Dead Can Dance is a band comprising Lisa Gerrard (contralto), and Brendan Perry (baritone). Formed in Melbourne, Australia, in 1981 and initially based there, it disbanded in 1998 but reunited temporarily for a world tour in 2005.

Though the band was formed in Australia, Gerrard and Perry moved soon after to London, where after one year they signed up to alternative rock label 4AD Records, a legendary label on the alternative-music scene. They continued to work closely together until the late 1990s when they started to grow apart. Gerrard returned to Australia, while Perry moved to Ireland, where he bought the old Quivvy Church in which he lives and works. It is speculated that the distance between the members was an influence in the duo's eventual break-up, although Perry himself said that distance helped in maintaining a certain individual freedom in creativity.

Assigning a musical genre to Dead Can Dance is difficult, as its style is particularly eclectic. However, its early work could be considered a mix between post-punk and goth rock. In their later work, starting with The Serpent's Egg, Dead Can Dance would take ancient or various musics from around the world as primary sources, with Gerrard singing glossolalia, giving it a very distinctive style. As a result, their later albums sound quite different from the first three. Various sources have labeled those latter releases as neo-classical, ethereal, or dark world music.

In the United States, the group's albums were not released until the mid-1990s, when 4AD had a distribution deal with Warner Bros. Records. After this deal ended, 4AD allied itself with the Beggar's Banquet Group, which included that eponymous label and XL Recordings in the USA, but the band's recordings remained distributed through Warner Bros. Subsequent releases, however, have been licensed to Rhino/Atlantic Records, a sister label within Warner Music. A Passage in Time remains with 4AD independently of the Rhino and Warner Bros. deals.

A 1998 follow-up album to their last album Spiritchaser was planned, but the band separated before it was largely realized. One song that was to have appeared on it was fully recorded in the studio and is titled The Lotus Eaters. Though the album was never completed, it was eventually released on the box set Dead Can Dance (1981-1998) as well as the 2-disc Wake.

Many unofficial live bootlegs exist of concerts spanning their career, which contain several rare songs that were only performed live. Though Toward the Within is the duo's only official live album, Dead Can Dance released limited-edition recordings of 13 shows from its 2005 European tour, as well as a compilation titled Selections from Europe 2005. These concerts were recorded and released by The Show.

Discography

Albums

* Dead Can Dance (1984)
* Spleen and Ideal (1985)
* Within the Realm of a Dying Sun (1987)
* The Serpent's Egg (1988)
* Aion (1990)
* Into the Labyrinth (1993)
* Toward the Within (1994)
* Spiritchaser (1996)

Live albums (limited editions)

* Dublin (10/03/2005) 2CD
* The Hague (12/03/2005) 2CD
* Paris (14/03/2005) 2CD
* Lille (16/03/2005) 2CD
* Brussels (17/03/2005) 2CD
* Madrid (21/03/2005) 2CD
* Barcelona (22/03/2005) 2CD
* Milan (24/03/2005) 2CD
* Cologne (26/03/2005) 2CD
* Munich (27/03/2005) 2CD
* London (06/04/2005) 2CD
* London (07/04/2005) 2CD
* Selections from Europe 2005, 2CD
* Seattle (17/09/2005) 2CD
* Seattle (18/09/2005) 2CD
* Toronto (01/10/2005) 2CD
* Montreal (02/10/2005) 2CD
* Montreal (04/10/2005) 2CD
* Boston (05/10/2005) 2CD
* Washington D.C. (10/10/2005) 2CD
* Chicago (12/10/2005) 2CD
* Chicago (12/10/2005) 3LP
* Selections from North America 2005, 2CD

EPs

* Garden of the Arcane Delights (1984)

Promotional CDs

* The ubiquitous Mr. Lovegrove (CD promo)
* The carnival is over (CD promo)
* American dreaming (CD promo, edited live version)
* The snake and the moon (CD promo)
* Sambatiki (CD promo)

Compilations

* A Passage in Time (1991) (U.S. only compilation)
* Dead Can Dance (1981-1998) (2001)
* Wake The Best of Dead Can Dance (2003)
* Memento The Very Best of Dead Can Dance (2005) (single-disc greatest hits)

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