ninehertz

1. • Eggy
   • Just seen this on facebook:
     
     The Imminent Demise of Hydra Head Records
     
     Hydra Head Records has never been a smooth-running operation. We've spent the majority of our existence excitedly scrambling from one thing to the next, taking on more than we could ever possibly hope to achieve, and never quite finding solid footing in the midst of our self-induced whirlwind of chaos. Though not every second of doing this label has been enjoyable, it has been a very rewarding and meaningful project for me, and I hope for many of the other lives to which it has been directly connected. The fact that it has lasted close to two decades at this point is astonishing, and much has changed during that time - the lives of those directly involved with running the label, the bands and artists we've worked with, and the nature of the music industry itself. Though many of these changes have been positive, or at least illuminating, the impact of our history and current industry circumstances are culminating into a slow and somewhat painful death for the label. It certainly isn't an entirely unforeseen event, but we didn't think it would come quite so abruptly, or (perhaps naively) ever.
     
     The decision to pull the plug has not been an easy one, and in some ways is a not a choice at all. The simple fact of the matter is we've been running on empty for a while now and cannot afford to keep our doors open for much longer. Years of imbalance between creative ideals and financial realities, personal problems amongst the label operators, an unwillingness to compromise our aesthetic standards, a tendency towards releasing challenging (i.e. unmarketable) artists, and the steady decline of the music industry in general, are amongst the chief reasons for our inability to continue. It is a harsh but undeniable reality, and one which we are attempting to confront with as much integrity and grace as is afforded by the circumstances.
     
     For the short term we will continue to operate as we have been, effecting our first step into shutdown this December, at which point we are cutting off new releases from the label. Thereafter, we will be remain operational only in the interest of maintaining our back catalog, with the ultimate aim of repaying our rather sizable debts. Grim though this prospect is, in the midst of it all I still feel an extreme gratitude for everything that has happened and for all the wonderful people with which we've been involved over the years. We've been lucky enough to work with some of the most unique and provocative artists of the last two decades, many of which have made indelible impressions in the underground, and by extension the larger world of music in general. We've also been fortunate to have had the support of a small but loyal following, who've constituted the very essence of our life force. We would like to take this opportunity to express our gratitude and love to each and every person who contributed to making this label what it is - all the artists who entrusted us as the custodians of their work, all the people that bought or listened to our releases, and all the people who performed the various label duties at various offices (and houses) across the continent.
     
     ...and this brings us to the present moment, where in all honesty we are in need of financial assistance from anyone and everyone who's willing to throw us a rope. Though it is highly unlikely we'll be able to resuscitate the label, we do wish to follow through on the final round of releases to which we're committed and pay off our debts to our artists and manufacturers. In order to do this we are initiating a massive sell-off of everything we can dig up and produce for the next 6-12 months. This will include discounted bundles of CDs/LPs/posters/etc, represses of certain titles for which we still have parts, test pressings, and whatever worthwhile items we can pull together. For anyone that is able and willing to fund our funereal arrangements please visit our direct mailorder or webstore and pick up whatever you can. Any and all support is greatly appreciated by our remaining team, and will be put to the best use possible.
     
     There is no way to sum up nearly 20 years of incredibly important music, experiences, and evolution other than to say a big heart felt "thank you", and that we hope this closing will provide an opening into other even more positive and rewarding experiences for all of us and all of you who have been a part of our shared experience. For now we bid you all a very fond farewell....
     
     -Aaron Turner
     09/10/12
     
     
   • [22:06 on 11/09/12]
2. • mike
   • Shame, but seems like the natural end, not sure apart from OMG what they've done of note in a while.
   • [20:12 on 12/09/12]
3. • Podge
   • Anyone with half a mind could see their business model was flawed
   • [21:14 on 12/09/12]
4. • mike
   • I think they tried to do the whole 'let's put everything we like out' thing alongside 'let's do limited/special/one-off/rare runs' thing and you can't really do both and expect not to fall flate somewhere. I'm glad they existed though, some of my fave bands are HH-found and obviously Isis made post metal cool, which is both a good and bad thing.
   • [05:54 on 13/09/12]
5. • Ben
   • I went right off Isis after seeing Neurosis live.
   • [08:21 on 14/09/12]
6. • Ollie
   • I saw Isis...they bored me after 10 minutes.
     
     Still a big shame when any label goes tits up though...didn't they do some of the Cave In stuff?
   • [09:33 on 14/09/12]
7. • mike
   • Isis are a slow burner, I didn't like them when they first appeared and then they hit me pretty hard, Oceanic is one of the best post-metal albums ever, along with the majority of Neurosis and Cult of Luna, there's not much better in that genre.
     
     Hydrahead has put out records by these, pretty amazing stuff when it's considered as a whole:
     
     27
     Agoraphobic Nosebleed
     The Austerity Program
     Big Business
     Black Face
     Boris
     Cable
     Cave In
     Cavity
     Craw
     Dälek
     Daughters
     Discordance Axis
     Drawing Voices
     Everlovely Lightningheart
     Gridlink
     Harkonen
     Harvey Milk
     Helms Alee
     Heresi
     Jesu
     Kayo Dot
     Keelhaul
     Khanate
     Khlyst
     Knut
     Logh
     Lotus Eaters
     Lustmord
     Mamiffer
     Merzbow
     Nihill
     The Octave Museum
     Oxbow
     Pet Genius
     Phantomsmasher
     Pyramids
     These Arms Are Snakes
     Torche
     Xasthur
     Zozobra
     The Gersch
     Old Man Gloom
     Scissorfight
     5ive
     Tusk
     Age of Reason
     Barbaro
     Botch
     Boxer Rebellion
     Buzzov*en
     Cattlepress
     Coalesce
     Converge
     Corrin
     Cult of Luna
     Drowingman
     Isis
     Jesuit
     Kid Kilowatt
     Mare
     Miltown
     Neurosis
     Pelican
     Piebald
     Roswell
     Seven Day Curse
     Six Going on Seven
     Soilent Green
     Sunn O)))
     The Hollomen
     The Never Never
     Today Is the Day
     Unionsuit
     Vent
   • [16:22 on 14/09/12]
8. • bad admiral
   • that's quite a roster. had no idea i dig so many HH bands.
   • [12:03 on 17/09/12]
9. • Eggy
   • I was aware many albums I like were released on Hydra Head. It is a great shame they are a bit dead. I can understand how they have died, given that most of the bands that kept it going for so long have ceased to be. I guess it's like anything, it's run it's course and something else will replace it.
     
     I wasn't aware HH had been going for so long, but then I've only been into the types of albums HH released - well since I bought Seminar II and Oceanic back in about 2003/4 when I wanted something like Twin Zero were going to sound like. Since then I haven't looked back, it opened a whole new chapter in my life.
   • [07:56 on 21/09/12]

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