Various Artists - Killed By Deathrock: Vol. 1

Before deathrock became a neatly defined genre, it existed in scattered pockets of post-punk darkness across the world. Killed By Deathrock Vol. 1 digs deep into those shadows.

Released by Sacred Bones Records in 2014, Killed By Deathrock Vol. 1 grew out of label founder Caleb Braaten’s years of hunting down rare and largely forgotten post-punk, deathrock, and dark punk records. Braaten began assembling material for the project in 2007, borrowing its title and crate-digging philosophy from the legendary Killed By Death punk compilation series.

Rather than collecting the familiar names of early goth, the compilation focuses on bands whose records often disappeared into obscurity after tiny original runs. Scotland’s Twisted Nerve contributes the brooding “When I’m Alone,” Sweden’s Kitchen and the Plastic Spoons bring the wonderfully strange “Liberty,” while Italy’s elusive Move appear with “Casa Domani.” France is represented by Bunker and Baroque Bordello, Germany by Taste of Decay, and the American underground by Your Funeral, Afterimage, Screaming for Emily, Glorious Din, and The Naked and the Dead.

That international scope is what makes the record so compelling. These bands weren’t necessarily part of a single movement, yet the same ingredients continually surface: nervous basslines, skeletal guitars, primitive electronics, icy synths, tribal rhythms, theatrical vocals, and the raw energy of punk. Heard together, the eleven tracks reveal how musicians in different cities were independently pushing post-punk toward something darker and stranger during the late ’70s and ’80s.

Highlights abound, from Your Funeral’s “I Wanna Be You” and Taste of Decay’s “Factory” to Afterimage’s “Satellite of Love,” Glorious Din’s “Tenement Roofs,” and The Naked and the Dead’s “Carousel.” The complete collection spans eleven tracks, with Sacred Bones describing the artists as overlooked but essential pieces of deathrock’s history.

For anyone interested in digging beyond Bauhaus, Christian Death, and the better-known corners of early goth, Killed By Deathrock Vol. 1 is an exceptional excavation of the underground: raw, obscure, international, and gloriously bleak.