__NOTOC__ Wolf Eyes is an American

experimental music Experimental music is a general label for any music or music genre that pushes existing boundaries and genre definitions. Experimental compositional practice is defined broadly by exploratory sensibilities radically opposed to, and questioning of, ...

group from

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at t ...

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and t ...

, formed in 1996 by Nate Young. Currently a duo, Wolf Eyes are a prominent act within contemporary

noise music Noise music is a genre of music that is characterised by the expressive use of noise within a musical context. This type of music tends to challenge the distinction that is made in conventional musical practices between musical and non-musical ...

. They have collaborated with a variety of artists from different countries and art forms.

History

Wolf Eyes began as a solo project of Nate Young. Aaron Dilloway joined in 1998 while also playing with John Olson in Universal Indians. Olson occasionally performed with Wolf Eyes under the moniker Spykes and joined Wolf Eyes in 2000 after Universal Indians disbanded. In 2005, Dilloway left Wolf Eyes, uninterested in extensive touring. Mike Connelly (of

Hair Police Hair Police is an American band based out of Lexington, Kentucky, that formed in 2001. They have released records through labels such as Troubleman Unlimited, Hanson Records, Gods of Tundra, Freedom From, and Hospital Productions. They have al ...

, Failing Lights and Clay Rendering) replaced Dilloway, first appearing on the 2006 album '' Human Animal''. Dilloway did some production work on ''Human Animal''. He has since performed with them on at least two occasions. It was announced in February 2013 that Connelly had left the group to concentrate on his solo work and Hair Police. He was replaced in the lineup by another Michigan musician, Jim Baljo. Both Dilloway and Connelly appeared on the 2013 album '' No Answer: Lower Floors''. Wolf Eyes is currently composed of Young and Olson; the latter described the band as a "morphed organism that expands and condenses as needed or not." The group has released 297 recordings during its 20 years of activity. Official releases have appeared on labels including but not limited to

Hanson Records Hanson Records is an American independent record label founded in Brighton, Michigan and now based in Oberlin, Ohio. It is operated by the musician Aaron Dilloway, formerly of the band Wolf Eyes. History The label's first release was a 7-inch exte ...

Bulb Records Bulb Records is a Michigan-based record label that was formed in 1993 by Peter Larson (now of the two-piece metal rock band 25 Suaves), and James Magas (now known simply as Magas). The label had originally started putting out records by local ...

, American Tapes, Fusetron, De Stijl Records,

Sub Pop Sub Pop is a record label founded in 1986 by Bruce Pavitt and Jonathan Poneman. Sub Pop achieved fame in the early 1990s for signing Seattle bands such as Nirvana, Soundgarden, and Mudhoney, central players in the grunge movement. They are oft ...

Third Man Records Third Man Records is an eclectic, vinyl-focused independent record label founded and owned by Jack White, Ben Blackwell and Ben Swank. The company operates out of three locations—Nashville, Tennessee, Detroit, Michigan, and Soho, London—with ...

Troubleman Unlimited Troubleman Unlimited Records was a record label specializing in indie rock and similar genres. Founded in 1993, the label was based in Bayonne, New Jersey and owned by Mike Simonetti. History The label started as an offshoot of a fanzine called ...

, AA Records, Gods of Tundra and

Freedom From Freedom From is a record label based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, which primarily focuses on the international noise underground genre. The label was founded in 1996 with its first official release by a San Francisco three-piece named Job. Up u ...

. It has collaborated and performed with numerous artists, including

Anthony Braxton Anthony Braxton (born June 4, 1945) is an American experimental composer, educator, music theorist, improviser and multi-instrumentalist who is best known for playing saxophones, particularly the alto. Braxton grew up on the South Side of Ch ...

Merzbow is a Japanese noise project started in 1979 by , best known for a style of harsh, confrontational noise. Since 1980, Akita has released over 400 recordings and has collaborated with various artists. The name Merzbow comes from the German dada ...

Sonic Youth Sonic Youth was an American rock band based in New York City, formed in 1981. Founding members Thurston Moore (guitar, vocals), Kim Gordon (bass, vocals, guitar) and Lee Ranaldo (guitar, vocals) remained together for the entire history of t ...

Black Dice Black Dice is an American experimental noise music band based in Brooklyn, New York and consisting of brothers Bjorn and Eric Copeland along with Aaron Warren. Formed in 1997, the group was initially inspired by hardcore and noise rock, but subse ...

