Decibel Books are set to publish an oral history of sorts of Hydra Head Records dubbed ‘Deconstructing Towers: The Story Of Hydra Head Records‘ in December. While that influential label’s run ended back in 2020, its impact continues to be felt, having issued releases from Converge, Isis, The Dillinger Escape Plan, Cave In, Botch, Jesu and countless others.
Aaron Turner of Isis, etc. (and more recently Neurosis) fame founded that label, which shuttered back in 2020. A press release said of this upcoming book:
‘Decibel Books is proud to announce the publication of Deconstructing Towers: The Story of Hydra Head Records. Forged from an uncompromising vision and bound only by handshakes, Hydra Head Records’ trailblazing, nuanced aesthetic redefined what was possible for an extreme music label. Founded by future Isis frontman and Neurosis guitarist/vocalist Aaron Turner, Hydra Head rose around Boston’s metal and hardcore scenes of the mid-’90s, proceeding to shroud genre-defining records of the era in artistically fearless artwork and packaging. Within a decade later, the label relocated to Los Angeles where the lights were brighter, but the descent came from much greater heights.
Deconstructing Towers: The Story of Hydra Head Records, authored by longtime music journalist and Great Falls bassist Shane Mehling, chronicles Turner’s nearly two-decade journey running Hydra Head through detailed accounts from the label’s artists, his former bandmates and ex-employees who played pivotal roles in its incomparable history.
For an exclusive preview of Deconstructing Towers, fans can read the first excerpt now, which takes readers back to the early 2000s as a major label bidding war for Hydra Head’s homegrown heroes Cave In was underway on the strength their breakthrough album Jupiter:
“Hydra Head Records was a complicated, gratifying, frustrating and ultimately life-changing enterprise to be a part of,” says Aaron Turner. “Central to its existence was a dedication to musical freedom and creative integrity, coupled with a focus on fostering friendships through collaboration. Though the label fell short of those lofty intentions from time to time (and to be frank was a downright mess in certain departments), I like to think that the heart was always in the right place—and that what came out of the label left a lasting and positive impression within the underground realm it occupied.
“I am grateful to Mr. Mehling for diving headlong into the detritus left in the wake of Hydra Head’s existence, to all the folks who took the time to talk with him about it, and who made it what is was in the first place: a sprawling, ungovernable, ferocious and (hopefully) endearing beast.”
At over 500 pages (in addition to a 32-page color section), including countless rare and previously unpublished images, and featuring exclusive stunning new cover art from Turner himself, Deconstructing Towers illustrates the once untold history of one of extreme music’s most influential and revolutionary record labels. Pre-order your copy now.’
The book also aims to tell the tales of the Hydra Head eras of the following bands:
Isis
Cave In
Botch
Converge
Pelican
Torche
Jesu
Old Man Gloom
Xasthur
The Dillinger Escape Plan
Jesuit
Discordance Axis
Oxbow
Agoraphobic Nosebleed
Drowningman
Big Business
