical lyrics and their antic-laden stage presence. History Gas Huffer classified themselves loosely in the garage punk genre. The band cre ...

* Gaunt * Gay Witch Abortion * Gear Jammer *

Gnomes of Zurich A gnome is a mythological creature and diminutive spirit in Renaissance magic and alchemy, first introduced by Paracelsus in the 16th century and later adopted by more recent authors including those of modern fantasy literature. Its characte ...

God Bullies God Bullies were an American noise rock band from Kalamazoo, Michigan. They were active from 1986–1995, briefly reunited in the early 2000s and most recently in the summer of 2010 to coincide with the Amphetamine Reptile Records' 25th Anniver ...

godheadSilo godheadSilo is an American noise rock duo formed in Moorhead, Minnesota, that later moved to Olympia, Washington, before disbanding and moving to different parts of the country. The duo is composed of bassist Mike Kunka and drummer Dan Haug ...

* Guzzard * Halo of Flies/H•O•F *

Halo of Kitten Halo, halos or haloes usually refer to: * Halo (optical phenomenon) * Halo (religious iconography), a ring of light around the image of a head HALO, halo, halos or haloes may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Video games * Halo (franchise), ...

* Hammerhead *

Hedonists Hedonism refers to a family of theories, all of which have in common that pleasure plays a central role in them. ''Psychological'' or ''motivational hedonism'' claims that human behavior is determined by desires to increase pleasure and to decre ...

* The Heroine Sheiks *

Janitor Joe Janitor Joe was an American noise rock band formed in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States, in 1992. The band's founding members were vocalist and guitarist Joachim Breuer, former member of the Minneapolis-based rock band Bastards, bassist and v ...

Jawbox Jawbox is an American alternative rock band from Washington, D.C., formed in 1989 by J. Robbins (vocals/guitar), Kim Coletta (bass), and Adam Wade (drums). After the trio released the album '' Grippe'' in 1991, Bill Barbot (guitar/vocals) joi ...

Jonestown The Peoples Temple Agricultural Project, better known by its informal name "Jonestown", was a remote settlement in Guyana established by the Peoples Temple, a U.S.–based cult under the leadership of Jim Jones. Jonestown became internationall ...

* Killdozer * King Barry and the Sinister Soulsters *

King Snake Roost King Snake Roost (also known as KSR) were one of a number of Australian and International guitar-based bands who emerged from within the punk rock and post-punk scene of the mid-1980s that came to be defined as noise rock. King Snake Roost fo ...

Lollipop A lollipop is a type of sugar candy usually consisting of hard candy mounted on a stick and intended for sucking or licking. Different informal terms are used in different places, including lolly, sucker, sticky-pop, etc. Lollipops are ava ...

* Lonely Moans *

Love 666 Love encompasses a range of strong and positive emotional and mental states, from the most sublime virtue or good habit, the deepest interpersonal affection, to the simplest pleasure. An example of this range of meanings is that the love o ...

lowercase Letter case is the distinction between the letters that are in larger uppercase or capitals (or more formally ''majuscule'') and smaller lowercase (or more formally ''minuscule'') in the written representation of certain languages. The writing ...

Lubricated Goat Lubricated Goat are an Australian noise rock band which originally formed in 1986 by multi-instrumentalist Stu Spasm. They achieved brief notoriety in November 1988 for appearing nude on the ABC TV program '' Blah Blah Blah'', wearing only thei ...

* Mama Tick * Melvins/Snivlem * Mudhoney *

Nashville Pussy Nashville Pussy is an American rock band from Atlanta, Georgia. Initially called Hell's Half-Acre, the band's name comes from Ted Nugent's introduction to "Wang Dang Sweet Poontang" on the '' Double Live Gonzo'' album. Following the initial ...

Negative Approach Negative Approach is an American hardcore punk band, formed in Detroit, Michigan in 1981. The band is considered among the pioneers of hardcore punk, particularly in the Midwest region. Like most hardcore bands, Negative Approach was little known ...

* Party Diktator *

Pogo the Clown John Wayne Gacy (March 17, 1942 – May 10, 1994) was an American serial killer and sex offender who raped, tortured, and murdered at least 33 young men and boys. Gacy regularly performed at children's hospitals and charitable events as " ...

* Powers That Be *

S.W.A.T. In the United States, a SWAT team (special weapons and tactics, originally special weapons assault team) is a police tactical unit that uses specialized or military equipment and tactics. Although they were first created in the 1960s to ...

* Servotron * Silver Salute * Steel Pole Bath Tub * Strapping Fieldhands * Surgery * Superchunk * Supernova * Tad *

Tar Tar is a dark brown or black viscous liquid of hydrocarbons and free carbon, obtained from a wide variety of organic materials through destructive distillation. Tar can be produced from coal, wood, petroleum, or peat. "a dark brown or black bi ...

The Jesus Lizard The Jesus Lizard is an American rock band formed in 1987 in Austin, Texas and based in Chicago, Illinois. They were "a leading noise rock band in the American independent underground… hoturned out a series of independent records filled with ...

Thee Headcoats Thee Headcoats was a band formed in Chatham, Kent, England in 1989, that was well known for its garage rock sound, explicitly sticking to this style on almost all of their albums. The band's signature sound as well as their prolific writing has ...

* Thee Mighty Caesars * The Thrown Ups * The U-Men * The Urinals * Today is the Day *

Unsane ''Unsane'' is a 2018 American psychological horror film directed by Steven Soderbergh and written by Jonathan Bernstein and James Greer. The film stars Claire Foy, Joshua Leonard, Jay Pharoah, Matt Damon, Juno Temple, Aimee Mullins, and Amy I ...

Vaz AvtoVAZ ( rus, АвтоВАЗ, p=ɐftoˈvas) is a Russian automobile manufacturing company owned by the state. It was formerly named as VAZ ( rus, ВАЗ), an acronym for Volga Automotive Plant in Russian (russian: Во́лжский автомо ...

Vertigo Vertigo is a condition where a person has the sensation of movement or of surrounding objects moving when they are not. Often it feels like a spinning or swaying movement. This may be associated with nausea, vomiting, sweating, or difficulties w ...

* White Drugs * Whopping Big Naughty * X

Notable performances

*Cosmic Psychos / Hammerhead / Surgery /

/ Melvins /

- the CMJ / Amphetamine Reptile Tour - Friday, October 30, 1992, at The Ritz

Discography

References

External links