Shadow Project was an

alternative rock Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from Popular culture, mainstre ...

/ goth metal band formed in 1987 featuring former members of

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

deathrock Death rock (or deathrock) is a rock music subgenre incorporating horror elements and gothic theatrics. It emerged from punk rock on the West Coast of the United States in the early 1980s and overlaps with the gothic rock and horror punk gen ...

groups

Christian Death Christian Death is an American rock band formed in Los Angeles County, California, in 1979 by Rozz Williams. With major line-up changes over the years, Christian Death has retained "a relentlessly confrontational stand against organized reli ...

and

Super Heroines The Super Heroines were an American deathrock trio formed in Los Angeles, California, during the early 1980s. However, unlike other early deathrock bands such as Christian Death and 45 Grave, Super Heroines did not carry on a traditional goth so ...

. After recording two

LP record The LP (from "long playing" or "long play") is an analog sound storage medium, a phonograph record format characterized by: a speed of rpm; a 12- or 10-inch (30- or 25-cm) diameter; use of the "microgroove" groove specification; and a ...

s the group experienced a three-year hiatus, reconvening for a third and final album. Shadow Project definitively folded after vocalist Rozz Williams committed suicide on April 1, 1998. The band briefly returned in 2019 under the moniker "Shadow Project 1334" for 13 shows only, vowing to never perform again together after that.

History

Formation

The band was named after a study of the effects of nuclear bombs in Hiroshima. Centered around Rozz Williams and

Eva O Eva Ortiz (born January 11, 1961), better known as Eva O, is a music artist most notable for her previous works in Christian Death and a band she formed with her then-husband Rozz Williams called Shadow Project. Regarded as a veteran and "one of ...

, Shadow Project gave its first performance in

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

in 1987, but did not maintain much of a profile until Williams and Eva O returned to

in 1990. Once there, they recruited keyboardist

Paris Sadonis Paris Anthony Sadonis (born May 6, 1972) is a Los Angeles-based keyboardist, painter, performance artist and musician. History Best known for his work alongside Rozz Williams, Eva Ortiz and Jill Emery with deathrock band Shadow Project. He is ...

bassist

Jill Emery Hole was an American alternative rock band formed in Los Angeles, California in 1989. It was founded by singer Courtney Love and guitarist Eric Erlandson. It had several different bassists and drummers, the most prolific being drummer Patty Sch ...

, and drummer Tom Morgan, formerly from Los Angeles punk band

the Flesh Eaters The Flesh Eaters are an American punk rock band, formed in Los Angeles, California, United States, in 1977. They are the most prominent of the bands which have showcased the compositions and singing of their founder, punk poet Chris Desjardi ...

. After touring the city's club circuit - including the legendary

Whisky a Go Go The Whisky a Go Go (informally nicknamed "the Whisky") is a historic nightclub in West Hollywood, California, United States. It is located at 8901 Sunset Boulevard on the Sunset Strip, corner North Clark Street, opposite North San Vicente Boul ...

- they signed with

Triple X Records Triple X Records was a Los Angeles-based record company started by three former employees of the bankrupt Greenworld Distribution: Dean Naleway, Peter Heur and Charley Brown. The label was known for "a fearlessly eclectic catalogue that broke away ...

, responsible for launching

Jane's Addiction Jane's Addiction is an American rock band from Los Angeles, formed in 1985. The band consists of vocalist Perry Farrell, guitarist Dave Navarro, drummer Stephen Perkins and bassist Eric Avery. Jane's Addiction was one of the first bands from t ...

's successful career.

Triple X Years

The band's self-titled first album was released in 1991. ''

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

'' described Shadow Project's debut as a unique and adventurous "blend of

goth A Goth is a member of the Goths, a group of East Germanic tribes. Two major political entities of the Goths were: *Visigoths, prominent in Spanish history *Ostrogoths, prominent in Italian history Goth or Goths may also refer to: * Goth (surname) ...

punk Punk or punks may refer to: Genres, subculture, and related aspects * Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres * Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...

and glam", a challenging record that would ultimately prove satisfying after several spins. With

Peter Tomlinson Peter Tomlinson (born 4 April 1943, in Bristol) is a broadcaster and continuity announcer. He created the British children's television series ''Tiswas'' and was the programme's co-presenter in its early years. He was also one of the earliest pr ...

replacing Morgan, the group completed a follow-up, '' Dreams for the Dying'', recorded during the

1992 Los Angeles riots The 1992 Los Angeles riots, sometimes called the 1992 Los Angeles uprising and the Los Angeles Race Riots, were a series of riots and civil disturbances that occurred in Los Angeles County, California, in April and May 1992. Unrest began in S ...

