Rozz Williams (born Roger Alan Painter) was a Queer, multi-disciplinary, American artist who pioneered the American Deathrock genre. He drew deep musical inspiration from glam rock and proto-punk icons like David Bowie, Lou Reed, and Alice Cooper. As a teenager, he adopted his famous stage name and formed his first band, The A-Sexuals.

In October 1979, Williams co-founded Christian Death. After an early lineup fracture and the addition of guitarist Rikk Agnew, the band released their critically acclaimed 1982 debut album, Only Theatre of Pain. Substance abuse dissolved this initial lineup, leading Williams to join the band Pompeii 99, which included Valor Kand. Gitane Demone would join upon recommendation of Rozz. After being approached by record labels in France, they renamed themselves Christian Death and relocated to Europe to release Catastrophe Ballet in 1984 and Ashes in 1985 after returning to America.

Following the release of Ashes, Rozz left Christian Death due to increasing restrictions of creative freedom from Valor and an interest in other projects. It was originally agreed upon that Valor would change the name of the band to “Sin and Sacrifice”, although he would not hold up his end of the deal.

While Rozz was apart of Christian Death, he would form the Industrial band Premature Ejaculation and later Heltir — an intentional misspelling of “Hitler.”
Premature Ejaculation would go on to spark controversy after their frequent stage antics during live performances made venues outright refuse to book them.

During the late 80’s, and later into in the mid to late 90’s, Williams' public image would become increasingly more controversial. As he would begin using hate symbols in his art and stage performances.
Rozz would tattoo an ‘X’ on his forehead and turn it into a swastika during performances in order to resemble Charles Manson, he would also cut his mustache to resemble Adolf Hitler, wear Nazi flags like capes during shows, and perform Nazi salutes in photos.
Rozz also often included Nazi iconography in many of his album cover arts, such as the collage artwork he made for Every King a Bastard Son.

Rozz was often described as being “fascinated” with people like Adolf Hitler, Charles Manson, and Jeffery Dahmer. He saw them as perfect ways to portray the worst parts of humanity and wanted to incapsulate that in his artwork and stage theatrics.
Although, this use of hate symbols and controversial figures was in very poor taste. These behaviors are often attributed to Rozz’s Bipolar disorder, his crippling loneliness, and troubling addiction to heroin. All of which worsened as his life went on.

Rozz would also create Shadow Project with his then wife Eva O alongside previous members of Rozz’s many other projects, such as David Glass. They would release their self titled album in 1991, Dreams for the Dying the following year, and From the Heart in 1998 following Rozz’s passing.

Williams' also had a strong solo career, releasing his Spoken Word albums Every King a Bastard Son in 1992 and The Whorse’s Mouth which would be his last studio album, in 1996.
Rozz would also create all the music for his independent silent film PIG which would release in 1998, just before his death. Along with filmography, he was also a talented collage artist and painter.

After finding out that Valor was continuing to use the Christian Death name, Rozz reformed his own version of the band along with Eva O, Valor’s son, and previous members of Christian Death and Shadow Project. They would release The Iron Mask in 1992, which was an album filled with new recordings of old Rozz-era Christian Death songs, with The Path of Sorrows being released the following year. Rozz would hold this album in high regard against his other Christian Death records, saying It’s one of his favorites.

Around this time, Valor would hear about Rozz’s new version of Christian Death and in multiple interviews, claim he took Williams to court over the name, winning the rights. However, there is no evidence to prove that any court battle took place. In 1994, Rozz’s band now named Christian Death featuring Rozz Williams, would release their final studio album The Rage of Angels.

Also in 1994, Rozz’s band Daucus Karota would release their five track EP Shrine. The band’s sound would be closer to post-punk compared to Rozz’s other projects.

Rozz and former Christian Death member Gitane Demone would also pair up one last time and release their collaborative album Dream Home Heartache. After the release of The Whorse’s Mouth in 1996, Rozz would join band EXP as their bassist for their self titled album. At this time, Rozz was also battling a heroin addiction, along with bi-polar disorder which took a toll on his mental health. He would reflect on these struggles in The Whorse’s Mouth.

Williams died by suicide on April 1, 1998 in his West Hollywood apartment at the age of 34. Following Williams’ death, Valor Kand dedicated Christian Death’s 1998 album Pornographic Messiah to him.

2026 would see the premiere of Nico B’s Rozz Williams documentary film, “Rozz Williams: Romeo’s Distress” at the United Theater on Broadway in Los Angeles. The screening of the film would be followed by a live performance featuring former members of Christian Death including: James McGearty, Rikk Agnew, Gitane Demone, and David Glass. The film would be loved by fans and critics alike following the premiere, opening up the opportunity to take the movie worldwide.