Super Heroines

In the early 1980s the Superheroines contributed to the emergence of Los Angeles death rock alongside Christian Death, .45 Grave, and Pompeii 99. Although the all-female trio’s music shared a goth sensibility with those peers, its core inspiration came from punk-inflected metal in the style of the Runaways. Guitarist and vocalist Eva O., born Eva Oritz, had already performed with the Speed Queens before recruiting bassist Jill Emery and drummer China to launch the Superheroines in 1981. Their first appearance on record arrived that year via two tracks on the landmark death rock anthology Hell Comes to Your House, which also contained Christian Death’s earliest recordings; Eva O. supplied backing vocals the following year on Christian Death’s debut album Only Theatre of Pain. The Superheroines simultaneously signed with the independent local imprint Bemis Brain and delivered their own first LP, Cry for Help, in 1982. Souls That Save followed a year later. Further studio work produced another album that remained unreleased, yet Eva O. continued directing the band until 1987, when she married ex-Christian Death singer Rozz Williams, relocated to San Francisco, and formed the goth-oriented Shadow Project with him. Jill Emery performed with Shadow Project in the early 1990s and also appeared on recordings by Hole and Mazzy Star. Cleopatra assembled the Superheroines retrospective Love and Pain in 1993, drawing on rare, live, and previously unheard material that included selections from the unfinished album.