Southern Death Cult

It would have been difficult to surmise from Southern Death Cult's scanty recordings where singer Ian Astbury and Co. would eventually move the operation: from sullen Post-Punk excursions through the outskirts of Goth to cocked-hip and stiff-cocked Hard Rock. As the liner notes in their only surviving recording (the self-titled collected works on Beggars Banquet) state, SDC disbanded before ever recording a full-length. Still, the buzz around the young band was sizeable, and for good reason. Echo-dripping vocals and feedback-singed guitars delved into the noirish musical realms that would eventually be labeled as Goth. With lyrics that exposed man's propensities for hypocrisy and cowardice, SDC rubbed Punk's revolutionary zeal in the bloody dirt of the past. Astbury's interest in the heritage and plight of Native Americans gave thematic focus to songs like "Crow," "Apache" and "Maya" -- songs that suggested the so-called modern world is actually far more savage than the one it replaced.