Burning Image 1983-1987
Formed in 1983, Burning Image brought teased bangs, heavy eyeliner and lipstick-smeared lips into the punk arena. While other bands were happily dishing out speedy hardcore, Burning Image slowed it down, kept the effusive guitar intact, and added a more melodic foundation to the music, effectively fusing the British Batcave sound with South California's '80s-era death rock.
Curtain raiser "Time is Running Out" begins with the tribal pounding of tom drums, creeping into the unveiling of a dissonant cacophony of atonal vocals and stressed guitar. It's like a sped-up version of early Birthday Party. "Hives" alternates between throbbing rhythms and squirming breakdowns, while the haunting "Love Mask" sounds like a band of ghouls chanting in unison over gloomy guitar and the dull thud of low bass notes.
Whilst bands such Siouxsie & The Banshees, Christian Death and Specimen enjoyed a greater level of reverence within the Goth subgenre, Burning Image's influence on the bands that followed cannot be overlooked.