. Jill Emery left to concentrate on her

Hole A hole is an opening in or through a particular medium, usually a solid body. Holes occur through natural and artificial processes, and may be useful for various purposes, or may represent a problem needing to be addressed in many fields of en ...

duties. After Emery's departure they recruited former Kathedral bassist Donato Canzonieri who finished recording '' Dreams for the Dying'' (uncredited). Donato can be seen on the album cover with Eva O. and would also go on to record on Rozz Williams spoken word album Every King A Bastard Son. The following year Shadow Project participated on Triple X's

Alice Cooper Alice Cooper (born Vincent Damon Furnier, February 4, 1948) is an American rock singer whose career spans over five decades. With a raspy voice and a stage show that features numerous props and stage illusions, including pyrotechnics, guillot ...

tribute '' Welcome to Our Nightmare'' with a "Dead Babies/Killer" medley. The band personnel for this recording featured yet another line-up change, with Aaron Schwartz now on bass and Chuck Collison handling the track's samples. Shadow Project then toured the United States in the summer, and after that had plans to tour

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

in the Fall, namely

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

, the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

and the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

. During their 1993 tour in support for '' Dreams for the Dyings release, Shadow Project recorded a concert held in

Fullerton, California Fullerton ( ) is a city located in northern Orange County, California, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city had a total population of 143,617. Fullerton was founded in 1887. It secured the land on behalf of the Atchison, Topeka and Sa ...

on June 20, later to be released as the '' In Tuned Out''

live album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

. Alongside tracks culled from their two studio albums, the record features an

medley, a

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...

cover Cover or covers may refer to: Packaging * Another name for a lid * Cover (philately), generic term for envelope or package * Album cover, the front of the packaging * Book cover or magazine cover ** Book design ** Back cover copy, part of co ...

Panic in Detroit "Panic in Detroit" is a song written by English singer-songwriter David Bowie for the album '' Aladdin Sane'' in 1973. Bowie based it on friend Iggy Pop's descriptions of revolutionaries he had known in Michigan Nicholas Pegg (2000). ''The Compl ...

") and two unreleased songs. A

original, "Still Born/Still Life" - dedicated to

serial killer A serial killer is typically a person who murders three or more persons,A * * * * with the murders taking place over more than a month and including a significant period of time between them. While most authorities set a threshold of three ...

Jeffrey Dahmer Jeffrey Lionel Dahmer (; May 21, 1960 – November 28, 1994), also known as the Milwaukee Cannibal or the Milwaukee Monster, was an American serial killer and sex offender who killed and dismemberment, dismembered seventeen men and boys ...

- was also included in the set.

Split

After the American tour, Eva O and Paris left the band to focus on Eva O Halo Experience CD ''

Demons Fall for an Angel's Kiss ''Demons Fall for an Angel's Kiss'' is the 1994 studio solo album of the American deathrock veteran musician Eva O. Recording history For this solo project, Eva O wanted to write a dark concept album about angels and began searching for literat ...

''. This effectively ended Shadow Project. For his part, Williams declared that Shadow Project went as far it could. "Eva wanted to go in one direction and I in another", he justified; he then went on to pursue his own musical interests. The German leg of their European tour had already been booked by then, so Rozz Williams went to tour with another band in place, Daucus Karota.

