Death Lens

Death Lens emerged with a signature brand of punk rock, conjuring an emotionally charged blend of spare guitar-driven punk, classic garage rock, surf sounds, and Britpop, all tied to lyrics that confront social and political issues from a Latino perspective. The band started out purely instrumental until founder and guitarist Bryan Torres assumed lead vocals. Surf and garage textures dominated their 2016 debut album Fuck This. By the time they recorded 2022’s No Luck the guitar attack had grown heavier and the songwriting more intricate, while the smoother, more layered production on 2024’s Cold World brought out the full depth of their sound.

Death Lens first assembled in 2011 in La Puente, California, a largely Latino town long affected by gang activity and repeated police targeting of residents. Bryan Torres initially sought to convey his feelings through music alone. Strongly shaped by surf music and 1960s garage rock, the group issued the instrumental EP The Surf Sounds of Death Lens in September 2011, with Torres and Ruben Hernandez alternating guitar and drums and Jesse Torres on bass. Vocals appeared on an April 2012 demo, and another session later that year steered the band toward a tougher garage-punk style. When their first full-length Fuck This arrived in 2016, Jesse Torres had left and the lineup expanded to a quartet with the addition of guitarist Johnny Panlilio and bassist Mike Merrick. The rawer, more visceral tone of that album proved pivotal, leading to the 2017 split release Beer Up Only Club with Fake Tides, which contained five Death Lens tracks.

No Luck in 2022 presented a thoroughly revised Death Lens in which Bryan Torres remained the only original member, joined by guitarists Jhon Rheyes and Matt Silva, bassist Eduardo Contreras, and drummer Richard Diaz. Tougher, more reflective, and more precisely shaped than earlier material, the album’s strong reviews and the band’s fierce live shows attracted the attention of Epitaph Records, who signed the group. Working with producer Brett Romnes—whose credits include the Front Bottoms, Mom Jeans, Hot Mulligan, and I Am the Avalanche—the band traveled to New Jersey to record their first album for the label, Cold World, released in 2024. That record introduced drummer Tony Rangel, who replaced Richard Diaz.