Dance with the Dead is an American music duo formed in California in 2013 by Justin Pointer and Tony Kim. Their music has been characterized as a blend of

metal A metal (from Greek μέταλλον ''métallon'', "mine, quarry, metal") is a material that, when freshly prepared, polished, or fractured, shows a lustrous appearance, and conducts electricity and heat relatively well. Metals are typicall ...

and

Electronic music Electronic music is a genre of music that employs electronic musical instruments, digital instruments, or circuitry-based music technology in its creation. It includes both music made using electronic and electromechanical means ( electroac ...

, as well as "dark synthwave".

Biography

Dance with the Dead was formed by two friends Justin Pointer and Tony Kim in 2013. The two are originally from

Anaheim, California Anaheim ( ) is a city in northern Orange County, California, part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States Census, the city had a population of 346,824, making it the most populous city in Orange County, the 10th-most p ...

, United States, where they had been childhood friends. Over the years they have shifted towards Justin playing the synths while Tony plays electric guitar, although the two may play either while on stage or recording. The band name "Dance with the Dead" originates from a working title for their first song and their fandom to the

horror film Horror is a film genre that seeks to elicit fear or disgust in its audience for entertainment purposes. Horror films often explore dark subject matter and may deal with transgressive topics or themes. Broad elements include monsters, apoca ...

genre. The largest influences with the themes of Dance with the Dead have been horror movies, and their songs typically originate from jamming and passing around riffs and samples. They have mentioned musical and thematic influence by directors and composers such as

Dario Argento Dario Argento (; born 7 September 1940) is an Italian film director, producer, screenwriter, actor and film critic, critic. His influential work in the horror film, horror genre during the 1970s and 1980s, particularly in the subgenre known as ...

, John Carpenter and Hans Zimmer. The duo has emphasized energetic live performances with guitars and synths. They have been prolific on touring with the album releases, with their worldwide ''The Shape'' tour in 2017, ''Loved to Death'' tour in 2018, and ''Driven to Madness'' tour in 2022. During their live performances, they have shared venues with artists such as Carpenter Brut, DragonForce,

the Devin Townsend Project Devin Garrett Townsend (born May 5, 1972) is a Canadian singer, songwriter, musician, and record producer. He founded extreme metal band Strapping Young Lad and was its primary songwriter, vocalist, and guitarist from 1994 to 2007. He has also h ...

Magic Sword In mythology, legend or fiction, a magic sword is a sword with magical powers or other supernatural qualities. Renowned swords appear in the folklore of every nation that used swords.Josepha Sherman, ''Once upon a Galaxy'' p 113 In some tra ...

, and Daniel Deluxe. During tours, they have performed with the on-tour drummer John Terry. While they had previously self-released their music via digital distribution, the album ''Loved to Death'' in 2018 was the first to be released with Neuropa Records. Dance with the Dead are featured in the 2019 documentary film ''

The Rise of the Synths ''The Rise of the Synths'' ( es, La rebelión de los sintes) is a 2019 documentary film written and directed by Iván Castell and narrated by filmmaker and composer John Carpenter. The film explores the origins and growth of the electronic mus ...

'', which explores the rising popularity of the synthwave music genre; they appear in the documentary and are also featured on its soundtrack with the song "Dead of Night". Their record and merchandise art have had a distinct style noted in interviews, with most of the work done by graphic artists Ruben Martinez and Mark Kosobucki.

Discography

Adapted from Bandcamp, Spotify, and YouTube

Albums

* ''Out of Body'' (October 2013, self-released) * ''Near Dark'' (August 2014, self-released) * ''The Shape'' (February 2016, self-released) * ''B-Sides: Vol. 1'' (January 2017, self-released) * ''Loved to Death'' (August 2018, self-released) * ''Driven to Madness'' (January 2022, self-released)

EPs

* ''Into the Abyss'' (March 2014, self-released) * ''Send the Signal'' (December 2014, self-released) * ''Blackout'' (January 2020, self-released)

Singles

* ''The Poison (Reprise)'' (September 2015) * ''Tension'' (February 2019)

Remixes

* ''Assault on Precinct 13'' (theme) (January 2013), by John Carpenter * ''Master of Puppets'' (May 2015), by

Metallica Metallica is an American heavy metal band. The band was formed in 1981 in Los Angeles by vocalist/guitarist James Hetfield and drummer Lars Ulrich, and has been based in San Francisco for most of its career. The band's fast tempos, instrume ...

* ''Doubt'' (July 2015), by Good Knives * '' Gremlins'' (theme) (December 2015) * ''Paint It Black'' (March 2016), by

The Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the gritty, rhythmically d ...

* ''Around the World'' (July 2016), by

Daft Punk Daft Punk were a French electronic music duo formed in 1993 in Paris by Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo. Widely regarded as one of the most influential acts in dance music history, they achieved popularity in the late 1990s as p ...

* ''We Will Rock You'' (September 2016), by

Queen Queen or QUEEN may refer to: Monarchy * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom ** List of queens regnant * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mother ...

* ''Neo-Tokyo'' (March 2017), by

Scandroid Scandroid is an American electronic music project created by Klayton, which previously included Varien in 2013. The project released its debut single, "Salvation Code", on August 6, 2013. Scandroid can be described as encompassing the retro synt ...

* ''Kickstart My Heart'' (September 2017), by

Mötley Crüe Mötley Crüe is an American heavy metal band formed in Los Angeles in 1981. The group was founded by bassist Nikki Sixx, drummer Tommy Lee, lead guitarist Mick Mars and lead singer Vince Neil. Mötley Crüe has sold over 100 million albums ...

* ''Unspoken'' (June 2020), by

The Dead Daisies The Dead Daisies are an Australian-American rock supergroup and collective formed in 2012 in Sydney, Australia by David Lowy. Musicians that have joined Lowy for the project have included Richard Fortus (Guns N' Roses), Jon Stevens (INXS, Nois ...

* ''Takes All Night'' (July 2020), by LeBrock * ''Holy Ground'' (January 2021), by

Music videos

* ''Sledge'' (December 2021) * ''Hex'' (March 2022) * ''Kiss of the Creature'' (July 2023)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dance with the Dead Year of birth missing (living people) Electronic rock musical groups Electronic music duos Electronic musicians