ABOUT
Beneath the dome of Los Angeles’ swirling fallen stars and above the graves of 1920’s Hollywood Babylon, the spirit of BLACK MARE was born. She stands unbridled under the stellar visionary weavings of one Sera Beth Timms. BLACK MARE began as a solo recording project for Timms, in a hidden casita minutes away from the historic hotel where Elvis once pondered yogic conversion. Alongside her critically acclaimed atmospheric metal band Black Math Horseman, and processional doom innovators Ides of Gemini, the lone mare took form.
The project began in 2013 with the stunning debut album Field of the Host operating under a founding principle of rhythmic repetition and atmospheric simplicity toward trance-like escapism. Her Subsequent output included a split LP with SYNDROME and split 7" with LYCIA before BLACK MARE’s second full-length, Death Magick Mother, hit digital platforms in September of 2017 via her current label, Dark Operative. Death Magick Mother sees BLACK MARE stepping right in front of the lens for a closeup, with Timms writing, performing, playing and recording all instruments on the album which was fine tuned with a deeply nuanced mix by Andrew Clinco (of Drab Majesty). Bolder arrangements lend themselves toward soaring, dynamic vocal melodies and nuanced harmonization to highly-satisfying effect. In many ways, this album became an awakening for both its creator and listeners alike.
BLACK MARE’s live incarnation has been distilled over the years into a seamless trinity of J. Bennett (Ides of Gemini, MGR) on bass and Cameron Adams Carlin (Wilshire Corridor, Dusk Shrine, Dmigor) on guitar and electronics, with Sera on vocals and guitar. Since BLACK MARE’s live inception they have shared the stage with acts such as Alcest, This Will Destroy You, Emma Ruth Rundle, Tribulation, Skeletal Family, Xasthur, Cloak, Celeste, Mutoid Man, Junius, Windhand, SRSQ, and more.
PRESS
“If you’re into ritualistic, spiritual music that is dark and mystical without feeling the need to constantly wave inverted crosses and pentagrams in your face, you have probably heard the name Sera Timms – or at least heard her haunting voice – before.”
-Metal Hammer (Death Magick Mother)
“Death Magick Mother embodies the power of music to create, effect and destroy, and is a stunning sophomore release and a must have in your record collection. “
-Cvlt Nation
"...a mode of solemn fortitude, showing great restraint with the more forceful aspects present in her other bands."
-Heavy Music HQ
"...a moving, shadowy record that not only sounds amazing but should have like-minded people rising up and fighting alongside her."
- Pick Of The Week, Meat Mead Metal
"...an endless funeral procession stopping traffic, breaking up the monotony of a rainy Thursday in February..."
-Toilet Ov Hell
"...a musical project dedicated to the quiet, the atmospheric, and the powerful..."
-Sea Of Tranquility
"...the vocals soar over the instrumentals, with Sera's voice a force of nature amidst bold arrangements that are propelled by crisp production quality. The harmonies feel both fragile and powerful, almost spectral in places, densely layered against ringing guitar chords and slow, steady, funereal percussion. The dynamics of this record feel very carefully considered, and give the impression that creating this album was an extremely cathartic process. It gives the illusion of something much larger than itself."
-Ave Noctum
“This isn’t metal by any rational stretch of the imagination but an austere and enjoyable record that has its genesis in the 4AD art school sound of the early to mid-80s, which combined (some would say) the best sonic traits of sonorous gothic rock and proto shoegaze shimmer.”
-Metal Hammer (Field of the Host)
“Principally, the music is evocative. It engages via atmosphere rather than hooks, and Timms creates a sense of wash from the first plucked notes of “Blind One” introducing the ghostly swirl that runs a thread throughout the album as a whole, bringing to mind any number of landscapes, most of them covered in a morning mist.”
-The Obelisk
“Sounding like a one-woman dark side of ABBA as the siren calls, through hypnotic verse and song with sound celebrations from meditative and prayerful to dancefloor centric…“Timms accomplishes everything from euphoria to eerie phantasy during Death Magick Mother’s seven songs.”
-Covering The Scene
LIVE SHOWS
2024
04/21/2024 Los Angeles, CA at Resident, w/ Thief, Xasthur (Sold out)
2019
03/28/2019 Los Angeles, CA at Resident
2018
12/09/2018 Los Angeles, CA at The Echo w/ Emma Ruth Rundle, Jaye Jayle
11/10/2018 Los Angeles, CA at Los Angeles Theatre, Cloak & Dagger Festival
10/02/2018 Los Angeles, CA at Lodgeroom w/ Tribulation
08/21/2018 San Diego at Brick By Brick with Church of Misery, Spirit Adrift, Cloak
05/03/2018 Los Angeles, CA at Resident
2018 WEST COAST TOUR
04/17/2018 Los Angeles, CA at Moroccan Lounge
04/18/2018 San Francisco, CA at DNA
04/19/2018 Sacramento, CA at Press Club
04/20/2018 Portland, OR at Stumpfest
04/23/2018 Santa Cruz, CA at Crepe Place
04/25/2018 Modesto, CA at Trichromatic Gallery
2017
2017 TOUR w/ JUNIUS & MUSTARD GAS & ROSES
09/21/2017 Phoenix, AZ at Yucca Tap Room
09/22/2017 Los Angeles, CA at The Viper Room
09/23/2017 Oakland, CA at The Golden Bull
09/24/2017 Sacramento, CA at Cafe Colonial
09/25/2017 Portland OR at Tonic Lounge
09/26/2017 Seattle, WA at Highline Bar
09/27/2017 Boise, ID at The Shredder
09/28/2017 Salt Lake City, UT at Urban Lounge
09/29/2017 Denver, CO at Hi-Dive
10/01/2017 Austin, TX at The Sidewinder
08/21/2017 Long Beach, CA at The Federal Underground
08/13/2017 Los Angeles, CA Women’s Mass: A Benefit for The Satanic Temple @ Union
07/01/2017 Los Angeles, CA at El Cid
02/21/2017 Los Angeles, CA Complex, LA
01/16/2017 Los Angeles, CA at The Griffin w/ Deth Crux
2016
12/04/2016 Los Angeles, CA at The Echo w/ Soft Kill
08/16/2016 Los Angeles, CA at Complex w/ Helen Money
08/20/2016 Los Angeles, CA at Echo Park Rising
2015
10/07/2015 Los Angeles, CA at The Regent w/ Alcest
09/13/2015 Los Angeles, CA at The Echo w/ Them Are Us Too, Chasms
05/14/2015 Los Angeles, CA at Complex
2014
03/19/2014 Los Angeles, CA at The Echo
2013
12/16/2013 Los Angeles, CA at The Echo
10/16/2013 Fullerton, CA at Slidebar w/ Steve Brodsky