Hydra Head Records was an

independent record label An independent record label (or indie label) is a record label that operates without the funding or distribution of major record labels; they are a type of small- to medium-sized enterprise, or SME. The labels and artists are often represented ...

that specializes in

extreme metal Extreme metal is a loosely defined umbrella term for a number of related heavy metal music subgenres that have developed since the early 1980s. It has been defined as a "cluster of metal subgenres characterized by sonic, verbal, and visual tran ...

music, founded in

New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe, New Mexico, Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque, New Mexico, Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Albuquerque metropolitan area, Tiguex , Offi ...

Aaron Turner Aaron Turner (born November 5, 1977) is an American musician, singer, graphic artist, and founder of label Hydra Head Records. He is most widely known for his role as guitarist and vocalist for the post-metal bands SUMAC and Isis, while also ...

(the frontman of

Isis Isis (; ''Ēse''; ; Meroitic: ''Wos'' 'a''or ''Wusa''; Phoenician: 𐤀𐤎, romanized: ʾs) was a major goddess in ancient Egyptian religion whose worship spread throughout the Greco-Roman world. Isis was first mentioned in the Old Kin ...

) in 1993. It had another imprint, Hydra Head Noise Industries, which specialized in

experimental An experiment is a procedure carried out to support or refute a hypothesis, or determine the efficacy or likelihood of something previously untried. Experiments provide insight into cause-and-effect by demonstrating what outcome occurs when a ...

and

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 ...

. Turner announced he was winding the label down in 2012. In 2020, the label removed its catalog from Spotify and returned its album rights back to several artists.

History

Hydra Head was founded in 1993 as a distribution company while Turner was still in high school. In 1995, he moved to

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

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. The label grew to accommodate local bands such as Roswell, Corrin,

Piebald A piebald or pied animal is one that has a pattern of unpigmented spots (white) on a pigmented background of hair, feathers or scales. Thus a piebald black and white dog is a black dog with white spots. The animal's skin under the white backgro ...

, 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 Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

, from its former home in Boston, Massachusetts. Some of the bands signed to the label include

Cave In Cave In is an American rock band that formed in 1995 in Methuen, Massachusetts. The band's lineup solidified with the 1998 release of ''Until Your Heart Stops'' through Hydra Head Records, and their early albums were prominent in the metalco ...

Xasthur Xasthur () is the project of American musician Scott "Malefic" Conner. Conner formed Xasthur in 1995 and released eight studio albums of black metal by 2010, when he announced the end of the project. However, he began using the name once again i ...

Kayo Dot Kayo Dot is an American avant-garde metal group. Formed in 2003 by Toby Driver after the break-up of ''maudlin of the Well'', they released their debut album ''Choirs of the Eye'' on John Zorn's Tzadik Records that same year. Since then, Kayo ...

, Boris, and Jesu. Its discography includes Botch,

Khanate A khaganate or khanate was a polity ruled by a khan, khagan, khatun, or khanum. That political territory was typically found on the Eurasian Steppe and could be equivalent in status to tribal chiefdom, principality, kingdom or empire. Mo ...

, and Harkonen, who were active at the time of their signings. On September 11, 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." The label would continue to stay operational, maintaining its back catalogue to pay off its "rather sizeable debts." The label released '' Worship is the Cleansing of the Imagination'', a split album between

JK Flesh JK Flesh is a moniker of English musician Justin Broadrick employed for his solo work within electronic music. Broadrick's usage of the title spans back to his work in the 1990s with Kevin Martin in Techno Animal, but he first released a solo s ...

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 ...

. The Hydra Head office in Los Angeles was closed in May 2013. In 2017, Hydra Head released Oxbow's ''

Thin Black Duke ''Thin Black Duke'' is the seventh studio album by American experimental rock band Oxbow. It was released on May 5, 2017 through Hydra Head Records. Background and composition According to ''Pitchfork'' writer Zoe Camp, the album "envision a world ...

'', 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 winding down. Discussing the album, Turner appeared open to releasing more albums "on a case-by-case basis". In a 2018 interview, Turner expressed disinterest in doing Hydra Head as a full time label again, saying that "...it would mean me stopping a lot of other things that I’m currently doing, and I don’t want to do that." The label released '' Final Transmission'' by

, released on June 7, 2019. In 2020, the label's catalogue was removed from

Spotify Spotify (; ) is a proprietary Swedish audio streaming and media services provider founded on 23 April 2006 by Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon. It is one of the largest music streaming service providers, with over 456 million monthly active use ...

