Holy Roar Records

In one of my previous posts, I featured We'll die smiling, who have recently released an EP via Holy Roar Records. So, I've decided to do a special feature on the label so you can find out a bit about them and the bands that they work with.

Holy Roar Records are an independent record label operating out of London. They have worked in the past with more well known names in the underground, such as Gallows and Rolo Tomassi.

They are currently working with a number of bands, so I've put details about them below:-

Antares are a band who can't really be tied down to a particular genre. They are wildly technical and discordant. They feature one ex-member from the band - Chronicles of Adam West, who have previously worked with Holy Roar records, but who are sadly no longer active.

The band currently have release out through the label, called - L'esprit De L'escalier. You can download the release directly from the label at the link above.
http://www.myspace.com/antaresuk

Black Mass are a Leeds based hardcore/metal band. They are due to play a gig at The Old Blue Last in London on the 10th of December with label mates - Hang the Bastard.

They have a self titled EP available through Holy Roar. They have once free song available for download from the EP via the label's website, just click on the the link below for more information.
http://holyroarrecords.com/#/blackmass 

Brontide are an instrumental band, featuring ex-members of I Was a Cub Scout and Pictures. They have a self titled EP out via Holy Roar, and feature on a number of their label's compilations.

They have two gigs arranged for December. One is Birmingham on the 16th and one alongside Rolo Tomassi in London on the 19th. Go to their myspace page for more information and to listen to some of their tracks. http://www.myspace.com/brontidetheband

Brutality Will Prevail are a hard touring, UK hardcore band. The band have a number of European and UK dates booked with Mother of Mercy and Dead Swans at the end of November and through December. They are also playing in London on the 13th of January with Downpresser, Cornered and Pariso. Dates are available through the Holy Roar website and the band's myspace page.

They currently have an album available through Holy Roar, in various formats including 10" Vinyl, CD and Digital download. They also appear on one of Holy Roar's compilation cassettes.
http://www.myspace.com/brutalitywillprevail

Crocus are an awesome and original hardcore band from Cornwall. They have already released one EP through We Heart records and a split CD with fellow Brits, Lavotchking. They are hoping to release their debut album through Holy Roar in the near future. They also appear on one of Holy Roar's compilation cassettes.

The band have gigs booked in December, January, where they will be playing in Devon and London and have a gig booked for London in April, playing with Kerouac and Bastions.
http://www.myspace.com/crocusband

The Ergon Carousel are a UK grindcore band featuring ex-members of Carmen, Beecher and Narcosis. The band run their own blog, the address is - www.turninggravity.blogspot.com.

Their self titled EP is available through the label, alongside their special Kyuss covers split 7" with Throats. Go to http://holyroarrecords.com/#/theergoncarousel. The band also appear on a couple of Holy Roar compilation releases.
http://www.myspace.com/rocklikeergon 

Gallops are something a bit different, showing that the label is an eclectic stable of strong talent. They play rock with added electro and you can follow them on twitter at by clicking on this link - http://twitter.com/gallops. 

You can get their self titled CD via the label and they have a free song available for you to download off that record, called - Miami spider. Go to http://holyroarrecords.com/#/gallops for more!

Hang The Bastard are London Based hardcore band. Their current release - Hellfire Reign, is available in multiple vinyl versions, CD and via digital download from the Label. 

They have just recently finished a short run of dates in the UK with hardcore legends Knuckledust, and have a gig booked for February 19 at The Ringside in Hull.
http://www.myspace.com/hangthebastardlondon

Last Witness are another wicked hardcore band from the London area. They currently have their latest release - Give up, available through the label as various coloured vinyl and as a digital download.

The band have a gig booked to play Salisbury in January the 22nd. For more news on shows and to hear songs from their 7" - Give up, go to -
http://www.myspace.com/lastwitnessuk.

Livimorket is the ambient/black metal solo project of an unnamed member of one of the bands on Holy Roar's roster. The demo titled - Dark Totality, which is available as a digital download and features one 39 minutes track. There has also been a self titled demo and a split release with Deafest. 

