Lecherous Gaze

Oakland, California hard rock outfit Lecherous Gaze originated in 2010 when ex-Annihilation Time players Graham Clise on guitar, Chris Grande on bass, and Noel Sullivan on drums came together. Once Annihilation Time lost its singer, the trio steered their music away from its initial hardcore-driven intensity toward a denser, more intricate style. That shift led them to fuse loose, raucous, and wry takes on influences spanning 1960s and 1970s hard rock, punk, and metal, from the MC5 and Black Sabbath through AC/DC and the Ramones to modern revivalists such as Valient Thorr. After bringing in vocalist Lakis Panagiotopoulos, they settled on the name Lecherous Gaze and issued their first release, the four-track EP Audio Testament, in 2011. The recording drew notice from Teepee Records, which signed the band and put out an eponymous reissue the next year. Also in 2012, a three-way split 12" LP united Lecherous Gaze with labelmates Earthless and Oregonian arcane rockers Danava. With gritty howler Zaryan Zaidi now handling lead vocals, the group delivered its debut full-length, On the Skids, in 2012. Lecherous Gaze returned in 2014 with the harder, louder second album Zeta Reticuli Blues while touring across the United States, Europe, and Australia. For the third album, 2017’s One Fifteen, the band broadened its palette with prog and psychedelic touches and added second guitarist Zach Dellorto-Blackwell.