l Me, AVR Records, 2021
Alive, Seeing Red Records, 2022
BIO
DEAD REGISTER is an American doomgaze band from Atlanta, Georgia, consisting of pianist and artist Avril Che, bassist and vocalist M. Chvasta, and drummer Greg Meisenberg (Oxx, Maid Myriad, A Fu***ng Elephant). The band has released two studio albums, three EPs, and six music videos since its formation. Their work blends elements of post-metal, sludge, and gothic rock. Che and Chvasta conceived DEAD REGISTER in 2013 with the intention to present an environment in a lower register, primarily using Bass VI and synth bass to create haunting melodies, powerful hooks, and hypnotic rhythms. Initially employing programmed drums, the duo quickly decided that a live drummer would bring energy, movement, and power to the stage and promptly recruited Chad Williams of Magnapop to round out the lineup. The band self-released a demo titled Trvns Blvk and quickly began writing their full-length debut, Fiber. Described as “syrupy and morose” by Invisible Oranges, the album was recorded, mixed, and mastered by Dan Dixon (Wh**es, The Life and Times, PLS PLS, Biters) and released independently in 2016 on CD and cassette through the band's own AVR Records with a vinyl pressing in 2017 via Asturias, Spain-based Throne Records. Music videos for the title track and the single "Grave" were released to promote the album, both directed by Che and produced in-house by the band. During these formative early years the trio toured extensively throughout the Eastern and Midwestern United States and Canada supporting such notable acts as Author & Punisher, Wovenhand, Agalloch, Pinkish Black, Vowws, Tombs, Alcest, Oranssi Pazuzu, Pleasures, Wolvhammer, King Dude, Foie Gras, Set and Setting, Hexxus, The Atlas Moth, The Body, SubRosa, and many more. November 2018 saw the release of DEAD REGISTER's third studio effort, Captive. The EP explores shorter song structures with dense arrangements and includes a cover of "Blood From a Ghost" by Bay Area hardcore band Dead and Gone. Powerplay Magazine UK praised the release, noting "their delightfully haunting sound brings together shoegaze-esque doomy riffs with lush, richly textured vocals which are pretty much the aural equivalent of black velvet.” While much of the material was written with Williams, the songs were finalized and recorded with drummer Danny Ryann (Gigan) and once again engineered, mixed, and mastered by Dan Dixon. Continuing their explorations in mixed media, the band directed and produced videos for singles "Captive" (featuring the one and only Goddess Cheyenne) and "Ender." With a more demanding tour schedule ahead, and following Ryann's departure in 2019, DEAD REGISTER brought longtime touring and fill-in drummer Randy Garcia into the fold. Shifting gears in 2020, this new lineup buckled down in their rehearsal space inside a repurposed church beside Westview Cemetery to lay down their next full-length offering. In February 2021, while waiting for the new LP to be pressed, the band issued a limited edition maxi-single, Don’t Fail Me. This release includes a remix of the title track by industrial/doom metal outfit Lament Cityscape, as well as live versions of “Fiber,” "Ender," and "Circle of Lies," recorded at The Freetown Boom Boom Room in Lafayette, Louisiana during the band's fall 2019 tour. DEAD REGISTER painstakingly crafted and filmed a live action puppet show to portray the emotional depths of the song's lyrical focus, marking the fifth visual production between Avril Che and M. Rockerilla Italy lauded the single as “a primordial force” while CVLT Nation asserted it “soaks into your skin like baby oil after a long, lonely, rose-petal-filled bath.” In early 2022 “Don’t Fail Me” was treated to another remix by Los Angeles deathbeats mastermind Snakes of Russia. After a whirlwind of lockdown, ennui, and existential angst, DEAD REGISTER muscled into 2022 armed with a meticulously engineered new album. Mixed and mastered by Dan Dixon and showcasing stunning artwork by the late Stephen Kasner (Rotting Christ, Sunn O))), Justin Broadrick), Alive was released worldwide on May 13, 2022 via Seeing Red Records. Post-Punk.com commended the album for its “rich, sophisticated hybrid of goth, post-punk, industrial, and 90s alternative rock,” while No Clean Singing eulogized “let it wash over you. After all, the end of the world needs the best soundtrack possible.” In support of Alive, DEAD REGISTER directed and filmed a brilliantly absurdist video for the record's title track and embarked on a steady string of tour dates through the remainder of the year, including a fall headlining tour. In 2023 DEAD REGISTER, now joined by drummer Greg Meisenberg, will continue touring in support of Alive including a month-long summer tour of the Western United States and European dates scheduled for November.
