Amphetamine Reptile Records
Encyclopedia
Amphetamine Reptile Records (or AmRep Industries) is a nationally renowned record label
which was founded in 1986 by then-US Marine Tom Hazelmyer in Washington State, US
The label is best-known for its roster of noise rock
artists, and its Dope, Guns 'n' Fucking In The Streets series of compilations.
. Eventually the label's roster expanded to include releases by Helmet
, the Melvins, The Cows
, Helios Creed
, Chokebore
, Servotron
and others. Hazelmyer later moved the label to Minneapolis. Today the label is used by the Melvins and H•O•F
on occasion to release limited edition 7" singles.
Much of the AmRep back catalog is now out of print, although many of the releases are available in digital download format.
Record label
In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion,...
which was founded in 1986 by then-US Marine Tom Hazelmyer in Washington State, US
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
The label is best-known for its roster of noise rock
Noise rock
Noise rock describes a style of post-punk rock music that became prominent in the 1980s. Noise rock makes use of the traditional instrumentation and iconography of rock, but incorporates atonality and especially dissonance, and also frequently discards usual songwriting conventions.-Style:Noise...
artists, and its Dope, Guns 'n' Fucking In The Streets series of compilations.
History
Hazelmyer originally started the label to release records by his band, Halo of FliesHalo of Flies
Halo of Flies was a noise rock band from Minneapolis. Named after an Alice Cooper song from Killer, Halo of Flies was formed in 1986 by Tom Hazelmyer, John Anglim and Tim Mac. Over the next 5 years they released a series of 7 inch singles and mini LPs starting with a limited edition, hand...
. Eventually the label's roster expanded to include releases by Helmet
Helmet (band)
Helmet is an alternative metal band from New York City formed in 1989. Founded by vocalist and lead guitarist Page Hamilton, Helmet has had numerous lineup changes, and Hamilton has been the only constant member....
, the Melvins, The Cows
The Cows
Cows are a post-hardcore/punk blues band from Minneapolis, Minnesota. The band formed in 1987 and disbanded in 1998. They were known for a unique mixture of punk rock and blues played with large amounts of noise and surreal humour; their music is often considered noise rock...
, Helios Creed
Helios Creed
Helios Creed is an American guitarist, singer and bandleader. He first came to prominence in the mid 1970s with the San Francisco band Chrome. They are credited with being the godfathers of what later became known as Industrial Rock music...
, Chokebore
Chokebore
Chokebore is an American indie rock band formed in the early 1990s in Honolulu, Hawaii, and subsequently based in Los Angeles, California.-Biography:...
, Servotron
Servotron
Servotron was a science fiction-influenced rock band active from 1995 to 1999. Members portrayed a collective of robots whose chosen medium for dissemination of ideas was music...
and others. Hazelmyer later moved the label to Minneapolis. Today the label is used by the Melvins and H•O•F
Halo of Flies
Halo of Flies was a noise rock band from Minneapolis. Named after an Alice Cooper song from Killer, Halo of Flies was formed in 1986 by Tom Hazelmyer, John Anglim and Tim Mac. Over the next 5 years they released a series of 7 inch singles and mini LPs starting with a limited edition, hand...
on occasion to release limited edition 7" singles.
Much of the AmRep back catalog is now out of print, although many of the releases are available in digital download format.
Artists
- Bailter SpaceBailter SpaceBailter Space is an atmospheric noise rock band that formed in Christchurch, New Zealand in 1987 as Nelsh Bailter Space; they had previously recorded as The Gordons. Its members are Alister Parker , John Halvorsen , Brent McLachlan...
- Boredoms
- Boss HogBoss HogBoss Hog is an American punk blues band including the husband and wife duo of Jon Spencer and Cristina Martinez along with Jens Jurgensen , Hollis Queens and Mark Boyce...
- BrainiacBrainiac (band)Brainiac was an American synthpunk band formed in 1992, and disbanded after the sudden death of lead singer Tim Taylor in 1997.-Biography:...
- Bush Pig
- Calvin KrimeCalvin KrimeCalvin Krime was a hardcore band in Minneapolis, Minnesota during the late 1990s. The trio formed in 1995 when Sean Tillmann, Jon Kelson, and Jason Ralph met at Perpich Center for Arts Education while in their teens. Signed to Amphetamine Reptile, their primary audience was in the punk and noise...
- Casus Belli
- ChokeboreChokeboreChokebore is an American indie rock band formed in the early 1990s in Honolulu, Hawaii, and subsequently based in Los Angeles, California.-Biography:...
- Chrome Cranks
- Cosmic PsychosCosmic PsychosThe Cosmic Psychos are a punk rock band based in Melbourne and rural Victoria in Australia. An underground band that has only ever achieved limited recognition.-Description:...