You can find out more information in the projects releases by going to - http://holyroarrecords.com/#/livimorket.
http://www.myspace.com/livimorket

Maths are a UK based screamo band, but a very good one. They mold their screaming in with introspective musicianship, which has come to signify many British screamo acts in recent years. Their latest release - Descent is available through the label along with their split release with Throats. Go to - http://holyroarrecords.com/#/maths.


Pariso and others. For more info on the band, go to - 
http://www.myspace.com/mathsband

Run, Walk are a young UK duo from Winchester, playing good old, noisy off-kilter punk. The band appear on a couple of Holy Roar compilations and you can hear tracks by going to - http://holyroarrecords.com/#/runwalk.


They also have all of their releases to date, listed on their myspace page, including their long sold out, self titled EP which they are offering as a free download. 
http://www.myspace.com/runwalk

Finally, We'll Die Smiling are a local hardcore band from Leeds/Bradford. You may have already read about them on this blog, as I featured them not so long ago. I've recently bought their EP - Avant Garde, directly from the label. It's a great release and the whole package is well worth picking up from http://holyroarrecords.com/welldiesmiling.


The band are offering the song - Interdisciplinary, from their EP, as a free download through Holy Roar's website at the link above. They also have a split cassette with Betty Pariso and a free download of their self titled EP available through their myspace page.
http://www.myspace.com/welldiesmiling


Earlier in the month, I caught up with label co-founder Alex, who was kind enough to give me some insight into the label. Here's what he had to say.


Can you tell me a bit about how the label begun and how you decided on the direction you wanted to go?

The idea for the label was sown when me and Ellen lived in Birmingham. I formed a label with a couple of friends in Birmingham based around a webzine and we did 3 releases. Me and Ellen then moved to London and decided there was a bunch of bands we wanted to see pushed more in the UK! The first release came out around June/July 2006. As for deciding on a direction - well, essentially, this never happened! We just did, and always have, released exactly what we want. Anything we like that isn't cheesy is certainly up for consideration. We certainly never sat down and went 'lets release whatever is in fashion in the metal world and try and clean up on merch' or anything like that - a look at our catalogue should hopefully reveal that we always have, and always will support some bands that have no commercial prospects at all.

How has it been for you to see the label grow?

Amazing. The most satisfying feeling in the world. But it has certainly been very hard work - far more work than monetary return that is for sure! Which is sometimes hard to swallow when you do it full time, but I cant complain as it is better than working in a soulless office with personality-void drones.

You're the label that brought bands like Gallows, Rolo Tomassi to people's attention. What helps you decide on bands to work with?

I'm sure there are cynical people who think we released those bands to a) make money b) increase our profile, but that has never been the case. Rolo Tomassi we have been with since the start, and every other 'name' band we have worked with has come about organically through real friendships or mutual respect. Generally we just go with gut feeling on who to work with - sometimes we get it wrong, and sometimes with hindsight I'm like 'why did we do that?' - but if we ever got more calculated than that then I would hate myself. All we ask of our bands is that they be fucking amazing and work hard. Not much! Ha.

Do you still take pride in the DIY formula that the UK underground scene stands by?

I'm not sure to be honest. I've felt really burnt by a couple of situations recently that have left me more disillusioned with the complete lack of intelligence and logical thought of a bunch of people. But DIY to me is a personal thing - it stands for 'do it yourself' after all, and we certainly do EVERYTHING to do with Holy Roar ourselves. There is no outside funding, there is no one promoting our bands except us and fans!

What does the future hold for the label?

I'm determined not to becoming a merch company. I want to continue to release a lot of music and continue to try and push our music into new physical territories across the world. The future is trying to strengthen our position whilst remaining 100% independent, making ourselves better known around the world and releasing loads of good music!

To find out more about Holy Roar go to - http://holyroarrecords.com.