The Black Queen

A kind of power synth pop trio, the Black Queen began in casual fashion and developed into a full-blown band treated by its members as much more than an extracurricular project. In 2011, Greg Puciato, Dillinger Escape Plan's vocalist, and Steven Alexander, a seasoned tech (DEP, Nine Inch Nails, Ke$ha), began working on material with one another that deviated significantly from the former's main band. Later in the year, Joshua Eustis (NIN, Puscifer) was added to the fold, after Puciato crossed paths with the multi-instrumentalist, producer, and songwriter at a Puscifer gig. Puciato's interests had long involved electronic music -- his primary band had covered songs by Massive Attack, Depeche Mode, and even Aphex Twin -- and he admired Eustis' output with Telefon Tel Aviv. The two also shared a love for R&B, a genre detectable throughout Eustis' recorded history. Within a couple years, Puciato, Alexander, and Eustis were deeply involved in the Black Queen, living with one another in Los Angeles, and supporting each other through bleak personal matters. In 2015, they debuted the Black Queen with the ballad "The End Where We Start" and quickly followed it with the relatively uptempo "Ice to Never," a pair of singles that were closer in construction to Telefon Tel Aviv's Immolate Yourself than anything by Dillinger Escape Plan. Additionally, these songs featured some of Puciato's most melodic and restrained vocal performances without sacrificing any feeling. Fever Daydream, their debut album, was released in January 2016. They went on to promote the record with an international tour later that year before Puciato returned to Dillinger to record their final album, Dissociation, which saw release in October 2016. DEP spent almost the entirety of 2017 touring in support of the record before taking a break and Puciato returned the Black Queen fold in 2018 to record their sophomore effort -- Infinite Games -- which saw release in September 2018. ~ Andy Kellman, Rovi