Peaceville Records

Last updated

Peaceville Records
Sacredstar.jpg
Founded1987
FounderPaul "Hammy" Halmshaw
Distributor(s) Snapper Music
Genre Extreme metal, heavy metal, hardcore punk
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Official website www.peaceville.com

Peaceville Records is a British independent heavy metal record label. The label was founded by Paul "Hammy" Halmshaw (of the bands Instigators and Civilised Society) in Dewsbury, England, in 1987, who was also a drummer of Sore Throat. Originally a tape label releasing anarcho punk, the releases moved towards metal through crust punk and similar forms of metal-influenced English hardcore punk. Halmshaw started running the label full-time in 1988, although the original tape label incarnation was founded in 1981 as a vehicle for releasing Instigators demo cassettes.

Contents

The label is therefore known for the connection between doom metal and the 1980s English crust punk scene. Sister labels 'Deaf' and 'Dreamtime' concentrated more on thrash metal (Deaf) and psychedelic electronica (Dreamtime).

However, the bands My Dying Bride, Darkthrone, Katatonia, Autopsy, Anathema, Paradise Lost, and Opeth - known as the 'Peaceville Stable' - have been the label's most recognizable acts since the 1990s. Peaceville also became known for its anti-major label stance and left wing political outlook.

In November 2006, after 25 years at the helm, Halmshaw announced that he and co-manager Lisa Halmshaw would be leaving the label to concentrate on new projects, and that his former assistant, Paul Groundwell, would be taking over general management duties, [1] following the sale of the label to back catalogue specialists Snapper Music, who had distributed Peaceville since 2001.

Bands

Former bands

Compilations

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Darkthrone</span> Norwegian black metal band


Darkthrone is a Norwegian black metal band hailing from Kolbotn, Akershus. Formed in 1986 as a death metal band named Black Death, in 1991, Darkthrone transitioned to a black metal style influenced by Bathory and Celtic Frost and emerged as one of the leading bands in the Norwegian black metal scene.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">My Dying Bride</span> English doom metal band

My Dying Bride are an English doom metal band formed in Bradford. Since their inception in 1990, they have released 15 studio albums, five EPs, one demo, one box set, four compilation albums, one live album, and one live CD/DVD release.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paradise Lost (band)</span> British gothic metal band

Paradise Lost are an English gothic metal band. Formed in Halifax, West Yorkshire, in 1988, they are considered to be among the pioneers of the death-doom genre, and regarded as the main influence for the later gothic metal movement. As of 2005, Paradise Lost have sold over two million albums worldwide.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Katatonia</span> Swedish heavy metal band

Katatonia is a Swedish heavy metal band formed in Stockholm in 1991 by Jonas Renkse and Anders Nyström. The band started as a studio-only project for the duo, as an outlet for the band's love of death metal. Increasing popularity led them to add more band members for live performances, though outside of the band's founders, the lineup was a constantly changing, revolving door of musicians throughout the 1990s, notably including Mikael Åkerfeldt of the band Opeth for a period. After two death/doom albums, Dance of December Souls (1993) and Brave Murder Day (1996), problems with Renkse's vocal cords coupled with new musical influences led the band away from the screamed vocals of death metal to a more traditional, melodic form of heavy metal music.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Doom (British band)</span> English crust punk band

Doom are an English hardcore punk band from Birmingham whose first lineup were together from 1987 to 1990. Despite its short existence, the band is considered pivotal in the rise of crust punk, a genre of punk rock that takes influence and elements from extreme metal. They recorded for Peaceville Records and are cited as an early precursor to grindcore. Doom were also a favourite of BBC Radio DJ John Peel.

<i>The Angel and the Dark River</i> 1995 studio album by My Dying Bride

The Angel and the Dark River is the third studio album by English doom metal band My Dying Bride. The 1996 re-release contains one bonus track "The Sexuality of Bereavement" and a bonus CD titled Live at the Dynamo. The Live CD was recorded during their appearance at the Dynamo Festival in 1995.

Sore Throat were a British crust punk band formed in Huddersfield in 1987. They are known for being one of the earliest exponents of the grindcore subgenre known as "noisecore", as well as for launching the careers of several prominent members of the British heavy metal community.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dave Pybus</span> British extreme metal musician

Dave Pybus is an English extreme metal musician, best known as the former bass player of Cradle of Filth.

<i>Metal: A Headbangers Journey</i> 2005 film by Sam Dunn

Metal: A Headbanger's Journey is a 2005 documentary film directed by Sam Dunn with Scot McFadyen and Jessica Wise. The film follows 31-year-old Dunn, a Canadian anthropologist, who has been a heavy metal fan since the age of 12. Dunn sets out across the world to uncover the various opinions on heavy metal music, including its origins, culture, controversy, and the reasons it is loved by so many people. The film made its debut at the 2005 Toronto International Film Festival, and was released as a two-disc special edition DVD in the US on 19 September 2006.

Electro Hippies were an English thrashcore band formed in St Helens/Wigan, England, in 1985.

<i>Peaceville Volume 4</i> 1992 compilation album by Various Peaceville Artists

Peaceville Volume 4 is a 1992 compilation sampling various artists and genres within the Peaceville record label. Many of the tracks have brief sound collages between songs, which feature clips ranging from films to interviews with then-current Peaceville artists. The compilation's title and cover art spoof that of Black Sabbath Vol. 4. The version of Anathema's "Lovelorn Rhapsody" featured on this compilation would be exclusive until the track resurfaced in 2002 on the band's retrospective, Resonance Vol. 2.

This is a timeline documenting the events of heavy metal music in the year 1993.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gallhammer</span> Japanese extreme metal band

Gallhammer were a Japanese extreme metal group that drew on blackened crust, black metal, doom metal and crust punk. They formed in Tokyo in 2003 and released three studio albums.

Instigators were an anarcho-punk band from Dewsbury, England, formed in 1980. The original line-up split up in the mid-1980s, but the band carried on into the 1990s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Asgaroth</span>

Asgaroth was a Spanish black metal band from Barcelona, Spain, formed in 1995. It started as a one man-project by Lord Lupus. Their international attention increased after their second album release, Red Shift, through Peaceville.

Metal Evolution is a 2011 documentary series directed by anthropologist and filmmaker Sam Dunn and director, producer and music supervisor Scot McFadyen about heavy metal subgenres, with new episodes airing every Friday at 10 pm EST on MuchMore and Saturday at 10pm EST on VH1 Classic. Its origins come from Dunn's first documentary Metal: A Headbanger's Journey, which included the acclaimed "Heavy Metal Family Tree."

Trees of Eternity was a Swedish metal band from Örebro that began in 2009 as a musical collaboration between Finnish guitarist Juha Raivio and South African-born Swedish singer Aleah Stanbridge.

<i>The Underground Resistance</i> 2013 studio album by Darkthrone

The Underground Resistance is the 15th studio album by Norwegian black metal band Darkthrone. It was released 25 February 2013 by Peaceville Records.

Paul Halmshaw also known as "Hammy" is a British knobhead who founded Peaceville Records, which signed some of the most infamous death, black, and doom metal and crust punk bands worldwide in the late 1980s and throughout the 1990s.

References

  1. "PEACEVILLE RECORDS Founders Retire From Music Business". Roadrunnerrecords.com.