The Crüxhadows are one of the best goth/industrial bands that I have seen come out since the 80’s. With vocals reminiscent of Peter Murphy, eerie violin solos, a Depeche Mode beat, and lyrics inspired by Edgar Allan Poe, its not surprising this Tallahassee, Florida-based group have climbed the charts on Napster and MP3, becoming one of the top goth bands both in the US and internationally. Their hit songs Marilyn, My Bitterness, Heaven’s Gaze, and Monsters can be heard at goth clubs anywhere you go, and Deception can be heard on the popular Music from the Succubus Club compilation cd. They tour all over the country, playing at clubs and different venues and have played at DragonCon for the last three years.
The rise to the top isn't been easy, and The Crüxhadows have had their share of problems. The band started out in 1992, founded by Rogue, Sean Flanagan, and Tim Curry. The band seems to have a revolving door policy, with Flanagan and Curry leaving in 1997 to be replaced by Chris Brantley, Kevin Page, and Trevor Brown. Brown left shortly after joining. Rachel McDonnell picked up where he left off, and then Page left at the beginning of 2001. I was lucky enough to see his last show, in Nashville. Stacey Campbell is the newest addition to the band, with Rouge as the lead singer and programmer, Chris Brantley on keyboard and synthesizer, Rachel McDonnell on violin and keyboard, and Stacey Campbell on guitar. They seem to have had the same luck with record labels that they have had with band members. The band was originally on Nesak International/Kado Records which sold all of its rights to Dancing Ferret Discs and Mere Mortal Records respectively. Mere Mortal Records ended up folding in mid-1999, leaving Dancing Ferret Discs as their curent label.
The Crüxhadows have released three full length albums, three limited edition singles, and have had songs released on over ten diffrent compilation albums. Their first album, ...Night Crawls In, was released in 1994 and is now very hard to find. Telemetry Of A Fallen Angel, their second album released in 1996, was their defining moment and helped launch their climb to the top. Shortly afterwards, their songs begain to appear in compilations such as The Black Bible, Death for Life, and Summer Experience. In the fall of 1999, The Mystery of the Whisper was released by their new record label Dancing Ferret Discs to eager fans, but the best was yet to come. In January of 2000, Dancing Ferret Discs, in conjunction with White Wolf Studios, released Music from the Succubus Club, the official soundtrack to the hugely popular roleplaying game Vampire: The Masquerade. It featured The Crüxhadows' song Deception, with their first music video also on the cd. This gave the band much needed wide exposure, and they haven't slowed down since.