Robedoor are a highly prolific experimental noise rock band from Los Angeles. Their music ranges from unsettling free-form electronic drones to thundering doom metal, with space/psychedelic rock and stoner metal elements. The group's two founding members are
Not Not Fun co-founder Britt Brown (also of
Pocahaunted, Quintana Roo, and
Topaz Rags) and the unrelated Alex Brown.
M. Geddes Gengras, who also participated in
Pocahaunted as well as the
NNF-affiliated
LA Vampires, served as Robedoor's drummer around the beginning of the 2010s.
Robedoor made their first recorded appearances on some of
Not Not Fun's earliest releases, as well as limited CD-Rs and cassettes on noise labels like
Troniks and
Chondritic Sound. Initially more of a harsh noise/drone band, doom metal and psychedelic influences gradually crept into their sound. Following releases on labels such as
Ruralfaune and
Arbor, as well as splits and collaborations with artists including Leslie Keffer,
Yellow Swans, Haunted Castle, and
Pocahaunted,
Release the Bats issued Robedoor's Rancor Keeper CD in late 2007. Another CD, Closer to the Cliff, appeared on
Interregnum in 2008, and LPs were issued by
Olde English Spelling Bee (Shapeshifter Slave),
Woodsist (Endlessly Blazing), and
Music Fellowship (Shrine to the Possessor). Robedoor's 2009 album, Raiders, was their first vinyl LP to be released by
Not Not Fun.
With
Gengras fully on board by this point, the band released Burners (
Important Records) in 2010, as well as the Pacific Drift EP and a split 7" with
Gnod, both on
NNF. Too Down to Die followed on
NNF in 2011, and the cassette Rock Bottom was released by
Night People (later reissued on LP by
Holidays Records).
Gengras left Robedoor soon after, and 2013's Primal Sphere, the group's first for
Hands in the Dark, focused on distorted, hypnotic drum machines, adding a dark electro element to the group's sound. After a four-year absence, Robedoor returned in 2017 with New Age Sewage, again issued by
Hands in the Dark. ~ Paul Simpson, Rovi