Deathrock is a rock music subgenre incorporating horror elements and gothic theatrics. It emerged from punk rock on the West Coast of the United States in the early 1980s and overlaps with the gothic rock and horror punk genres. Notable deathrock acts include Christian Death, Kommunity FK, 45 Grave, and Super Heroines.
Nikki Sixx is an American musician, best known as the co-founder, bassist, and primary songwriter of the heavy metal band Mötley Crüe, being the only member to remain throughout their entire history. Prior to forming Mötley Crüe, Sixx was a member of Sister before going on to form London with his Sister bandmate Lizzie Grey. In 2000, he formed side project group 58 with Dave Darling, Steve Gibb and Bucket Baker, issuing one album, Diet for a New America. Also in 2002, he formed the hard rock supergroup Brides of Destruction with L.A. Guns guitarist Tracii Guns. Formed in 2006, initially to record an audio accompaniment to Sixx's autobiography The Heroin Diaries: A Year in the Life of a Shattered Rock Star, his side band Sixx:A.M. featured songwriter, producer, and vocalist James Michael and guitarist DJ Ashba.
Christian Death is an American rock band formed in Los Angeles County, California, in 1979 by Rozz Williams. With major line-up changes over the years, Christian Death has retained "a relentlessly confrontational stand against organized religion and conventional morality".
45 Grave is an American rock band from Los Angeles formed in 1979. The original group broke up in 1985, but vocalist Dinah Cancer subsequently revived the band.
Rozz Williams was an American singer and songwriter known for his work with the bands Christian Death, Shadow Project, and the industrial project Premature Ejaculation. Christian Death is cited by some as a pioneer of the American gothic rock scene as well as deathrock, and is considered to be one of the most influential figures of the scene. However, Williams disliked the "goth" label and actively worked to shed it during the 1980s and 1990s by focusing on punk rock, hard rock, cabaret, and spoken word music. Williams was also involved with his groups Daucus Karota, Heltir, EXP, Bloodflag, and his own version of Christian Death, along with recording a handful of solo albums. In addition to music, Williams was also an avid painter, poet, and collage artist.
Emery is an American post-hardcore band formed in Rock Hill, South Carolina, in 2001 by Toby Morrell, Devin Shelton, Matt Carter, Josh Head, Joel Green, and Seth Studley. The band relocated to Seattle in order to reach a more music-centered scene.
Kommunity FK is an American post-punk/gothic rock band, formed in 1978, that helped establish what came to be known as the deathrock scene in Los Angeles.
Hollywood Rose was an American glam metal group formed in June 1983. They are best known as the precursor for what would eventually become Guns N' Roses. The group was founded by Axl Rose, Izzy Stradlin and Chris Weber, while they were aided during live shows by Rick Marrs, Andre Troxx, Daniel "DJ" Nicolson, Johnny Kreis and Steve Darrow. Rose, Stradlin and Weber, along with Kreis and Nicolson, recorded a five-song demo on January 1984. However, after a number of lineup changes, which includes Weber, Kreis and Nicolson being replaced by Slash and Steven Adler as well the departure of Stradlin, the group disbanded the same year.
Ian William Rilen was an Australian musician. He was bass guitarist and songwriter with Rock N' Roll band Rose Tattoo, and led punk rock group X while also providing lead guitar, rhythm guitar and vocals. Rilen was born in Bendigo, Victoria, started his musical career in Sydney and later lived in Melbourne.
Nicholas Bowen "Topper" Headon is an English drummer and multi-instrumentalist, best known as the drummer of punk rock band the Clash. Known for his contributions to the drumming world, Headon was inducted in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with the rest of The Clash in 2003.
Christian McBride is an American jazz bassist, composer and arranger. He has appeared on more than 300 recordings as a sideman, and is an eight-time Grammy Award winner.
Eva Ortiz, better known as Eva O, is a music artist most notable for her previous works in Christian Death and a band she formed with her then-husband Rozz Williams called Shadow Project. Regarded as a veteran and "one of the most striking figures of the American Gothic scene," Eva O has had a significant influence on the emerging death rock movement, which garnered her the "Queen of Darkness" title from the press and audience. She is known for her heavy guitar playing style and dramatic, authoritative vocals.
T.S.O.L. is an American punk rock band formed in 1978 in Long Beach, California. Although most commonly associated with hardcore punk, T.S.O.L.'s music has varied on each release, including such styles as deathrock, art punk, horror punk, other varieties of punk music, and hard rock.
Shadow Project was a rock band formed in 1987 featuring former members of Los Angeles deathrock groups Christian Death and Super Heroines. After recording two LPs the group experienced a three-year hiatus, reconvening for a third and final album. Shadow Project definitively folded after vocalist Rozz Williams committed suicide on April 1, 1998. The band briefly returned in 2019 under the moniker "Shadow Project 1334" for 13 shows only, vowing to never perform again together after that.
Michael Christopher Starr was an American musician best known as the original bassist for the rock band Alice in Chains, with which he played from the band's formation in 1987 until January 1993. He was also a member of Sato, Gypsy Rose, Sun Red Sun and Days of the New. In 2011, Starr died of a prescription drug overdose at the age of 44.
Plexi was an American gothic noise rock band consisting of Michael Angelos, Michael Barragan and Norm Block. Formed in 1993, their original name was Godseed. Their sound has been compared to bands such as Bauhaus, Sonic Youth, The Cure, Bailter Space, Swervedriver, The Psychedelic Furs, My Bloody Valentine and Psi Com. Plexi's material combined a mix of detached, wry, existential, and romantic lyrics with a flamboyant blend of glam rock and artsy avant-garde textures and noise. Guitarist Michael Barragan was known for regular use of an Echoplex unit to create chaotic walls of sound.
Richard Francis "Rikk" Agnew Jr. is an American musician with a career spanning more than 40 years. He has previously been a member of some of the most influential bands of the Orange County hardcore punk genre, as well as the influential deathrock band Christian Death. During his years with the Adolescents, Agnew became known as one of the best guitarists in the Southern California hardcore punk scene.
Hell Comes to Your House is an American deathrock and punk compilation of Southern California bands. It is notable for releasing the first ever Christian Death song "Dogs", as well as including the first studio recordings of Social Distortion and one of the earliest performances of Redd Kross.
Sex and Drugs and Jesus Christ is the sixth album by American deathrock band Christian Death. It was released on 18 October 1988.
Burning Image are an American deathrock band formed in Bakersfield, California in 1982. Burning Image first released a 7" single with the songs "The Final Conflict" and "Burning Image, Burning" in the summer of 1984. The compilation 1983–1987 in 2004 and album Fantasma (2009) were both released on Alternative Tentacles, record label owned by former Dead Kennedys singer, Jello Biafra, with album Oleander (2011) being self-published. Burning Image celebrates 39 years as a band, in 2021, with a new album.