- DwarvesDwarves (band)Dwarves is an American punk band formed in Chicago, Illinois, as The Suburban Nightmare, in the mid-1980s. They are currently based in San Francisco, California. Formed as a garage punk band, their career subsequently saw them move in a hardcore direction before settling into an eclectic punk rock...
- feedtimeFeedtimefeedtime was an independent postpunk rock trio from Sydney, Australia, formed in 1979. The name is spelled with a lowercase f. The members were credited by their first names only: Rick , Al , and Tom ....
- Fetish 69
- Freedom Fighters
- Gas HufferGas HufferGas Huffer was an American garage rock band from Washington state. They were known for their formal and comical lyrics and their antic stage presence.-History:Gas Huffer classified themselves loosely in the Garage punk genre...
- GauntGaunt (band)Gaunt was a pop punk band formed in Columbus, Ohio, in 1991. The original lineup formed from the ashes of the short-lived and punkadelic Black Juju, and consisted of guitarist/vocalist/songwriter Jerry Wick, bassist Eric Barth and drummer Jeff Regensburger...
- Gay Witch Abortion
- Gear Jammer
- Gnomes of Zurich
- God BulliesGod BulliesGod Bullies were an American Noise-Rock band from Kalamazoo, Michigan. They were active from 1986–1995, briefly reunited in the early 2000's and most recently in the summer of 2010 to coincide with the Amphetamine Reptile Records' 25th Anniversary concert....
- godheadSiloGodheadSilogodheadSilo was a noise rock duo from Fargo, North Dakota.The band consisted of Mike Kunka on bass and Dan Haugh on drums. The two met growing up near Fargo, North Dakota. The band originally started as a three-piece, with Phil Leitch playing guitar. Leitch left the band after their first show at...
- Guzzard
- Halo of Flies/H•O•FHalo of FliesHalo of Flies was a noise rock band from Minneapolis. Named after an Alice Cooper song from Killer, Halo of Flies was formed in 1986 by Tom Hazelmyer, John Anglim and Tim Mac. Over the next 5 years they released a series of 7 inch singles and mini LPs starting with a limited edition, hand...
- Halo of Kitten
- HammerheadHammerhead (band)Hammerhead was a Minneapolis based noise rock band active in the early 1990s. Members went on to form the band Vaz.-History:Hammerhead was formed in Fargo, North Dakota in the early 1990s, with members Paul Erickson,Jeff Mooridian Jr. and Paul Sanders, later moving to Minneapolis. The band released...
- Hedonists
- Helios CreedHelios CreedHelios Creed is an American guitarist, singer and bandleader. He first came to prominence in the mid 1970s with the San Francisco band Chrome. They are credited with being the godfathers of what later became known as Industrial Rock music...
- HelmetHelmet (band)Helmet is an alternative metal band from New York City formed in 1989. Founded by vocalist and lead guitarist Page Hamilton, Helmet has had numerous lineup changes, and Hamilton has been the only constant member....
- Heroine SheiksHeroine SheiksThe Heroine Sheiks were originally a New York-based Noise Rock band until early 2006, when the band called it quits. In 2008 the band was reformed in Minneapolis, and then only lasting another year. It began in 1999 as a collaboration of Shannon Selberg, George Porfiris, Norman Westberg and John Fell...
- Janitor JoeJanitor Joe (band)Janitor Joe, a Minneapolis noise-rock band, formed in 1992. Founding members were guitarist/vocalist Joachim Breuer , bassist/vocalist Kristen Pfaff and drummer Matt Entsminger, though bass duties were later assumed by Wayne Davis following Pfaff's departure in 1993 to join Courtney Love's band,...
- JawboxJawboxJawbox was an alternative rock band from Washington, D.C., U.S.. Its original members were J. Robbins , Kim Coletta and Adam Wade...
- Jonestown
- KilldozerKilldozer (band)Killdozer was an American noise-rock band, formed in Madison, Wisconsin in 1983, with members Bill Hobson, Dan Hobson and Michael Gerald. They took their name from the 1974 TV movie, directed by Jerry London, itself based on a Theodore Sturgeon short story. They released their first album,...
- King Barry And The Sinister Soulsters
- King Snake RoostKing Snake RoostKing Snake Roost 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 formed in 1985 in Adelaide and in 1987 the band moved to Sydney. The band...
- Lollipop
- Lonely Moans
- Love 666
- lowercase
- Lubricated GoatLubricated GoatLubricated Goat was an Australian noise rock band of the 1980s.They achieved brief notoriety for playing on a television program naked, wearing only their instruments and shoes...
- Mama Tick
- Melvins/Snivlem
- Mog Stunt Team
- Mudhoney
- Nashville PussyNashville PussyNashville Pussy is an American hard rock band from Atlanta, Georgia. Their musical style mixes boogie rock, Southern metal and psychobilly. Much of the band's lyrical themes mostly revolve around sex, drugs, drinking, fighting, and rock 'n' roll...
