Robotic Empire | |
---|---|
Founded | 1999[1] |
Founder | Mike Taylor, Andy Low |
Genre | Hardcore punk, heavy metal, post-rock, alternative rock |
Country of origin | U.S. |
Location | Richmond, Virginia |
Official website | www |
Robotic Empire is an American independent record label based out of Richmond, Virginia, specializing in hardcore punk, heavy metal, and alternative rock. Some of the most popular bands signed to the label over the years have been pg.99, City of Caterpillar, Crowpath, The Red Chord, Circle Takes the Square, Cursive, Versoma, Daughters, Isis, Kayo Dot, Cave In, Red Sparowes, Torche and Hot Cross. Robotic Empire was known as Robodog Records for their first 14 releases.
In the 2010s, the label released a series of Nirvana tribute albums annually for Record Store Day: In Utero, in Tribute, in Entirety (2014), Whatever Nevermind (2015) and Doused in Mud, Soaked in Bleach (2016). [2] [3] They all featured prominent figures in the post-hardcore scene with all three including covers by Circa Survive, Thou and Young Widows, and also included prominent performances by These Arms Are Snakes, Jay Reatard, Daughters, Torche and The Fall of Troy.
The label also operates The Archivist, a digital-download label that reissues rare and out-of-print albums released between the late 1990s and the early 2000s. [4]
Hardcore punk is a punk rock music genre and subculture that originated in the late 1970s. It is generally faster, harder, and more aggressive than other forms of punk rock. Its roots can be traced to earlier punk scenes in San Francisco and Southern California which arose as a reaction against the still predominant hippie cultural climate of the time. It was also inspired by Washington D.C. and New York punk rock and early proto-punk. Hardcore punk generally disavows commercialism, the established music industry and "anything similar to the characteristics of mainstream rock" and often addresses social and political topics with "confrontational, politically-charged lyrics."
Hüsker Dü was an American punk rock band formed in Mendota Heights, Minnesota, in 1979. The band's continuous members were guitarist/vocalist Bob Mould, bassist/vocalist Greg Norton, and drummer/vocalist Grant Hart. They first gained notability as a hardcore punk band, and later crossed over into alternative rock. Mould and Hart were the band's principal songwriters, with Hart's higher-pitched vocals and Mould's baritone taking the lead in alternating songs.
Polysics is a Japanese Techno/Electronic Music band from Tokyo, who dubs its unique style as "technicolor pogo punk". It was named after a brand of synthesizer, the Korg Polysix. The band started in 1997, but got their big break in 1998 at a concert in Tokyo. They create high energy music, fusing conventional guitar music with synthesized and computer generated sound to create a unique mixture of punk and synthpop heavily inspired by the American bands Devo and The Tubes, as well as Japanese bands such as P-Model and Yellow Magic Orchestra. Their song lyrics often consist of Japanese, English, or just downright gibberish. The band has been noted for their extremely energetic live performances and their wild gimmicky outfits, notably their straight-bar sunglasses and trademark orange boiler suits stamped with a simple "P".
Post-hardcore is a punk rock music genre that maintains the aggression and intensity of hardcore punk but emphasizes a greater degree of creative expression. It was initially inspired by post-punk and noise rock. Like the term "post-punk", the term "post-hardcore" has been applied to a broad constellation of groups. Post-hardcore began in the 1980s with bands like Hüsker Dü and Minutemen. The genre expanded in the 1980s and 1990s with releases by bands from cities that had established hardcore scenes, such as Fugazi from Washington, D.C. as well as groups such as Big Black, Jawbox, Quicksand, and Shellac that stuck closer to post-hardcore's noise rock roots. Dischord Records became a major nexus of post-hardcore during this period. The genre also began to incorporate more dense, complex, and atmospheric instrumentals with bands like Slint and Unwound, and also experienced some crossover from indie rock with bands like The Dismemberment Plan. In the early- and mid-2000s, post-hardcore achieved mainstream success with the popularity of bands like At the Drive-In, My Chemical Romance, Dance Gavin Dance, AFI, Underoath, Hawthorne Heights, Silverstein, The Used, Saosin, Alexisonfire, and Senses Fail. In the 2010s, bands like Sleeping with Sirens and Pierce the Veil achieved mainstream success under the post-hardcore label. Meanwhile, bands like Title Fight and La Dispute experienced underground popularity playing music that bore a closer resemblance to the post-hardcore bands of the 1980s and 1990s.
As the Roots Undo is the debut studio album by screamo band Circle Takes the Square in 2004. It was released on CD and vinyl by the Robotic Empire and HyperRealist labels respectively. The album would later see a repress on the LP format in 2014 through GatePost Recordings
Isis was an American post-metal band formed in Boston, Massachusetts in 1997. The band borrowed from and helped to evolve the post-metal sound pioneered by bands such as Neurosis and Godflesh, characterized by lengthy songs focusing on repetition and evolution of structure. Isis's last studio album, Wavering Radiant, was released on May 5, 2009. Isis disbanded in June 2010, just before the release of a split EP with the Melvins. In 2018, the group reformed as Celestial for a one-off show to pay tribute to Caleb Scofield.
