Realm of the Dark and Mysterious

Welcome to Rich's web page. This page is going through major changes right now so don't despare. It will be soon finished and will include many more varied interests.

I've constructed this page for a few reasons, mainly to link any whom might be slighty interested, to info about subjects and people that interest me most. I will also give you my own opinions and reviews of bands, books, and art. The many whom stimulate my interests include Edgar Allan Poe, Lord Byron, Marquis De Sade, William Shakespeare, John Keats, H.P. Lovecraft, Charles Baudelaire, Goethe, Robert Mapplethorpe, Traci Lords, Nietsche, Rennaisance and Medieval leather armor, Evil Dead 2, Hellraiser, Braveheart, and any and all the music that has its influence on me. I have info on my band THY SPIRIT DECEIVED, as well as the lyrics of the songs.

Thy Spirit Deceived

Thy Spirit Deceived is a Gothic/Doom Metal band from the New York City, Metropolitan area, and Long Island. We began displaying our misery in the summer of 1997, and since have been recording and playing live shows at Alchemy in CBGB's Gallery. Next on the agenda is the first Thy Spirit Deceived demo, "Casting the Shadows upon a Dying Rose",which shall hopefully be finished by late November 1998.

Thy Spirit Deceived began in the Autumn of 1996 as an operatic, blackmetal band. Discussion as to the name of the band would be an argument that wouldn't be resolved for a while, but there were other, more important matters to attend to. After a long search for a guitarist and drummer, which lasted almost the entire summer of 1997, there finally came along a guitarist by the name of Adam Parness (an old friend of mine, and also a member of defunct melodic rock band, Waterwade). We found a drummer, Joe, who only lasted about two weeks, but along with Adam was his younger brother Evan (an accomplished drummer), who decided he'd like to play for Thy Spirit Deceived. Then the band went through a complete musical change. Instead of blackmetal, we elected to play a brand of metal unique to ourselves. We all enjoyed the change of style moreso, and it was just the natural decision for us at the time. Finally, now that there was a permanent core of four members including Adam and Evan, myself (keyboards and vocals), and Mark Lachar(bass), we could now begin practicing the music that I'd been writing for the year and a half before. It was at this point we were finally beginning to agree, and after much speculation, we decided to call the band Thy Spirit Deceived (derived from a line in a Lord Byron poem). We practiced at the "A Room Studio" in Hicksville, NY and the first show was at Alchemy (CBGB's Gallery, 313 Bowery ST., NYC). It went very well for a first show, with few errors and much confidence. Our second show at Alchemy went quite well as we then got offers for interviews. We did an interview with Asif and Morella of Vampire Dreams, a public access show in New York City. Keep an eye out for the show in the listings if you are interested in viewing it. We then began the recording of our first demo (mentioned above) and is now at the point at which we stand, eagerly anticipating the closure of this college semester. We are still longing to find a keyboardist, violinist and cellist. The Female backing vocals have been filled so far by Julie who has been oh so patient with us.

It's been a while since the updating of this page, so there is some info that will give you the current status of Thy Spirit Deceived. First, there is a lineup change. Mark Lachar has unfortunately become unreliable as a member of the band. We have decided to replace Mark with Ian Perge. An old friend, and loyal fan and supporter, we felt Ian had a better ability. He will certainly fit the job better, now that Mark's musical direction has wavered from our direction. Also, the long anticipated demo, "Casting the Shadows Upon a Dying Rose", will be completed this summer of 1999. Because of the delay, we have decided to start new material right after we complete the demo. Finally, as far as shows are concerned, there may never be another TSD show. Due to different career directions, TSD will no longer be able to play shows regularly as the current lineup. Hopefully there will be a couple of random shows, but for now the recording is much too important to us. Sorry. We're trying to make ends meet right now.

As of now, the entire lineup is (and is subject to expansion):