Exclusive
CVLT Nation Streaming
VULGAR FASHION “Night Yacht”0
Posted In Death Rock,Features,Music,Streaming
On March 19th, the dirged-out synth-punk duo Vulgar Fashion are releasing their self-titled 10″ on Handmade Birds. Now step into their world of make believe and listen to our stream of their track “Night Yacht.” This song will take you to a place where robots are sex objects. Get your synthetic love on!
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Only Theatre of Pain…
CHRISTIAN Death
1993 Full Gig Now Showing!0
Posted In Death Rock,Film,Music,Music Videos
Christian Death’s album Theatre of Pain is a classic that was way before its time. As a young hardcore kid in the 80′s, I would just stare at the album & think to myself, wow, these people are even freakier than me & my crew. I’m just saying, on the back Rikk Agnew is cradling a dead dog or something. Then I listened to their music & I was hooked. I had never heard anything like it before. Rozz’s lyrics were straight poetry that lifted, destroyed & enlightened our young minds. Then there was the music that had the sleaze of the mean streets of Hollywood & the angst of our generation. The song “Deathwish” has one of the illest guitar licks that draws you in & does not let you go. “Dogs” finds Christian Death blending a dub-like feel into their atmosphere. They did not know that history was being made – these L.A death rockers just did it! If you ever are feeling down, put on “Romeo’s Distress,” it will take you to a new place of darkness where you will see the sun. Check out Christian Death performing live in 1993 at the Patriot Hall. The quality of this full show is spot on! Enter the only Theatre of Pain after the jump and watch this killer gig.
Watch Christian Death Live after the jump!
READ MORE…
Addaura/Batillus/Atriarch/
Old Iron Seattle 3/6/13
Photo Essay by Alan Hunter0
Posted In Art,Death Rock,Doom,Music,Photography
Text & Photos by Alan Hunter
After a short break from shooting Seattle shows, Wednesday night at The Highline – with my homedudes Addaura and Atriarch, locals Old Iron, and Brooklyn doomsters Batillus – was a very welcome return.
Old Iron was a new show for me. These Seattle dudes offer up a nice dose of hardcore-influenced, melodic sludge. A welcome vibe, they did not disappoint. I hope to catch them on similar bills in the future.
I try not to miss Atriarch when they come through town. As if summoning some immeasurable force, their ritualistic mix of blackened doom and deathrock nearly always puts the room in a trance. The gothy, tribal rhythms and slicing guitars build with Lenny’s haunting, sermonic vocals and come crashing down with all the weight of the heaviest doom. Fan or not, like being trapped in a cocoon, there’s no escaping this music until they let you go…just as Lenny chants during “Prayer” (Ritual of Passing, 2012), “You who are my enemy, I embrace you as my brother.”
While “legacy” dark bands like Killing Joke and The Damned continue to tour and release new material into 2013, last year saw an upsurge in the number of punk bands reclaiming deathrock’s DIY roots. The newer bands are producing a unique take on the cobwebbed genre that blends elements of 80s peace punk, crust, and old school gothic rock with darker postpunk sounds.
What follows below is a good sampling of bands that have producing newer output in this developing new sonic milieu that has largely grown up inside of the international hardcore punk scene. My previous two deathrock mixtapes included bands like Bellicose Minds and The Estranged; below you will find newer songs by bands like The Spectres and Moral Hex, who continue to represent the West Coast’s strong showing in this genre. Italy’s Horror Vacui and Dystopian Society are included, too, along with Spain’s Belgrado, representing southern Europe’s strong interest in this style of music. For good measure, newer tracks by Killing Joke (2012) and Rudimentary Peni (2008) are put in to tie the newer bands into the old.
In the wake of punk, from about 1978 onwards, dark forms of punk and postpunk flowered internationally, with various regional variations. In Spain, there was the Siniestro style of postpunk pioneered by bands like Paralasis Permanente; in Germany, depro-punk by bands like EA80 and Fliehende Strume (who still exist) came about; England obviously saw postpunk, gothic rock, and so-called :positive punk”; southern California saw the birth of deathrock while the East Coast of the USA bore witness to horror punk (Misfits and The Cramps); and Japan likewise saw the birth of “positive punk” with bands like Auto-Mod and Phaidia.
The following mix is by no means exhaustive — previous mixes have included the Bellicose Minds, whose new LP The Spine is due out any day now; as well as Germany’s Tanzkommando Untergang — but is meant as a starting point for your own exploration.
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Text Written by Mike Hill of TOMBS
twitter @MikeHillHQ
I was always first and foremost a metalhead / heavy rocker when it came to music. My favorite bands were Black Sabbath, Deep Purple and Rainbow at first, and when punk started seeping into my consciousness, it was the more metallic elements of it that I got off on; the Rollins-era Black Flag, Suicidal Tendencies, Bad Brains, that was what directly me down the path that motivated me to start playing music and become more active in “The Scene.” I grew up in the suburbs in the 80’s, so there wasn’t such a wall built around the genres, because there were literally only about 8 kids that were into this kind of thing. For that reason, bands like Slayer and Metallica got a pass; there were loud, fast and intense and had an anti-authority vibe.
