Crisis

Early Death In June (1981-1985)

Death In June soon left the reticent punk scene behind and began to infuse their sound with electronics and martial style drumming, combined with a Joy Division-like post-punk sound. Their lyrics maintained much of the poetry and political urgency of the early Crisis recordings. Tracks such as "Holy Water" and "State Laughter" demonstrated an ongoing fascination with political systems. Further on, Pearce would abandon any overt interest in politics in favor of a more esoteric approach to his work.

Live debut

The band played their first show in November, 25 1981 in London, England supporting The Birthday Party followed by a short British tour in 1982 (The May 28th show to be rereleased unofficially by Patrick Leagas later in 1987 as Oh How We Laughed) and a more extensive tour in 1983.

Introduction of folk music

During the recording of 1983's The Guilty Have No Pride LP, Death In June began to adopt a more traditional European folk sound, using more acoustic guitars, references to ancient and contemporary European history, combining heavy percussion with electronic soundscapes and post-industrial experimentation.

Tony Wakeford departs

Wakeford was asked to leave Death In June in January 1984 after a show in Paris, France following the discovery he had become a member of the far-right National Front. Wakeford then began a post-punk project called Above The Ruins shortly before founding Sol Invictus. Although relations were bad for several years after his enforced departure, Wakeford re-established his friendship with Pearce in the mid-1980s after he repudiated far-right politics. He remains on good terms with Pearce and has guested on stage during a few Death In June shows.

Nada! flirtation with dance music

The Nada! (1985) LP introduced a temporary dance sound to Death In June accompanied by other tracks with the previously introduced folk elements. Pearce would later state this period was brought about by Patrick Leagas, which is further justified by Leagas' other work as Sixth Comm and later by his joining Mother Destruction, where he would further explore Germanic paganism and historically-inspired music.

Patrick Leagas departs

Patrick Leagas abruptly left the group in April 1985 after a tour of Italy, resulting in many cancelled shows in the UK and Europe due to follow that tour. Leagas, who began calling himself Patrick O-Kill, later formed Sixth Comm. From that point until the present, Death In June has consisted solely of the work of Pearce and various like-minded collaborators.

Mid-period Death In June (1985-1996)

Creation of World Serpent Distribution

In 1991, Pearce named and helped form World Serpent Distribution, [3] a British distribution company that specialized in esoteric, experimental and post-industrial music, whom would distribute his NER releases until the late 1990s. During this period, Pearce collaborated with many artists who also had material distributed through the company in various ways.

Collaboration with David Tibet

David Tibet formed Current 93 in 1982. After being introduced to Pearce by Alan McGee of Creation Records at the Living Room Club, London, in 1983, Tibet eventually began working with Death In June. Upon meeting Tibet, Pearce began to devote more of his time to a new circle of collaborators, which resulted in various Thelemic, Satanic and Hermetic disciplines that markedly affected his approach to composing music. Familiar with Germanic Runes, Pearce introduced them to Tibet. Tibet similarly had been long interested in ceremonial magick and implemented occult concepts into his early recordings with Current 93.

Collaboration with Boyd Rice begins

Collaboration with Erik Konofal

Erik Konofal of Les Joyaux De La Princesse collaborated with Pearce on the Ostenbraun (1989) 2xTAPES release. Pearce sent Konofal source material, which Konofal would remix and send back after making any musical or aesthetic changes.[4] Pearce would later appear live with Les Joyaux De La Princesse for a joint show in 2001.[5]

Collaboration with John Murphy begins

Pearce having recently moved to Australia, he came back into contact with John Murphy of Knifeladder and previously of SPK. Murphy began playing live percussion with Death In June during tours from 1996 onwards. This began a period of very stripped down, largely acoustic live performances for Death In June up until Pearce announced no further live shows in 2005.

Contemporary Death In June (1996-present)

Collaboration With Albin Julius

After meeting Pearce backstage at a concert in 1996, Albin Julius of Der Blutharsch collaborated heavily and toured with Pearce, acting as a semi-member of the band. Together, they produced the Take Care And Control LP (1998), Heilige! (1999) live LP and Operation Hummingbird LP (2000) albums. These albums were remarkably extroverted in comparison to previous Death In June albums and featured a bombastic, neoclassical, post-industrial and extremely martial sound with few traces of the previous folk elements. The music created during this period could be classified as a part of the martial music genre. Pearce has sometimes guested on Der Blutharsch records since then and covered an untitled Der Blutharsch song for the Fire Danger Season (2002) Der Blutharsch tribute compilation.

