Equal Vision Records is an independent record label based in

Albany, New York Albany ( ) is the capital of the U.S. state of New York, also the seat and largest city of Albany County. Albany is on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River, and about north of New York C ...

. It was founded in the early 1990s by

Ray Cappo Ray Cappo, also known as Raghunath Das, is an American punk rock musician, best known as the vocalist for the bands Youth of Today and Shelter, and founder of the independent record label Equal Vision. Originally from Connecticut, Cappo played ...

, singer for the

punk Punk or punks may refer to: Genres, subculture, and related aspects * Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres * Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...

bands

Youth of Today Youth of Today is an American hardcore punk band, initially active from 1985 to 1990 before reforming in 2010. The band played a major role in establishing the "Youth Crew" subculture of hardcore, both espousing and evolving the philosophies o ...

Shelter Shelter is a small building giving temporary protection from bad weather or danger. Shelter may also refer to: Places * Port Shelter, Hong Kong * Shelter Bay (disambiguation), various locations * Shelter Cove (disambiguation), various locatio ...

, and

Better Than a Thousand Better Than a Thousand was an American hardcore band featuring former Youth of Today singer Ray Cappo, Graham Land and Ken Olden of Battery fame. It was a side project of Shelter Shelter is a small building giving temporary protection from ...

. The label originally existed solely to distribute Shelter and other

Krishna Krishna (; sa, कृष्ण ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the Supreme god in his own right. He is the god of protection, compassion, tenderness, and love; and is one ...

releases. In 1992, label manager Steve Reddy bought Equal Vision from Cappo. The focus was expanded and a wider variety of bands were brought on board. According to ''Punk News'', the mid-to-late '90s saw a redoubling of the Equal Vision's hardcore efforts with such signings as

One King Down One King Down was a straight edge hardcore punk, hardcore band from Albany, New York, that recorded and performed from 1994 until 2001. Background One King Down played crunchy, danceable metalcore heavily influenced by such scene contemporari ...

and

Ten Yard Fight Ten Yard Fight was an American straight edge, football-themed band formed in 1995 in Boston. Along with In My Eyes and Floorpunch, they spearheaded the youth crew revival in 1997. Ten Yard Fight's "official" last show was in Boston on Octobe ...

. By the end of the '90s Equal Vision Records (EVR) had a stable of hardcore and punk bands, having added

Bane Bane may refer to: Fictional characters * Bane (DC Comics), an adversary of Batman * Bane (''Harry Potter''), a centaur in the ''Harry Potter'' series * Bane (''The Matrix''), a character in the ''Matrix'' film trilogy * Bane the Druid, a Gu ...

Trial In law, a trial is a coming together of parties to a dispute, to present information (in the form of evidence) in a tribunal, a formal setting with the authority to adjudicate claims or disputes. One form of tribunal is a court. The tribunal ...

Converge Converge may refer to: * Converge (band), American hardcore punk band * Converge (Baptist denomination), American national evangelical Baptist body * Limit (mathematics) * Converge ICT, internet service provider in the Philippines *CONVERGE CFD s ...

and

Saves the Day Saves the Day is an American rock band from Princeton, New Jersey, formed in 1997. The band currently consists of lead vocalist and guitarist Chris Conley, guitarist Arun Bali, and bassist Rodrigo Palma. After forming under the name Sefler i ...

to its roster in the latter part of the decade.

Sublabels and distribution

In July 2009 EVR created a sub-label named Mantralogy. This sub-label will feature bands that "deliver edgy,

-conscious music." In 2012 EVR artist

Max Bemis Maxim Adam Bemis (born April 6, 1984) () is an American singer, songwriter and musician. He was the lead singer, primary composer and primary lyricist of the band, Say Anything, before their hiatus in 2018. He sang alongside Chris Conley in the ...

(of ''Say Anything'') created an imprint label named

Rory Records Rory Records is an independent record label founded in 2012 by Max Bemis (of Say Anything) as an imprint of Equal Vision Records. Rory Records releases are distributed through Equal Vision's distributor RED Distribution. Roster * Matt Pryor ...

