Halo of Flies is an American

noise rock Noise rock (sometimes called noise punk) is a noise music, noise-oriented style of experimental rock that spun off from punk rock in the 1980s. Drawing on movements such as minimal music, minimalism, industrial music, and New York hardcore, a ...

band from

Minneapolis Minneapolis is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 429,954 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the state's List of cities in Minnesota, most populous city. Locat ...

. Named after an Alice Cooper song, Halo of Flies was formed in 1986 by

Tom Hazelmyer Tom Hazelmyer (born 1965) is an American musician and printmaker. He is known as the founder and owner of the independent label Amphetamine Reptile Records as well as being the lead vocalist and songwriter for the band Halo of Flies. Biograph ...

, John Anglim and Tim Mac. Over the next five years they released a series of seven inch singles and mini LPs starting with a limited edition, hand numbered single called “Rubber Room”. These singles were released on Hazelmyer’s label

Amphetamine Reptile Records Amphetamine Reptile Records (or AmRep Industries) is a record label founded in 1986 by Tom Hazelmyer in Washington state. The label specializes in noise rock and also released ''Strap It On ''Strap It On'' is the debut studio album by Amer ...

and later compiled on a number of LPs, and eventually as the CD (''Music for Insect Minds'') in 1991. The band partially reformed in 2007 under the name H•O•F, and continued to release new material.

Life of band

Sales of Halo of Flies records was assisted by a manufacturing/distribution deal with the popular Minnesota label Twin Tone records. Influenced by early punk bands

MC5 MC5 was an American rock music, rock band formed in Lincoln Park, Michigan, in 1963. The classic lineup consisted of vocalist Rob Tyner, guitarists Wayne Kramer and Fred "Sonic" Smith, bassist Michael Davis (bassist), Michael Davis, and drummer ...

and

The Stooges The Stooges or Iggy and the Stooges, originally billed as the Psychedelic Stooges, were an American rock band formed in Ann Arbor, Michigan, in 1967 by singer Iggy Pop, guitarist Ron Asheton, drummer Scott Asheton, and bassist Dave Alexande ...

, the band had a loud, raw sound that was heavily guitar influenced garage rock. Halo of Flies stopped recording in the early 1990s but Hazelmyer kept Amphetamine Reptile Records in business for 20 years by releasing music by

Boss Hog Boss Hog is an American punk blues band including the husband and wife duo of Jon Spencer (guitar) and Cristina Martinez (vocals) along with Jens Jurgensen (bass), Hollis Queens (drums) and Mickey Finn (keyboard). The band achieved some noto ...

Helmet A helmet is a form of protective gear worn to protect the head. More specifically, a helmet complements the skull in protecting the human brain. Ceremonial or symbolic helmets (e.g., a policeman's helmet in the United Kingdom) without protecti ...

The Melvins ''The'' is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The ...

Cows Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, bovid ungulates widely kept as livestock. They are prominent modern members of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus '' Bos''. Mature female cattle are called co ...

, God Bullies,

Helios Creed Barry Johnson (born on November 3, 1953), known professionally as Helios Creed, is an American guitarist, singer and bandleader. He first came to prominence in the mid-1970s with the San Francisco band Chrome, who were considered an early influ ...

and

Unsane ''Unsane'' is a 2018 American psychological thriller film directed by Steven Soderbergh and written by Jonathan Bernstein and James Greer. The film stars Claire Foy, Joshua Leonard, Jay Pharoah, Juno Temple, Aimee Mullins, and Amy Irving. M ...

Discography

As Halo of Flies *''Rubber Room'' 7-inch, 1986 *''Snapping Black Roscoe Bottles'' 7-inch, 1986 *''Circling the Pile'' 7-inch, 1987 *''Richies Dog'' 7-inch, 1987 *''Four from the Bottom'' cassette, 1988 *''Garbage Rock!'' 12-inch, 1988 *''Garbageburn'' 12-inch, 1988 *''No Time'' 7-inch, 1988 *''Death of a Fly'' 7-inch, 1989 *''Singles Going Nowhere'' 12-inch, 1989 *''Winged'' 7-inch, 1990 *''Big Mod Hate Trip'' 7-inch, 1991 *''Mod Showdown!'' 7-inch, 1991 *''Music For Insect Minds'', 1991 (compilation of all the previously released material) As H•O•F *split 7-inch with Wild

Billy Childish Billy Childish (born Steven John Hamper; 1 December 1959) is an English painter, author, poet, photographer, film maker, singer, and guitarist. Since the late 1970s, Childish has been prolific in creating music, writing, and visual art. He has ...

and the Musicians of the British Empire, 2007 *''A New Kind of Hate'' 7-inch, 2008 *''When I'm Loaded'' 7-inch (with

Lydia Lunch Lydia Lunch (born Lydia Anne Koch; June 2, 1959)Martin Charles Strong. ''The Great Indie Discography''. 2003, page 85 is an American singer, poet, writer, actress and self-empowerment speaker. Her career began during the 1970s New York City no ...

), 2008 *''F.T.W.'' EP, 2008 *''Gay Witch Abortion Sessions'' CD, 2009 *''Resurrect a Bad Idea'' LP, 2010

References

External links

City PagesMinnesota Daily2013 Audio Interview with Thomas Hazelmyer
{{Authority control American noise rock music groups Amphetamine Reptile Records artists Musical groups established in 1986 1986 establishments in Minnesota Musical groups from Minneapolis Musical groups from the Twin Cities