Revelation, along with the bands it put out in the late 1980s, is usually credited with creating and cementing the "youth crew" sound as well as New York hardcore,[citation needed] which bridged the gap from the earlier bands of almost a decade before and helped carry the music through the early 1990s. Some of the label's best selling releases have been Gorilla Biscuits' Start Today, Inside Out's No Spiritual Surrender, and the In-Flight Program compilation.
History
Formerly of New Haven, Connecticut, it is now based in Huntington Beach, California. It was founded in 1987 by owner Jordan Cooper, along with Ray Cappo of Youth of Today, with the sole intent of producing the WarzoneLower East Side Crew 7-inch. Within the year, they put out two more releases and a limited 4th pressing of Youth of Today's Can't Close My Eyes 7-inch, which had been originally released on Positive Force Records, just for the two of them to trade for vintage G.I.Joes and other action figures. In the first three years, the label put out 23 releases and pressed approximately 50,000 records, and it has continued to release an average of 7–8 albums a year.
Cappo left the business in 1988, to focus on his band Shelter. He also started his own label Equal Vision Records (which he later sold to Youth of Today roadie, former Revelation employee and friend, Steve Reddy), though his albums were still released by Revelation after that, and he also operated Supersoul Records.
The label put out several definitive hardcore and metalcore records in the late 1990s and early 2000s, with notable releases coming from Damnation A.D., Will Haven, Shai Hulud, Curl Up and Die, and Himsa. However, by the mid-2000s, Revelation Records had seemingly fallen by the wayside, with very few releases between 2004 and 2006. However, the label is returning to its former stature as a premier old-school hardcore label with strong releases from newer bands like Down to Nothing, Shook Ones, and Sinking Ships.
