* En anglais uniquement
Combining the frosty abrasiveness of acts such as
Christian Death and
Skinny Puppy with the more accessible pop stylings of
Depeche Mode and
Pet Shop Boys,
Prayers is an electronic rock outfit formed in 2013. Originating out of San Diego, California and comprising members Leafar Seyer (real name Rafael Reyes) and Dave Parley, the band came together after Seyer sought to form a new project after having helmed various others, including Baptism of Thieves and Vampire. The duo aimed to lyrically depict the pitfalls of gang life after Seyer had experienced the culture during his teens. This, combined with reverb-laden drums, resonant synth work, and elements of post-punk, led to the group coining the term "cholo-goth."
Prayers independently released their first full-length, SD Killwave, in 2013 and followed with the Gothic Summer EP the next year. The video for one of the SD Killwave singles, "From Dog to God," caught the attention of
the Cult's
Ian Astbury, who invited
Prayers to open for him on a 2014 tour. Seyer also went on to win awards for Best Music Video and Best Music Video Editing at the San Diego Film Festival in 2015. That same year also saw
Prayers return with their second full-length effort, Young Gods, which was produced by
blink-182 drummer
Travis Barker and featured a cover of
Pet Shop Boys' "West End Girls" as its lead single. They went on to receive five nominations at the 2015 San Diego Music Awards, ultimately winning Best Alternative Band.
Prayers spent 2016 working on the follow-up and released the single "Black Leather," which featured celebrity tattoo artist
Kat Von D. The following year, the band signed with
BMG and delivered two new releases:
Curse Be Thy Blessings, an EP with the original members of
Christian Death (accompanied with a documentary entitled Beyond and Back that chronicled the collaboration), and their third album,
Baptism of Thieves. Both releases arrived in the fall of 2017. ~ Rob Wacey