, and the album rights to several of the label's bands were given back to the artists. Several artists such as

Discordance Axis Discordance Axis was an American grindcore band from East Brunswick, New Jersey. Biography Frontman Jon Chang stated on the history of the band: "Discordance Axis was a three piece grindcore band that started in NJ around 1992. The band s ...

and Botch signed to other record labels such as

Relapse In internal medicine, relapse or recidivism is a recurrence of a past (typically medical) condition. For example, multiple sclerosis and malaria often exhibit peaks of activity and sometimes very long periods of dormancy, followed by relapse or ...

, Willowtip and Sargent House, respectively, to help reissue their back catalogue. A press release on Botch's signing to Sargent House stated that Hydra Head had folded in 2020. As of April 2022, the label continued to sell its remaining stock via Bigcartel.com.

Current roster

* 27 *

Agoraphobic Nosebleed Agoraphobic Nosebleed (abbreviated as ANb) is an American grindcore band formed in 1994 in Springfield, Massachusetts, United States. Its line-up has changed often over the years, with guitarist and drum programmer Scott Hull being the only cont ...

The Austerity Program The Austerity Program is a noise rock and alternative metal band that formed in New York City in 1997, founded by guitarist Justin Foley and bassist Thad Calabrese. The band has a distinct sound; due to their use of a drum machine, the band's cat ...

Big Business Big business involves large-scale corporate-controlled financial or business activities. As a term, it describes activities that run from "huge transactions" to the more general "doing big things". In corporate jargon, the concept is commonly ...

Black Face Blackface is a form of theatrical makeup used predominantly by non-Black people to portray a caricature of a Black person. In the United States, the practice became common during the 19th century and contributed to the spread of racial stereot ...

* Boris *

Cable Cable may refer to: Mechanical * Nautical cable, an assembly of three or more ropes woven against the weave of the ropes, rendering it virtually waterproof * Wire rope, a type of rope that consists of several strands of metal wire laid into a hel ...

* Cavity * Craw *

Dälek Dälek () (stylized in all lowercase) is an American experimental hip hop group formed in Newark, New Jersey in 1998. The group's current lineup consists of MC dälek (vocals and producer) and Mike Manteca (aka Mike Mare) (electronics and prod ...

* Daughters *

* Drawing Voices * Everlovely Lightningheart *

Greymachine Greymachine is an experimental music project founded in 2006. It is led by Godflesh and Jesu frontman Justin Broadrick. The act also features Isis frontman and guitarist Aaron Turner, Jesu bassist Diarmuid Dalton and Head of David bassist Da ...

* Gridlink * Harkonen *

Harvey Milk Harvey Bernard Milk (May 22, 1930 – November 27, 1978) was an American politician and the first openly gay man to be elected to public office in California, as a member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. Milk was born and raised in ...

Helms Alee Helms Alee is an American rock band that formed in 2007. Based in Seattle, Helms Alee features Ben Verellen, former member of Harkonen and Roy. Helms Alee has released six albums, ''Night Terror'' (2008) and ''Weatherhead'' (2011) through Hydra H ...

* Heresi * Jesu *

* Keelhaul *

Khlyst The Khlysts or Khlysty ( rus, Хлысты, p=xlɨˈstɨ, "whips") were an underground Spiritual Christian sect, which split from the Russian Orthodox Church and existed from the 1600s until the late 20th century. The New Israel sect that de ...

Knut Knut ( Norwegian and Swedish), Knud (Danish), or Knútur (Icelandic) is a Scandinavian, German, and Dutch first name, of which the anglicised form is Canute. In Germany both "Knut" and "Knud" are used. In Spanish and Portuguese Canuto is used ...

* Logh *

Lotus Eaters In Greek mythology, the lotus-eaters ( grc-gre, λωτοφάγοι, lōtophágoi) were a race of people living on an island dominated by the lotus tree, a plant whose botanical identity is uncertain. The lotus fruits and flowers were the primar ...

