Shadow Project was a

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...

band formed in 1987 featuring former members of Los Angeles

deathrock Deathrock (or death rock) is a rock music subgenre that merges punk rock and post-punk with Gothic fiction, gothic and glam rock visuals and elements of horror film scores. Often overlapping with, and sometimes considered a subgenre of, gothic ...

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 religion ...

and

Super Heroines The Super Heroines were an American deathrock trio formed in Los Angeles 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 sound, instead ...

. After recording two LPs the group experienced a three-year hiatus, reconvening for a third and final album. Shadow Project definitively folded after vocalist

Rozz Williams Rozz Williams (born Roger Alan Painter; November 6, 1963 – April 1, 1998) was an American singer and songwriter known for his work with the bands Christian Death, Shadow Project (with musician Eva O), and the industrial project Premature E ...

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

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 "on ...

, Shadow Project gave its first performance in San Francisco in 1987, but did not maintain much of a profile until Williams and Eva O returned to Los Angeles in 1990. Once there, they recruited keyboardist Paris Sadonis,

bassist

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

, 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 Desjardins ...

. 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 Boulev ...

– 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 awa ...

, responsible for launching

Jane's Addiction Jane's Addiction was an American Rock music, rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1985. The band's best known line-up consisted of lead vocalist Perry Farrell, bassist Eric Avery, drummer Stephen Perkins and guitarist Dave Navarro. Jane's Addicti ...

'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 database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

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

goth Goth or Goths may refer to: * Goths, a Germanic people Arts and entertainment * Gothic rock or goth, a style of rock music * Goth subculture, developed by fans of gothic rock * ''Goth'' (2003 film), an American horror film * ''Goth'' (2008 f ...

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 Glam is a shortened form of the word glamour. Glam or GLAM may also refer to: Film * ''Glam'' (film), a 1997 experimental drama film Institutions * University of Glamorgan, founded in 1913 and merged into the University of South Wales in 2013 ...

", a challenging record that would ultimately prove satisfying after several spins. With Peter Tomlinson replacing Morgan, the group completed a follow-up, '' Dreams for the Dying'', recorded during the

1992 Los Angeles riots The 1992 Los Angeles riots were a series of riots and civil disturbances that occurred in Los Angeles County, California, United States, during April and May 1992. Unrest began in South Los Angeles, South Central Los Angeles on April 29, after ...

. Jill Emery left to concentrate on her

Hole A hole is an opening in or through a particular medium, usually a solid Body (physics), 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 m ...

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 Vincent Damon Furnier (born February 4, 1948), known by his stage name Alice Cooper, is an American rock singer and songwriter whose career spans sixty years. With a raspy voice and a stage show that features numerous props and stage illusion ...

tribute '' Welcome to Our Nightmare'' with a "Dead Babies/Killer"

medley Medley or Medleys may refer to: Sports *Medley swimming, races requiring multiple swimming styles * Medley relay races at track meets Music *Medley (music), multiple pieces strung together People *Medley (surname), list of people with this nam ...

. 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 in the Fall, namely France, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium and the United Kingdom. During their 1993 tour in support for '' Dreams for the Dying''s 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 S ...

on June 20, later to be released as the '' In Tuned Out'' live album. 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 as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer, songwriter and actor. Regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Bowie was acclaimed by critics and musicians, pa ...

cover ("

Panic in Detroit "Panic in Detroit" is a song written by the English singer-songwriter David Bowie for the album '' Aladdin Sane'' in 1973. Bowie based it on his friend Iggy Pop's descriptions of revolutionaries he had known in Michigan and Pop's experiences duri ...

") and two unreleased songs. A

original, "Still Born/Still Life" – dedicated to serial killer

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 b ...

– 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 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 ...

''. 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 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 April Fool's Day (rarely called All Fools' Day) is an annual custom on the 1st of April consisting of practical jokes, hoaxes, and pranks. Jokesters often expose their actions by shouting "April Fool " at the recipient. Mas ...

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

bipolar disorder Bipolar disorder (BD), previously known as manic depression, is a mental disorder characterized by periods of Depression (mood), depression and periods of abnormally elevated Mood (psychology), mood that each last from days to weeks, and in ...

, Williams battled alcohol and heroin abuse all his life.

Style and influences

In ''

Terrorizer Terrorizer is an American grindcore band from Los Angeles, California. It was originally formed in 1985 as Unknown Death by vocalist Oscar Garcia and guitarist Jesse Pintado. They would rename themselves Terrorizer after recruiting drummer Pete ...

'' 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 primarily defined by the flamboyant clothing, makeup, and hairstyles of its musicians, particularly platform shoes and glitter. Glam artists d ...

icons

and T. Rex, West Coast

bands

The Germs ''The'' is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The ...

and The Alley Cats, to

symbolist Symbolism or symbolist may refer to: *Symbol, any object or sign that represents an idea Arts *Artistic symbol, an element of a literary, visual, or other work of art that represents an idea ** Color symbolism, the use of colors within various c ...

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 s ...

, "

Theatre of Cruelty The Theatre of Cruelty (, also ) is a form of theatre conceptualised by Antonin Artaud. Artaud, who was briefly a member of the surrealist movement, outlined his theories in a series of essays and letters, which were collected as '' The Theatre an ...

" creator

Antonin Artaud Antoine Maria Joseph Paul Artaud (; ; 4September 18964March 1948), better known as Antonin Artaud, was a French artist who worked across a variety of media. He is best known for his writings, as well as his work in the theatre and cinema. Widely ...

and the cut-up technique of

Beat Beat, beats, or beating may refer to: Common uses * Assault, inflicting physical harm or unwanted physical contact * Battery (crime), a criminal offense involving unlawful physical contact * Battery (tort), a civil wrong in common law of inte ...

writer

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

. Rozz also held pioneer

hard rock Hard rock or heavy rock is a heavier subgenre of rock music typified by aggressive vocals and Distortion (music), distorted electric guitars. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s with the Garage rock, garage, Psychedelic rock, psychedelic and blues ...

and heavy metal groups such as

Black Sabbath Black Sabbath are an English rock band formed in Birmingham in 1968 by guitarist Tony Iommi, drummer Bill Ward (musician), Bill Ward, bassist Geezer Butler, and vocalist Ozzy Osbourne. After adopting the Black Sabbath name in 1969 (the band ...

Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin were an English rock music, rock band formed in London in 1968. The band comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist-keyboardist John Paul Jones (musician), John Paul Jones and drummer John Bonham. With a he ...

Kiss A kiss is the touching or pressing of one's lips against another person, animal or object. Cultural connotations of kissing vary widely; depending on the culture and context, a kiss can express sentiments of love, passion, romance, sex ...

and

in great esteem.

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

death rock Deathrock (or death rock) is a rock music Rock is a Music genre, genre of popular music that originated in the United States as "rock and roll" in the late 1940s and early 1950s, developing into a range of styles from the mid-1960s, prima ...

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".

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, religion and violence. Regarding the latter, the singer was obsessed with serial killers – especially

Charles Manson Charles Milles Manson (; November 12, 1934 – November 19, 2017) was an American criminal, cult leader, and musician who led the Manson Family, a cult based in California in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Some cult members committed a Manson ...

– 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'' (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 website

Bandcamp
* {{Authority control Rock music groups from California Musical groups from San Francisco American death rock groups American gothic rock groups Alternative rock groups from California 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