Biography:
San Francisco`s Switchblade Symphony formed in 1989, when vocalist Tina Root and composer Susan Wallace were introduced by mutual friends in the local goth music scene. Frustrated with the musical projects they were currently involved in, the duo began collaborating and performing, and soon won a devoted audience.
As Switchblade Symphony, Root`s musical theater training and Wallace`s film-scoring experience showed in their theatrical vocals and orchestrated, dreamlike sound. Early, self-released cassettes like 1991`s Fable and 1992`s Elegy were sold at shows and caught the attention of influential forces in the darkwave scene, such as Propaganda magazine and Cleopatra Records.
Cleopatra signed Switchblade Symphony and the group issued their debut album, Serpentine Gallery, for the label in 1995. Serpentine Gallery featured lusher, fuller versions of many of the songs on the group`s initial recordings, mixing a poetic, ethereal sound with hints of harsher, industrial beats. The album gained critical acclaim and provided Switchblade Symphony with opening dates on tours with labelmates like Christian Death in 1996, and other prominent darkwave acts like the Sisters of Mercy and Type O Negative.
