Death in Vegas

Dead Elvis

Death in Vegas began in 1994 as a partnership between Richard Fearless and Steve Hellier. They signed to Concrete Records under the name Dead Elvis, then had to drop it because an Irish label already used it, so Dead Elvis became the title of their first album instead. Dead Elvis came out in March 1997 in Britain and September 1997 in the United States, and it is the only Death in Vegas record with Hellier on it. Its single Dirt, built around Woodstock announcements and a Country Joe and the Fish sample, had a video that became a minor hit on MTV's 120 Minutes. Hellier left soon afterwards. Tim Holmes, who had already mixed and engineered on the album, took his place beside Fearless.

The Contino Rooms

The pair built a studio, the Contino Rooms, in a warehouse off Gray's Inn Road in London, and Fearless called it their home from home. Holmes told the Guardian that when they started they found they owned the same records, from early Felt to Roky Erickson, and that much of what they liked rested on repetition. Fearless came to the band from dub and techno, Holmes from punk.

The Contino Sessions (1999) leaned harder on live instruments and added guest singers: Dot Allison, Bobby Gillespie, Iggy Pop and Jim Reid. It is predominantly rock-influenced, though the drum machine rhythm of its opener, Dirge, keeps an electronic edge. Dirge and Aisha, the Iggy Pop track, brought the band wider notice. Aisha reached number 9 on the UK singles chart in February 2000, and the album, which entered the UK albums chart at number 19, was nominated for the Mercury Music Prize that year. The BPI certified it gold in 2013. Pitchfork later said it took aim at territory mapped by Primal Scream, and Spin called it the duo's artistic breakthrough. In 2026 Uncut placed it at number 85 on a list of the greatest goth albums.

Scorpio Rising and Oasis

Scorpio Rising followed in September 2002, named after Kenneth Anger's film. It was recorded at the Contino Rooms, with string arrangements by L. Subramaniam recorded in Chennai, and its guests were Liam Gallagher, Hope Sandoval, Nicola Kuperus and Paul Weller. Fearless told the Guardian that India was the big inspiration, though in an indirect way. Hands Around My Throat and the title track, Scorpio Rising, were the singles, and the title track reached number 14. The album peaked at number 19. Reviews split: Mojo gave it four stars, while Pitchfork judged the execution flawed.

In late December 2003 Oasis hired the band to produce tracks for what became Don't Believe the Truth at Sawmills Studios in Cornwall. By October 2004 the Guardian reported those sessions had been scrapped. Death in Vegas then started their own label, Drone Records, and released Satan's Circus on 11 October 2004 with no guest vocalists. A limited edition added a live disc recorded at Brixton Academy on the Scorpio Rising tour.

Later records

Trans-Love Energies appeared on 26 September 2011 with vocals from Katie Stelmanis of Austra and from Fearless, and reached number 57 on the UK albums chart. Transmission followed on Drone on 27 May 2016, with vocals by Sasha Grey. Chris & Cosey, formerly of Throbbing Gristle, remixed its track Consequences of Love, and Vice described the album as an EBM-inspired romp through the darker edges of sleazier clubs. DJ Harvey plays that track in the rave scene of Mission: Impossible - Fallout.

Death Mask, the seventh studio album, arrived on 6 June 2025, nine years after Transmission. It consists of techno songs, including Hazel at 145 bpm, and Metacritic gave it a weighted score of 78 out of 100. The Quietus reviewer Jeremy Allen wrote that on it Fearless exposes his true self, and that his honesty suits him. Fearless remains the one constant member, with Sinead McMillan on synths and Nick Powell on drums for the current live band.