Formed in 1983 by high school friends Joe Goldsborough and Daniel Lindenstruth, Reptile House became Baltimore's premiere hardcore punk band during the '80s hardcore punk scene. The group's unique sound mixed the energy and melodic sense of their D.C. punk neighbors and such California punk bands as TSOL and the Dead Kennedys with darker esoteric imagery and psychedelic guitar work. Reptile House opened for a who's who of American hardcore bands at local punk clubs such as the Marble Bar and Jules Club House, as well as headlining such clubs as the Washington D.C. punk Mecca the 9:30 Club.

The group's original lineup featured Goldsborough on guitar, Lindenstruth on vocals, David Rhodes on bass, and a pre-Samhain London May on drums. The group's first record was the four-song 7" EP I Stumble as the Crow Flies, which was released by the band's own Druid Hill label in conjunction with Washington D.C.'s Dischord Records. The group went on several tours of the United States turning people on to their sound as far off as Detroit and Texas. Reptile House then recorded the Listen to the Powersoul LP, which was released on Goldsborough's Merkin label in the fall of 1988. Shortly thereafter Lindenstruth made his departure from the group, changing his surname to Higgs and forming Lungfish with Reptile House guitarist Asa Osbourne. The group, now in need of a new frontman, recruited ex-Grey March keyboardist Ron Weldon for vocal duties, but shortly thereafter the group broke up. Goldsborough went on to form the psychedelic pop outfit the Ultra Violets with Reptile House bassist Joey Cirri and continued to document the Baltimore underground music scene through his label Merkin throughout the late '80s and into the '90s. ~ Rick Kutner, Rovi