, Dominick Fernow (also known as Prurient), Double Leopards, John Wiese, Mammal, FLUCT, MV Carbon, Twig Harper,

Andrew W.K. Andrew Fetterly Wilkes-Krier (born May 9, 1979), known professionally as Andrew W.K., is an American conceptual performance artist, rock singer, multi-instrumentalist, record producer and actor. Raised in Michigan, Wilkes-Krier began his musi ...

Jaimie Branch Jaimie Breezy Branch (June 17, 1983 – August 22, 2022) was an American jazz trumpeter and composer. Biography Branch was born in Huntington, New York, on June 17, 1983. She started playing trumpet at age nine. At age 14, she moved to Wilmett ...

Emil Beaulieau Emil Beaulieau, or more fully, “Emil Beaulieau: America’s Greatest Living Noise Artist” (born July 5, 1957) is the stage name of Ron Lessard, a prominent noise musician who primarily records for his own label: RRRecords. He has collaborated ...

, Richard Pinhas, and Smegma. Since 2013, Olson has run the

Instagram Instagram is a photo and video sharing social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. The app allows users to upload media that can be edited with filters and organized by hashtags and geographical tagging. Posts can ...

account inzane_johnny, formerly wolf_eyes_psychojazz, which was initially used to promote Wolf Eyes but has now gained a large following through music-related

memes A meme ( ) is an idea, behavior, or style that spreads by means of imitation from person to person within a culture and often carries symbolic meaning representing a particular phenomenon or theme. A meme acts as a unit for carrying cultural i ...

Reception and influence

In an article for ''Spin Magazine'',

Henry Rollins Henry Lawrence Garfield (born February 13, 1961), known professionally as Henry Rollins, is an American singer, writer, spoken word artist, actor, and presenter. After performing in the short-lived hardcore punk band State of Alert in 1980, Rol ...

named Olson's noise bands in a column about his five favorite bands, writing, "The guy has over 1,000 releases on his label, and I have almost 700 of them. I have a great deal of time for all of these noise terrorists—it's modern avant-meets-stoners in a basement". Fred Thomas of ''

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Music ...

'' observed

Distribution

Most Wolf Eyes recordings are self-released, following the DIY tradition of bands such as Smegma. Wolf Eyes' first major release was the

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century as individual 78 rpm records c ...

''Dread'', released on the American Tapes and

labels but distributed through

. Other major releases include ''Dead Hills'' on

as well as '' Burned Mind'' and '' Human Animal'' on

. Most Wolf Eyes recordings are released as lathe cuts, cassettes, or CD-Rs.

Partial discography

1997

*''Wolf Eyes''

cass Cass may refer to: People and fictional characters * Cass (surname), a list of people * Cass (given name), a list of people and fictional characters * Big Cass, ring name of wrestler William Morrissey * Cass, in British band Skunk Anansie * Ca ...

(

Hanson Hanson or Hansson may refer to: People * Hanson (surname) * Hansson (surname) * Hanson (wrestler), ringname of an American professional wrestler Musical groups * Hanson (band), an American pop rock band * Hanson (UK band), an English rock ...

)

1998

*''Heatwave'' cass (Hanson)

1999

*split w/

Nautical Almanac A nautical almanac is a publication describing the positions of a selection of celestial bodies for the purpose of enabling navigators to use celestial navigation to determine the position of their ship while at sea. The Almanac specifies for eac ...

LP (Hanson)

2000

*''Fortune Dove'' split w/

12" (

Bulb In botany, a bulb is structurally a short stem with fleshy leaves or leaf basesBell, A.D. 1997. ''Plant form: an illustrated guide to flowering plant morphology''. Oxford University Press, Oxford, U.K. that function as food storage organs dur ...

) *''Wulf Eys'' / Andy W. Krier cass (Meatball) *''Live Summer '00'' cass (American Tapes) *''With Spykes''

CD-R CD-R (Compact disc-recordable) is a digital optical disc storage format. A CD-R disc is a compact disc that can be written once and read arbitrarily many times. CD-R discs (CD-Rs) are readable by most CD readers manufactured prior to the i ...

