Distort Entertainment
Encyclopedia
Distort Entertainment is a Canadian independent record label based in Toronto
, Ontario
, Canada
. The label specializes in hardcore punk
bands such as Alexisonfire
and Cancer Bats
and metal
bands such as Johnny Truant
, but also represents lighter music with its sister division (Distort Light) such as Bend Sinister
.
, (concert promoter and owner of Distort Productions) and Mitch Joel
, (music journalist and publicist) in early 2002, Distort began by producing New Jersey's Step Kings' third release, 3 The Hard Way. The label's slogan "Listen Harder" was soon formed and showed Distort's specialization in heavy music.
In 2002, Below's full time employment as a studio manager with EMI publishing Canada later helped to jump start Distort by opening the door to a distribution partnership with EMI Music Canada. Although Distort is admired for its independence in the industry, it wanted to be associated with the well respected quality for which EMI had become known.
Now quite established, Distort Entertainment is a well-known Canadian label, and back some of the most respected bands in the heavy music industry.
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
, Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. The label specializes in hardcore punk
Hardcore punk
Hardcore punk is an underground music genre that originated in the late 1970s, following the mainstream success of punk rock. Hardcore is generally faster, thicker, and heavier than earlier punk rock. The origin of the term "hardcore punk" is uncertain. The Vancouver-based band D.O.A...
bands such as Alexisonfire
Alexisonfire
Alexisonfire was a five-piece, Juno-nominated post-hardcore band that formed in St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada in 2001. The band consisted of George Pettit , Dallas Green , Wade MacNeil , Chris Steele , and Jordan Hastings .They describe their music as "the sound of two Catholic high-school girls...
and Cancer Bats
Cancer Bats
Cancer Bats are a hardcore punk/sludge metal band from Toronto, Ontario, Canada.-Background:Cancer Bats originated in May 2004 with singer Liam Cormier and guitarist Scott Middleton, former member of Toronto heavy metal band At the Mercy of Inspiration...
and metal
Heavy metal music
Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...
bands such as Johnny Truant
Johnny Truant
Johnny Truant was a British, Brighton-based metalcore band, formed in 2000 under the name Severance. The band recorded 3 demos under this moniker before renaming themselves after the lead character of Mark Z. Danielewski's novel House of Leaves...
, but also represents lighter music with its sister division (Distort Light) such as Bend Sinister
Bend Sinister (band)
Bend Sinister is a progressive-indie band formed in 2001 now based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The band takes its name from a novel by Vladimir Nabokov.-History:...
.
History
Formed by Greg BelowGreg Below
Greg Below is the president and founding partner of Distort Entertainment, a well known Canadian show promoter, and talented music producer. Greg is known for his height and enthusiastic love of music .-Distort Entertainment:...
, (concert promoter and owner of Distort Productions) and Mitch Joel
Mitch Joel
Mitch Joel is a journalist and publicist. He is president of Twist Image, a Digital Marketing agency and president and founding partner of Distort Entertainment.-Journalism/Publicism:...
, (music journalist and publicist) in early 2002, Distort began by producing New Jersey's Step Kings' third release, 3 The Hard Way. The label's slogan "Listen Harder" was soon formed and showed Distort's specialization in heavy music.
In 2002, Below's full time employment as a studio manager with EMI publishing Canada later helped to jump start Distort by opening the door to a distribution partnership with EMI Music Canada. Although Distort is admired for its independence in the industry, it wanted to be associated with the well respected quality for which EMI had become known.
Now quite established, Distort Entertainment is a well-known Canadian label, and back some of the most respected bands in the heavy music industry.
Artists/bands represented
- A Textbook Tragedy
- AlexisonfireAlexisonfireAlexisonfire was a five-piece, Juno-nominated post-hardcore band that formed in St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada in 2001. The band consisted of George Pettit , Dallas Green , Wade MacNeil , Chris Steele , and Jordan Hastings .They describe their music as "the sound of two Catholic high-school girls...
- ArchitectsArchitects (British band)Architects are an English Metalcore band from Brighton, England, formed in 2004. The band went through several name changes before they decided upon Architects. Their first name was Inharmonic, which was swiftly changed to Counting the Days...
- Bend SinisterBend Sinister (band)Bend Sinister is a progressive-indie band formed in 2001 now based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The band takes its name from a novel by Vladimir Nabokov.-History:...
- The BronxThe Bronx (band)The Bronx is an American hardcore punk band from Los Angeles formed in 2002. The band's current lineup consists of vocalist Matt Caughthran, guitarists Joby J. Ford and Ken Horne, bass guitarist Brad Magers, and drummer Jorma Vik...
- The BledThe BledThe Bled is a hardcore band from Tucson, Arizona. The group formed in 2001, originally under the name "The Radiation Defiance Theory", but changed it because of its length...
- Cancer BatsCancer BatsCancer Bats are a hardcore punk/sludge metal band from Toronto, Ontario, Canada.-Background:Cancer Bats originated in May 2004 with singer Liam Cormier and guitarist Scott Middleton, former member of Toronto heavy metal band At the Mercy of Inspiration...
- Comeback KidComeback KidComeback Kid is a Canadian hardcore band from Winnipeg, Manitoba. Formed in 2002, the band is currently signed to Facedown Records. Their name comes from a headline in a newspaper about hockey player, Mario Lemieux coming back to the NHL. The band was formed in 2002 by Andrew Neufeld and Jeremy...
- Dead and DivineDead and DivineDead and Divine is a five-piece Post-Hardcore band out of Burlington, Ontario, Canada. Their initial success spawned from their 2005 EP What Really Happened At Lover's Lane on Verona Records .-What Really Happened At Lovers Lane :What Really Happened At Lover's Lane beat all expectations when in...
- Damn 13
- The End
- Johnny TruantJohnny TruantJohnny Truant was a British, Brighton-based metalcore band, formed in 2000 under the name Severance. The band recorded 3 demos under this moniker before renaming themselves after the lead character of Mark Z. Danielewski's novel House of Leaves...
- Lower Than AtlantisLower Than AtlantisLower Than Atlantis are a four-piece Melodic hardcore/Rock band based in Watford, United Kingdom. The band was started in 2007. They have since released their debut EP, Bretton via Thirty Days of Night Records in January 2009...
- Savannah
- Shaped by FateShaped by FateShaped By Fate are a 5 piece metalcore band from South Wales , formed in late 2001 and lauded as "the future of British Metalcore" by Kerrang! magazine which described the band's music as "some of the tastiest, heaviest, most shredding metal this island's seen in a long time".-History:Shaped By...
- Bury TomorrowBury TomorrowBury Tomorrow are a five piece British metalcore band from Hampshire, England. The Band is composed of vocalist Dani Winter-Bates, guitarist Mehdi Vismara, guitarist and singer Jason Cameron, bass guitarist Davyd Winter-Bates and drummer Adam Jackson...
- Canadian Distribution - Straight Reads The Line