Lords of the New Church

The Lords of the New Church released their eponymous debut LP on July 6, 1982. Punk had been declared “deceased”, so Stiv Bators had to go somewhere, so he teamed up with guitarist Brian James who was at a loose end after leaving The Damned. The product was a hybrid fusion of post-punk new wave to produce what is akin to Goth Glam, yeah, many genres but that’s what happens when something is hard to pigeonhole. Thunderous drums, sonic boom bass guitar, and electric guitar chords mix to become a softer version of say, Killing Joke. Bators’ scowling vocals stand out on the tracks “New Church”, “Open Your Eyes”, “Livin’ On Livin’” and “Holy War”.