The Warlocks

The Warlocks – Band Bio 2026

For more than two decades, Los Angeles psych-rock outfit The Warlocks have been crafting a hypnotic, high-volume blend of drone, feedback, and melody—where classic psychedelia collides with Krautrock and the dark romanticism of The Velvet Underground. Formed in 1999 by singer and guitarist Bobby Hecksher, the band quickly established itself as a cornerstone of the city’s underground psychedelic revival.

Hecksher, who grew up in the swamps of Tampa Bay before moving to Los Angeles at sixteen, found early collaborators in the city’s thriving outsider rock scene. Along the way he crossed paths with Beck—appearing on the lo-fi cult album Stereopathetic Soulmanure—and spent time moonlighting in The Brian Jonestown Massacre, experiences that helped shape the sprawling sonic identity that would become The Warlocks.

The band’s debut album Rise & Fall (Bomp!, 2000) laid the foundation: layers of fuzz-drenched guitars, driving rhythms, and immersive psychedelic atmosphere. Their profile expanded globally after signing with Mute and releasing Phoenix in 2003, a record that cemented their reputation for massive soundscapes and relentless energy. A steady stream of releases followed—including Surgery (2005), Heavy Deavy Skull Lover (2007), The Mirror Explodes (2009), Pale Eclipse (2016), and The Chain (2020)—each pushing deeper into the band’s swirling, hypnotic aesthetic.

Known for thunderous live performances and marathon touring across Europe and North America, The Warlocks have built a fiercely loyal international cult following. Onstage, their towering wall of guitars and propulsive rhythm section transforms songs into immersive, trance-like experiences.

Today the band features Bobby Hecksher (vocals, guitar) alongside J.C. Rees and Earl V. Miller (guitars), Marlena Schwenck (bass), Oscar Ruvalcaba (drums), Rob Campanella (organ), and Elina Yakubova (tambourine & percussion), continuing to evolve the group’s signature blend of shadowy psychedelia, driving rhythm, and hypnotic sonic exploration.

Now the band returns with their latest album, The Manic Excessive Sounds Of The Warlocks, their 14th studio release and perhaps their wildest offering yet. Written in a sudden burst of inspiration and recorded quickly in an equally charged session, the record captures the band at their most immediate and unfiltered. Moving between driving psychedelic rockers and sprawling, improv-tinged jams, the album dives headfirst into distortion, melody and chaos—pushing The Warlocks’ signature wall of sound further into the ether and outer limits of modern psychedelia.