Tag: death rock
Morning Stars Over Lodge Room: King Woman’s “Celestial Blues” Release Party
Janky Smooth Central Command
August 4, 2021
You’ve never heard an album more Chthonian than King Woman’s Celestial Blues What do I mean by that? I don’t mean this is the most raw, underground punk sounding album ever. What I’m saying is that with “Celestial Blues” King Woman has lent a voice and story to all the mysteries working beneath the surface layers of reality around us, be they the internal workings of the body, the mysterious processes of the Earth, the unfathomable cycles of birth and destruction in the cosmos, or the interplay of good and evil magic with everyday life. When King Woman closed out their Sunday night Celestial Blues album release party with a cover of the Stone Roses’ “I Wanna Be Adored”, I thought some kind of mind reading must’ve been at play because after seeing a full set of Kris Esfandiari’s doomy siren songs, my main takeaway was being genuinely impressed with how much she is utterly adored by her fans. They seemed to have her back unconditionally and after every song when the band let it all hang loose, the audience was there to catch them in rounds of applause, whistles and cheers. All that was missing from the evening was a
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Color Me Punk: Rubella Ballet Plays First L.A. Show Since 1985 at Echoplex
Rob Shepyer
September 20, 2018
Rubella Ballet comes from a time when there weren’t as many boxes for you to cram bands into. There was punk, metal, and a few subgenres in between. They were associated with the anarcho movement, namely Crass, in England in the late 70’s and 80’s but musically, their albums show more diversity than any label could commit them to. Their songs and look represented the essence of anarchy. Rebellion, even against itself. When everyone wore black, they wore Day-Glo. When everyone played fast, short songs, they experimented with slower rhythms and more nuanced arrangements. Singer Zilla Minx and guitarist Sid Ation still know how to get weird. For all these young kids born after Rubella Ballet’s heyday, this was a show unlike anything they had ever seen. Rubella Ballet’s latest album, Danger of Death, brought them back to Los Angeles to play Part Time Punks at the Echoplex for the first time since 1985. Along with a few death rock, anarcho, and post punk bands, their combined effort made for a very special night of music. related content: Gene Loves Jezebel Play Immigrant In Its Entirety At Part Time Punks Gig Spain’s Fatamorgana was the first to take the stage. Made
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Midnight Massacre: American Nightmare At The Echoplex
Rob Shepyer
March 18, 2018
Like a long, dooming swing of the reaper’s scythe, death rock and hardcore rained down upon us as if by the hand of Death itself. Since the headliner was hardcore, one might not expect two death rock bands opening up the show but when you consider the history of American Nightmare, it’s not so strange at all. American Nightmare has always highlighted the darker, more gothic side of the human experience to the point that Wesley Eisold, the band’s singer, evolved into Cold Cave, a goth, dark wave sensation. Never straying too far from his roots though, Eisold always kept American Nightmare in his back pocket. Perhaps now he’s wearing those pants back-side front. It’s too sides of the same coin, anyway. A sad, depressed crooner making music you can dance your sorrow away to and a rage-filled banshee that inspires blood-lust, violence, and anarchy in mosh pits that flood onto the stage. American Nightmare was the first band in the hardcore scene to really delve into emotional, darker lyrics and tones while not straying from true hardcore and the scene. The first band to open up the evening was Death Bells, a young death rock outfit from Sydney, Australia that
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