Hailing from Seattle, the Murder City Devils channel punk that arrives fierce, unvarnished, and hard-hitting, threading garage-rock hooks through a sinewy attack that nods to vintage acts like the Misfits and the Dead Boys while a brooding tone erases any trace of revivalist posing. The group came together in 1996 when vocalist Spencer Moody, guitarist Dann Gallucci, and bassist Derek Fudesco—each formerly of Area 51—recruited Joshua Plague, singer with Mukilteo Fairies and Behead the Prophet, to supply a name. Plague had coined “Murder City Devils” for an earlier Olympia project that never gained traction, and the new trio adopted the title with his blessing. Adding guitarist Nate Manny and drummer Coady Willis, they issued a three-song 7" on Empty Records in 1997; later that year Die Young Stay Pretty Records, an imprint tied to Sub Pop, released their self-titled debut album.
The follow-up, Empty Bottles, Broken Hearts, surfaced in 1998 and prompted Sub Pop to bring the band onto its main roster. During those sessions Gallucci and Fudesco contributed keyboard parts, so the lineup expanded for touring with full-time keyboardist Leslie Hardy. Record sleeves also listed roadie Gabe as an official member. The Devils kept a busy road schedule yet still found room to issue 7" singles on Die Young Stay Pretty and Hopscotch before year’s end. Their third album, In Name and Blood, arrived in 2000 and showcased wider tastes by pairing eleven originals with covers of Neil Diamond’s “I’ll Come Running” and the Misfits’ “Hybrid Moments.” In 2001 they released the six-song EP Thelema, which ventured into more expansive territory through slower tempos, clearer production sheen, and the acoustic Christmas track “364 Days.”
After touring the United States behind Thelema, the band closed its run with a Halloween 2001 hometown show at a Seattle venue; the performance was captured on tape and later issued as the live album R.I.P. in 2003. Fudesco and Gallucci briefly formed Death Wish Kids, after which Gallucci joined Modest Mouse and Fudesco entered Pretty Girls Make Graves. The Murder City Devils reconvened in 2006 for a set at Seattle’s Capitol Hill Block Party; the appearance proved popular enough that the group has since staged sporadic one-off concerts, including a short West Coast tour in 2009, and has confirmed it is developing fresh material.
