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this is a website about the history of the band "Crystal Castles". if you would like to add anything or point out some incorrect facts, please private message me.
Crystal Castles began as producer/multi-instrumentalist Ethan Kath's solo project in late 2003. Kath got the moniker from the name of She-Ra's dwelling in the He-Man and Masters of the Universe cartoon series; it's also the name of a 1983 Atari video game, which is oddly appropriate, considering that one component of the band's distinctive sound comes from a keyboard modified with an Atari 5200 sound chip. Kath collabed with Alice Glass on some songs in spring 2005, and the band Crystal Castles was formed. One of the songs they first recorded was "Alice Practice" - nowdays one of their most known songs. It was (allegedly, in the eyes of Ethan Kath)only a mic test, but gained some incredible popularity on the late 2000s website - MySpace. The demo piqued record labels' interests and "Alice Practice" was released as a limited edition 7" in summer 2006 on Merok Records - the 500 copy run was sold out in three days. After the song's appearance on the British TV series Skins, the demand for the Alice Practice EP grew rapidly.
On March 18, 2008, Crystal Castles' debut album was released. It was a success, and was included in NME's "Top 100 Greatest Albums of the Decade" list at number 39. Crystal Castles toured and performed at numerous festivals around the world to support the album, including Ireland's Oxegen festival, Coachella, Leeds, Reading and other big festivals. They headlined a Vice magazine tour and the 2008 NME New Noise tour. Alice's strange stage presence is still popular to this day.
The second self-titled album was released on May 24, 2010. It was recorded in a variety of locations, including an abandoned church in Iceland, a self-built cabin in northern Ontario, a garage behind an abandoned drug store in Detroit, as well as Paul Epworth's London studio. The third single features Robert Smith from the Cure, that became the band's highest-charting single at that time. For the album's release, they toured again in many countries and played at many festivals. In 2011, Alice even broke her ankle and had to perform some shows on crutches!
In March 2012, CC announced their relocation to Warsaw, Poland to begin recording their next album. III was released on November 7th, 2012. It had a significantly different sound, more witch house-y and more original. The band was again on tour in 2013, and performed at many festivals. In October 2014, Alice Glass announced that she was leaving Crystal Castles. She posted this on her Facebook page:
I am leaving Crystal Castles
My art and my self-expression in any form has always been an attempt towards sincerity, honesty, and empathy for others.
For a multitude of reasons both professional and personal I no longer feel that this is possible within CC.
Although this is the end of the band, I hope my fans will embrace me as a solo artist in the same way they have embraced Crystal Castles.
To which Ethan replied with:
I wish my former vocalist the best of luck in her future endeavors. I think it can be empowering for her to be in charge of her own project. It should be rewarding for her considering she didn’t appear on Crystal Castles’ best known songs, (she’s not on ‘Untrust Us’. ‘Not In Love’, ‘Vanished’, ‘Crimewave’, ‘Vietnam’, ‘Magic Spells’, ‘Knights’, ‘Air War’, ‘Leni’, ‘Lovers Who Uncover’, ‘Violent Youth’, ‘Reckless’, ‘Year of Silence’, ‘Intimate’, ‘1991’, ‘Good Time’, ‘Violent Dreams’ etc.). People often gave her credit for my lyrics and that was fine, I didn’t care.
On April 16, 2015 Ethan Kath released a new Crystal Castles track, "Frail", featuring a new vocalist named Edith Frances. On July 2, 2015, another new song, "Deicide", was released. They kept touring and playing festivals with their new lineup. On August 19th 2016, Amnesty was released. It recieved mixed reviews and was regarded as Crystal Castles' worst album. In 2017, they kept on touring and a followup album, Amnesty II was in the works. On October 24, 2017, Glass published an official statement that detailed events of Kath subjecting her to sexual, physical and mental abuse during her time in Crystal Castles. The full statement is here: the statement
Kath responded to the statement to Pitchfork through his attorney, where he called the accusations "pure fiction" and he said he was consulting with his lawyers as to his legal options. They cancelled their tour due to the accusations. Kath sued Alice Glass for defamation, but his suit was dismissed by the court. On December 21, 2017, Police Constable Allyson Douglas-Cook of the Toronto Police Service confirmed that Kath (real name Palmieri) was the subject of a currently open Sex Crimes unit investigation.