The Deadlights

The first song on The Deadlights enigmatic self-titled debut album opens with an eerie, unforgettable laugh. But it’s the even stranger vocal style (“you will never forget my face” Duke snarls) that makes this song one of the most brutally original concoctions in years. “A lot of people ask us about our name,” says Duke. “Which might be a clue as to what you’re getting with The Deadlights.”

The name was influenced by a Stephen King novel, which signifies the name of the lights at the end of the tunnel after a near death experience. But you need not know that to “get” the charismatic and hard-hitting foursome. The album itself works as a force of nature – creating an ominous gale of heavy, crunching guitars and drums one minute – gliding on crackling, visceral melodies the next, the perfect companion piece to vocalist/songwriter Duke’s compelling lyrical vision. The disc also serves as a testament to the mercurial playing abilities of Jim Falcone, Billy Roan and Jerry Montano. “We all have a lot of different influences,” says Jerry. “I grew up with Kiss, among other bands. I was also in a band with the bass player of Rob Zombie, (Blasco) called Suffer.” Other band influences include early Metallica, Dead Kennedys, Bad Religion, cult-punkers Rudimentary Peni, and classic New York hardcore like the Cro Mags and Agnostic Front. Says Duke: “We bonded on our influences. Jim and I were playing together and needed someone like Jerry and Billy to complete the picture. It just worked.”

Jerry, originally from NorCal, headed to Hollywood to investigate the SoCal band scene. Needless to say, he roughed it for a while. “I lived on the roof of a record store for a time, ” he laughs. “I got a job in a bar and I would just crash up there because I knew a friend who ran it.” Duke, who was never really into the L.A. band scene, hailed from Huntington Beach. “I remembered Jerry from seeing him play and hanging around the scene. He was awesome. I think one of the attributes of The Deadlights is we kind of bridge the Orange County and L.A. band scenes.”

The band soon flew into a cathartic routine of playing and practicing, befriending other area stalwarts, like System Of A Down, Static-X and Coal Chamber. “A lot of bands have been good friends and very helpful,” says Duke. Though Jerry had always thought he’d eventually head back home, word of mouth about The Deadlight’s explosive live show created enough buzz to get them to the next step, which was making an album. “It was a dream come true for me,” says Jerry. It was also an opportunity for the group to show they were notches above the typical aggro band.

Songs like the oblique “Sweet Oblivion,” and the falsetto-tinged “Foolish Pride,” reveal a shading and depth to the group that further blossoms under the production expertise of Sylvia Massy (Tool + Powerman 5000). Duke says the lyrics of “Sweet Oblivion” are often misunderstood. “It’s about a love affair with death, culminating with suicide as the final promise of devotion.”

Then there’s the play on words of the soaring “Pox Eclipse.” “It’s like the way a child would say Apocalypse,” says Duke. The caroming song portrays a stark vision of the end of the world and trying to come to grips with that. “Sometimes people think our music is so dark that we walk around in this gloom state,” he laughs. “But I write to get these feelings out. On stage we’re purging a lot of this stuff, which in reality I think is very healthy.”

The group has toured with: Static-X, Slipknot, Type O Negative, Dope, Biohazard and most recently with Megadeth. Said rock tome Kerrang! about the band’s live ability: “The Deadlights stand out like a beacon.” “Playing live with all these bands was great,” says Duke. “It’s such a great release of tension. The audiences were really into the music.” A testament to that release, Meanstreets Magazine raves “The band specialized in a dark, wrathful, groove-heavy rock, which roars its conviction like an acid-addled fundamentalist preacher heaving thunderbolts of vengeance at unbelievers.”

But The Deadlights debut effort isn’t all about heavy sound and fury. If you want to sample a completely different side of the foursome, Duke and Jerry cite the album’s wistful finale, “Falling Down” – complete with acoustic guitars and sitar. “I was most proud of how that song came together when we were recording,” says Jerry. “I think it shows what we can do, how we can surprise people from a whole different perspective. It blew my mind when we were completely finished.”