1476

Hailing from Salem, Massachusetts, the duo 1476 specializes in dark, atmospheric art rock. Their compositions interweave structural elements of folk and black metal with moody indie rock, neo-folk, neoclassical, and post-punk textures. Singer/songwriter and guitarist Robb Kavjian teams with drummer Neil DeRosa—both raised in the suburbs of Worcester, Massachusetts—to form the project, which began in late 2007. From that point they pursued material addressing Western esoterica, pre-Christian mythology and mysticism, chaos, magic, nature, and philosophical and experiential concerns, while refusing to restrict themselves to any one genre. Pressed for a label, they supplied the phrase “Hermetic Death Rock.”

Their first album, A Wolf’s Age, appeared as a self-released effort in 2009; the acoustic EP Smoke in the Sky followed the next year, and the live set Live. July 17th 2010. Unity, Massachusetts. surfaced as well. After measured live appearances, continued writing, and further recording, they delivered the 2012 album Wildwood—containing spoken word vocals from visual artist Alexandria Noel on several tracks—together with the EP The Nightside.

Over the ensuing years the pair maintained only an intermittent profile, yet they enlarged their practice to encompass virtual soundtracks. The first of these, Edgar Allan Poe: A Life of Hope & Despair, received a private release in 2014. In 2015 they concluded a distribution arrangement with Germany’s Prophecy Productions. The following summer the label simultaneously reissued Wildwood/The Nightside as a two-fer, an expanded edition of Smoke in the Sky augmented by live bonus tracks that doubled its length, and Edgar Allan Poe: A Life of Hope & Despair. The duo resurfaced in 2017 with Our Season Draws Near.