Spahn Ranch

Spahn Ranch was an electro-industrial group from Los Angeles. Active from 1992 to 2000, the band was well known in a sub-genre of industrial music for its fusion of electronic dance, industrial and gothic music.

History

The band was formed in 1992 by Matt Green and his New York-based collaborator, Rob Morton. That same year, they signed to Cleopatra Records and released a self-titled, four-song EP, with vocals supplied by Scott Franklin (later to become bassist for The Cramps).

In 1993, they added vocalist Athan Maroulis and recorded their debut album, Collateral Damage. Their second album, The Coiled One, appeared two years later in the midst of Morton leaving the band due to creative and logistical differences. The album became a fan favorite and is regarded as a classic LP of the genre.^{[citation needed]} After his departure, the line-up was expanded to include Christian Death drummer David Glass, Screams for Tina guitarist Kent Bancroft, and Tubalcain drummer Harry Lewis. This offered a beginning of the fuller, more diverse, dark electro-industrial sound that Spahn Ranch would continue to pursue. By 1997, Spahn Ranch had pared themselves down to the three-piece unit of Green, Maroulis and Lewis.

Spahn Ranch continued to release albums throughout the late 1990s. Architecture, released in 1997, featured contributions from Killing Joke/Prong bassist Paul Raven and Rockats/Nancy Sinatra guitarist Danny B. Harvey. This album took an even more experimental approach to the Spahn Ranch sound, incorporating elements of drum and bass, dub and for the first time, live guitar parts. Beat Noir, in 1998, followed a similar path even further and included work with Bauhaus/Love & Rockets bassist David J.

The band regularly toured throughout North America during their existence with the likes of Front Line Assembly, Front 242, Switchblade Symphony and The Electric Hellfire Club. Spahn Ranch also made a couple of European treks prior to their demise as a group in 2000.

Closure was a posthumous release in 2001 of their final album recorded in 2000.

Discography

Albums/EP's

• Spahn Ranch (1992) Cleopatra, U.S.
• Collateral Damage (1993) Cleopatra, U.S.
• Collateral (1993) Zoth Ommog, Germany
• The Blackmail Starters Kit (1994) Cleopatra, U.S.
• Breath and Taxes (1994) Zoth Ommog, Germany
• The Coiled One (1995) Cleopatra, U.S.
• In Parts Assembled Solely (1996) Cleopatra, U.S.
• Architecture (1997) Cleopatra, U.S.
• Architecture: Beta (1997) Out Of Line, Germany
• Retrofit (1998) Cleopatra U.S. Out Of Line, Germany
• Limited Edition 12"- first 4 Tracks from Retrofit (1998) Cleopatra, U.S.
• Beat Noir (1998) Cleopatra, U.S./ Out Of Line, Germany
• Anthology 1992-1994 (2000) Cleopatra, U.S.
• Closure (2001) Cleopatra, U.S. / Cryonica, U.K.

Covers/Compilation Appearances

• Thugs 'N' Kisses (1995) - Core
• Covered In Black (1997) - Shot Down In Flames
• Virgin Voices Vol. 1: A Tribute To Madonna (1999) - Swim
• Don't Blow Your Cover: A Tribute to KMFDM (2000) (Don't Blow Your Top)
• A Gothic-Industrial Tribute to The Smashing Pumpkins (2001) - Disarm

External links

• Spahn-Ranch.com, Official site.
• Spahn Ranch interview (november 1995) for QRD
• Spahn Ranch interview (may 1997) for QRD