Super Heroines

Along with bands like Christian Death, .45 Grave, and Pompeii 99, the Superheroines helped spawn the so-called death rock scene in Los Angeles during the early '80s. Like their peers, the all-female band's music had a goth edge, but was inspired chiefly by punky, Runaways-style metal. Guitarist/singer Eva O. (born Eva Oritz) had previously played in the Speed Queens, and joined up with bassist Jill Emery and drummer China to form the Superheroines in 1981. They made their recorded debut that year with two tracks on the seminal death rock compilation Hell Comes to Your House, which also featured the first recordings by Christian Death; the following year, Eva O. sang backup vocals on Christian Death's first album, Only Theatre of Pain. Meanwhile, the Superheroines joined the small local label Bemis Brain and issued their own debut LP, Cry for Help, in 1982 as well. It was followed a year later by Souls That Save. The band did work on another album, but although it was never released, Eva O. continued to lead them until 1987, when she married ex-Christian Death singer Rozz Williams, moved to San Francisco, and formed the goth-oriented Shadow Project with him. Jill Emery played with Shadow Project during the early '90s, and worked with Hole and Mazzy Star as well. In 1993, Cleopatra issued the Superheroines compilation Love and Pain, which featured rare, live, and unreleased material (some of it from the band's never-finished album).