, distributed by EVR. On June 19, it was announced that Equal Vision Records and

Casey Crescenzo Casey Crescenzo (born December 19, 1983) is a singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist most notable for being the singer for the bands The Dear Hunter and The Receiving End of Sirens. He is also a producer who has worked with many other ...

the Dear Hunter The Dear Hunter is an American progressive rock band originating in Providence, Rhode Island. It began as a side project of Casey Crescenzo when he was a member of the Receiving End of Sirens, before becoming his main band in 2006. The band's ...

would be forming a partnership. Casey has been given his own imprint label: Cave & Canary Goods. EVR switched back its distribution of physical and digital releases in the US to

RED Distribution RED Music, stylized RED MUSIC, formerly RED Distribution, LLC (Relativity Entertainment Distribution) was a Sony-owned sales and marketing division that merged under The Orchard in 2017. RED previously handled releases for more than sixty i ...

since January 23, 2012, after many years with Alternative Distribution Alliance. In May 2013, EVR inked a partnership with

UNFD UNFD (pronounced as an initialism ˈjuːˈenˈefˈdiː/ is an independent record label based in Melbourne, Australia. The label is home to a number of Australian artists including Thornhill, Ocean Grove, Hellions and In Hearts Wake, and int ...

to manufacture, promote and distribute EVR releases in Australia and New Zealand. Prior to the partnership, EVR has shared several artists with UNFD for distribution in both coverages, such as

Say Anything Say Anything may refer to: Film and television * '' Say Anything...'', a 1989 American film by Cameron Crowe * "Say Anything" (''BoJack Horseman''), a television episode Music * Say Anything (band), an American rock band ** ''Say Anything'' (alb ...

We Came as Romans We Came as Romans (sometimes abbreviated as WCAR) is an American metalcore band from Troy, Michigan. Formed in 2005, the band has gone through one name change and multiple line-up changes, and signed to SharpTone Records in 2016 after having b ...

and

House vs. Hurricane House Vs. Hurricane are an Australian post-hardcore band from Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, formed in 2006. The band released their debut studio album, ''Perspectives'' in March 2010. The band's second studio album, ''Crooked Teeth'' was rel ...

.
Velocity Records
which was originally established in 2009 as a subsidiary of Rise Records, was relaunched in 2016 as a partner of Equal Vision Records.

Notable artists

Current

Anberlin Anberlin is an American alternative rock band formed in Winter Haven, Florida in 2002. Since the beginning of 2007, the band consists of lead vocalist Stephen Christian, guitarists Joseph Milligan and Christian McAlhaney, bassist Deon Rexroat, a ...

And So I Watch You from Afar or AND may refer to: Logic, grammar, and computing * Conjunction (grammar), connecting two words, phrases, or clauses * Logical conjunction in mathematical logic, notated as "∧", "⋅", "&", or simple juxtaposition * Bitwise AND, a boolea ...

* Armor for Sleep *

As Cities Burn As Cities Burn is an American post-hardcore band from Mandeville, Louisiana, that formed in 2002 and has released four studio albums. Their debut, '' Son, I Loved You at Your Darkest'', was released in 2005. Two years later, they released ''Come ...

* Concrete Castles * Dead American *

The Dear Hunter The Dear Hunter is an American progressive rock band originating in Providence, Rhode Island. It began as a side project of Casey Crescenzo when he was a member of the Receiving End of Sirens, before becoming his main band in 2006. The band's ...

(Cave & Canary Goods) * Fairweather * Gideon * Hail the Sun *

Hopesfall Hopesfall is an American post-hardcore band from Charlotte, North Carolina, formed in 1998. They are currently signed to Equal Vision Records. The band dissolved in 2008 after all members, with the exception of singer Jay Forrest, left the band ...

