Hippie Death Cult

Hippie Death Cult

Hippie Death Cult is a Portland, United States-based group active from 2017. It plays psychedelic rock, stoner rock, stoner metal and doom metal, and forms around multi-instrumentalist Eddie Brnabic, who is also associated with Beggars Ball and has previously played in Blessid Electric, Moto-Shiner, Brothership Connection and Zappada.

Formation and line-up

Brnabic starts the project after moving from Los Angeles to Portland, Oregon. After trying several line-ups for the new material, he recruits his girlfriend Laura Phillips on bass, Ryan Moore on drums, and Ben Jackson on keyboards and vocals. Jackson is also known for work with Sioux and A((wake)), while Moore is previously in Nether Regions.

After Jackson leaves the group, Phillips takes over lead vocals. Moore later leaves as well, and Harry Silvers joins the band; Silvers is also associated with Robots of the Ancient World. The group’s members are Eddie Brnabic, Laura Phillips, Harry Silvers and Ben Jackson.

Releases

The band’s debut album, 111, appears on Cursed Tongue Records in 2019 and receives positive reviews. The group then signs to Heavy Psych Sounds and releases the split Doom Sessions, Vol. 5 with High Reeper in 2021, followed by the album Circle of Days in the same year.

After becoming a trio, Hippie Death Cult releases the single Nice to Know You. With Harry Silvers in the line-up, it later issues the singles Arise and Better Days before releasing its third full-length, Helichrysum, on Heavy Psych Sounds. The band also posts a cover of Nirvana’s Aneurysm, featuring guest backing vocals from Amanda Lance of Spirit Mother, for digital download on Bandcamp.

Live activity

The group performs at the Heavy Psych Sounds Festival in San Francisco in 2022, and tours the United States that summer with stops at Ripplefest in Austin, Texas and Psycho Las Vegas.