At some point, I saw the Tony Scott, vampire movie called “The Hunger” which features David Bowie and Catherine Deneuve, but more importantly, it featured an intro sequence with Peter Murphy singing “Bela Lugosi’s Dead” and a whole other layer was added to my musical obsessions. My main fascination with metal and most of the hardcore punk bands that I enjoyed was the “darkness” element. Sabbath and Slayer incorporated overtly Satanic themes into their music which I later discovered were more theatrics than actual believe, but at the time it seemed real and a little frightening to me; it added a feeling that you were discovering something forbidden.
allowfullscreen>
READ MORE…
Besides gazing at my beautiful wife Meghan, I could spend hours looking at photos of Siouxsie Sioux and never get bored. In my book, she is one of the greatest voices in Rock and Roll, plus in the 80′s she rocked and shocked the underground nation. Siouxsie and the Banshees created so many tunes that are played every day in our HQ it’s almost like they are extended family. This why today our favorite tumblr is Siouxsie Shit. Once you enter this page you will see pictures you never knew existed, plus some of your favorites…It should be noted the the biggest Siouxsie fan I know, Sinead Sunshine Reveron, is sitting on my lap watching the “Circle” video as I write this…Peep the huge Siouxsie Sioux gallery after the jump!
CVLT Nation
Artist Spotlight BELGRADO
Video Essay & More0
Posted In Death Rock,Film,Music,Music Videos
All hail BELGRADO…this dark anarcho post punk band from Spain has it’s roots in the past, but pushes their sound way into the future. They have been able come up with a sound that is so addictive that I consider them my new noir drug. Honestly, BELGRADO’s music speaks to me just as much as the bands I grew up with in the 80′s, maybe this is why I have them on repeat. Their self-titled 2011 album is full of driving post punk anthems that will have your braincells spazzing out. Today CVLT Nation would like to celebrate BELGRADO with a live video essay with footage from their US tour from last year! Check out the BELGRADO 7 inch and album streaming below…Make sure to support anything this band releases and you will not be disappointed! Give SECT a listen – it’s a side project of some of the members of the band. On that note, it’s time to get my dark anarcho post punk groove on…BELGRADO Rules!
Sugar Hiccup…The Cocteau Twins 1983 Live @ Les Bains Douches Download!
Posted In Apocalyptic Blues,Death Rock,Features,Music,Positive Punk,Streaming
The Cocteau Twins’ music has always been a guiding lantern of shadows for me. From the very first time that I heard Liz’s voice, I knew there was something magical about her vocal delivery. Musically, The Cocteau Twins are on another plane of reality, and their influence on humanity will live forever! Today CVLT Nation celebrates The Cocteau Twins with a download of their 1983 performance @ Les Bains Douches in France…Download link and track listing after the jump…the sound quality is spot on!
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Music from 2012 is still in my bones, making me recognize what an awesome year it was in Deathrock. One band that stood out for me was Dekoder from Montreal, and their album Between The Walking and the Dying which doesn’t have a weak moment on it. From the very second their song “Pace” starts, it’s clear that this band knows how to write subversive catchy songs. Dekoder impresses me because they are able to mold their influences into their own unique sonic experiences. The rhythm section of this band is the cryptic driving baselines that ride drums that will have you transfixed. Then the vocals overtake your body in the form of death rock blues. Dekoder are masters at conjuring epic intros that captivate your eardrums before becoming black waterfalls of melody. Their songs “Anxiety,” “Sanity” and “Refuse” are perfect examples of why this band’s music should be heard by the universe. Dekoder is full of conviction and their music speaks to human and social politics in an honest way. Another thing that interests me about them is the way that almost every song is treated like it’s own audio movie – telling a story from start to finish. Dekoder know how to balance the tension between darkness and light in each song on this album, and on the album as a whole. Between The Waking And The Dying is a record that is played on the daily in the CVLT Nation HQ, because it always gets one of my best friends to dance no matter what she is doing. This person is our 1 1/2 year old Sinead Sunshine, who knows good music when she hears it! Dekoder made a killer album in 2012, but I really hope that generations to come get to hear it – it’s that fucking good! Between The Waking And The Dying is out now on Chaos Rurale Records.
CVLT Nation’s Favorite
Siouxsie and the Banshees
Videos Now Showing!0
Posted In Death Rock,Film,Music,Music Videos
Siouxsie and the Banshees were a creative universe unto themselves in the early 80′s. Not only did they create some classic albums that have truly stood the test of time, Siouxsie and the Banshees also pushed the boundaries when it came to the visuals that accompanied their outstanding songs. What always made me look twice was the imagination in their videos! This is why today CVLT Nation celebrates Siouxsie and the Banshees with a video essay featuring our favorite visuals from this legendary band! Get dazzled by Siouxsie and the Banshees after the jump!
Join the CVLT