Final Days

After Shadow Project split, Rozz Williams and Eva O. divorced (but remained friendly) and Williams' heroin addiction increased. In 1997 they would once again reunite to record the final Shadow Project release, '' From the Heart''. The album included band material from previous records stripped down to just acoustic guitar and vocal duets. Nathan Van Hala of

christian metal Christian metal, also known as white metal, Jesus metal or heavenly metal, is heavy metal music distinguished by its Christian themed song lyrics and the dedication of the band members to Christianity. Christian metal is typically performed by ...

group

Saviour Machine Saviour Machine is an American Christian gothic metal band that formed in 1989. They have released five studio albums and two live albums on Frontline and subsequently on MCM Music, distributed through Massacre Records. Saviour Machine's music ...

was drafted to fill in the keyboard duties. But before ''From Heart'' came out Shadow Project's career was again cut short, this time by Rozz Williams' suicide. The singer hanged himself on

April Fool's Day April Fools' Day or All Fools' Day is an annual custom on 1 April consisting of practical jokes and hoaxes. Jokesters often expose their actions by shouting "April Fools!" at the recipient. Mass media can be involved in these pranks, which may ...

, leaving no suicide note. His former Christian Death bandmate, Valor Kand, said that beside suffering from

bipolar disorder Bipolar disorder, previously known as manic depression, is a mental disorder characterized by periods of depression and periods of abnormally elevated mood that last from days to weeks each. If the elevated mood is severe or associated with ...

, Williams battled alcohol and heroin abuse all his life.

Style and influences

In ''

Terrorizer Terrorizer is an American grindcore band formed in 1986 in Los Angeles, California. After disbanding, its members gained recognition by playing in influential extreme metal bands, such as Morbid Angel ( David Vincent, Pete Sandoval), Napalm D ...

'' magazine's accessement, Shadow Project "seamlessly blended" all of Rozz Williams' talents: art, music and poetry. In that sense the group had a wide range of influences, raging from

glam rock Glam rock is a style of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom in the early 1970s and was performed by musicians who wore outrageous costumes, makeup, and hairstyles, particularly platform shoes and glitter. Glam artists drew on diver ...

icons

and T. Rex,

West Coast West Coast or west coast may refer to: Geography Australia * Western Australia *Regions of South Australia#Weather forecasting, West Coast of South Australia * West Coast, Tasmania **West Coast Range, mountain range in the region Canada * Britis ...

bands

The Germs ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

and The Alley Cats, to

symbolist Symbolism was a late 19th-century art movement of French and Belgian origin in poetry and other arts seeking to represent absolute truths symbolically through language and metaphorical images, mainly as a reaction against naturalism and realis ...

poet

Arthur Rimbaud Jean Nicolas Arthur Rimbaud (, ; 20 October 1854 – 10 November 1891) was a French poet known for his transgressive and surreal themes and for his influence on modern literature and arts, prefiguring surrealism. Born in Charleville, he starte ...

, "

Theatre of Cruelty The Theatre of Cruelty (french: Théâtre de la Cruauté, also french: Théâtre cruel) is a form of theatre generally associated with Antonin Artaud. Artaud, who was briefly a member of the surrealist movement, outlined his theories in ''The Theat ...

" creator

Antonin Artaud Antoine Marie Joseph Paul Artaud, better known as Antonin Artaud (; 4 September 1896 – 4 March 1948), was a French writer, poet, dramatist, visual artist, essayist, actor and theatre director. He is widely recognized as a major figure of the E ...

and the

cut-up technique The cut-up technique (or ''découpé'' in French) is an aleatory literary technique in which a written text is cut up and rearranged to create a new text. The concept can be traced to the Dadaists of the 1920s, but it was developed and popularized ...

Beat Beat, beats or beating may refer to: Common uses * Patrol, or beat, a group of personnel assigned to monitor a specific area ** Beat (police), the territory that a police officer patrols ** Gay beat, an area frequented by gay men * Battery ( ...

writer

William S. Burroughs William Seward Burroughs II (; February 5, 1914 – August 2, 1997) was an American writer and visual artist, widely considered a primary figure of the Beat Generation and a major postmodern author who influenced popular cultur ...

. Rozz also held pioneer

hard rock Hard rock or heavy rock is a loosely defined subgenre of rock music typified by aggressive vocals and distorted electric guitars. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s with the garage, psychedelic and blues rock movements. Some of the earliest hard ...

and heavy metal groups such as

Black Sabbath Black Sabbath were an English rock music, rock band formed in Birmingham in 1968 by guitarist Tony Iommi, drummer Bill Ward (musician), Bill Ward, bassist Geezer Butler and vocalist Ozzy Osbourne. They are often cited as pioneers of heavy met ...

Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin were an English rock band formed in London in 1968. The group comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham. With a heavy, guitar-driven sound, they are ci ...

Kiss A kiss is the touch or pressing of one's lips against another person or an object. Cultural connotations of kissing vary widely. Depending on the culture and context, a kiss can express sentiments of love, passion, romance, sexual attraction, ...

and

in great esteem.

described Shadow Project's music as "a strange mixture of metallic

death rock Death rock (or deathrock) is a rock music subgenre incorporating horror elements and gothic theatrics. It emerged from punk rock on the West Coast of the United States in the early 1980s and overlaps with the gothic rock and horror punk genre ...

and punk". For his part, Williams stated that Shadow Project's music wasn't " Gothic-Rock"; in fact, the music of Shadow Project was "beyond labeling." Rozz Williams felt frustrated that he couldn't quite steer from "

" tag due to the legendary status of his former band,

. Williams didn't consider himself part of the gothic scene anymore, stating that:

Themes

Rozz Williams' favorite subject matter revolved around

death Death is the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain an organism. For organisms with a brain, death can also be defined as the irreversible cessation of functioning of the whole brain, including brainstem, and brain ...

religion Religion is usually defined as a social- cultural system of designated behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics, or organizations, that generally relates humanity to supernatural, ...

and

violence Violence is the use of physical force so as to injure, abuse, damage, or destroy. Other definitions are also used, such as the World Health Organization's definition of violence as "the intentional use of physical force or Power (social and p ...

. Regarding the latter, the singer was obsessed with

serial killers A serial killer is typically a person who murders three or more persons,A * * * * with the murders taking place over more than a month and including a significant period of time between them. While most authorities set a threshold of three ...

- especially

Charles Manson Charles Milles Manson (; November 12, 1934November 19, 2017) was an American criminal and musician who led the Manson Family, a cult based in California, in the late 1960s. Some of the members committed a series of nine murders at four loca ...

- and dedicated a song ("Still Born/Still Life") to

. He explained that, to him, "they've crossed a barrier that... well, obviously, you're not supposed to and you're not allowed to, supposedly. It's kind of a fascination with that".

Discography

;Studio albums * ''

Shadow Project Shadow Project was an alternative rock/goth metal band formed in 1987 featuring former members of Los Angeles deathrock groups Christian Death and Super Heroines. After recording two LP records the group experienced a three-year hiatus, reconven ...

'' (1991) * '' Dreams for the Dying'' (1992) * '' From the Heart'' (1998) ;Live albums * '' In Tuned Out - Live '93'' (1994) ;EPs * ''The Original Shadow Project'' (2005) ;Demos * ''Helter Skelter'' (1987) ;Videos * ''And Then There Was Death'' (2005) ;Compilation appearances * ''Triple X Records - Compilation Five'' (1991) * '' Welcome to Our Nightmare: A Tribute to Alice Cooper'' (1993) * ''The Fallen Angel - Kyrandia's First Gate'' (1994) * ''Catch 22'' (1995) * ''Must Be Mental II'' (1995) * ''Hollows Hill'' (1998) * ''Hex Files - The Goth Bible Vol. 3'' (1998) * ''The Nature of Mother Dance'' (1998) * ''The Black Book Compilation - Goths' Paradise II'' (1999) * ''The Whip'' (2001) * ''Strobelights Vol. 1'' (2004) * ''Kaliffornian Deathrock'' (2006)

References

Bibliography

* Issitt, Micah L. (2011).
Goths: a guide to an American subculture
'' Santa Barbara: Greenwood.

External links

Official site

Bandcamp
{{Authority control Rock music groups from California Musical groups from San Francisco Alternative rock groups from California American death rock groups American gothic metal musical groups Musical groups established in 1987 Musical groups disestablished in 1993 Musical groups reestablished in 1997 Musical groups disestablished in 1998 Musical groups reestablished in 2019