The Deadlights Say Goodbye To Deceased Frontman With Reunion Show
Because nu-metal was such a huge and commercially-pimped genre, it’s easy to assume that every band from that era was a) a massive success and b) terrible. But for every Limp Bizkit, there were six bands who actually had some talent, got their chance, put out an album, and then faded quickly away. Most of these albums blew, yeah — everyone was trying to be the next big thing — but some of them had some gems on ’em. One such album being the self-titled album by The Deadlights.
The Deadlights went a little creepier than most. Imagine the creepier moments of Godsmack and Slipknot backed by grimy goth kid and you’ve got an idea of what you’re hearing. They were without a doubt nu-metal, what with their rattling guitar, barked vocals, and bouncing rhythms, but their songs always had some cool texture to them, mainly thanks to frontman Wilfred “Duke” Collins (also formerly of Droid — man, Wilfred’s a rough name for a metal guy, that’s some Chester Ogilvie shit) and his reedy strung-out vocals. Check out “Pox Eclipse,” maybe my favorite song from the album, below:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t8PgF-W-QJI
Kind of cool for what it is, right? Love that break in the bridge.
Anyway, the bad news is, it appears Duke died on March 21st, 2015; his death is made even sadder by the fact that I’m paid to monitor metal news for this site and I didn’t see a damn thing about his passing. Again, sometimes it was easy for talented musicians to just kind of fade away (though it should be noted that bassist Jerry Montano went on to play in Nothingface and Hellyeah… but was fired from the latter for repeatedly threatening the band).
The good news is, The Deadlights will reunite on March 19th at the Underground DTSA in Santa Ana, CA, for a memorial concert to honor Duke. The show will also feature performances by Death Division, Sunflower Dead, and Radiondrone; a presentation by former Korn and (hed)p.e. guitarist Wes Geer; and a jam session with Bill Hudson of the Trans-Siberian Orchestra and Dug Pinnick of King’s X. You can find more details here.
All proceeds from the show go to Bridging the Gap, a group that helps addicts with their expenses on the road to recovery (which I guess suggests Duke had addiction issues which lead to his death — I can’t find proof of that, though if anyone wants to let me know in the comments, it’d be much appreciated).
So if you’re in Santa Ana that Saturday, go check out this show. It’s for a good cause, and remembers a musician who maybe never took off, but whose work meant a lot to a few.
[via The PRP]
