S/D: Hydra Head Records

Yeah, this wasn't really a surprise to me. They haven't been relevant for a while now IMO... the best thing about them has always been how consistently brave they were. They'd release a bunch of safe stuff like Cave In or Pelican which would sell decently and then they'd put out something totally left-field like that Craw record which absolutely kills... but you know it'd only sell like 100 copies and is a total loss.

I'll always be forever thankful they did release that niche stuff!! I guess we'll never get any more new Craw, Harkonen, Cavity, Austerity Program, Keelhaul and Knut records now which is a huge shame.

might be naive of me here but Craw's last album (which bangs ftr) came out ten years ago, I think bands in their sort of position could expect to sell a bit more than that at the time

I mean I agree with your general point don't mistake me

(although you could say that about the great majority of notable independent labels - they had acts that sold a lot more than the rest, and in doing so funded acts that were more of a gamble financially)

I guess we'll never get any more new Craw, Harkonen, Cavity, Austerity Program, Keelhaul and Knut records now which is a huge shame.

I certainly hope not. There's nothing particularly challenging in the music of Keelhaul and their ilk; totally a place for them on the likes of Relapse, etc.

But I guess I'm also one of the hundred or so who got that last Craw record when it came out.

Well, I was exaggerating a little! And I'm sure just being on HH gave Craw and the lower profile bands a certain added cachet. I know that Craw record in particular has gained in popularity as time passes. I guess it's really just my perspective. Everyone I used to know who listened to this type of stuff would have We Are The Romans and Jupiter in their collection but it seemed like I was the only one buying things like On The Lam and Challenger.

And DJ Mencap, your point is good, all labels do this subsidizing and HH certainly had tons of other risky one off things that I wasn't interested in like Logh and Mare or whatever. Hydrahead just seemed super consistent about it, even in recent years (a Circle record!!!) so it always stood out to me.