Demise of World Serpent Distribution

The late 1990s marked the beginning of a court case between Death In June and World Serpent Distribution regarding payment and distribution issues with several other artists that were then on the label. This led to many artists that had sided with or had a similar experience to Pearce's leaving the distribution company and largely moving to Tesco Distribution Germany, as well as other then well established labels such as Eis & Licht. Eventually, Pearce was issued an out the court settlement for the case, leading to the demise of World Serpent Distribution. [6]

Collaboration With Andreas Ritter

On the All Pigs Must Die LP (2001), Pearce was assisted by Andreas Ritter of the neofolk group Forseti who played accordion on a few tracks on the first half of the LP. This marked a return to the previous folk sound of Death In June. Death In June have also appeared live with Forseti and Pearce appeared on Forseti's Windzeit LP (2003).

Collaboration With Boyd Rice ends

After completing the Alarm Agents LP (2004), Pearce announced it would be his final collaboration with Rice, citing the decision as having been mutually decided during the recording of Alarm Agents in a studio situated in a valley in Wellington, New Zealand as helicopters flew beneath the two of them. Pearce recalls: "We turned toward each other and said, 'This is going to be the last collaboration. It can't get better than this.'"[7]

Name origins

Much has been made of the origins of the name, Death In June. It is sometimes considered to be an allusion to the Night of the Long Knives Sturmabteilung purge on June 30, 1934, or alternately to the 1914 assassination in Sarajevo that helped spark World War I. However, Pearce has said that he once misheard Patrick Leagas during a rehearsal and he "heard" it as "Death In June". There is also speculation that the name relates to Yukio Mishima's "Death In Midsummer". The group then subsequently applied it to the project in 1981. Pearce has stated that the name does not express any single idea for him and remains multifaceted.

Neofolk music

Influences

Literary

Pearce has cited Friedrich Nietzsche, the Norse Eddas, Yukio Mishima, Saxon poetry and Jean Genet as strong influences upon his work. Although some of these influences have waned as the discography has increased, recently Genet and Mishima were quoted in the booklet of the rare track retrospective Abandon Tracks (2001).

Musical

Pearce has stated that Nico, Scott Walker, Ennio Morricone, Industrial Records-era Industrial Music, Forever Changes-era Love and traditional European folk music have all had a considerable impact upon his musical output.

Film

Film and certain television programs have been a major influence on Death In June, sometimes being worked into compositions or referenced directly in album titles. Influential films and television shows include The World That Summer, Take A Closer Look, The Night Porter, The Prisoner, Night And Fog and Come and See.

Symbolism and aesthetics

Death In June has always used symbolism, in lyrics and aesthetic approaches. Often these symbols are sometimes slightly modified European historical or ancestral symbols or point to general areas of time, with a small 6 applied.

Masks

According to Pearce, since its inception, Death In June "did not want to become a part of a normal rock n'roll thing. Pretty boys staring into the cameras with huge cocks and IQs of one million... It doesn't work like that."[8]

Camouflage

Specific varieties of camouflage are regularly worn by Pearce and appear on various Death In June releases. Most commonly, the variety of camouflage used is the autumnal Erbsenmuster/"pea pattern"[9] (usually on original items) though sometimes the modern Bundeswehr Flecktarn[10] or possibly the post-WWII Austrian fleckerlteppich[11] pattern is used.

Totenkopf-6

A slightly grinning skull, framed by a circle and a small 6 in the lower right corner. Death In June has, since at least the State Laughter/Holy Water (1982) 7", used variations of the Prussian Totenkopf or Death's Head symbol. Pearce has stated repeatedly that the symbol is not an endorsement of extermination camp atrocities and the symbol far outdates the Third Reich, having been used by the Prussian army under Frederick the Great. Although the particular version used by Death In June is a modified, faintly grinning version of the SS insignia. Pearce has stated the symbolism is clear: "The Totenkopf for Death, and the six for the sixth month - June." [12]

Whip-Hand

A studded, gloved hand holding a whip surrounded by a circle and a small 6 in the lower right corner. This symbol has been used by Death In June since at least the She Said Destroy (1984) 7"/12", stated by Pearce to signify control and relates to having the whip hand, a British expression. [13] The hand is gloved, giving it both a medieval and fetishistic element, and is often used either in place of the totenkopf or with it. This symbol was used later than the totenkopf and is usually secondary to it. As with the Totenkopf-6, the 6 presumably refers to June.

