The Last Dance - Ruins (c) 2015 Strobelight
Artist....: The Last Dance
Album.....: Ruins
Type......: Album
Source....: CDDA
Tracks....: 13
Genre.....: Gothic Rock
Label.....: Strobelight
Catalogue#: STROB 039
Encoder...: LAME 3.98
Quality...: VBR kbps / 44,1Hz / Joint-Stereo
URL.......: http://www.thelastdance.com/
Tracklist:
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01 Mesmerize 04:17
02 Missing 04:23
03 Kat Song 04:44
04 Cages 03:41
05 Still 02:56
06 Edge Of The World 04:00
07 Thoughtless 04:19
08 Scars 04:15
09 Everything That You Wanted 04:44
10 Medicine 03:51
11 Rose 05:04
12 Still Waters 03:16
13 Desperately Still (Klonavenus Remix) 04:38
Total:103,3 MB / 54:08 min
Release Notes:
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Please do not give this CD free for downloading on the www.
Support the artist and buy the CD you like.
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The Last Dance was originally formed in 1990 in the Southern California
city of Fountain Valley by schoolmates Rick Joyce (Guitar) and Jeff
Diehm (Vocals). Soon after they were joined by Ian Haas (Drums) & Tony
Tullai (Bass).
Inspired by UK post-punk bands of the 80Æs like Southern Death Cult,
The Mission & U2, as well as their SoCal peers like London After
Midnight & Christian Death, they set out to create their own brand of
dark & passionate rock music, one that paid tribute to their
inspirations yet called upon other varied influences as well as their
own personal musical & spiritual inclinations to give them their own
unique & personal voice.
The initial line-up of TLD as they are often called by longtime fans &
the band themselves, did 2 self-recorded cassette releases during these
formative years: ôEveryoneö & ôAngelö, before original bassist Tony
Tullai left the band to focus on his work as the guitarist for The
Prophetess, a band in which Joyce also performed, interestingly enough,
as bassist.
In 1994, TullaiÆs official replacement was found. In what seemed to be
a regular practice of instrument swapping within the group & their
inner circle, Peter J. Gorritz, who had been playing guitar in the
Central California dark rock band The Shroud when he first met Joyce &
Diehm, stepped in as bassist, a role he has played ever since.
The recruitment of their new bassist brought a new sound to the band,
one that was slightly more aggressive, emphasized the bass as more of a
rhythm section instrument, & benefited from a broader set of influences
as well as a larger & more varied fan base. Taking advantage of new
digital technology, the band started releasing material in CD format,
beginning with the EP ôTragedyö (Apollyon Records) released in 1995.
1995 also marked the first of TLDÆs many ventures into international
waters, when they were invited to play in Mexico City, where a vibrant
& passionate scene dedicated to dark underground music had been
sprouting. Soon, afterwards however, founding member Haas also left the
fold, resulting in the band performing & recording with several
different drummers for the next 3 years, foremost amongst them Dan
Kaiahua, with whom they recorded the full-length CD ôFairytalesö & did
their first U.S. tour, & Tom Coyne, who had played with Joyce in the
Prophetess & went on to become a regular ôrovingö member of the TLD
family, joining them for their first U.K. performance (Sacrosanct-1997)
& helping out whenever they needed someone to do a recording or show, a
tradition that continues today.
In 1998, Ivan Dominguez became the permanent official drummer for the
band, playing & recording with them up until his untimely death in
Belgium during their 2002 European tour. This lineup, which also
briefly included Keyboardist/Guitarist Robert Schott, was captured on
the 1999 album ôPerfectö & set what would become the standard for TLDÆs
unique blend of traditional rock energy & instrumentation mixed with
New/Dark Wave & electronic music influences. This happy & productive
period, though it ended on a sad note, is one which the band remembers
with great fondness. During this time, the band became more than just a
group of friends working & having fun together; to the individuals
involved, it became a sort of extended family, with ôbandö life & the
members personal lives becoming inextricably entwined. 4th of July
concert parties & Christmas celebrations where fans mingled with family
members became a much cherished tradition & the members of TLD were
rarely apart for more than a few days at a time. This period of
closeness would prove to be the all-important glue that would hold the
surviving band members together in the wake of the loss of their band-
mate & ôbrotherö. Instead of leading to the bands demise, Ivan's death
led to a rebirth of sorts that resulted in their most determined,
prolific & successful period to date. 2003 was a landmark year for TLD.