- Party Diktator
- Pogo the Clown
- Powers That Be
- S.W.A.T.
- ServotronServotronServotron was a science fiction-influenced rock band active from 1995 to 1999. Members portrayed a collective of robots whose chosen medium for dissemination of ideas was music...
- Silver Salute
- Steel Pole Bathtub
- Strapping FieldhandsThe Strapping FieldhandsThe Strapping Fieldhands are an American indie rock band based in Pennsylvania, and are associated with the Siltbreeze label and American lo-fi psych scene. The band's first live incarnation was a three-piece opening for The Frogs...
- Surgery
- SuperchunkSuperchunkSuperchunk is an American indie rock band from Chapel Hill, North Carolina, consisting of singer/guitarist Mac McCaughan, guitarist Jim Wilbur, bassist Laura Ballance, and drummer Jon Wurster. Formed in 1989, they were one of the bands that helped define the Chapel Hill music scene of the 1990s...
- SupernovaSupernova (band)Supernova is an American pop punk band formed in Costa Mesa, California in 1989. The band has released three full-length albums, numerous singles and EPs and were part of the original 1995 Vans Warped Tour line-up...
- TadTad (band)Tad was an American grunge band from Seattle, Washington led by Tad Doyle. Among the first of the many bands which came out of Seattle in the grunge era, Tad was notable for the fact that its music had a noticeable 1970s metal influence, rather than the punk which influenced most other grunge bands...
- TarTar (band)Tar was an American post-hardcore band, formed in 1988 in Chicago, Illinois.-History:The precursor to Tar was a hardcore punk outfit called Blatant Dissent, which formed in DeKalb, Illinois where singer/guitarist John Mohr and drummer Mike Greenlees were attending Northern Illinois University...
- The CowsThe CowsCows are a post-hardcore/punk blues band from Minneapolis, Minnesota. The band formed in 1987 and disbanded in 1998. They were known for a unique mixture of punk rock and blues played with large amounts of noise and surreal humour; their music is often considered noise rock...
- The Jesus LizardThe Jesus LizardThe Jesus Lizard was an American alternative rock and noise rock band formed in 1987 in Austin, Texas. They were "a leading noise rock band in the American independent underground…[who] turned out a series of independent records filled with scathing, disembowelling, guitar-driven pseudo-industrial...
- Thee HeadcoatsThee HeadcoatsThee Headcoats 1989 - 2000, was a band comprising Billy Childish, Bruce Brand, and Johnny Johnson. Childish was featured on guitar and vocals, Brand on drums and backing vocals, and Johnson on bass. The band was the most prolific of Childish's many musical projects, releasing fourteen full...
- Thee Mighty CaesarsThee Mighty CaesarsThee Mighty Caesars were a primitive garage punk group, formed by Billy Childish in 1985 after the demise of The Milkshakes. They influenced many American bands, especially The Mummies, and Sub Pop groups...
- The Thrown Ups
- The U-MenThe U-MenThe U-Men were a Seattle-based post-punk band active in the early to late 1980s. They toured extensively across America and even had a song by the Butthole Surfers named in their honor...
- The Urinals
- Today is the DayToday is the DayToday Is the Day is an experimental noise rock/metal/grindcore band from Nashville, Tennessee. They have a diverse sound that includes influences from alternative rock, grindcore, & progressive rock among other genres...
- UnsaneUnsaneUnsane is an influential noise rock trio that formed in New York City in 1988. Their music also touches on elements of hardcore punk and metal...
- Vaz
- Vertigo
- White Drugs
- Whopping Big Naughty
- XX (Australian band)X is an Australian punk rock band, formed in Sydney in 1977 and led by the late Ian Rilen. The band has split and reformed several times.Although X has had several members, its sound has been defined by two distinctive elements: Rilen's basslines and Steve Lucas's guitar...
Notable performances
- Cosmic Psychos / Hammerhead / Surgery / The CowsThe CowsCows are a post-hardcore/punk blues band from Minneapolis, Minnesota. The band formed in 1987 and disbanded in 1998. They were known for a unique mixture of punk rock and blues played with large amounts of noise and surreal humour; their music is often considered noise rock...
/ Melvins / HelmetHelmet (band)Helmet is an alternative metal band from New York City formed in 1989. Founded by vocalist and lead guitarist Page Hamilton, Helmet has had numerous lineup changes, and Hamilton has been the only constant member....
- the CMJ / Amphetamine Reptile Tour - Friday, October 30th, 1992 at The RitzRitz (rock club)-History:The Ritz was founded in 1980 by Jerry Brandt on 11th Street between Third and Fourth Avenues in the East Village neighborhood of New York City. Formerly a ballroom known as Webster Hall, The Ritz still retained some of its previous incarnation's Art Deco style. As a venue, it focused...