New Aussie Record Label Launched With Heavy Music Focus, Gallows First Signing

Shock Records has this morning announced a new imprint label, Halfcut Records, bringing full circle their long history of being home to great punk, hardcore and heavy music in Australia.

Acts such as Bring Me The Horizon, Alexisonfire, The Bronx, The Devil Wears Prada, Fall Out Boy and All That Remains are among dozens of others that have been given a start down under thanks to Shock Records’ team.

“Shock Records has meant many things over the years to people due to the company enjoying great success over a broad range of genres,” said Shock Records’ GM of Music, Leigh Gruppetta. “The punk and heavy music genres are certainly an area we have excelled of late so we believe the time is right to give these bands their own home.”

“Halfcut is the brainchild of Stu Harvey and under his watchful eye the Shock Records team will be pulling out all stops to continue this success. Stu is the best in his field, bar none, so we couldn’t be more excited about the long term future of Halfcut for the business.”

The second half of 2012 will see Halfcut coming out the gate swinging, with the first additions to the label being English hardcore-punk heavy weights GALLOWS, Sydney pop-punkers HEROES FOR HIRE and UK up-and-comers WHILE SHE SLEEPS.

GALLOWS have come out the other side of one of the toughest things a band can face – losing their front man. Now lead by Wade MacNeil (ex-Alexisonfire), GALLOWS showed no signs of slowing down with teasers to their 2011 EP Death Is Birth surfacing just 2 weeks after his announcement. They will be spending the winter playing Europe’s most prestigious rock festivals with their currently untitled new album due for release on Halfcut in late 2012.

Sydney locals HEROES FOR HIRE have established themselves as one of Australia’s most hard working pop-punk bands. They have just finished recording album #3 with none other than Steve Klein from pop-punk staples New Found Glory; the first single will hit radio in the coming weeks with the album dropping in September.

They’ve toured with everyone from Set Your Goals to Unwritten Law and were one of a select handful of Australian bands that toured with Soundwave 2012 nationally. HEROES FOR HIRE are currently on tour in Asia, playing shows in Japan and China before embarking on their national ‘Just Shoe It’ tour in June/July.

Hailing from Sheffield, UK, (aka. Steel City) WHILE SHE SLEEPS have exploded onto the metal scene, impressing with their raw passion and throttling energy which has seen them nominated for “Best British Newcomer” in the prestigious Kerrang! Awards 2012. The boys have wrapped up recording 12 songs for their full-length This Is The Six, which is out on Halfcut August 3, 2012.

The release will coincide with WHILE SHE SLEEPS hitting our shores for the very first time for a 10-date national tour with Melbourne’s House vs. Hurricane.