Browse by Label: HYDRA HEAD

Artist:	HARVEY MILK
Title:	A Small Turn Of Human Kindness
Label:	HYDRA HEAD
Format:	LP
Price:	$24.50
Catalog #:	HDH 206LP

"A Small Turn of Human Kindness, is as dense and as heavy temperamentally as it is musically. The seven songs so subtly bleed together that the listener has no choice, but to view the entire album as a linear orchestration with a singular ebb and flow. A rising and falling action, refined to hell and back. And so, all of these things lead me to believe that any and all true Harvey Milk fans will eventually argue this record as the band's finest work. Or at least the vinyl version will become the quintessential mantle-piece for a generation of suburban children slumming it in the inner city... you know who you are! LP package includes a digital download code redeemable for the complete album."

Artist:	BUZZOV-EN
Title:	Revelation: Sick Again
Label:	HYDRA HEAD
Format:	CD
Price:	$16.50
Catalog #:	HH666 044CD

"It's been said many times over that suffering can render magnificent, if sometimes horrifying results when skillfully transmuted into image, word or song. This maxim might be a good summation of the existence of Buzzov-en who have notoriously lived the most extreme facets of the rock n' roll lifestyle - drug addiction, rehab, relapse, jail, break ups, reunions. Through all this they managed to produce some of the most beautifully damaged music since Black Flag's descent into the nihilistic abyss of My War. Straddling the lines of metal, doom and filthy hardcore, Buzzov-en still stand as a significant pillar of the 90s underground alongside other such disfigured anomalies (and occasional touring partners) Eyehategod and Neurosis. Their gait may have occasionally faltered due to some of the aforementioned obstacles, but in the first decade of their existence Buzzov-en revealed remarkable consistency, creating an ever growing procession of nightmarish, skull-scraping albums and EPs. Though not surprising given their dysfunctional history, the premature burial of their last studio album due to legal entanglements was yet another frustrating occurrence in a long line of minor and major catastrophes for the band. Written and recorded under a self-described period of 'exhaustion, drug-induced confusion and frustration' their music once again managed to flourish despite (or perhaps because of) the adverse circumstances under which it was created. Revelation: Sick Again is classic Buzzov-en, replete with blistering Sabbath-ian riffing, throat torn eulogies to the narcotically oppressed, and monumental gutter dwelling dirges."

Artist:	BUZZOV-EN
Title:	Revelation: Sick Again
Label:	HYDRA HEAD
Format:	LP
Price:	$21.50
Catalog #:	HH666 044LP

LP version. "It's been said many times over that suffering can render magnificent, if sometimes horrifying, results when skillfully transmuted into image, word or song. This maxim might be a good summation of the existence of Buzzov-en who have notoriously lived the most extreme facets of the rock n' roll lifestyle - drug addiction, rehab, relapse, jail, break ups, reunions. Through all this they managed to produce some of the most beautifully damaged music since Black Flag's descent into the nihilistic abyss of My War. Straddling the lines of metal, doom and filthy hardcore, Buzzov-en still stand as a significant pillar of the 90s underground alongside other such disfigured anomalies (and occasional touring partners) Eyehategod and Neurosis. Their gait may have occasionally faltered due to some of the aforementioned obstacles, but in the first decade of their existence Buzzov-en revealed remarkable consistency, creating an ever growing procession of nightmarish, skull-scraping albums and EPs. Though not surprising given their dysfunctional history, the premature burial of their last studio album due to legal entanglements was yet another frustrating occurrence in a long line of minor and major catastrophes for the band. Written and recorded under a self-described period of 'exhaustion, drug-induced confusion and frustration' their music once again managed to flourish despite (or perhaps because of) the adverse circumstances under which it was created. Revelation: Sick Again is classic Buzzov-en, replete with blistering Sabbath-ian riffing, throat torn eulogies to the narcotically oppressed, and monumental gutter dwelling dirges."

