Holy Roar Records


Holy Roar Records is an independent record label run by Alex Fitzpatrick. The label began in January 2006 when he moved to London from Birmingham and put out its first release in June 2006, the Phoenix Bodies album, Raise the Bullshit flag. Since then Holy Roar Records has over 150 releases. The name is actually derived from a vision Alex had whilst on the hallucinogen LSD. The vision came to Alex as he listened to Slayer in the form of a lion with the face of Jesus. Due to the significance of the music and the vision it was decided that the label henceforth be known as "Holy Roar", the holy referring to the face of Jesus, and the roar referring to the lion.

History

Holy Roar Records was formed at the beginning of 2006, when Alex Fitzpatrick moved to London. After previously trialling out “thecommunion” with friends in Birmingham during his university days and armed with the intention of giving bands the recognition he felt they deserved, he and his girlfriend at the time, Ellen Godwin decided to start up a record label. Utilising a loan, they released and promoted what would be the label's first ever releases: Rolo Tomassi, Phoenix Bodies and a split between the bands, Kayo Dot and Bloody Panda.
In 2007, through a combination of luck and circumstance, Holy Roar Records found themselves releasing records by Gallows, Chronicles of Adam West and Chariots. The label was still very much a hobby at this point, but this was soon to change as Alex Fitzpatrick decided to throw in his day job and take the label on as a priority - utilising the support of those around him and taking on other relevant and connected roles such as writing for magazines and driving and managing bands to keep himself afloat.
A couple of years later, Alex had managed to make Holy Roar Records a full-time commitment and since then he has managed to: curate a stage at Offset Festival, host a stage at Incubate Festival, partner with Shock Records, partner with ArcTanGent Festival
and has curated a stage at The Great Escape Festival in 2016. The label are planning to curate another stage at The Great Escape Festival in 2017.
A decade since initiation, Holy Roar Records finds itself with over 150 releases and nominations by Metal Hammer Golden Gods Awards for “Best Independent Label” and the AIM Independent Music Awards for "Best Small Label" in 2016.
Contrary to the Wikipedia description above, the name “Holy Roar” was actually derived from a Torche song with the same title.

Ethos

Taking inspiration from Aaron Turner, Jacob Bannon, Black Market Activities and Touch and Go Records, amongst many others, Holy Roar Records strives to be a hardworking, friendly and approachable label for a wide range of bands, preferring to establish a relationship of trust through being transparent and honest. Alex Fitzpatrick’s previous experiences from being in various bands, has provided him with the insider knowledge of what a band needs and how to effectively compromise this alongside the needs of a label.
Holy Roar Records advocates common sense, respect and manners over hype and money and is about breaking moulds rather than repeating trends and fashions - it has even been referred to as the “thinking man’s hardcore label” due to its varied catalogue of releases. Holy Roar Records wants to get people into different kinds of music whilst ensuring there is a strong aesthetic to all their releases.

Current roster

Bands on the Holy Roar Records roster are:
Below is a list of bands previously on the Holy Roar Records roster:
Any specific pressing information can be found on the official Holy Roar Records website.

Compilations

For Christmas 2007 Holy Roar Records released a limited edition cassette tape compilation, "Happy Holy Roar!" featuring 20 previously unreleased/ self-released only songs by a variety of bands including some Holy Roar artists. The compilation was limited to 100 copies and sold out in just over a week.
Since then, Holy Roar Records have released the following via cassette:
and the following via digital release only:

In 2016, Holy Roar Records contributed an exclusive song to the Alcopop! Records Record Store Day release "Sensible Record Labels" Volume 2 compilation.

Holy Roar Records Subscriptions

In 2016, Holy Roar Records established a monthly subscription service to allow for fans of the label to keep up to date with new releases on a tier basis. The different price levels include a variety of benefits including discount, exclusive content, physical copies of all new releases, prize draws and subscriber news feeds that informs members of tours and new releases. The focus of the service is to reward loyal fans of the label whilst also continue to support new projects and the development of the label.

Podcasts

Since April 2015, Holy Roar Records have been producing podcasts hosted by Mario John Gambardella featuring different guests and their perspectives on the UK music scene.
Guests so far have included: Alex Fitzpatrick, Sammy & Justine, Djamila + Sam, Thom Denson, James Spence, Sean & Brett, Liam Phelan, Serena Cherry and Mark, Mario Gambardella, Oli Knowles, Lewis Johns, Tom Collins, Tomas Hubbard, Jonathan Desmond, Chlo Edwards, Matthew Davies-Kreye, Curtis Prauß, Alex + Steve, Phil Buch, Loz Clark, Paul & Dan, Leigh McAndrew, Pete Fraser, Thom Weeks, Zachary Birchley, Thomas Peckett, Lee Vincent, Laurent Barnard, Charlie Simmonds, Yusuf & Sam, XRedX, Christopher Barling. New episodes of the podcast are available from SoundCloud and iTunes.

Pink Mist

Since 2010, Holy Roar Records has been a member of Pink Mist, a London-based promoter and label collective alongside Big Scary Monsters and Blood & Biscuits. The idea behind this collective was to create an alliance whereby resources were pooled in order to promote their bands to a wider audience. Their first release was a pink and white 12" vinyl limited to 300 copies and released in April 2011 on Record Store Day, "Hello Pink Mist". It consisted of 12 exclusive tracks in which Holy Roar Records contributed tracks from run, WALK!, Hang the Bastard, Grazes and Bastions. Later that year, Tangled Talk joined the collective to complete the current line-up.
In 2012, they released a download-only free compilation "Hello Pink Mist Volume 2" to coincide with the launch of their new website and in this same year, they were nominated for the Association of Independent Music Awards for "Best Small Label". In 2013, Pink Mist announced a pop-up shop in Boxpark, East London where they sold records and had in-store sessions and in 2014 they collaborated with Relentless to set up another pop-up shop at No.5 Denmark Street featuring live performances. Pink Mist was also listed in The Guardian's "The 10 British Record Labels Defining the Sound of 2014".
Due to individual circumstances, Pink Mist has become a looser entity over time as its initial founders went off in their own directions. However an extension of the brand is still particularly active and currently operates via Pink Mist live gigs which are run by the drive and dedication of promoter, Ross Allmark. In honour of Holy Roar Records' tenth birthday, Pink Mist presented the Holy Roar X show, hosting bands at The Dome and The Boston Music Rooms in London on Saturday May 21, 2016. The line-up featured Rolo Tomassi, Svalbard, Hang The Bastard, OHHMS and many more.
Pink Mist is now predominately a live event promotion company, of which its full list of upcoming shows can be found on its website.

Truthseeker Music

In 2015, Holy Roar Records launched a brand new sister label Truthseeker Music which is headed up by Holy Roar intern Alex Leat. To date, they have released records by Human Future, Sonance, Annexia, Rope, Torpor, Palehorse, Earth Moves, 52 Commercial Road, Oak, Regurgitate Life, Howls, Yards and Hexis.