LA MUERTE

La Muerte is the more experimental follow-up of the Brussels-based collective Marine (see Marine). The more mainstream & funky part of Marine also continued to make music, under the flag of Allez Allez (see Allez Allez).

La Muerte is a quartet formed around singer Marc Du Marais, which is at the same time admired and rejected by the Belgian musical world. The music of La Muerte can be situated somewhere on the lines between The Birthday Party & The Stooges, between blues and heavy-metal.

Their mini-album "The surrealist mystery" causes quite a stir. On the left you find a track from the album, a cover from the Troggs' classic "Wild thing". Their best-received album is "Every soul by sin oppressed", where more blues-influences shimmer through the wall of fuzz-guitars. A notable track on that album is also a cover, of Mannish Boy, with Arno on harmonica.

1994 sees the announcement of a split. As Humo wrote at the time: "La Muerte has decided to cease the hostilities. There seem to be no artistic differences of opinion, no one has got hit by a bus, no one is having health problems, no one has stolen their tour money and no one has left off with the friend of the guitarist. Strange. For 10 years, La Muerte has been one of the most extreme, but at the same time one of the more successful Belgian bands. And just as the world seems to get ready for the Harder Stuff, just as musical goddamn fucking noise is shaking the music industry, just as a whole generation of youngsters falls for heavy guitars, La Muerte announces its farewell concert. Peculiar. Not to say, a bit stupid".

Dee J founded a record label of his own (Watt'S On Records), on which he signed alternative bands such as The Semitones, Uncle Meat, After All ... Michael Wang went on to join the group PPz30.

In 1999, the band got going again : under the name of "Mustang Cobra" and with a fake bio explaining about a Japanese band influenced by Kyuss & Blue Cher, they did a few tryouts in Brussels and Ghent, before returning as "la Muerte" at Rock Ternat.

Members :
- Marc Du Marais (vocals, guitar)
- Dee J
- Paul Dunlop
- Michel De Greef
- Michael Wang

Buy CD's of this band at

Albums :
- The surrealist Mystery (Soundworks - 1984)
- And the mistery goes on (Soundworks - 1985)
- Peep show (Soundworks - 1986)
- Every soul by sin oppressed (Soundworks - 1987)
- Death race 2000 (Play it again Sam - 1989)
- Kustom Kar Kompetion (Play it again Sam - 1991)
- Raw (Play it again Sam - 1994)

Websites :
- La Muerte fan site.

Forum :
- Read the messages/questions about La Muerte
- Add your message, question, cd- or concertreview ... about La Muerte