Artist:	JESU
Title:	Jesu
Label:	HYDRA HEAD
Format:	2LP
Price:	$26.50
Catalog #:	HH666 079LP

Deluxe double LP reissue of this classic Broadrick project -- his last great record before he started taking too many nature walks, got in touch with his feelings and descended into repulsive emo-pussy stage. Die-cut cover. "Few albums represent an individual and genre defining milestone as does the self titled debut from Justin Broadrick's Jesu. Combining the considerable sonic weight of Godflesh with brittle melancholy melodies in hypnotic long-form structures, it provided ample evidence of Broadrick's myriad capabilities as a song writer and ceaselessly creative musical innovator. While the eight tracks that comprise the album truly sound like no one else, they also hinted at previously unexplored areas of tenderness and subtlety. Though Jesu went on to mine those more harmonious aspects of its sound on subsequent releases to great effect, none rivaled the debut in its perfectly crafted mixture of beauty, heaviness, hope and despair. Much has happened since the arrival of this album, both for Broadrick as well as the musical world(s) he inhabits, but nothing has diminished the gleaming radiance of this darkened gem."

Artist:	PYRAMIDS WITH NADJA
Title:	Pyramids With Nadja
Label:	HYDRA HEAD
Format:	CD
Price:	$16.50
Catalog #:	HH666 194CD

"Pyramids With Nadja, is like a massive collaborative effort between Pyramids, Nadja and a number of otherwise established musicians. His instrumentation might be described as an energized ambient, infused with an intelligent ear for avant-garde metal and an almost indiscernible adherence to a sort of pop sensibility. PWN is the kinda guy who would successfully meld the still unparalleled compositional methodology developed in Pyramids' s/t album with Nadja's trademarked dirge-like shoegaze on a record and then chalk up the favorable outcome to the fact that all members of Pyramids (F. Coloccia, M. Dean, M. Kraig, R. Loren, D. William) and Nadja (Aidan Baker & Leah Buckereff) perform on all four tracks on the record."

Artist:	DAUGHTERS
Title:	Daughters
Label:	HYDRA HEAD
Format:	LP
Price:	$19.50
Catalog #:	HH666 195LP

"None of that, 'this band is my fine art project, musicianship is secondary because I am an artist foremost' garbage included. This is what the dudes in Daughters did and that fact was never more apparent than in this record. Because this time around they absolutely nailed it! Daughters is a ten and sadly their eulogy -- grab it while it lasts! Packaging: five-color, single tip-on LP jacket with high-gloss stock, with a five-color LP insert with high-gloss stock." 180 gram vinyl.

Artist:	KAYO DOT
Title:	Coyote
Label:	HYDRA HEAD
Format:	CD
Price:	$16.50
Catalog #:	HH666 198CD

"Coyote, Kayo Dot's fourth studio album, is a single, narrative-driven, long-form composition written with story and text provided by a close, terminally-ill friend of the band, Yuko Sueta, in the final stage of her life. Coyote was engineered by Randall Dunn (Sunn 0)), Earth, Six Organs of Admittance) in Seattle, Washington, forging a new genre of 'goth fusion,' which combines elements of early Cure, Faith And The Muse, and Bauhaus with Herbie Hancock's psychedelic album, Sextant, and Scott Walker's recent album, The Drift. The lyrics and story were constructed with deliberate melodrama to pay homage as well to the intended gothic vibe, expressing the protagonist's loneliness and longing to be in a better place, and her journey through her own personal looking-glass through a hallucinatory world of fear and wonder."

Artist:	CAVE IN
Title:	Anomalies Vol. 1
Label:	HYDRA HEAD
Format:	LP
Price:	$18.50
Catalog #:	HH666 201LP

"While genre-bending might be the name of the game in contemporary hardcore/metal, it can be argued that Cave In heralded, even created this trend long before the explosion of crap-tastic bands with chugging verses and faux-emotional choruses diluting the form to a point of meaningless static. The seamless blending of pummeling thrash, squalls of psychedelic melody, truly emotive vocalizations (of both the sung and screamed variety), and peerless arrangements make all the originals as well as the highly altered covers (Black Sabbath, The Cure, Bad Brains) in this compilation as vital now as they were then. Though some of these tracks were released in various forms around the time they were recorded, it is only now over a decade since their creation that the true enormity of their growth and subsequent impact on the next generation of bands can be fully appreciated."