Lustmord Brian Williams is a Welsh industrial musician, sound designer and film score composer. He is often credited for creating the dark ambient genre with albums recorded under the name Lustmord. His experimental work has been described as "not tra ...

Mamiffer Mamiffer is an American band based in Seattle, Washington. It started out as a solo project for former Pyramids and Everlovely Lightningheart member Faith Coloccia that later saw several session musicians and collaborators, most consistently Aaro ...

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 ...

* Nihill * The Octave Museum *

Oxbow __NOTOC__ An oxbow is a U-shaped metal pole (or larger wooden frame) that fits the underside and the sides of the neck of an ox or bullock. A bow pin holds it in place. The term " oxbow" is widely used to refer to a U-shaped meander in a rive ...

* Pet Genius * Phantomsmasher *

Pyramids A pyramid (from el, πυραμίς ') is a structure whose outer surfaces are triangular and converge to a single step at the top, making the shape roughly a pyramid in the geometric sense. The base of a pyramid can be trilateral, quadrilate ...

* Torche *

* Zozobra

Tortuga

The Gersch The Gersch is a band founded in Boston, Massachusetts in 1996. They have been on extended hiatus since 1999 with the only activity since that time being the 2006 release of their self-titled album, mixed and produced by Justin Sosnovski, Graham Hi ...

Old Man Gloom Old Man Gloom is an extreme metal band originally formed in Santa Fe, New Mexico, but now based in Massachusetts. The group, formed by Aaron Turner of Isis and Santos Montano, expanded to become a sort of supergroup in the Boston hardcore and m ...

* Scissorfight *5ive *Tusk

Past artists

*The Abandoned Hearts Club *Age of Reason *Barbaro * Botch *Boxer Rebellion * Buzzov*en * Cattlepress *

Coalesce Coalesce may refer to: *Coalesce (band), a metalcore band from Kansas City, Missouri, active from 1994 to 1999, 2005– ** Coalesce discography, a list of Coalesce's albums and songs * COALESCE, an SQL function *Null coalescing operator, a binary ...

* Converge *Corrin * Cult of Luna *

The Dillinger Escape Plan The Dillinger Escape Plan was an American metalcore band. The band was formed in 1997 in Morris Plains, New Jersey by guitarist Ben Weinman, bassist Adam Doll, vocalist Dimitri Minakakis, and drummer Chris Pennie. The band's use of odd time si ...

Drowningman Drowningman is an American hardcore punk band from Burlington, Vermont, which was active from 1995 to 2005. Formed in the fall of 1995 by Simon Brody, Denny Donovan, Javin Leonard, Dave Barnett and Todd Tomlinson, the band was heavily influenced ...

Jesuit , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...

Kid Kilowatt Kid Kilowatt was an American rock supergroup formed in 1996 and dissolved in 1997, including members of Cave In, Converge and Piebald. They wrote only one album, '' Guitar Method'', first released by Second Nature Recordings in 2003. Stephen ...

Mare A mare is an adult female horse or other equine. In most cases, a mare is a female horse over the age of three, and a filly is a female horse three and younger. In Thoroughbred horse racing, a mare is defined as a female horse more than fo ...

* Miltown *

Neurosis Neurosis is a class of functional mental disorders involving chronic distress, but neither delusions nor hallucinations. The term is no longer used by the professional psychiatric community in the United States, having been eliminated from th ...

Pelican Pelicans (genus ''Pelecanus'') are a genus of large water birds that make up the family Pelecanidae. They are characterized by a long beak and a large throat pouch used for catching prey and draining water from the scooped-up contents before ...

*Roswell * Seven Day Curse *Six Going on Seven *SOHNS *

Soilent Green Soilent Green is an American extreme metal band formed in 1988 in Chalmette/ Metairie on the suburbs of New Orleans, Louisiana. Described as a sludge metal and grindcore band, the group blends elements of death metal, black metal, hardcore, an ...

* Sunn O))) *The Hollomen *The Never Never *

These Arms Are Snakes These Arms Are Snakes was an American post-hardcore band that formed in 2002 and featured former members of Botch and Kill Sadie. Before disbanding in 2009, they released three studio albums: ''Oxeneers or the Lion Sleeps When Its Antelope Go H ...

* Today Is the Day *Unionsuit *Vent

References

External links