(Hanson) *''Half Dogs'' CD-R (American Tapes)

2001

*''Egypt Skull'' CD-R (American Tapes) *''Wolf Eyes'' CD (Bulb) *split w/

Metalux Metalux is an American noise band consisting of M.V. Carbon and J. Graf, both members of Bride of No No. They are occasionally joined by Nautical Almanac member Twig Harper. Early material was released on the Hanson Records label, while t ...

cass (Spite) *''Live Vol. 1'' CD-R (Little Hands) *''Moral Witchcraft'' CD-R (American Tapes) *''Droll'' cass (American Tapes) *Untitled aka ''Dubbed At Ft. Thunder'' cass (Hanson) *''Fuck Cleveland'' CD-R (American Tapes) *''Scowl'' CD-R (American Tapes) *''Droll Vol. 2'' cass (American Tapes) *''Technical Difficulties'' CD-R (Little Hands) *''Sandpapered Eyes'' CD-R (American Tapes) *''Dread'' LP (Hanson/American Tapes) (reissued on CD in 2002 on Bulb label) *split w/ Old Bombs CD-R (Betley Welcomes...) *''Droll Vol. 3'' double cass (American Tapes) *''Throat Virus Alive'' CD-R (American Tapes) *''Not Our Laws'' 3" CD-R (American Tapes) *''Not Our Laws Vol. 2'' 3" CD-R (American Tapes) *''Droll Vol. 4'' cass (American Tapes) *''Black Aroma'' CD-R (American Tapes) *''Slicer'' cass (Hanson) (reissued on CD in 2002 on Hanson label) *''Chimes in Black Water'' w/

CD-R (American Tapes) *''Music for

Valie Export Valie Export (often stylized as 'VALIE EXPORT'; born 17 May 1940) is an avant-garde Austrian artist. She is best known for provocative public performances and expanded cinema work. Her artistic work also includes video installations, computer an ...

'' CD-R (American Tapes) *''Droll Vol. 5'' cass (American Tapes) *''Early Vol. 1'' cass (Hanson) *''Y'all Must Be Really Mad at Something'' CD-R (American Tapes) *''Droll Vol. 7'' cass (American Tapes)

2002

*split w/ Crack 12" (F-Cute) *''Black Rat Floods'' 3" CD-R (American Tapes) *''Dead Hills'' 3" CD-R (American Tapes) *''Droll Vol. 6'' cass (American Tapes) *''Live at Bulb'' CD-R (Bulb) *"Cut The Dog" b/w "Friday the 13th" 7" (American Tapes) *''Possession Tissues'' 4 x CD-R boxset (American Tapes) *''Uglied'' CD-R (Polyamory) *''Snake Transmitters'' CD-R (American Tapes) *''Fuck Pete Larsen'' LP (Bad Glue) (reissued on CD in 2004 on Wabana label) *''Droll Vol. 8'' cass (American Tapes) *"Powerless" one-sided 7" (American Tapes) *''Interminal Bleedings'' CD-R (American Tapes) *''Strangulation Tank'' CD-R (American Tapes) *''Throats Filled With Concrete'' CD-R (American Tapes) *''Dead Hills'' CD / picture LP ( Troubleman) *''Chimes in Black Water Vol. 2'' w/

CD-R (American Tapes)

2003

*''Droll Vol. 9'' cass (American Tapes) *''Droll Vol. 11'' cass (American Tapes) *"Dry Sockets" one-sided 7" (American Tapes) *''Strangled in Filth'' CD-R (American Tapes) *''Community Mental Health'' CD-R (American Tapes) *''Star Burke'' CD-R & tape & 7" (no label) *''Fuck Birmingham'' cass (American Tapes) *''Droll Vol. 12'' cass (American Tapes) *''Mugger'' CD-R (Hanson) *''Covered in Bugs'' DVD-R (Hanson) *''Chimes in Black Water Vol. 3'' w/

CD-R (American Tapes) *split w/ Smegma cass (American Tapes) *''Biles'' CD-R (American Tapes) *''Asylum Style'' CD-R (American Tapes) *''Recycled'' cass (RRRecords) *''Undertakers Vol. 1'' cass (Since 1972) *''Undertakers Vol. 2'' cass (Polyamory) *''Punx Mafia AHOY!'' split w/ Pengüin Lüst LP (American Tapes) *''Fuck the Old Miami'' 3" CD-R (Chondritic Sound) (reissued on LP in 2005 on Important Records) *split w/

anti-7" (RRRecords) *''Asylum Style Part 2'' CD-R (American Tapes) *Untitled presto lathe-cut 10" (no label) *Untitled w/

