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In 2007, Sacred Bones Records founder Caleb Braaten started unearthing rare and little-heard post-punk, deathrock and dark punk tracks for an eventual compilation. Seven years later, riffing on the tradition of the internationally known punk collector series, Killed by Death, those tracks are finally being released on vinyl, CD, and digital formats as Killed by Deathrock Vol. 1. Bands from all over the world are represented on the comp, from the relatively well-known Scots in Twisted Nerve to the “completely un-Googleable” Move from Italy. Also featured are the French band known simply as Bunker on their first demo tape who later became Bunker Strasse, though still remained largely obscure. Kitchen & the Plastic Spoons formed as a sort of goof band in Sweden in 1980 and only released a couple of 7-inches before disbanding a year later in 1981.

The rest of the comp represents a vast spectrum of geography with the US being represented by Your Funeral, Glorious Din, The Naked and the Dead, Afterimage, and Screaming for Emily. Baroque Bordello (France), and Taste of Decay (Germany) round out the collection. What all these bands have in common, apart from their dark, icy atmosphere, is that they’re quintessential pieces of the deathrock story whose music hasn’t been heard by nearly enough people — until now.

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