Anthony James Sly was an American singer, songwriter and guitarist, best known as the front man of the punk rock band No Use for a Name. In his later years he also gained attention for his acoustic solo work, with two acoustic split albums he released with Lagwagon front man Joey Cape and two solo albums.
Pg. 99 was a screamo band from Sterling, Virginia, a town on the outskirts of Washington, D.C. They are considered one of the pioneers of screamo. The band formed as a six-piece in late 1997 and broke up as an eight-piece in 2003; at their maximum capacity they performed with two singers, three guitarists, two bassists and a drummer and were known for their intense live shows.
The Red Chord is an American extreme metal band from Revere, Massachusetts, formed in 1999. The group comprises vocalist Guy Kozowyk, guitarist/vocalist Mike "Gunface" McKenzie, bassist Greg Weeks and drummer Jon Rice. The band gained a fanbase with its 2002 debut album Fused Together in Revolving Doors. The second album, Clients, was released in 2005 and sold over 50,000 copies in the U.S. They released their third album, Prey for Eyes in 2007, which sold between 4,000 and 5,000 copies and debuted at No. 198 on the Billboard 200 chart. Their latest album, 2009's Fed Through the Teeth Machine, debuted at No. 180 on the Billboard 200 chart.
These Arms Are Snakes was an American post-hardcore band that formed in 2002 and featured former members of Botch and Kill Sadie. Before disbanding in 2009, they released three studio albums: Oxeneers or the Lion Sleeps When Its Antelope Go Home (2004), Easter (2006) and Tail Swallower and Dove (2008). Former members of These Arms Are Snakes currently play in Russian Circles, Narrows, Minus the Bear, Crypts, and Hooves.
This is a complete discography of Hydra Head Records releases. Hydra Head Records was an independent record company based in Los Angeles, California, founded in 1993 by Aaron Turner. It had two imprints, Hydra Head Noise Industries, which specialises in experimental and noise music, and another entitled Tortuga Recordings.
Youth Brigade is an American hardcore punk band formed in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, in 1980 by the brothers Mark, Adam, and Shawn Stern. The band subsequently founded BYO. Many later punk bands cite Youth Brigade as an influence, including The Nation of Ulysses and The Briefs.
Damien Zev Moyal is an American vocalist, lyricist, musician, songwriter and designer. Originally from Amstelveen, North Holland, Netherlands, he moved to the United States as a child and grew up in Miami, Florida, where he notably fronted such hardcore punk, metallic hardcore and melodic hardcore bands as Shai Hulud, As Friends Rust, Morning Again, Culture, Bird of Ill Omen and Bridgeburne R. Moyal has been based in Ann Arbor, Michigan since 2006 and is the founding member of the semi-eponymously named gothic rock/post-punk band Damien Done.
Iodine Recordings is an independent record label based in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. Iodine Recordings releases punk, hardcore, and indie rock music. It was once home to bands such as Brand New, Orange Island, Smoke or Fire, There Were Wires, Gregor Samsa, and more.
Damien Done is an American post-punk/gothic rock band from Ann Arbor, Michigan. Formed in Gainesville, Florida in 2002 as a semi-eponymously-named solo project by frontman Damien Moyal, the group has since been expanded to include other band members and co-songwriters. The current lineup features Moyal, Laura Jane Leonard and Tyler Kane.
Torche was an American rock band from Miami, Florida. The group formed in 2004 and has released five full-length studio albums, four EPs, two split albums, and three singles. They released their fifth and final full-length studio album, Admission, in 2019.
In Utero, in Tribute, in Entirety is a tribute album to Nirvana's 1993 third and final album, In Utero, by various artists. The album was released through Robotic Empire on April 15, 2014, and an exclusive version was released for Record Store Day on April 19, 2014. The compilation, which represents Robotic Empire's 100th release overall and 15th anniversary as a business, took over 7 years to make because of "extended delays and legal wrangling." In the time it took to make the album, Jay Reatard died and These Arms Are Snakes, Thursday and Daughters disbanded, making their contributions some of the last music they recorded. An unmastered version of Jay Reatard's "Frances Farmer Will Have Her Revenge on Seattle" leaked online a few years prior to the official release of the album.
Fluff Fest is an independent hardcore punk festival held each July at the Czech town of Rokycany. A significant event for the DIY music scene of the Czech Republic and the punk subculture of Europe, it is associated with movements such as veganism, anarchism, feminism, anti-fascism, and straight edge. It features an international lineup of bands from diverse punk rock genres including hardcore, crust punk, emo, and grindcore, as well as talks and zines. Catering is provided by local animal rights organization Svoboda zvířat.
Brutus is a Belgian rock band from Leuven, formed in 2013. The trio consists of vocalist and drummer Stefanie Mannaerts, guitarist Stijn Vanhoegaerden and bassist Peter Mulders.