The Nekromantix is a Danish psychobilly band founded in Copenhagen in 1989. Their lyrics are generally structured around monster and horror themes. A central icon of the band's image is founder and frontman Kim Nekroman's "coffinbass", a custom-built double bass with a body in the shape of a coffin and a headstock the shape of a cross. Nekroman has been the sole constant member of the band. The current lineup consists of guitarist Francisco Mesa and drummer Mike Mata.

The Nekromantix released five albums on various European record labels during their first decade, then crossed over to American audiences in the early 2000s by signing to Los Angeles–based Hellcat Records, through which they have released three albums since 2002. Their eighth studio album, What Happens in Hell, Stays in Hell, was released in August 2011.

History

Formation

Nekromantix were formed in 1989 in Copenhagen by Kim Nekroman after he left the Danish Navy, in which he had been a submarine radio operator for eight years. Deciding to launch a new career in music, he initially played drums in a rockabilly band prior to the foundation of Nekromantix.

Learning to play the double bass and to sing, Nekroman set about forming a horror-themed psychobilly band with himself as the frontman. Initially consisting of Nekroman, guitarist Paolo Molinari and drummer Jens Brygman, the band took the name Nekromantix.

A centerpiece of the band's image was Nekroman's self-constructed "coffinbass", an upright bass in the shape of a coffin. The first of these was constructed using an actual child-sized coffin, but over the years he has constructed new models in order to achieve better acoustics and collapsibility for easier transportation. Their performance earned them a recording contract with Tombstone Records for their first album Hellbound. The band began touring Europe and built a name for themselves in the European psychobilly movement, which at the time was largely dominated by British acts. The Nekroman/Petersen/Kristensen lineup recorded 1996's Demons Are a Girl's Best Friend. During this time the band toured most of Europe including Finland, Germany, the UK, the Netherlands, Belgium, Sweden and France, and also toured Japan. They began to achieve cult status in the United States, where their albums were as yet only available as imports.

At a 1996 festival in Cologne, Germany, Nekroman met fellow Copenhagen native Patricia Day, with whom he launched a new band called HorrorPops with himself on guitar and Day on double bass and lead vocals. The two would later marry, and their activity with HorrorPops put the Nekromantix on hold for several years, during which time Kristensen and Petersen both left the band.

International success

In 1997 Peter Sandorff returned to Nekromantix, bringing along his brother, Kristian, to play drums. In 1999 the band played a tenth-anniversary performance at Stengade 30 in Copenhagen, where they had performed their first shows after forming the band. This performance was recorded by Danish National Radio for a series of live shows and released the following year as the live album Undead 'n' Live. In 2000 the Nekromantix played their first performances in the United States, beginning with the first annual New York City "Psychobilly Rumble" and continuing with a nine-date tour of the west coast. To replace them Nekroman recruited guitarist Troy Russel (Tröy Deströy) and drummer James Mesa (Wasted James) of the California-based psychobilly band the Rezurex. That year the band's third album Brought Back to Life was remastered and re-released by Hellcat under the title Brought Back to Life Again.

Recent activity

In May 2006 Meza left the Nekromantix, later joining Tiger Army. He was replaced by Andrew Martinez (Andy DeMize) of The Rocketz. Life Is a Grave & I Dig It! was released in April 2007. In November 2007 the band announced Tröy Deströy's departure to focus on a solo career. Pete Belair of the Australian band Firebird was announced as the band's new guitarist and performed with them during their 2008 tours, living in Australia complicated things and Francisco Mesa, formerly of Barcelona-based Nightbreed and Ultimo Asalto, joined as a permanent guitarist.

thumb|Nekromantix at the Satanic Stomp in 2008

On 11 January 2009, Martinez was killed in an automobile collision. The following month it was announced that Lux, formerly of Mystery Hangup and Sacred Storm, would be Martinez's replacement. The band's first female member, Lux stated that the Nekromantix would tour North America with Reverend Horton Heat during the summer and record a new album later in the year. The band's eighth studio album, What Happens in Hell, Stays in Hell, was released 2 August 2011. The band supported the album with a tour of the United States from July to September 2011.

!<small>Heatseekers</small><br />

|-

|1989

|Hellbound

  • Released: 1989
  • Label: Tombstone
  • Format: CD, LP

|align="center"|<!-- Independent --> —

|align="center"|<!-- Heatseekers --> —

|-

|1991

|Curse of the Coffin

  • Released: 30 July 1991
  • Label: Nervous
  • Format: CD, LP

|align="center"|<!-- Independent --> —

|align="center"|<!-- Heatseekers --> —

|-

|1992

|Brought Back to Life

  • Released: 1992
  • Label: Intermusic
  • Format: CD

|align="center"|<!-- Independent --> —

|align="center"|<!-- Heatseekers --> —

|-

|1996

|Demons Are a Girl's Best Friend

  • Released: 1996
  • Label: Record Music Denmark
  • Format: CD

|align="center"|<!-- Independent --> —

|align="center"|<!-- Heatseekers --> —

|-

|2002

|Return of the Loving Dead

  • Released: 12 February 2002
  • Label: Hellcat
  • Format: CD, LP

|align="center"|<!-- Independent --> —

|align="center"|<!-- Heatseekers --> —

|-

|2004

|Dead Girls Don't Cry

  • Released: 27 April 2004
  • Label: Hellcat
  • Format: CD, LP

|align="center"|<!-- Independent --> 43

|align="center"|<!-- Heatseekers --> —

|-

|2007

|Life Is a Grave & I Dig It!

  • Released: 10 April 2007
  • Label: Hellcat
  • Format: CD, LP

|align="center"|<!-- Independent --> —

|align="center"|<!-- Heatseekers --> 21

|-

|2011

|What Happens in Hell, Stays in Hell

  • Released: 21 October 2016
  • Label: Hellcat (Indigo)
  • Format: CD, LP, Download, Stream

|align="center"|<!-- Independent --> —

|align="center"|<!-- Heatseekers --> —

|-

|align="center" colspan="5" style="font-size: 8pt"| "—" denotes releases that did not chart.

|}

Live albums

{| class ="wikitable"

|-

!Year

!Album details

|-

|2000

|Undead 'n' Live

  • Released: 2000
  • Label: E.S.P. / Kick Music
  • Format: CD, LP

|-

|2019

|3 Decades Of Darkle

  • Released: 2019
  • Label: Cleopatra Records
  • Format: CD, LP, Blu-ray Disc, DVD, Digital

|-

|}

Singles

{| class="wikitable"

!Year

!Single

!Album

|-

|1994

|"Jack the Stripper"

|Brought Back to Life

|-

|1996

|"Demons Are a Girl's Best Friend"

|Demons Are a Girl's Best Friend

|-

|2004

|"Dead Bodies"

|n/a

|-

|align="center" colspan="3" style="font-size: 8pt"| "n/a" denotes singles that are not from albums.

|}

Music videos

{| class="wikitable"

! Year

! Song

! Director

! Album

|-

| 1991

| "Curse of the Coffin"

|

| Curse of the Coffin

|-

| 2002

| "Gargoyles Over Copenhagen"

|

| Return of the Loving Dead

|-

| 2007

| "Horny in a Hearse"

|

| Life Is a Grave & I Dig It!

|-

|}

See also

  • List of psychobilly bands

References

  • Nekromantix at Hellcat Records