Epitaph Records facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Epitaph Records
Founded	1980 (1980)
Founder	Brett Gurewitz
Distributor(s)	AMPED Distribution (US), PIAS (UK), ADA (former)
Genre	Punk rock pop punk hardcore punk alternative rock post-hardcore
Country of origin	United States
Location	Hollywood, California

Epitaph Records is an American independent record label. This means it's a music company that isn't owned by one of the big, major record companies. It was started by Brett Gurewitz, who is also the guitarist for the band Bad Religion.

For many years, especially in the 1980s and 1990s, Epitaph Records was known for signing punk rock and pop punk bands. They also have many post-hardcore and emo bands. A part of the company, called Hellcat Records, is owned by Tim Armstrong. He is the lead singer of the punk band Rancid. Epitaph also has other related labels like ANTI-, Burning Heart Records, and Heart & Skull Records. These labels help release music from different kinds of bands.

The Story of Epitaph Records

How It Started (1980s)

Brett Gurewitz created Epitaph Records in 1980. He wanted a way to release music for his own band, Bad Religion. The name "Epitaph" came from a song by the band King Crimson. The lyrics "Confusion will be my epitaph" really spoke to Brett and his bandmate Greg when they were young.

The first music released by Epitaph was Bad Religion's own EP (a short album) in 1981. After that, they released Bad Religion's first full album, How Could Hell Be Any Worse?. Soon, another band called The Vandals joined Epitaph. They were the first band on the label besides Bad Religion.

Bad Religion released two more records before taking a break. Both Epitaph Records and Bad Religion started up again in 1987. In 1988, Epitaph released its first record as a proper label. This was the self-titled album by L7. That same year, Bad Religion released Suffer. Many fans say Suffer is one of Bad Religion's best albums. It's also seen as a very important album for the punk rock scene in Southern California.

In 1989, Gurewitz signed the band NOFX to Epitaph. NOFX released their first album with the label, S&M Airlines, that year. Bad Religion then released two more albums, No Control and Against the Grain. These albums sold many copies, showing the label was growing.

Big Success (1990s)

By 1993, even more punk bands joined Epitaph. These included Pennywise, The Offspring, and Rancid. Because the label was getting bigger, Epitaph moved to new offices in Silver Lake, Los Angeles.

Even though Bad Religion started Epitaph, they moved to another record label, Atlantic Records, in 1993. Brett Gurewitz actually left Bad Religion in 1994. He wanted to focus all his time on running Epitaph Records.

The year 1994 was huge for punk music. Bands like NOFX, Rancid, and The Offspring all released very popular albums. This helped punk music become well-known even outside of the punk community. Rancid even performed on the TV show Saturday Night Live the next year.

One of the biggest successes was The Offspring's album Smash. It became the best-selling independent album ever! It has sold over 11 million copies around the world. Later, The Offspring moved to Columbia Records.

Changing Music Styles (2000s)

In 2001, Brett Gurewitz rejoined Bad Religion. The band also came back to Epitaph Records. They have released seven more albums with Epitaph since then, with the most recent being Age of Unreason in 2019.

Around 2005, Epitaph Records joined the RIAA. This group gives out official "Gold" or "Platinum" awards for album sales. Some people thought this meant Epitaph was no longer truly "independent." However, Epitaph joined to get these official sales awards for their artists.

During this time, Epitaph started signing different kinds of bands. They began working with many post-hardcore bands. Some of these bands included Escape The Fate, Story of the Year, and Thursday. This showed the label was open to more than just punk rock.

Recent Years (2010s)

Epitaph Records continued to sign new artists. In 2010, they signed the famous band Weezer and released their album Hurley. They also signed Social Distortion that same year.

The label has also been active in signing bands from the "emo revival" movement. These include bands like The Menzingers, Joyce Manor, and Touché Amoré. This shows Epitaph keeps up with new music trends while still supporting its classic punk roots.

Album Sales Awards

Epitaph Records has released some very successful albums. The Recording Industry Association of America gives out awards for sales:

• Platinum means an album has sold over 1 million copies.
• Gold means an album has sold over 500,000 copies.

Here are some of their albums that have won these awards:

• Smash by The Offspring has sold over 6 million copies (six-times platinum!).
• ...And Out Come the Wolves by Rancid has sold over 1 million copies (platinum).

Seven other albums from Epitaph or its related labels (Hellcat and ANTI-) have gone gold:

• Ignition by The Offspring
• Punk in Drublic by NOFX
• Let's Go by Rancid
• Orphans: Brawlers, Bawlers & B*ds by Tom Waits
• The D**g in Me Is You by Falling in Reverse
• The Warrior's Code by Dropkick Murphys
• Sempiternal by Bring Me the Horizon

Bands on Epitaph Records

Current Bands

Former Bands

Music Collections

Epitaph Records has released many compilation albums. These albums feature songs from different bands on the label.

• Punk-O-Rama series
• Unsound series
• How We Rock
• Spirit of the Streets
• Epitaph / Union skate/surf DVD series
  • Football Schmootball (1st)
  • DC Video (3rd)
  • Circle One (5th)
• Older Collections
  • Bored Generation skate/surf enhanced CD-ROM (1996)

More Songs About Anger, Fear, S & Death (1992)

• New Noise (2010)
• New Noise 2 (2011)

See also

In Spanish: Epitaph Records para niños

• Epitaph Records discography
• List of record labels
• Hellcat Records
• ANTI-