1950s–1970s: Forerunners The earliest influences for some deathrock 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". Other influences included
the Doors,
David Bowie,
Alice Cooper,
the Cramps,
Black Sabbath and
the Damned. Subsequently, the 1979 single "
Bela Lugosi's Dead" by British post-punk group
Bauhaus was one of the major influences amongst the early deathrock scene.
Late 1970s–1980s: Origins members
Rozz Williams and Johnnie Sage performing in 1983|150px During the late 1970s, the
Los Angeles punk rock scene emerged, with bands like
the Gun Club and
the Flesh Eaters grim take on punk becoming a notable precursor to deathrock. Furthermore,
T.S.O.L. were a defining group in the scene who briefly embraced gothic and deathrock elements. By the early 1980s, deathrock emerged as an offshoot of the Los Angeles punk rock scene, differentiating itself through its greater emphasis on
horror. In 1983, music journalists Peter Belsito and Bob Davis released the book
Hardcore California: A History of Punk and New Wave, referring to deathrock as a "horror-rock" scene that emerged in L.A. during the late 1970s to early 1980s, stating ,"Horror Rock brought some much needed bands out of the woodwork, such as
the Cramps [...] and the re-formed
Flesheaters," followed by referring to deathrock bands such as Voodoo Church and
Christian Death as "horror-rock". By the early 1980s, the United States' deathrock scene became increasingly connected to the United Kingdom's
gothic rock scene, a genre which journalist James Greene described as "very much in line" with deathrock. This cross-pollination was particularly influenced by the Gun Club's European tour in 1983, and Christian Death's tour in 1984. Subsequently, Christian Death departed from their early deathrock sound in favour of the gothic rock of
Catastrophe Ballet, while the sound of deathrock had begun to be embraced by English bands including
Sex Gang Children and
Alien Sex Fiend. The band
Rudimentary Peni are described by
Brooklyn Vegan as anarcho-punk/deathrock;
Invisible Oranges characterised the sound of band Part 1 as goth/deathrock mixed with anarcho-punk. By the time that
the Sisters of Mercy gained widespread success in the scene, the term "deathrock" had predominantly fallen out of use and the style was viewed as simply a subgenre of gothic rock. The success of the club caused many other deathrock club nights to be established in the following years. This, along with the rise of online
music piracy led to the increased popularity of older deathrock bands and establishment of new, international deathrock groups, like
Bloody Dead and Sexy, commencing the first deathrock revival. During this period groups like
the Phantom Limbs and
Black Ice began to merge deathrock with elements of
no wave and
synthpunk. Many groups from this period, most notably
Tragic Black, began to make use of an aesthetic heavily inspired by
Batcave fashion. This era was mostly based online, through websites including deathrock.com, post-punk.com,
MySpace and
LiveJournal. Furthermore, it embraced a broader spectrum of influences, including
psychobilly, electronic body music and
futurepop. During the 2010s, deathrock's influence was revived, in the form of the dark punk and G-beat styles. In these genres, bands including Deathcharge, Cemetery, Lost Tribe and Christ vs Warhol, merged deathrock into hardcore punk and D-beat templates. Furthermore, during this time, bands such as
Devil Master emerged, who merge the genre with
black metal, and
Gatecreeper who incorporate the genre's influence into
death metal. ==See also==