Three Bars

Three parallel, up-standing vertical bars accompanied by a small six in the lower right corner. Although a very basic symbol, this symbol likely originates, for the use of Death In June, from the 1943 Kursk version of the insignia of the 3rd SS Panzer Division Totenkopf. It may have been used to signify the three members of Death In June at the time. Scantly used afterwards for the purpose of Death In June, it first appeared on the Lesson One: Misanthropy! (1986) LP and is rarely used when not referring directly to this period of Death In June.

Runes

Ancient Germanic pre-Christian culture has been more and more a common theme for Death In June with each successive release. Runic text has appeared on many Death In June albums, as well as references to runes in the lyrics of the songs themselves.

Personal Bind Rune

This is a combination of runes that is etched on to the To Drown A Rose (1986) 10" and the original cover for Rose Clouds of Holocaust (1995) LP. Pearce has also this bind rune as something of a signature.

Odal rune

The odal rune has sometimes been used by Pearce, if inverted. This can be seen very visibly on the Come Before Christ And Murder Love (1984) 7" cover.

Algiz rune

The algiz rune has often been used by Pearce for non-album Death In June purposes, appearing sometimes with a circle around it as seen on The World That Summer 2xLP (1986), on the official website and elsewhere.

Controversy

Detractors have accused Death In June of being neo-Nazi, fascist, and racist. Protests have been staged and occasional performances cancelled due to these accusations. [16].

Censored in Lausanne, Switzerland

On November 19, 1998 Death In June was scheduled to play with Boyd Rice, Fire + Ice and Der Blutharsch in Lausanne, Switzerland. A day prior the scheduled show, Pearce appeared wearing a sign restrained by two men (Boyd Rice and Albin Julius) in ape suits wearing Third Reich-era swastika arm bands and gave a press conference announcing that he had been banned for the first time from playing live.

Censored in Chicago, Illinois

Death In June were banned a second time in Chicago, Illinois USA. The show was scheduled to take place at a local venue called The Empty Bottle on December 13, 2003 with Der Blutharsch and Changes. Initially, pressure from a group calling themselves the Center for New Community was applied to the owner of the club, Bruce Finkelman. Finkelman, who is Jewish, and his staff, which contains African Americans, initially decided the show would go on, feeling there was insufficient evidence to censor the performance.[21]

Censored by the German government

On December 21st, 2005 the German government illegalized all sales and distribution of Rose Clouds Of Holocaust to minors, which had been available to everyone in the country since 1995.

Singles

Year Title Format, Special Notes 1981 Heaven Street 12" 1982 State Laughter 7" 1984 She Said Destroy 7", 12" 1985 Born Again 12" 1985 Come Before Christ And Murder Love 7", 12" 1987 To Drown A Rose 10" 1992 Paradise Rising 12", CDS 1993 Cathedral Of Tears 12", CDS 1994 Sun Dogs 7", CDS 1995 Black Whole Of Love 7", 10", 12", CDS 1998 Kameradschaft CDS 1998 Passion! Power!! Purge!!! CDS 2000 We Said Destroy 7"

Secondary Releases

Year Title Format, Special Notes 1984 From Torture To Conscience LP, compilation includes non-album material 1986 Lesson 1: Misanthropy LP, material from '81-'84 1987 Oh How We Laughed LP, CD, live recording from 1982 1989 93 Dead Sunwheels 12", CD, material from '84-'87 1989 The Corn Years CD, material from '85-'87 1989 Östenbräun 2xMC, CD, limited edition remixes by Les Joyaux de la Princesse 1990 1888 12", includes material from '86-'90 1991 The Cathedral Of Tears CD, material from '86-'87 1991 Night and Fog LP, CD, live recording from 1984 1991 Frankfurt Sound Depot CD, includes live recording from 1991 1993 Something Is Coming 2xLP, 2xCD, live recording from 1992 1994 Im Blutfeuer CD, compilation includes non-album material 1995 Death In June Presents: Occidental Martyr 10", CD, reinterpreted material from '86-'95 1996 The Pact... Flying in the Face CD, compilation includes non-album material 1996 Riefenstahl 2xCD, compilation includes non-album material 1997 DISC-riminate 2xCD, material from '81-'97 1999 Heilige! CD, live recording from 1999 1999 Der Tod Im Juni CD, compilation includes non-album material 2003 Steel Night 4xCD, includes live recording from 2001 2005 Abandon Tracks 2xLP, CD, reinterpretations, remixes, rarities 2006 Free Tibet MP3 release only via official website, remixes and original recordings of some collaborations between Death In June and David Tibet

Reference

• Misery and Purity: A History and Personal Interpretation by Robert Forbes (review)

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