PHANTOMS AMONGST THE RUIN play Clash City Station Jan. 7 and Bridgetown DIY Feb. 3
Phantoms Amongst the Ruin is a local Orange County band that prides itself in being macabre. Their scare-filled gimmick and horror-based music can be experienced at the Clash City Station in Riverside Jan. 7 followed by an appearance at the Bridgetown DIY in La Palma Feb. 3.
The six-piece group prefers to be known by their stage names: Dimitri “Demon” Phantom (Guitarist/ Backing Vocals), Kreepy Phantom (Lead Vocals), Phantom Zero (Co Vocalist), Blitz Phantom (Lead Guitarist), Crimson Panic (Drums) and Phantom Panic (Bass).
“My most recent project was a band called Exordiom and things ended with them really badly,” Dimitri explained.” So, I decided to take some time off and write a good chunk of material.”
It was during this time that Dimitri produced nearly an album’s worth of material and decided to form Phantoms Amongst the Ruin: a name derived from the band’s love of graphic novels.
“Demon pulled it from one of our favorite comic books, ‘The Umbrella Academy’,” Kreepy Phantom acknowledged. “We were fans of the comic separately years before we started working together in the band. It felt like destiny.”
The group’s love of horror films and grim artwork such as that produced by H.R. Giger are credited for both the band’s gimmick along with their music. Musically they credit performers which include other horror-themed bands such as Marilyn Manson, Rob Zombie and the Misfits.
Dimitri also credits bands in the local scene too for helping shape his group.
“I continued to be inspired by my friends in the local scene. Bands like Our Frankenstein, The Culling, AKASHA, and In Urgency, to name a few.”
But each band member is allowed to bring whatever influences they feel to improve their group.
“We all bring our own artistic influences to the table. I personally pull a lot of inspiration from Slipknot,” says Phantom Zero. “This caters towards the mask I wear, and my stage name.”
Musically the band plays what it calls “gothic horror core” and is a unique amalgamation innovated by Dmitri but whom the other band members have helped contribute to.
“My initial vision was to take dead genres that I feel were underappreciated like horror punk and modernize them by mixing them with more relevant genres like hard core, death core, a little goth influence as well as a metal attitude.”
The band places a tremendous amount of devotion in ensuring all of their live shows are entertaining to concertgoers.
“We always do our best to keep things energetic and creepy. I want nothing more than to see people feel the music, move, forget about your real life, become the monster you have inside and have the time of your life.”
This effort sometimes pays off in memorable moments according to Phantom Zero.
“During this show, Phantoms Amongst the Ruin played as a two-piece (Dimitri and Kreepy). They played their cover of “I Kissed a Girl” and got the entire crowd to sing along. I must say, that was a pretty memorable experience.”
Their popularity is evidenced by the notable venues they’ve played such as Chain Reaction in Anaheim that Dimitri notes has marked two memorable performances for them.
“We have had our best show and our worst show there. The people, as well as the venue, are too kind and they really go out there and appreciate us and for that I love the place.”
Live performances have been the main focus of the band. However the band has yet to acquire a recording label and isn’t shy in admitting they have very few recordings released.
“We have some live tracks, some instrumental tracks, an acoustic session, a practice session, as well as a teaser spread over the platforms Facebook, YouTube, and Soundcloud,” says Kreepy.
But with the band’s reformation has come a new determination to make up for lost time in releasing new material following their upcoming Feb. 3 performance.
“We plan on recording our first EP, filming a music video, and much more,” says Phantom Zero.
Beyond that, Kreepy says that the band intends to continue improving and entertaining concertgoers.
“We are planning on getting better, for us, and most importantly for our Fan-toms. We love nothing more than seeing the sweat drenched and smiling faces at the end of our shows.”