Melvins are an American rock band formed in 1983 in Montesano, Washington. Their early work was key to the development of both grunge and sludge metal. Initially, they performed as a trio but later also sometimes appeared as a quartet, with either two drummers or two bassists. Since 1984, vocalist and guitarist Buzz Osborne and drummer Dale Crover have been constant members. The band was named after a supervisor at a Thriftway in Montesano, where Osborne also worked as a clerk; "Melvin" was disliked by other employees, and the band's members felt it to be an appropriately ridiculous name.
Helmet is an American alternative metal band from New York City formed in 1989 by vocalist and lead guitarist Page Hamilton. Helmet has had numerous lineup changes with Hamilton as the only constant member. Since 2010, the band has consisted of Hamilton, drummer Kyle Stevenson, guitarist Dan Beeman and bassist Dave Case.
Amphetamine Reptile Records is a record label founded in 1986 by Tom Hazelmyer in Washington state. The label specializes in noise rock and also released Strap It On, the debut album by alternative metal band Helmet which sold more than 40,000 records. According to Hazelmyer, the success of the album was vital to keeping AmRep going throughout the 1990s, as it "helped support the other things that sold less." The label was the subject of the 2015 documentary The Color of Noise.
Lubricated Goat are an Australian noise rock band which originally formed in 1986 by multi-instrumentalist Stu Spasm. They achieved brief notoriety in November 1988 for appearing nude on the ABC TV program Blah Blah Blah, wearing only their instruments and shoes. Mainly influenced by the Stooges and the Birthday Party, they are credited for playing a grimy, confrontational style of rock, which preceded grunge. They have issued five studio albums, Plays the Devil's Music (1987), Paddock of Love (1988), Psychedelicatessen (1990), Forces You Don't Understand (1994) and The Great Old Ones (2003).
Unsane is an American noise rock trio that was formed in New York City in 1988. Its music touches on elements of hardcore punk and metal. The writer Patrick Kennedy wrote, "While developing the blueprint for noise-metal bands to follow, Unsane cut a remarkable swath through underground music, inspiring a devoted, cult-like following around the world."
Kristen Marie Pfaff was an American musician, best known as the bassist for alternative rock band Hole from 1993 to 1994. Prior to Hole, Pfaff was the bassist and backing vocalist for Minneapolis-based band Janitor Joe. Pfaff returned to Janitor Joe for a short tour in the weeks before her death in June 1994 of a heroin overdose.
Cows were a noise rock band from Minneapolis, Minnesota who formed in 1986 and disbanded in 1998. The band’s music mixed punk rock with surreal humour and copious amounts of noise played through distorted amplifiers and trumpet bleats, codifying them as a noise rock band. Throughout their career Cows released nine studio albums, all but one on the Minneapolis-based label Amphetamine Reptile Records. A star in honor of the Cows is on the outside mural of First Avenue.
Cunning Stunts is the fifth studio album by the Minneapolis-based noise rock band Cows, released in 1992 by Amphetamine Reptile Records. It was their first album where they began developing real melodies and patterns instead of their usual blasts of noise. The switch to producer Iain Burgess brought an increase in sound quality from previous albums. It was long since out print; however, MVD Audio reissued and distributed the album on CD and a limited edition "Blue Opaque" vinyl LP in 2016.
Today Is the Day is an American noise rock and experimental metal band that originally formed in Nashville, Tennessee. The band's diverse sound combines influences from areas such as noise music, avant-garde metal, grindcore, post-hardcore, and alternative rock among other genres. Most of the band's recordings make extensive use of dissonance and sampling, as well as unusual production techniques and psychedelic overtones. Lyrical themes include depression, warfare, violence, altered states of consciousness, and mental disorders.
The U-Men was an American rock band, formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1980 and active until 1989. They toured extensively across the United States. Their musically "dirty" sound and off-the-wall sense of humor were a forerunner for the later grunge bands to come out of Seattle.
"Miss World" is a song by American alternative rock band Hole, written by frontwoman Courtney Love and lead guitarist Eric Erlandson. The song was released as the band's fifth single and the first from their second studio album, Live Through This, in March 1994.
Treehouse Records may refer to:
Sorry in Pig Minor is the ninth and final studio album by the Minneapolis-based noise rock band the Cows, released on March 10, 1998, by Amphetamine Reptile Records. It was produced by Buzz Osborne of the Melvins.
Supernova is the debut studio album by American band Today Is the Day, released in April 1993 by Amphetamine Reptile Records. In 2008, a remastered version of the album, including tracks from the band's "I Bent Scared" 7" single, was released via Steve Austin's self run SuperNova Records. A music video was produced for the track "6 Dementia Satyr".
Willpower is the second studio album by the American band Today Is the Day, released on September 1994 by Amphetamine Reptile Records. The album was recorded just a few months after Steve Austin's father, whom he had not seen for months at the time, died in a violent car crash. A remastered edition of the album was issued in 2007 through the then-newly formed SuperNova Records, which included the track "Execution Style", a rare extra from the Willpower sessions that was previously released on the compilation Dope-Guns-'N-Fucking In The Streets Volume Ten.
Today Is the Day is the third studio album by American noise rock band Today Is the Day. It was released on March 26, 1996 by Amphetamine Reptile Records. It was the band's only studio album to feature keyboardist Scott Wexton.
Temple of the Morning Star is the fourth studio album by the American noisecore band Today Is the Day, released on September 23, 1997, by Relapse Records. Since its release in 1997, the album has garnered much praise from critics and is considered to be one of the band's best albums. The album was reissued twice, first in 2006 on CD formats, and again in 2017 to celebrate its 20th anniversary. In 2017, the album was included in Decibel magazine's "Hall of Fame" list.
Hammerhead is a Minneapolis-based noise rock band active in the early 1990s. Members went on to form the band Vaz.
Big Metal Birds is the debut album by American noise rock band Janitor Joe. It was released in 1993, on Amphetamine Reptile Records, and was the band's only album to feature bassist Kristen Pfaff, who would leave the band to join Hole later that year, before her death in 1994.
Lowercase was a band from Palm Desert, California, led by Imaad Wasif on vocals and guitar and Brian Girgus on drums. The band put out 2 full-length albums on the Minneapolis label Amphetamine Reptile before recording their last LP for Vern Rumsey of Unwound's label, Punk in my Vitamins. Tours with Sebadoh, Karp, Unwound, Hovercraft, Caustic Resin, The Lies, Faith No More, and Chokebore helped gain them a national as well as international following.
