Plunder the Tombs: Deathrock

Sunday, January 16, 2011

Psi Com – self titled EP (Mohini Records, 1985)

Another entry in the “before they were famous” category, Psi Com being the first band to feature the talents of Perry Farrell, later of Jane’s Addiction, Porno for Pyros and Lollapalooza fame. Percussion was far from orthodox, utilizing hubcaps and car engine blocks as well as more conventional drums.

The self-titled EP was the only official release by Psi Com. Pressings were limited to 1500 vinyl copies on the band-owned label. This in itself would have made it rare enough, but more than half the original pressings were warped (and one presumes, unplayable), a factor reportedly intrinsic in Psi Com’s soon to follow break up.

It’s an intriguing album that abounds with allusions to American Indian culture, Hindu mysticism and Aleister Crowley’s system of tarot. At first glace, the cover art appears to be a girl dancing along the shoreline, but closer inspection reveals this to in fact be a corpse superimposed on the background photograph. The album itself eases in and out of tribalistic rhythms, psychedelic influences and odd moments of introspection. Despite this though, there remains something oddly disengaged and detached about the experience that is difficult to put your finger on. Perhaps it’s easier if you listen for yourself:

Track Listing:

Ho Ka Hey
Human Condition
Xiola
City of 9 Gates
Winds

The self titled E.P was later re-released on CD by Triple X Records (1993) and is still available. However, should you be one of those die-hard vinyl junkies, at time of writing a copy of the original pressing is for sale on Amazon.com - it can be yours for a very reasonable $1,600 USD.

Line Up: Perry Farrell (vocals, percussion), Vince Duran (guitar), Kelly Wheeler (bass), Aaron Sherer (drums).

http://www.myspace.com/psicom/music

http://somediverswhistle.com/psicom/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psi_Com

Friday, December 31, 2010

The Atrocity Exhibition (Plunder the Tombs, 2010)

A very happy new year to all of you who’ve visited Plunder the Tombs during its first four months of infancy.

And so, look what we have for you to kick off the new year – a free compilation documenting all (well, almost all) of the archeological discoveries so far uncovered.

To be honest, I’ve never tried doing something like this before, and hope like hell the download actually works, but I’m actually really happy with how this turned out, especially with regards to immortalising those bands whose back-catalogues have been long deleted.

Obviously, a number of other artists included here do have material that is still available, and nothing would make me happier than for folks who download this and discover bands that appeal to them to go, seek out, and buy more of those artists’ material.

What more can I say? I’m pleased as fuckin’ punch with this, and I think you will be too.

The thought occurred that some of you in the old school might actually want to run off hardcopies (rather useful to play in the car if nothing else), so I’ve put it in a 2 CD format.

What’s more, there’s even cover art and a track list to go, with production generously provided by Living Horus and featuring imagery by Jean Delville, one of my favourite artists of the Symbolist movement – just print it out, fold in half and presto – instant CD Cover!

With 26 tracks, there's a lot of bands represented here, ranging from some towering giants of the genre, right through to others who've been sadly lost in the mists of time, but there's a lot of variety here and I like to think there is genuinely something for everybody. Lets see, we've got Bone Orchard, X Mal Deutschland, Into A Circle, The Vyllies, Danielle Dax, UK Decay, Belfegore, Danse Society, Kukl, Children's Hour, Diamanda Galas, Sex Gang Children, The Sisters of Mercy, Clair Obscur, Gene Loves Jezebel, 45 Grave, Ritual, Blood and Roses, And Also The Trees, Burning Image, The March Violets, Ausgang, Cold Dance, Specimen, Siouxsie and the Banshees and Kommunity FK - a fine assortment indeed!

Don't be shy - download, listen and tell me what you thought.
Enjoy!

DOWNLOAD THE ATROCITY EXHIBITION

A Welcome and Introduction

Plunder the Tombs was started back in 2010 by way of looking back on a musical past that I felt in sore need of curation.

It was a strange and sad time when what passed for “Goth” in clubs seemed a pale imitator of what once was, following first a decade of cookie-cutter Sisters of the Nephilim clone bands and then another decade of industrial dance being palmed off to younger audiences as a type of faux goth. When on rare occasion DJs in “Goth” clubs did finally become brave enough to play something like Bauhaus it was not untypical to have the dance floor clear, and it became obvious that the memory, meaning and legacy of much that had gone before had been lost.

It’s probably safe to say that the boundaries of what was “Goth” were never clearly defined. An absolute blessing for those bands on the original scene before it had a name pinned to the donkey, but an outright curse for those who came later and found rules had been imposed to dictate that which was and that which was not acceptable. Worse still was to come in the 90s from a lazy and unquestioning media who simply assumed that anything that wore black and make up was by definition “Goth”, thus allowing all manner of pretenders licence, and maximising confusion as to what the term actually referred to.

This has gone on for way too long and its time is at an end. Neo Post-Punk bands now proliferate across Europe, old long dead Goth bands rise from their crypts in the UK, and new deathrock bands are breeding like rabbits up the west coast of America. It is time to reclaim our scene back from metal bands and ravers in disguise.

While the Plunder the Tombs of old focused on what had gone before, there are now far too many exciting new things to ignore. We roar back to life in a reboot, covering past , present and things yet to come.

Let us plunder the tombs….