The Venus Fly Trap

Since the mid-1980s, Venus Fly Trap have cast a shadow over their hometown of Northhampton England through a sound defined by the grim appeal of darkened noise paired with a flowing sense of bleak, electronic rhythm. The group first appeared on record with the mini-album Mars in 1988, while also issuing a handful of singles and compilation tracks from 1987 to 1989. After issuing the albums Totem (1991) and Pandora's Box (1991), Alex Novak (vocals), Neil Ridley (bass), Gary Lennon (guitar), and Andy Denton (drums) undertook several European tours to promote the material, one of which yielded the live album Jewel- Live in Prague. Following the second mini-album Shedding Another Skin in 1992, Venus Fly Trap incorporated a combination of metal overtones with lyrical content addressing drugs, urban decay, and "Zen and space travel" on their 1994 album Luna Tide.