Various - Killed By Deathrock Volume 2 LP

Label: Sacred Bones

Our Review:

Copping the name of this series from the infamous Killed By Death bootlegs of punk obscurities, Sacred Bones mines the equally fertile historical archives of the early goth days in the early to mid '80s. As on the first Killed By Deathrock compilation, the curation slants heavily towards the driving, danse macabre grooves of the Bauhaus/Joy Division/Christian Death axis of post-punk. The smeared mascara gems are plenty including a couple from relatively well-known acts. Red Temple Spirits are probably the best known of the lot, hailing from Los Angeles from the the late '80s and maintaining a solid connection to Savage Republic. Their contribution is the cracklingly great "Dark Spirits" from their debut album where the band's yelping doomsayer William Faircloth fronts a diabolically intense take on The Piper At The Gates Of Dawn-era Pink Floyd. Skeletal Family and Red Zebra are the only other bands here who had released anything beyond a single, a cassette or a mini-LP. The Siouxsie-esque contribution from Skeletal Family must be remarked upon as one hell of a great batcave number, as one of the highlights of this particular comp. Another Killed By Deathrock 2 contributor Vita Noctis didn't have a bunch of releases back when they were active in the '80s, but Dark Entries issued a double LP of their weirdo synth-punk angularity. So, the rest of track-listing from Gatecrashers, Middle Class, ADS, Veda, Flowers For Agatha and Crank Call Love Affair is more than likely an introduction to bands who may have imploded or failed to catch a break, despite writing some damn great driving post-punk tracks.