Determined not to let tragedy undermine everything they had worked so
hard to achieve, Diehm, Joyce & Gorritz retreated a bit into their own
personal spaces, but continued to work & write music together, taking
advantage yet again of available technology to share ideas & files over
the internet. The result was the album ôWhispers In Rageö, a wildly
diverse, aggressive & personal album that saw Tom Coyne returning again
to help out on drums & featured notable guest performances from Rachel
McDonnell (The Cruxshadows) on violin and Mera Roberts (Mercurine) on
Cello. It was the first of a series of recordings released through
Dancing Ferret discs, best known at the time for being the label that
was home to The Cruxshadows & Ego Likeness, both of whom were bands
that TLD had been friends with for many years at that point. The remix
disc ôReflections Of Rageö followed shortly thereafter, featuring
remixes by the aforementioned Ego Likeness, Cyrus Rex, Thomas Rainer,
Corvus Corax & many others.
For the next 6 years, the band, along with the always reliable Tom
Coyne & another semi-regular drummer Stevyn Grey (Mephisto Waltz,
Frankenstein), continued to tour & build its fan base, doing many treks
across the U.S. & Europe, playing with The Cruxshadows & Bella Morte
among others & doing such notable festivals & events as Wave Gotik
Treffen, Whitby Gothic Weekend, Judgement Day, DragonCon & Draculas
Ball. They also released the album ôOnce Beautifulö (which featured
performances by Switchblade Symphonies Tina Root & Mercurines Mera
Roberts), the compilation ôNow & Forever Afterö, did a video with
renowned director Sandy Collora (Batman Dead End) & were the subjects
of the 2007 documentary film ôAlmost Beautifulö by director Rocky
Costanzo who had accompanied & filmed the band on their 2005 U.S. tour.
In 2009 another important transitional period began for the band. After
so many years of hard work, joy & tragedy, the 3 core members of the
band had reached a point where they were emotionally & physically burnt
out. Though there was never any serious discussion of ending things,
they did fewer shows & very little recording for more than 5 years,
focusing instead on getting their own personal lives back on track.
Gorritz left California for the southwestern deserts of Tucson,
Arizona, followed shortly afterwards by Diehm who moved to Virginia &
eventually by Joyce who lives in the United Kingdom Honorary TLDÆer Tom
Coyne remained in California, & continued to play & record with the
band whenever they needed him, but spent most of this period playing
with or filling in for the regular drummers of such bands as 45 Grave,
The Nathaniel Johnstone Band & most recently, Bella Morte.
We now come to 2015 & the upcoming release of the newest TLD album
ôRuinsö through the bands own label Mystine Records in conjunction with
Strobelight records who will be the albums distributor in select
European countries. Though the band has been largely out of the public
eye for several years, that does not mean they have been idle. Diehm &
Joyce have both released discs with their respective side projects
Autumn Cannibals & Sapphire Solace, while Gorritz has focused on his
work as a soundtrack composer & songwriter. All 3 have likewise been
collecting ideas that they felt were best suited for an eventual TLD
release & these ideas plus newer ideas that have been thrown into the
mix this year will comprise the next chapter in the ever evolving TLD
saga. Tom Coyne has been called upon to help out on drums again, this
time also adding the title of co-writer to his credits. ôRuinsö, which
has been inspired by & will be dedicated to a longtime fan who reached
out to the band earlier this year, is looking to be one of the bands
strongest releases in many years; the band members themselves are quite
elated to be working on new music again & there is a strong sense of
rejuvenation in the air that has many longtime fans eagerly expressing
their anticipation & excitement towards the idea of finally hearing new
music from these dark music veterans. Only time will tell what the
future will hold, but one thingÆs for sure: TLD are back & better than
ever & if you havenÆt had the privilege of hearing their music before,
you owe it to yourself to experience The Last Dance!