Biography
With roots drawing from the Monorchid, Johnny Cash, and the Legendary Pink Dots, Das Llamas infuse their post-punk-inspired style with an eclectic unpredictability that balances noisy textures against catchy hooks. Emerging from Seattle, the quartet traces its origins to the creative partnership between Kerry Zettel, who handles vocals, bass, and keyboards, and Shawn Kock, responsible for guitar, keyboards, and vocals, which first took shape in 1999. Adding Nick deWitt and Nathen Johnson from Pretty Girls Make Graves, the pair launched Beehive Vaults, though the ensemble dissolved almost immediately after forming. Their subsequent project, stabmasterarson—titled after Chris Rock’s character in CB4—embarked on tours and issued two EPs, Audio Demonstration in 2004 and stabmasterarson the next year. Following the drummer’s departure in 2006, Zettel and Kock renamed the group Das Llamas and brought in Thomas Burke to handle drums. As the trio developed material for a debut full-length, Aaron “Rusty” Everett joined on second guitar early in 2007, expanding the sonic scale both onstage and in recordings. That summer saw the release of World War, Das Llamas’ first album.
Albums
