LUNA13
Dark Electro-Metal Duo
L.A.’s own Witchstep/Deathtronica duo Luna 13 unleash distorted keyboards by Dr. Jade Sol Luna and sinister vocals by frontwoman Lilith Bathory! Catch the band on the big screen and soundtrack in the 2016 horror film The Devil’s Domain. Rising from the Hollywood underground, Luna 13 are a dark electro-metal duo who showcase their blend of black metal, bass music, and industrial rock with occult imagery and theatrical live performances. Emerging in the early 2010s with Phantom Bass Queen, they later signed with Cleopatra Records for the late-decade releases G.O.A.T Witch and Wicked Gods.
The project's creator, known as Dr. Luna, studied Hindu astrology in India, worshiping the "dark side of the Mother Goddess," the Hindu goddess Kali, and the feminine form. Inspired by his many experiences in India, he returned to the United States and adopted the moniker Dr. Luna for his Hollywood-based Luna 13 project. His debut album, Phantom Bass Queen (originally titled Feeling Like My Old Sunny Self Again), was released on Halloween in 2012. He built a following in the industrial underground and went on to sign with Morbit Records the following year. In 2013, he issued the compilation Resurrection in Black, followed by his India-inspired Rakshasi ("female demon") album, which he released in India on his own independent label, Snake Bite Records. The Empress of Filth -- and accompanying Empress Bee Sides -- arrived in 2014. After issuing the dubstep-tinged A New Kind of Devil, he recruited singer and dancer Lilith Bathory to build upon his already intense live show.
The duo's debut was 2015's The Hollywood Ripper, full of dark local references to death and infamous females like Emily Rose, Marilyn Monroe, and Elisa Lam, who mysteriously died in a hotel in Los Angeles in 2013. A year later, they issued Dark Side of the Sun on Cleopatra Records, further expanding their reach by playing festivals and featuring on both the soundtrack and the film Devil's Domain. The brutal Lilit landed in 2017, highlighting the group's focus on pummeling drums, droning guitars, and beat-driven synths. Closing out the decade, Luna 13 issued G.O.A.T Witch (2018) and Wicked Gods (2019).