Artist:	GRIDLINK
Title:	Orphan
Label:	HYDRA HEAD
Format:	CD
Price:	$16.50
Catalog #:	HH666 210CD

"While made up of musical luminaries who have proved their mettle in other much lauded musical outfits (Discordance Axis, Mortalized, Human Remains, Kill the Client, Burnt by the Sun, Hayaino Daisuki, etc.), this is hardly a necessary qualifier in the face of a ferocious musical accomplishment such as Gridlink's Orphan. While possessing the energy, aggression, and overall focus of its predecessor (2008's Amber Grey), the songs contained herein provide an ever denser and more nuanced musical assault combining short bursts of accelerated thrash, blinding passages of helicopter blasting, monochromatic smears of near-noise, and the alien howls of singer Jon Chang."

Artist:	KAYO DOT
Title:	Stained Glass
Label:	HYDRA HEAD
Format:	CD
Price:	$11.00
Catalog #:	HH666 213CD

"Scenes of rapture, agony, and consecration are arrayed as windows in this latest EP by the avant-rock maestros. With a large ensemble of glimmering malleted percussion, shrieking distorted organs, crystalline guitars, and sighing horns, violins, and vocals, Stained Glass' translucent passages of unearthly beauty set a new standard in soothing terror. Stained Glass features the return of original Kayo Dot lyricist Jason Byron, as well as a guest appearance by electric guitar genius Trey Spruance (Secret Chiefs 3, Mr. Bungle)."

Artist:	HELMS ALEE
Title:	Weatherhead
Label:	HYDRA HEAD
Format:	CD
Price:	$16.50
Catalog #:	HH666 216CD

"In the alternate reality, a band like Helms Alee reigns above all. Here, no one seeks to tame guitar squall to fit in a radio format or, inversely, needlessly dirty up a good hook to provide an air of authenticity. Here, Helms Alee's balance is the archetype-masterful and enthralling. Given the history of the last two decades and the deepening sense that melody and muscle compromise one another, Weatherhead becomes heroic. It's not just gallant in intent, but in sound. Granted, heroism is subjective; listeners are bound to have their own preferred reverberations to conjure an inspired rallying cry. But Helms Alee's gamut of timbres--from the most guttural blown-out roar to the most graceful lilting melody- -summon a sense of triumph, empowerment, and conquest. The relentless chugging fuzz and vocal harmonies of 'Elbow Grease', the concrete thrust of the central riff of '8/16', the thunderstruck arpeggio of 'Pretty As Pie', the siren song of 'Pig Pile', the unbridled scuzz of 'Ripper No Lube', and the alternating agit-punk and anthemic approach of the title track all reinforces Helms Alee's position as masters of diametrically opposed tactics."

Artist:	CAVE IN
Title:	White Silence
Label:	HYDRA HEAD
Format:	CD
Price:	$16.50
Catalog #:	HH666 218CD

"White Silence has an energy and a balance that feels like the work of seasoned vets, consummate professionals that have, with great heart, focus and authenticity, honed their songwriting ability in ways we feel fortunate to have witnessed firsthand. If you followed the member's individual trajectories after Cave In's un- declared 2005 hiatus, you'd have been witness to a spectrum of songwriting capabilities. Brodsky's singer-songwriter eccentricities, Zozobra's 2-piece metallic power, Cloud's rock energy, and Doomrider's thunderous roll; all tastes of the potential a re-unified Cave In might present. 2009's Planets of Old was a four song return to form, a small taste of what Cave In were capable of producing with so much experience under their individual and collective belts." Gatefold hardbound CD jacket.

Artist:	CAVE IN
Title:	White Silence
Label:	HYDRA HEAD
Format:	LP
Price:	$23.50
Catalog #:	HH666 218LP

LP version. "White Silence has an energy and a balance that feels like the work of seasoned vets, consummate professionals that have, with great heart, focus and authenticity, honed their songwriting ability in ways we feel fortunate to have witnessed firsthand. If you followed the member's individual trajectories after Cave In's un- declared 2005 hiatus, you'd have been witness to a spectrum of songwriting capabilities. Brodsky's singer-songwriter eccentricities, Zozobra's 2-piece metallic power, Cloud's rock energy, and Doomrider's thunderous roll; all tastes of the potential a re-unified Cave In might present. 2009's Planets of Old was a four song return to form, a small taste of what Cave In were capable of producing with so much experience under their individual and collective belts." Includes download code.

