Death rock (or deathrock) is a rock music subgenre incorporating horror elements and gothic theatrics. It emerged from punk rock on the West Coast of the United States in the early 1980s and overlaps with the gothic rock and horror punk genres. Notable death rock acts include Christian Death, Kommunity FK, 45 Grave, and Super Heroines.
Characteristics
Death rock songs usually incorporate a driving, repetitive rhythm section; the drums and bass guitar laying the foundation within a time signature while the guitars either play simple chords or effects-driven leads to create atmosphere. Chorus effects, such as those produced by the Boss CE-2 pedal, are commonly used by death rock guitarists to create a wider and more haunting tone. The use of lyrics can vary, but are typically introspective and surreal, and deal with the dark themes of isolation, gloom, disillusionment, loss, life, death, etc.; as can the style, varying from harsh and dark to upbeat, melodic, and tongue-in-cheek. Death rock lyrics and other musical stylistic elements often incorporate the themes of campy horror and sci-fi films. Despite the similar-sounding name, death rock has no connection to death metal, which is a subgenre of heavy metal.
Etymology
The term "death rock" was first used in the 1950s to describe a thematically related genre of rock and roll, which began in 1958 with Jody Reynolds' "Endless Sleep" and ended in 1964 with J. Frank Wilson's "Last Kiss". The term was also applied to the Shangri-Las' "Leader of the Pack". These songs about dead teenagers were noted for their morbid yet romantic view of death, spoken word bridges, and sound effects. In 1974, the term "death rock" was used by Gene Grier to describe the same phenomenon in rock music.
The term later re-emerged to describe the sound of various West Coast punk bands. It most likely came from one of three sources: Rozz Williams, the founding member of Christian Death, to describe the sound of his band; the music press, reusing the 1950s term to describe an emerging subgenre of punk; and/or Nick Zedd's 1979 film They Eat Scum, which featured a fictitious cannibalistic "death rock" punk band called "Suzy Putrid and the Mental Deficients."
History
Predecessors
The earliest influences for some death rock acts can be traced to the horror-themed novelty rock and roll acts of the late 1950s and early 1960s such as Bobby “Boris” Pickett and the Crypt-Kickers and Zacherle with "Monster Mash"; Screamin' Jay Hawkins with "I Put a Spell on You"; Screaming Lord Sutch & the Savages with "Murder in the Graveyard"; and Don Hinson and the Rigormorticians with "Riboflavin-Flavored Non-Carbonated Poly-Unsaturated Blood". Contemporarily, the 1979 single "Bela Lugosi's Dead" by British post-punk group Bauhaus was one of the major influences amongst the early death rock scene. Other influences included the Doors, David Bowie, Alice Cooper, the Cramps, Black Sabbath and the Damned.
The Los Angeles punk rock scene began in the mid to late 1970s, with groups like the Runaways, the Weirdos and the Germs. Within this scene the Gun Club's grim take on heavily blues indebted punk was a notable Los Angeles precursor. The Flesh Eaters too took a macabre take on early LA punk, by merging the sound with lyrics influenced by Edgar Allan Poe, the Beat Generation and Catholicism. Furthermore, T.S.O.L. were a defining group in the scene who briefly embraced gothic and deathrock elements.