Relapse Records is an independent metal record label based in Upper Darby, Pennsylvania.
The label was started by Matthew F. Jacobson in August, 1990 in his parents' basement in Aurora, Colorado, with the guidance of his good friend and mentor Kevin Kopp.[citation needed] The first two releases on the label were 7-inch singles by the hardcore bands Velcro Overdose and Face of Decline, closely followed by three bands that would become among the biggest on the label, Deceased, Suffocation, and Incantation.
Matthew started Relapse Records on a release-by-release basis and wasn’t expecting any far-reaching extensive plan for the future, until one day he realized that there could be a future for the label beyond Matthew’s own labor of love. Matthew used his extensive list of contacts that he gained from his work at fanzine, Horrendlfled, to network not only the label but also the genre-defining artists Matthew had signed.
After this, Matt Jacobson became acquainted with William Yurkiewicz Jr., who became his partner in the record label. Yurkiewicz had founded his own record label, which was soon to release albums from the bands General Surgery, Disrupt, Destroy, Misery, and Exit-13. The two joined forces to create Relapse Records, aiming to release high-quality, professionally packaged extreme music.
In 1991, the label moved their headquarters to Millersville, Pennsylvania. In 1992, the label expanded its range with the creation of its subsidiary label called Release Entertainment, which specializes in experimental, ambient, industrial, and noise titles. With continued growth came a mail-order/wholesale operation that soon became the largest underground distribution center for all things metal in the United States. The mail-order service carried a wide array of extreme music recordings and merchandise, as well as publications from around the world.
Throughout the years Relapse Records continued to grow and sign on more and more influential artists from a broader range of genre’s, and in 1996, Relapse expanded beyond a typical record label by unveiling the RESOUND Music Resource Guide. RESOUND gave fans direct access to the label’s roster through interviews and reviews, as well as being part mail-order catalog.
In 1998 Relapse Records opened a promotions office in Berlin, as well as establishing a German Distribution deal. The second milestone came in 2003 when the first ever Relapse Contamination Festival was held January 18th and 19th at the Trocadero Theatre in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The festival featured Relapse Records artists.
In 2000 Relapse Records relocated to Upper Darby, outside of Philadelphia.
The label had a store off of South Street in Philadelphia, near several other notable underground record stores.
The music
The label specializes in extreme and experimental varieties of heavy metal and grindcore, and it has a history of signing bands that cultivate influence and devoted cult followings in the world of extreme music while being largely ignored by mainstream media.[citation needed] For instance, the acts Nile, Mortician, Amorphis, Neurosis, Agoraphobic Nosebleed, Exhumed, Pig Destroyer, Nasum, and Alchemist. Recently, however, Relapse Records has become considerably more mainstream,[citation needed] with appearances on the front cover of the magazine Kerrang! and video plays on TV music channels, especially of such bands as The Dillinger Escape Plan and Mastodon and the label's 2005 signing of stand-up comedian Brian Posehn. The word has also been spread by the sponsorship of such festivals as the Milwaukee Metalfest.
See also
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