Amphetamine Reptile Records
Amphetamine Reptile Records (abbreviated: AmRep ) is an American music label that released records by bands such as Helmet (band) , the Melvins and Helios Creed in the 1990s .
history
AmRep was founded in 1986 by Tom Hazelmyer ("Haze XXL") in Washington to release recordings by his band Halo Of Flies . After moving to Minneapolis , he gradually began to bring out recordings by other bands such as The Cows , Helmet (band) , Chokebore , Helios Creed , Boss Hog , Guzzard and Nashville Pussy . The main focus of the label was on bands of the genres hardcore punk and noise rock . This is also evident from the label's company logo , which shows the word NOISE in the background behind the label name. With the singles series Dope, Guns'n Fucking In The Streets , many bands reached a wider audience.
When grunge rock and labels like Sub Pop were popular in the early 1990s , AmRep was also able to achieve increases in sales. At that time, AmRep productions were being distributed in Europe by the German label Glitterhouse , which also represented Sub Pop.
In the mid-1990s, many smaller labels came under pressure from the fact that major labels signed many successful alternative bands and the entire independent infrastructure of labels, fanzines and clubs collapsed. So in 1998 Hazelmyer decided to close his label. Since then he has worked as a gallery owner at the OX-OP art gallery in Minneapolis. In 2005, AmRep released a single again after a long time, a collaboration between Haze XXL and the Melvins .