The Black Angels are an american psychedelic rock band from Austin, Texas. [ 1 ] Formed in May 2004, they took their name from the Velvet Underground ‘s “ The Black Angel ‘s Death Song. ” [ 2 ] They have released five studio albums and one compilation album .
history [edit ]
early Years ( 2004–2005 ) [edit ]
In 2005, the Black Angels were featured on a dual-disc compilation album of psychedelic music called Psychedelica Vol. 1 from Northern Star Records. This, along with the growing popularity of their MySpace page, gave the band a startle in popularity in the clandestine scene .
Passover and Directions to See a Ghost ( 2006–2009 ) [edit ]
The group ‘s introduction LP, Passover, released in 2006, was generally well received in the underground independent rock ‘n’ roll community and was noted for its dark tones and lyrical content. A review of Passover described them as “ Walking in the shadows cast by Spiritualized genius Jason Pierce, ” invoking “ dirges ” evocative of the thirteenth Floor Elevators. [ 1 ] Passover included a quotation in the liner notes from Edvard Munch : “Illness, insanity, and death are the black angels that kept watch over my cradle and accompanied me all my life.” The dance band was featured on the soundtrack of the 2007 Kevin Bacon movie, Death Sentence, on the second base sequence of FOX ‘s Fringe, and in the ninth episode of Californication.
Reading: The Black Angels (band) – Wikipedia
They released their second album Directions to See a Ghost in 2008. Songs from Directions to See a Ghost were besides featured in The History Channel ‘s 2009 objective, Manson. Their song “ Young Men Dead ” was featured on the March 17, 2010 episode of UFC Primetime, “ St. Pierre vs. Hardy, ” on Spike. “ Young Men Dead ” was besides included on the soundtrack for the 2011 snowboard movie The Art of Flight. festival appearances by the band during this time included Lollapalooza 2007, SXSW 2006 & 2008, and All Tomorrow ‘s Parties 2008, among others. Touring partners included the blues rock band The Black Keys, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, The Warlocks, Roky Erickson, The Brian Jonestown Massacre, Queens of the Stone Age, The Raveonettes, Wolfmother, and The Horrors. Between October 28 and November 2, 2008, the band performed as Roky Erickson ‘s backing band on the West Coast. The band featured on Unkle ‘s May 2010 release, Where Did the Night Fall, collaborating on a birdcall called “ natural excerpt. ”
Phosphene Dream, Indigo Meadow, and Death Song ( 2010–present ) [edit ]
On April 23–25, 2010, The Reverberation Appreciation Society and the Black Angels presented their third gear annual music-and-arts festival, Austin Psych Fest. Bands topping the 43-band bill included The Raveonettes, Pink Mountaintops, The Warlocks, The Gaslamp Killer, Warpaint, Night Beats, and Silver Apples. The ring ‘s one-third album, Phosphene Dream, was released on September 14, 2010. The group played the ATP New York 2010 Music Festival in Monticello, New York, in September 2010. On record Store Day 2011 a 12 ” LP titled Another Nice Pair was released, a limited edition red LP containing the band ‘s foremost two EPs. Of the total records pressed, 100 were randomly inserted with a print signed by Alex Maas, Stephanie Bailey, Christian Bland, Kyle Hunt, and Nate Ryan. The 4th annual Austin Psych Fest run from April 29 – May 1, 2011, and was held at the Seaholm Powerplant ( the last event to be held inside the build ) and featured Roky Erickson, Spectrum, Omar Rodriguez Lopez Group, Atlas Sound, Black Moth Super Rainbow, Prefuse 73 and A Place To Bury Strangers topping a lineup of 55 bands. The set ‘s fourth album, Indigo Meadow, was released on April 2, 2013, and they embarked on a go across the United States in May 2013 in support of the album. In February 2014, the Black Angels covered a version of “ Soul Kitchen ” for A Psych Tribute to the Doors, released by Cleopatra Records. [ 3 ] The 7th annual Austin Psych Fest was held during May 2–4, 2014 at Carson Creek Ranch following to the Colorado River and featured a rare Friday night performance from the legendary 1960s baroque pop band The Zombies, The Dandy Warhols and The Brian Jonestown Massacre performing together on the lapp stage, the psychedelic folk music band Quilt, the electronica couple Peaking Lights, Temples, Sleepy Sun, The War on Drugs, Loop, and an arsonist operation from japanese drone rock band Acid Mothers Temple in which several instruments were lit on fire.
On July 22, 2014, the Black Angels released their EP, Clear Lake Forest. [ 4 ] In December 2014, the Black Angels released a rip single, along with Sonic Jesus, called “ Molly Moves My Generation. ” [ 5 ] The 8th annual Austin Psych Fest, immediately renamed Levitation, was held from May 8–10, 2015 at Carson Creek Ranch and featured an impressive lineup, including a rare fiftieth anniversary reunion of pioneering Texas psychedelic rock band The thirteenth Floor Elevators, The Flaming Lips, Tame Impala, The Jesus and Mary Chain ‘s twentieth anniversary performance of Psychocandy in its entirety, Spiritualized, Primal Scream, and Earth. Melody ‘s Echo Chamber and Rose Windows were scheduled to perform, but Rose Windows announced their dissolution anterior to the event and Melody ‘s Echo Chamber had travel issues and had to cancel. The band released their one-fifth album, Death Song, in April, 2017. [ 6 ]
logo [edit ]
logo Besides the band ‘s mention, the Velvet Underground are besides referred to in the band ‘s logo, which incorporates a high-contrast negative image of the Velvet Underground ‘s singer, Nico. [ 7 ]
Band members [edit ]
Current [ 2 ]
- Stephanie Bailey – drums, percussion
- Christian Bland – guitar, drone machine/organ
- Alex Maas – vocals, bass, organ/drone machine
- Jake Garcia – guitar
- Ramiro Verdooren – keyboards, bass, guitar
Former
- Kyle Hunt – keyboards, percussion, bass, guitar
- Nate Ryan – bass, guitar, occasional drums
- Jennifer Raines – drone machine, keyboards, percussion
- Todd Keller – guitar
side projects [edit ]
discography [edit ]
Albums [edit ]
Compilations [edit ]
- Another Nice Pair (Light in the Attic Records, compilation of first two EPs, 2011)
EPs [edit ]
Singles [edit ]
- “The First Vietnamese War” b/w “Nine Years” (released August 21, 2006)
- “Better Off Alone” b/w “Yesterday Always Knows” (released May 28, 2007)
- “Doves” b/w “Drone in G# Major” (released May 20, 2008)
- “Telephone” (released August 3, 2010)
- “Watch Out Boy” b/w “I’d Rather Be Lonely” (released April 21, 2012)
- “Don’t Play With Guns” (released January 22, 2013)
- “Molly Moves My Generation” (released December 1, 2014)
- “Waterloo Waltz” (released January 20, 2015)
- “Currency” (released February 10, 2017)