DEATHROCK 2013 Mixtape
Part Two by Oliver Sheppard

When I started doing these deathrock mixtapes in early 2012, my point was to illustrate that guitar-driven, dark punk in the deathrock tradition was alive and well, still evolving, despite some folks’ stubborn perception of this genre as being “old school.” (And, actually, as a genre that came into its own in the 80s, it’s younger than industrial or some other types of dark music.) Like the broader genre categories of rock ‘n roll, country, or even the blues, the deathrock subgenre is indeed “old school,” and also like those types of music, it isn’t.

So, here’s yet another new assortment of bands, including tracks by what I call “legacy” dark (post-)punk bands like UK Decay, Killing Joke, and The Damned, bands that are still alive and well and who are still cranking out surprisingly good new material. Among the newer bands, Finland has a strong showing here: Masquerade and Silent Scream reassert the primacy of Scandinavia in this genre; and new 12 inchers by bands like Belgrado, Deathcharge, Catholic Spit, and others also reaffirm the innovation that continues in this style of dark music.

This deathrock mix is not meant as an exhaustive or definitive or authoritative compilation. It’s supposed to serve as a springboard for your own sonic exploration. Some of these bands may not consider themselves to be “deathrock” at all; Arctic Flowers, for example, describe their sound as “a mix of punk, deathrock, post punk, and goth.” All of the songs below resonate strongly with, and are relevant to, the development of deathrock/goth-punk/gothic rock in the modern era as a whole, however.

Tracklist below the jump cut. Enjoy.

CVLT NATION Deathrock 2013 Part 2
1 hr, 32 mins

1. MASQUERADE – Play Dead (2013)
2. PLEASURE LEFTISTS – Elephant Man (2013)
3. SILENT SCREAM – Haunted (2013)
4. CATHOLIC SPIT – Dentist (2013)
5. UK DECAY – Shake ’em Up (2013)
6. GUILTY STRANGERS – Strange (2012)
7. BELLICOSE MINDS – Call to Graves (2012)
8. THE SPECTRES – Passages (2012)
9. DEATHCHARGE – To an Early Death (2013)
10. CRIMSON SCARLET – Window (2013)
11. BELGRADO – Automatyczny Świat (2013)
12. SEX CHURCH – Not Any More (2010)
13. ARCTIC FLOWERS – Strange Ports of Call (2012)
14. BLUE CROSS – Grand Illusion (2013)
15. KILLING JOKE – On All Hallow’s Eve (2012)
16. DEMONTRE – Wholly Comunion (2013)
17. RUDIMENTARY PENI – Wilfred Owen’s ‘The Chances’ (2009)
18. PINKISH BLACK – “Rise” (2013)
19. BITTER FRUIT – Flowers (2012)
20. THE DAMNED – Maid for Pleasure (2008)
21. FIREDANCE – Ancient Flesh (2013)
22. ALTAR DE FEY – I See Demons (2013)
23. LOST TRIBE – Vexed (2012)
24. NIGHT SINS – Winged Thing (2013)

More:

Deathrock 2012 Mixtape Part 1
Deathrock 2012 Mixtape Part 2
Deathrock 2013 Mixtape Part 1

And:

A Brief History of Deathrock, Part 1
A Brief History of Deathrock, Part 2
A Brief History of Deathrock, Part 3