Artist:	PRURIENT
Title:	Bermuda Drain
Label:	HYDRA HEAD
Format:	CD
Price:	$14.50
Catalog #:	HH666 220CD

"Dominick Fernow has been delivering genre defining noise/experimental/electronic releases as Prurient (and via his slew of other bands/collaborations, including Cold Cave, Ash Pool and others) for nearly a decade and a half, many on his own NYC based Hospital Productions. Revered in many circles, and often loathed within them as well, he's cultivated and curated a tastemaking-ly obsessive worldwide following of like minded folks. On these nine tracks, we can clearly hear the echoes of Prurient's howling past, but are also faced with something perhaps even more unsettling - that being the territory of the unknown present and its indication of possible futures. The album, both in content and sound, is at once violent, magnetic, abrasive and emotional. The more we listen the deeper we fall into it, taking what has been provided and using it as a tool for our own self reflection. If the true idea of noise is perpetual freedom, then Bermuda Drain may well be the genre's most profoundly challenging record since Merzbow went laptop. Bermuda Drain is a boldly melodic, beat based synth record, complete with the very verse/chorus/bridge structures that the community so often defines itself by eschewing. The Prurient of today is more truly in line with the original spirit of noise than ever before. We give it two years before there is a collaboration with Trent Reznor."

Artist:	PRURIENT
Title:	Bermuda Drain
Label:	HYDRA HEAD
Format:	LP
Price:	$23.50
Catalog #:	HH666 220LP

LP version. "Dominick Fernow has been delivering genre defining noise/experimental/electronic releases as Prurient (and via his slew of other bands/collaborations, including Cold Cave, Ash Pool and others) for nearly a decade and a half, many on his own NYC based Hospital Productions. Revered in many circles, and often loathed within them as well, he's cultivated and curated a tastemaking-ly obsessive worldwide following of like minded folks. On these nine tracks, we can clearly hear the echoes of Prurient's howling past, but are also faced with something perhaps even more unsettling - that being the territory of the unknown present and its indication of possible futures. The album, both in content and sound, is at once violent, magnetic, abrasive and emotional. The more we listen the deeper we fall into it, taking what has been provided and using it as a tool for our own self reflection. If the true idea of noise is perpetual freedom, then Bermuda Drain may well be the genre's most profoundly challenging record since Merzbow went laptop. Bermuda Drain is a boldly melodic, beat based synth record, complete with the very verse/chorus/bridge structures that the community so often defines itself by eschewing. The Prurient of today is more truly in line with the original spirit of noise than ever before. We give it two years before there is a collaboration with Trent Reznor." Includes an mp3 download code.

Artist:	PRURIENT
Title:	Time's Arrow
Label:	HYDRA HEAD
Format:	CD
Price:	$11.00
Catalog #:	HH666 231CD

"For many artists who have careers that span more than an album or two, there are often various lines visible in their work - a line from origin to current form, lines between different paradigms of sound, lines across which fans of different manifestations of the artist will not cross. Prurient in 2011 is drawing just such lines, and Time's Arrow proves this point explicitly. Here we bear witness to Dominick Fernow's long running project once again evolving, unfolding, permutating. Taking a bold step away from the sounds which drew attention his way in the formative years, he is clearly moving towards something new, something still taking form in the present moment. Unsettling perhaps for followers of Prurient's former incarnations, but extremely important for the longevity and vitality of a determinedly restless and inventive musician as Fernow has consistently proved himself to be."

Artist:	PRURIENT
Title:	Time's Arrow
Label:	HYDRA HEAD
Format:	Cassette
Price:	$10.00
Catalog #:	HH666 231CS

Limited cassette version. "Here we bear witness to Dominick Fernow's long running project once again evolving, unfolding, permutating. Taking a bold step away from the sounds which drew attention his way in the formative years, he is clearly moving towards something new, something still taking form in the present moment. Unsettling perhaps for followers of Prurient's former incarnations, but extremely important for the longevity and vitality of a determinedly restless and inventive musician as Fernow has consistently proved himself to be."

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Artist:	OXBOW
Title:	King Of The Jews
Label:	HYDRA HEAD
Format:	CD
Price:	$16.50
Catalog #:	HH666 221CD

Artist:	PYRAMIDS/HORSEBACK
Title:	A Throne Without A King
Label:	HYDRA HEAD
Format:	CD
Price:	$14.50
Catalog #:	HH666 229CD