Hot Water Music Hot Water Music is an American punk rock band formed in October 1994 and based in Gainesville, Florida. Since their formation, the group has consisted of Chuck Ragan and Chris Wollard on shared lead vocals and guitars, bass guitarist Jason Bl ...

The Juliana Theory The Juliana Theory is an American Rock music, rock duo from Greensburg, Pennsylvania, Greensburg and Latrobe, Pennsylvania, Latrobe, Pennsylvania, United States. They signed to Tooth & Nail Records, and later to Epic Records for the release of the ...

* William Ryan Key * Donovan Melero *

Museum Mouth Museum Mouth is a band that originated in Southport, North Carolina in 2009. It consists of three members: Karl Kuehn who also played in the band Family Bike (drums, vocals), Kory Urban (bass), and Morgan Roberts (guitar). Originally, Savannah Le ...

(EVR/Rory Records) *

Night Verses Night Verses are an American post-rock band from Fullerton, California. The group consists of guitarist Nick DePirro, bassist Reilly Herrera and drummer Aric Improta. The band has four releases to date and is currently signed to Graphic Natur ...

(Graphic Nature) *

No Devotion No Devotion are a Welsh-American rock band formed in Pontypridd and Cardiff in 2014. The group is currently composed of American vocalist Geoff Rickly of the band Thursday, along with Stu Richardson and Lee Gaze, former members of the Welsh b ...

Scary Kids Scaring Kids Scary Kids Scaring Kids (abbreviated SKSK) is an American post-hardcore band formed in Gilbert, Arizona, United States, in 2002. The band's name was taken from the Cap'n Jazz song of the same name. They released two studio albums ''The City Sle ...

* Shallow Pools * Silent Drive *

Two Tongues Two Tongues is an American indie rock side project/supergroup, consisting of members of Say Anything (Max Bemis and Coby Linder) and Saves the Day (Chris Conley), along with David Soloway, a former guitarist with Saves the Day. History Before for ...

(EVR/Rory Records) * The Vaughns

Velocity Records

* And So I Watch You from Afar * Concrete Castles * Dead American *

Destroy Rebuild Until God Shows Destroy Rebuild Until God Shows (abbreviated as D.R.U.G.S.) formed in 2010, is an American post-hardcore band from Pontiac, Michigan, United States. They released their debut self-titled album on February 22, 2011. The band were stylized as a ...

Eve 6 Eve 6 is an American rock band formed in 1995 in Southern California, best known for their hit singles "Inside Out," "Leech," " Here's to the Night," and "Promise." They disbanded in 2004, returned for numerous tours in 2007 with a new lineup ...

If I Die First Travis Brandon Richter (born November 3, 1981 in Albany, Georgia) is an American musician, singer and record producer. He is known for being the vocalist and guitarist of the band From First to Last and the lead vocalist of The Color of Violen ...

Nemophila ''Nemophila'' is a genus found in the flowering plant family Boraginaceae. Most of the species in ''Nemophila'' contain the phrase "baby blue eyes" in their common names. ''N. menziesii'' has the common name of "baby blue eyes". ''N. parviflora' ...

* No Devotion * Scary Kids Scaring Kids *

Secrets Secrecy is the practice of hiding information from certain individuals or groups who do not have the "need to know", perhaps while sharing it with other individuals. That which is kept hidden is known as the secret. Secrecy is often controvers ...

* Terror *

Thursday Thursday is the day of the week between Wednesday and Friday. According to the ISO 8601 international standard, it is the fourth day of the week. In countries which adopt the "Sunday-first" convention, it is the fifth day of the week. Name ''Se ...

Former

Mantralogy bands

* Gaura Vani & As Kindred Spirits

References

External links

*
Mantralogy site

Punk News
{{Authority control Record labels established in 2008 2008 establishments in New York (state) New York (state) record labels Companies based in Albany, New York American independent record labels Punk record labels Alternative rock record labels Hardcore record labels Post-hardcore record labels Experimental music record labels Equal Vision Records