These Immortal Souls

These Immortal Souls were a short-lived band who nonetheless created an indelible space for themselves thanks to the intense songwriting and slashing guitar work of Rowland S. Howard. His previous groups (the Birthday Party and Crime & the City Solution) made the most of his guitar skills; this was his first chance to take the lead and show off his desperate vocals and darkly atmospheric songs. Over the course of one EP and two albums, the band often evoked the spirit of Southern Gothic literature, both in the murkily explosive music and the twisted, mythical storytelling. 1992's I'm Never Gonna Die Again is the equal of anything any band Howard played with did -- either with him in the lineup or after -- and one of the finest albums of the era.