LP (Fusetron) *Untitled w/ John Wiese 7" (American Tapes) *''The Beast'' w/ Smegma LP/CD (De Stijl) *''Droll Vol. 13'' cass (American Tapes)

2004

*''Droll Vol. 14'' cass (American Tapes) *''Asylum Style 3'' CD-R (American Tapes) *''Asylum Style 4'' CD-R (American Tapes) *''Live Scum'' CD-R (Hanson) *''Fuck the Firesidebowl'' CD-R (Audiobot) *"Depth Charges" one-sided 7" (American Tapes) *''Undertakers Vol. 3'' cass (Gods of Tundra) *''Asylum Style 5'' CD-R (American Tapes) *''Stabbed in the Face'' 12" (

) *''with John Wiese Two'' CD-R (American Tapes) *''Droll Vol 15'' cass (American Tapes) *''Droll Vol 16'' cass (American Tapes) *''Asylum Style 6'' CD-R (American Tapes) *'' Burned Mind'' CD (Sub Pop) & LP (Hanson / American Tapes) *''Droll Vol 17'' cass (American Tapes) *''Stabbed In The Face'' split 12" with Panicsville (Nihilist) *''Dog Jaw'' CD-R (Heresee) *''Lost Sockets'' 10" (Crippled Intellect) *''Fuck The Pigs'' CD-R (no label) *with Double Leopards Breeding Turbines cass (American Tapes) *''Asylum Style 7'' CD-R (American Tapes) *''Droll Vol 18'' cass (American Tapes)

2005

*''Droll Vol 10'' 3 x cassette set American Tapes (American Tapes) *''Asylum Style 8'' CD-R American Tapes (American Tapes) *''Breeding Turbines Vol. 2'' (with Double Leopards) CD-R (American Tapes) *''Droll 19'' cass American Tapes (American Tapes) *''Asylum Style Ten'' 6 x CD-R set American Tapes (American Tapes) *''Lung Malfunction'' (Gods of Tundra) *''Deranged'' CD-R (Gods of Tundra) *''Live!!!'' (with

) cass (Purple Stuff) *''Live At Banfields East'' CD-R (American Tapes) *''Human Slaughterhouse Demos'' CD-R (American Tapes) *''Buried By Fog'' CD-R (Gods of Tundra) *''River of Haze'' CD-R (Gods of Tundra) *''Rotting Remains'' 8" lathe cut (Kning Disk) *''Asylum Style 9'' CD-R (American Tapes) *''Asylum Style 10'' 6 CD-R set (American Tapes) *Wolf Eyes /

Prurient Ian Dominick Fernow is an American experimental musician, poet and multimedia artist. He is best known for extreme music released under the stage name Prurient, as well as numerous other aliases including Vatican Shadow and Rainforest Spiritual ...

LP (Gods of Tundra) *''The Warriors'' (with

) CD (Hospital) *''The Value of An Empty Body part 1'' cass (American Tapes) *''The Value of An Empty Body part 2'' cass (American Tapes) *Untitled 7" lathe (Aryan Asshole) *''Slam Section'' cass (Fag Tapes) *''Nightmares in XXXmas'' 2 x CD-R (American Tapes)

2006

*''Live Corruption'' cass (Gods of Tundra) *''Six Arms And Sucks (Live In Porto)'' CD-R (Esquilo) *''River Slaughter'' 2XLP (Hospital Productions) *'' Black Vomit'' (with

) CD (Victo) *''Stained Lines'' CD-R (American Tapes) *''Yes, I Am Your Angel'' split LP with The Skull Defekts (Fang Bomb) *''Guillotine Keys'' one-sided LP (Ultra Eczema) *''The Driller'' Live in San Francisco CD-R (Enterruption) *''Strangle Rations'' CD-R (American Tapes) *''Tests From The Comfort Zone'' CD-R (Gods of Tundra) *''The Black Plague'' split w/

Grey Daturas Grey (more common in British English) or gray (more common in American English) is an intermediate color between black and white. It is a neutral or achromatic color, meaning literally that it is "without color", because it can be composed ...

