The Deadlights were an American short-lived

alternative metal Alternative metal (also known as alt-metal) is a genre of heavy metal music Heavy metal (or simply metal) is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the United Kingdom and United States. With r ...

band from

Long Beach, California Long Beach is a city in Los Angeles County, California. It is the 42nd-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 466,742 as of 2020. A charter city, Long Beach is the seventh-most populous city in California. Incorporate ...

, United States. The band's most notable achievement was playing the second stage at Ozzfest 2000. The band released one self-titled album on February 22, 2000. The first four tracks ("Bitter", "Amplifier", "Nothing" and "Sweet Oblivion") were released as promotional singles to radio and there was a low-budget video shot for the track "Junk".

Breakup

In early 2001, a message was posted on the band's official web site by frontman Duke.

"Peace to Jim, Jerry and Billy, and much respect goes out to them and whatever they do. As for me, I would like to finally thank all you fans who stuck by us, and continue to show your support for what we were trying to do. It's unfortunate that conditions that we had to face as a band made it impossible for us to keep making music together, but oh well, fuck everyone. As for shit talkers, you can all suck a fat dick. I never gave a fuck about being a rock star, I just wanted to fuck shit up any way I could and will continue to do that. Besides, jealousy will get you nowhere. The real sick motherfuckers know who you are. I'm putting together a new thing, which like everything I've ever done, will be a progression of what I've always been trying to do, which is fuck with your heads any way I can. We all know the record business sucks, but you can't kill what's already dead. DEADLIGHTS rule."

Aftermath

Bassist Jerry Montano went on to play bass in the

band Nothingface. Later, he played bass for the

supergroup Supergroup or super group may refer to: * Supergroup (music), a music group formed by artists who are already notable or respected in their fields * Supergroup (physics), a generalization of groups, used in the study of supersymmetry * Supergroup ...

Hellyeah Hellyeah, stylized as HELLYEAH, was an American heavy metal supergroup formed in Dallas, Texas, in 2006. The band's last lineup consisted of lead vocalist Chad Gray, guitarists Christian Brady and Tom Maxwell, bassist Kyle Sanders, and drumme ...

, but was fired after assaulting bandmate Tom Maxwell and making gun threats at the band's CD release party. Lead singer/rhythm guitarist Duke went on to play bass in the

groove metal Groove metal is a subgenre of heavy metal music that began in the early 1990s. The genre achieved success in the 1990s and continued having success in the 2000s. Inspired by thrash metal and traditional heavy metal, groove metal features raspy ...

band Droid. He died on March 21, 2015, in Huntington Beach, California. On March 19, 2016, the remaining members of The Deadlights performed a one-off reunion show in memory of Duke, with Sean Delatour filling in on vocals.

Confusion

Note: The Deadlights should not be confused with the newer, four-piece alternative rock band from

Lisburn Lisburn (; ) is a city in Northern Ireland. It is southwest of Belfast city centre, on the River Lagan, which forms the boundary between County Antrim and County Down. First laid out in the 17th century by English and Welsh settlers, with ...

, Northern Ireland. They should also not be confused with the San Diego band, The Deadlites, who toured the US and opened for Cheap Trick, The Plimsouls, Joe Bonamassa, and many others. That band's album ''Comfort'' was released in 1998 and unlike The Deadlights, the band members have remained amicable.

Discography

Albums

* ''The Deadlights'' (2000)

Singles

* "Bitter" * "Amplifier" * "Nothing" * "Sweet Oblivion"

Music videos

* "Junk" * "Sweet Oblivion"

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Deadlights American alternative metal musical groups Nu metal musical groups from California