Amidst a diverse musical background ranging from Dark Alternative Rock and Electronica to World Music & Neo-Classical, to Jazz, Avant Garde and Folk, Faith and the Muse provide one of the rarest experiences in art, theater and music. As artists and songwriters, William Faith and Monica Richards have created their own unique universe by allowing no boundaries to the music they write, reaching across historical genre and cultural style.

Faith and the Muse came together in March of 1993 with the intention of taking music to new extremes; both being established band veterans. William Faith played with such cult icons as Christian Death, Shadow Project, Mephisto Walz and Sex Gang Children; Monica Richards, who began singing for punk bands in the early 80's Washington D.C. Hardcore scene, made a name for herself in post-punk outfit, Strange Boutique.

The two met when Strange Boutique opened for Shadow Project in Norfolk, VA. while the latter were on tour in October of 1992. An immediate rapport was struck, fueled by a mutual admiration for each other's overt theatricality and larger-than-life style of performing. Tapes containing rough ideas and melodies were sent back and forth from L.A. to D.C. In the months that followed, until Richards' permanent migration to the L.A. area in December of 1993.

In March of 1994, the duo entered the studio to record their debut album, Elyria. Released in June, the album generated an astounding amount of attention, becoming universally lauded by critic and fan alike due to its diverse interpretation of old and new musics and styles. The album surpassed all possible expectations in every regard for such a new act, its diversity echoed in the completely traditional rendition of "The Unquiet Grave" to the thunderous Death Rock epic, "The Trauma Coil", to the perfectly acoustic "Heal", and yielded the underground club dancefloor favorite, "Sparks".

Coinciding with Elyria's release, Faith and the Muse embarked on their first tour, the U.S. Procession Tour, and their following 2 month European Tour opening for art/industrial band, Das Ich, which spanned six countries. Faith and the Muse earned themselves an avid and loyal fanbase throught their diverse live instrumentation and theatrical stage show. In 1995, the band teamed up with Buena Vista Europe to herald the German release of The Crow movie, performing on a Multimedia Tour, combining motion picture with music.

1995 also signified the preproduction for their next release, entitled Annwyn, Beneath the Waves. The CD was originally supposed to be no more than a six song EP, but as Monica began to work on the cover painting, and William began to cultivate their musical ideas, they found their inspiration through their experiences as Faith and the Muse had fostered the creation of enough songs to write an entire new album. Produced by the band along with the powerful talents of co-producer/engineer Chad Blinman, Annwyn, Beneath the Waves was released in June, 1996.

Loosely based on Welsh Celtic myths, Annwyn was a theatrical concept album; it pushed the past the limits of its predecessor, covering an even larger area of music than Elyria could. The colorful art and vivid graphics of the CD booklet, along with the higher energy music of the album, which featured more guitar based songs than Elyria, infused a distinct vitality to the tone and content of Annwyn. Critically acclaimed, the album contains several of the band's best loved songs: the orchestral opus "Cantus" (their biggest dancefloor hit to date), the explosive "Silver Circle", the longingly gentle "Fade and Remain", and of course, the title track itself, a most requested live encore song.

On the heels of the release of Annwyn, the band performed at Germany's Zillo Open-Air Festival. Their second U.S. tour, Apparition, commenced afterward.

1997 found William and Monica putting aside their more theatrical pursuits and toured simply as an acoustic duo with no additional musicians or crew. Starting with a special acoustic performance at the Projekt Records Darkwave Festival held in Chicago, Faith and the Muse set out on their Vera Causa Acoustic tour. They brought with them only traditional instruments and performed their songs in a style closer to how they were originally written. With the shows being more personal and intimate, the tour spanned four months, across the states, and then through Europe. Similar to their acoustic tour performances, versions of "Annwyn, Beneath the Waves" and "Drown" by Strange Boutique are included on the Vera Causa "Morning" CD.

In early 1998, the band returned again to their more theatrical personas and full instrumentation, appearing at U.S., Canadian, and German Festivals and performing their first UK Tour .

The music performances that year were harder and decidedly edgy, finishing their last encores with a fitting tribute to Rozz Williams, having been hit hard with the news of his death in early April: a fast and thunderous version of Christian Death's "Romeo's Distress" with Monica on vocals (featured on the Vera Causa "Morning" CD).

That year also saw the release of "The Book of Annwyn", Monica's accompanying tome of the retelling of Welsh-Celtic stories, which helped to shed more light on the influences behind their 1996 CD.