CD (Heathen Skulls) *''Driller'' b/w ''Psychogeist'' 12" (Sub Pop) *'' Human Animal'' CD/LP (Sub Pop) *''Wolf Eyes (Live in Toronto)'' CD-R (Sub Pop) *''Live Frying: Chicago'' CD-R (American Tapes) *''Tin Coffin 2'' 2CD-R+cass (American Tapes) *''Wheels Of Confusion Vol.1'' CD-R (American Tapes) *''Wheels Of Confusion Vol.2'' CD-R (American Tapes) *''Wheels Of Confusion Vol.3'' CD-R (American Tapes) *''Manchester Is Dead'' CD-R (Gods Of Tundra)

2007

*''Black Wing Over The Sand'' CD/LP (Kning Disk) *''Shattered'' cass (Hospital Productions) *''Hell Made Man'' CD-R (American Tapes) *''Made Hell Man'' CD-R (American Tapes) *''Man Made Hell'' CD-R (American Tapes) *''Time of Clearing'' CD-R (American Tapes) *''Vacuum'' CD-R (Gods Of Tundra) *Wolf Eyes / Spykes / Failing Lights / Nate Young 2xLP (Troubleman Unlimited) *''Intrusion'' CD-R (Gods of Tundra) *''Claustrophobic'' CD-R (Gods of Tundra) *''Tin Coffin Three'' 2xCD 1xCass (American Tapes) *"Dogs On Stage" CD-R (8mm) *"Live at Oberlin" DVD (AA Records)

2008

*"Hypnotic Brutality" live performance film (Subliminal Films) *"There Is A Part Of Me You Will Never Know" LP (with Sickness) (Hospital Productions) *"Back to Attack" 2xCD-R 1xCass (American Tapes) *"Garbage Plate" CD-R (American Tapes) *"Garbage Plate 2" CD-R (American Tapes) *"Nuisance" CD-R (Gods of Tundra) *"Live Frying: PDX/Sacto" cass (American Tapes)

2009

*"Live In Cleveland" CD-R (Mistake By The Lake/Everyone Else Has A Record Label, So Why Can't I?) *"A Mast on No Shore" CD-R (American Tapes) *"Completely Wrong/Variations On The Bottomless Pit" 2xCD-R (AA Records) *"Attack to Black" 2xCD-R 2xCass (American Tapes) *"I'm a Problem 1" cass (American Tapes) *"I'm a Problem 2" cass (American Tapes) *"Impersonal, Amplified, Unknown" CD-R (American Tapes) *"Moods in Free Time" CD-R (Gods of Tundra) *"Moods in Free Time vol. 2" CD-R (Gods of Tundra) *"Always Wrong" CD
Hospital Productions

2010

*"Hygiene Chamber" CD-R (American Tapes) *"Statues Are Active" CD-R (American Tapes) *"All Identical, None Complete" CD-R (American Tapes) *"Mind In Pieces" CD-R+cass (American Tapes) *"Sept 3" cass (American Tapes) *"No Matter" CD-R (AA Records) *"Swollen Advantage 5/5/10" Lathe, 5", S/Sided + CD-R

2011

*"Live Utrecht" CD-R

2012

*Wolf Eyes / Hunting Lodge w/ Apetechnology - ''@ Destroy Compound'' CD-R/cass (Destroy) *Richard Pinhas,

, Wolf Eyes - ''Victoriaville Mai 2011'' CD (Les Disques Victo) *''Log Jam'' 3xCD-R (American Tapes)

2013

*'' No Answer: Lower Floors'' (De Stijl) *''Live Frying: Live Brooklyn 2013'' CD-R (American Tapes) *''Live Frying: Live Germany 2013'' CD-R (American Tapes)

2014

*''Live Frying: Live'' CD-R (American Tapes)

2015

* ''I Am A Problem: Mind In Pieces'' (

Third Man Fielding in the sport of cricket is the action of fielders in collecting the ball after it is struck by the striking batter, to limit the number of runs that the striker scores and/or to get a batter out by either catching a hit ball before ...

)

2017

* ''Undertow'' (Lower Floor Music) * ''Right in Front of You'' (Lower Floor Music) * ''Lowered 1'' (Lower Floor Music)

2019

* ''Trained Talk'' (Not On Label) * ''Centralized Choirs A'' (Not On Label) * ''Centralized Choirs B'' (Not On Label)

References

External links

* {{Authority control Music of Ann Arbor, Michigan American industrial music groups Sub Pop artists Musical groups from Michigan American experimental musical groups American noise rock music groups Musical groups established in 1996 Third Man Records artists 1996 establishments in Michigan