Artist: Death In June

Title: Behind The Mask

Label: Voidstar Productions

Format: Color

Rated: NR

Studio: Sektor 6 Kommunikations

DVD Release Date: Nov 28, 2005

Resource Links:

Death In June

Sektor 6 Kommunications

Voidstar Productions

Death In June: Behind The Mask is a recently released DVD / VHS recorded interview with Douglas Pierce of Death In June. Created by American based Voidstar Productions in cooperation with Sektor 6 Kommunikations Behind The Mask offers a glimpse into the personal life of Douglas Pierce as well as a meandering history of Death In June. Behind The Mask was filmed during a day long interview that took place in the basement of a skyscraper in downtown NYC during the winter of 2004. This very unique odyssey into the life and times of Douglas Pierce and the infamous Death In June was organized and headed by Darryl Hell.

Behind The Mask is unlike other interviews in which both the artists and the interviewer are represented. Behind The Mask was conducted and edited in such a manner as to remove almost all trace of the interviewer Darryl Hell. This approach allows Douglas to elaborate on the various subjects that are breeched within the interview without limitation or obstruction.

The interview was filmed forty feet below the surface in the abandoned basement of a NYC skyscraper while a blizzard raged outside in the city. Douglas Pierce appears in classic Death In June regalia complete with combat boots, colored camouflage clothing and the white mask which has become such a part of his public persona. The interview is conducted and filmed with Douglas seated alone amidst the cold and unflattering bowels of an industrialized basement. Concrete, electric wires and metal fixtures surround Douglas on all sides. The camera remains focused on Douglas and the interviewer Darryl Hall is never seen. The room looks cold and deserted all but for the presence of Douglas.

The viewer never hears the questions Douglas is asked but rather the interview has been edited to only include Douglas’s lengthy responses. The tone is conversational and Douglas speaks at length about very personal issues. Numerous aspects of Douglas Pierce’s life are thoroughly discussed such as his family, childhood, and his current relationship to his family members. In addition the interview covers in detail the beginnings of Douglas Pierce’s career as a musician. Douglas explains his involvement with music and traces his personal history back to the European punk rock movement of the 70’s and his first band Crisis. The interview meanders through other areas of interest as well including Douglas Pierce’s use of hallucinogenic drugs earlier in life and his coming out as a gay male amidst his friends and family.

The video is enhanced with numerous camera angels that include close up shots as well as some experimental angels such as Douglas’s image being captured in the fractured remnants of a mirror or shots taken through metal grating. There is an emphasis on Douglas being presented in the cold industrial interior that retains the aesthetic of the industrial music genre. Though the majority of the interview is filmed within the basement of an unidentified skyscraper footage also appears of Douglas roaming the rooftop of a building and relaxing unmasked behind a table. Bonus footage also includes glimpses of Douglas backstage and during a sound check before a live performance.

The interview is accompanied by a muted soundtrack with songs taken from the Death In June albums Operation Hummingbird & All Pigs Must Die, and Crisis' "Holocaust Hymes." The interview is also interspersed with brief video montages that help break up the individual chapters. The video also features some exclusive tracks and the DVD includes a nice B & W poster of Douglas.

Behind The Mask represents the most personal and unobstructed interview ever given by Douglas Pierce during his lengthy career as Death In June. Death In June fans will be gripped by the intimate details of Douglas’s life and will find the answers to so many burning questions that have until know remained the private domain of Douglas’s close friends and companions.

Fans of Death In June will find Behind The Mask to be an illuminating journey worth owning. Never before has Death In June or Douglas Pierce been so open and forthright. From his obsession with militaristic dress and artifacts to his relationship with his mother and father Douglas Pierce shares his thoughts and feelings with unexpected honesty and openness. If you are one of the many who have been mesmerized, entertained, and elevated by the music of Death In June then I highly recommend that you invest in a copy of Behind The Mask and partake in this unprecedented glimpse into the life and mind of the man behind the white mask!