In early 1999, Faith and the Muse began working on the recording of their third album at their own Los Angeles studio, Evidence of Heaven; the entire body of work influenced by the passing of family and old friends, including the devastating loss of their live bassist of the previous year, JT Murphy, as well as a more introspective look at their own lives and dreams. Forging even deeper into classical aesthetics, the album delved into Elizabethan melodies and Victorian structures which add a decidedly haunted quality to their already evocative music.

Though later remixed and remastered due to their dissatisfaction with its rushed original release due to tour scheduling, Evidence was decidely a more somber, enigmatic piece of work. The artwork, pale and constrained, and the songs, though still diverse but entirely more personal and wistful in content and tone, were in sharp contrast to the vitality of their second album. Evidence landed Faith and the Muse on the dancefloor with tracks like "Scars Flown Proud" (an anthem of sorts for the disaffected youth of the Underground scene) and the electronic mist of "Shattered In Aspect". The band embarked on their first U.S. Tour in two years; the Blackout AD Tour. Faith and the Muse and their entire line-up wore only white throughout the tour, adding a ghostly, ethereal feel to their live show. A startling number of the venues on this tour had a reputation for being haunted, which enhanced the atmosphere.

The following year, a full-scale U.S. and European tour, the "Evidence of Heaven Tour 2000" coincided with the European release of the album. Faith and the Muse appeared with a brilliant full line-up, performing with the wide base of instrumentation they are known for. For the first time in years, Faith and the Muse brought to life some of their most beloved songs, including "Elyria", "Cantus", "The Unquiet Grave" and "Arianrhod". The live performances on the Vera Causa "Night" CD are from the Faith and the Muse show in Bremen, Germany, one of their most inpspired shows of that entire year. The Summer ended with the band appearing at two major European festivals, EuroRock in Belgium and M'era Luna in Germany.

Faith and the Muse signed to Metropolis Records in 2001. Their fourth release, the Vera Causa double CD is nothing less than its title offers; a melodic testament to the divine creative spark which is Faith and the Muse. Separated into 2 vastly different CDs, one titled "Night", the other "Morning", The Vera Causa set closes the door on the first era of Faith and the Muse. With selected live performances as well as the vast array of remixes found on the Vera Causa "Night" CD, along with some well-chosen covers and unreleased material on the "Morning" CD, Faith and the Muse take the listener on a fascinating journey through the world they have created.

To coincide with its release, Faith and the Muse flew to Europe for a small acoustic tour, and were in Germany on the morning of September 11th. Feeling the fear and uncertainty of the future from the European side, the events had a profound effect on the band. Returning home to a changed world, Faith and the Muse took it all in and began to write their next album.

In the Summer of 2003, Faith and the Muse released The Burning Season, an explosive blend of old and new musics utilizing organic and electronic sounds, experimenting with trance, tribal, early punk, and futuristic atmospheres. All the diversity in songwriting remained, but with a sense of having evolved and matured in many ways. The album was mixed by Chad Blinman, co-producer/engineer of Annwyn, Beneath the Waves.

Dropping their old style of period dress, and expanding their musical boundaries, the album was received with a mixture of delight and shock. As artists, F&TM realized that they needed to continue to be true to their own need for progression, and spent the end of 2003 touring Europe with a surprising set of old and new songs, allaying the fears of some fans who had thought the change of style was too drastic.

Touring the U.S. in 2004, they also performed at the Merá Luna Festival in Hildesheim, Germany, and DragonCon, the largest fantasy/sci fi convention world-wide, where they opened themselves to an entire new fanbase. They ended 2004 performing in Santiago, Chile, their first performance in South America, and one of the highlights of their career. Faith And The Muse continue their journey around the world and within the heart, as they at least performed in Mexico City in 2005..

Faith And The Muse have been called “an art band with a pop sensibility, artists in the truest sense, refusing to conform to current fads in music, a high caliber of musical output in their wake - integrity without question". Well-known and widely respected in the Underground community, Faith And The Muse have already made their indelible mark on Independent music and culture. And the future lies ahead as the band continues to break new territory. Their music is now on movie and televsion soundtracks, and they currently working on their DVD, which will be completed after a full show taping of the Convergence 13 festival in May, 2007.

Faith and the Muse and their imagery have also been the subject of Artwork and Tattoos.

While the music is created by Faith and Richards alone, their theatrical live performances are not to be missed; as a live entity, they often include a group of diverse musicians to assist in the expression of their music. See the Tours page for musicians that have performed in the F&TM live show. Fans never know what to expect from Faith and the Muse; their live performances change from tour to tour, featuring at times theatrical, orchestral instrumentation, and other times, straight-up hard rocking shows...

Faith and the Muse Tours • Faith and the Muse Discography • William Faith : Biography • Monica Richards: Biography