Location: Los Angeles

Active: 1983-1985

The Web was a short lived California dark punk band, one of the first projects of Johann Schumann (RIP) whose career included time in Christian Death, Mephisto Walz, Scarlet’s Remains and Shadow Project. Andi Hayes and TA Black later had a rock band Kill City. Though the band only released the ‘Walk On Glass’ single and a 12” for ‘Promise Me Nothing’, a posthumous collection was released in 2024 in Artifix Records.

https://www.discogs.com/artist/738276-The-Web-3

Related: Christian Death, Mephisto Walz, Scarlet’s Remains, Shadow Project, Johann Schumann, Los Angeles

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Location: London

Active: 1979 – 1991, 2000 – current

Among the early anarcho bands coming from the squats of the London punk scene, Rubella Ballet stood out. Not only was their sound diverse and propelling, but their adoption of the day-glo aesthetic would become one of their biggest trademarks. They formed 1979 with Sid Truelove aka Sidation (later of Flux of Pink Indians), Gem Stone and Pete Fender (formerly of Fatal Microbes, later of Omega Tribe) going on stage spontaneously at a CRASS/Poison Girls gig. Zillah Minx would join after initial singer Annie Anxiety left. They would continue to share the stage with both bands on a regular basis. Siblings Stone and Fender are the children of Poison Girls singer, Vi Subversa. Their first releases were on the Poison Girls’ XNTRIX label. Their members would change several times around Zillah, until they ended in 1991, then reforming in 2000.

https://www.discogs.com/artist/278401-Rubella-Ballet

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rubella_Ballet

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Location: London

Active: 1978 – 1983

Peter Murphy, Daniel Ash, David J, and Kevin Haskins form Bauhaus in. Their first single ‘Bela Lugosis Dead’ is released in 1979, creating a style all their own that would be an essential step forward in what would become gothic rock, with looks inspired by the glam rock makeup of David Bowie and T. Rex but with the stark monotone look of black and white films, the atmosphere particularly drawing upon those of the horror and suspense variety such as Nosferatu, The Cabinet of Doctor Caligari and M. They were often support for a punk forerunner of gothic rock, UK Decay.

Their success soon lifted them to the headlining act, as the flagship band of Beggars Banquet records. Their affinity for the film medium made them naturals for the emergent music video medium, of which they made a dozen if not more. In 1983 they made a cameo appearance in the Tony Scott directed film The Hunger with David Bowie , Catherine Deneuve and Susan Sarandon.

That same year, the band released their final album of their initial era ‘Burning From The Inside’. Tones On Tail was the side project of Daniel Ash already in progress; Haskins joined and they would continue for another year with phenomenally atmospheric but driving dark pop. Love & Rockets picked up in 1985 adding David J to the mix, while Peter Murphy relegated himself to a solo career, crossing paths once more with Eddie Branch, formerly bassist of UK Decay. 15 years later, Bauhaus reunions, though terse, occurred in 1998, 2005, 2008, 2019, 2022, including new album material.

Related: UK Decay, Love & Rockets, Dalis Car, Tones On Tail, Beggars Banquet, Bela Lugosi, Nosferatu, The Cabinet of Doctor Caligari, The Hunger, David Bowie, T. Rex, London

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deep_(Peter_Murphy_album)

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Location: London

Active: 19xx –

The humble but more than essential origins of megastar 80s alternative rock outfit, The Cult, Billy Duffy and Ian Astbury cut their teeth and perfected their face paint in The Southern Death Cult. When the 1970s punk first wave started to lose its luster, the more refined ideas started to take shape in what was briefly known as positive-punk. This was the keystone band on that brief but glorious trail that was abruptly colonized by the term postpunk.

Related: The Cult, Death Cult, Ian Astbury, Billy Duffy

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Location: New Jersey

Active: 198x

When horror punk trailblazers the Misfits called it quits in 1983, Samhain was already cooking in the back of singer Glenn Danzig’s mind. Although they still maintained the horror aesthetic, Samhain was notably darker with an emphasis on the occult. The tempo was less thrash, a late-era direction that lead to the Misfits ultimate demise with their Earth AD album. Songs from the Misfits era were revisited, like Archangel which was penned by Glenn intended for Dave Vanian of The Damned; Halloween and Horror Business were also given the new sonic treatment. They would put out three albums before Danzig embarked on his solo career.

Related: Misfits, Danzig, Glenn Danzig, Damian, Eerie Von, Chuck Biscuits, The Damned

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Location: London

Active: 198x

A key group in the London post punk movement rising out of England in the late 1970s to early 80s. Along with Southern Death Cult, Sex Gang Children, UK Decay and others, Theatre of Hate established the foundation of the burgeoning gothic movement. Their lyrical themes dealt with a bleak nostalgia and a questioning of faith, although through a sort of spaghetti western motif, primarily out of the imagination of singer and frontman Kirk Brandon. They began as The Pack in an early punk incarnation but quickly developed into the more fully conceptualized Theatre of Hate.

Related: The Pack, Southern Death Cult, UK Decay, Sex Gang Children, Kirk Brandon, Positive Punk, London

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Location: Long Beach, California

Active: 198x

Punk band from Long Beach, California featuring Mike Martt.

Related: TSOL, Mike Martt

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Location: Detroit, Michigan

Active: -2008

Based in Detroit, Shock Therapy was a punk band that embraced the use of drum machines and synthesizers early on, in the formative days of industrial music, particularly in North America and evolving from punk music. Their often dark themes of loneliness, detachment and despair had a distinct appeal to the gothic and dark music world, particularly in Germany and Europe, where they toured frequently. Member Cliff Hill would play for a time with German gothic rock band Angina Pectoris.

Frontman and nucleus Itchy was the primary and sometimes only member; he passed away in 2008. Before Shock Therapy, he was in The Gerbils, and also a band called Life In Death. In 1994, German film director collaborated with Itchy to direct the music video for “I Can’t Let Go”.

Related: Detroit

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Location: Evanston, Illinois

Active: 1981 to 1987

Founded by singer and guitarist Steve Albini, the band’s initial lineup also included guitarist Santiago Durango and bassist Jeff Pezzati, both of Naked Raygun. In 1985, Pezzati was replaced by Dave Riley.

Big Black’s aggressive and abrasive music was characterized by distinctively clanky guitars and the use of a drum machine rather than a drum kit. The band’s lyrics flouted commonly held taboos and dealt frankly—and often explicitly—with politically and culturally loaded topics including murder, rape, child sexual abuse, arson, racism, and misogyny. Though the band’s lyrics contained controversial material, the lyrics were meant to serve as a commentary or a display of distaste for the subject matter. They were staunchly critical of the commercial nature of rock, shunning the mainstream music industry and insisting on complete control over all aspects of their career. They booked their own tours, paid for their own recordings, refused to sign contracts, and eschewed many of the traditional corporate trappings of rock bands. [temporary text from Discogs.com]

https://www.discogs.com/artist/55961-Big-Black

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Black

https://bigblack.bandcamp.com

Related: Steve Albini, Chicago, Naked Raygun

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