Fahrenheit 451 - The Gothic Years & After - CD 2000 (Cleopatra)
Named after the famous Ray Bradbury novel, Fahrenheit 451 was an East Coast goth rock band whose influences ranged from the Doors and the Stranglers to the seminal Bauhaus (which was to goth what Charlie Parker was to bebop and James Brown was to funk). Fahrenheit, formed in New Jersey in 1984, never became as well-known as Bauhaus or Sisters of Mercy, although it enjoyed a small cult following (mostly around the Northeastern Corridor). During its three-year run, Fahrenheit went through various personnel changes; some of its key members included lead singer Athan Maroulis, guitarist Shell Stewart, bassist Pete Lisa, keyboardist Nick Ferro, and drummer Ed Enzyme. In 1986, Fahrenheit's debut EP, House of Morals, came out on the Active label. The band also recorded a follow-up EP titled A Fire in the Garden, but its contents went unreleased until 2000, when Cleopatra assembled a Fahrenheit-dominated compilation titled The Gothic Years and After. Fahrenheit broke up in 1987, although its members went on to join other bands. Enzyme joined the Undead, while Lisa joined the Cycle Sluts From Hell, and Stewart joined the Lucifer Scale. Maroulis has kept especially busy, singing lead for the Philadelphia-based Executive Slacks from 1987-1991 and the obscure Tubalcain from 1992-1994. He was still a member of Tubalcain when, in 1992, he also joined the better known Spahn Ranch, which was still going strong in 2001. It was in 2000 that Maroulis formed the Blue Dahlia, whose romantic, '40s-minded jazz-pop was a radical departure from anything he had done previously. Those who knew Maroulis for goth, industrial, and darkwave were pleasantly surprised to hear that he was equally effective as a suave, sophisticated crooner with a strong appreciation of Frank Sinatra and Billy Eckstine. Maroulis and Stewart were briefly reunited in the studio in 1996, when they recorded some Mission and Bauhaus covers and briefly resurrected the name Fahrenheit 451. Fahrenheit's 1984-1987 and 1996 output is available on the Cleopatra release The Gothic Years and After.
