The first incarnation of
the Goth punks and later metal heroes known as the Cult, Southern Death Cult
formed in Bradford, England, in 1981. Led by Ian Lindsay (later Astbury), and
including guitarist David Burrows, bassist Barry Jepson, and drummer Haq
Quereshi, the group became a big name in goth rock early in their existence,
and released their first single Moya/Fatman in December 1982. Early the
following year, Southern Death Cult toured with Bauhaus (on what turned out to
be the Goth kings' farewell tour) but then abruptly disbanded. Astbury
eventually moved on to Death Cult (and later, the Cult) while Burrows, Jepson,
and Quereshi became Getting the Fear (later Into a Circle). Beggars Banquet
compiled several sessions and outtakes onto a self-titled album, which was
released in 1983 and finally issued in the U.S. 13 years later.
Southern Death Cult was
the first incarnation of the group that would achieve international fame as the
Cult by the late '80s. This posthumous album compiles tracks from Southern
Death Cult's only release (the 1982 Fatman/Moya single) alongside radio-session
and live versions of numbers that would probably have featured on the group's
never-recorded first album. Given that the Southern Death Cult hadn't planned
to release these particular versions of its material (some of which are marred
by inferior sound quality), this album is best approached as an officially
sanctioned bootleg. All the signature elements of the Cult's eventual sonic
formula can be heard, albeit in embryonic form and on rougher, less memorable
songs: piercing, jangling guitars; driving, tribal rhythms; and Astbury's
distinctive, dramatic vocal style. Southern Death Cult's finest achievements
were undoubtedly the charging, anti-capitalist tirade "Fatman" and
the ominous, anthemic "Moya," on which Astbury denounces U.S. culture
and expresses solidarity with Native Americans. That lyrical focus on Native American
themes, also evident on less compelling songs like "Apache," would
prove to be a recurring concern of Astbury's subsequent work. Despite those
highlights, however, the value of this release resides mostly in its
documentary function; consequently, it's of primary interest to Cult fans only.
The album provides an interesting sampling of the band's sound in its formative
stages and, moreover, captures the raw and hungry post-punk energy of Ian
Astbury's first musical venture.