Fueled by Ghosts, Dooms Virginia ‘Devour’ Everything

Dooms Virginia sprung from a dream — and I'm not talking about some abstract artistic striving. One night in slumberland, Bay Area musician Annie Lipetz crossed paths with Roy Sullivan, a long-since-passed park ranger who had the misfortune of being struck by lightning not once, not twice, but seven times — and survived — until he died in 1983 from a gunshot wound to the head. The poor guy had been selected as the vessel for a strange and powerful energy, he explained, and now, the time had come for the ghoul to pass on his power to the next generation. So, he bottled up the lightning in a totem and bestowed it upon Lipetz, with a caveat: She had to pay tribute with a name change.

And so, the punk band formerly known as Annie Girl and the Flight underwent a transformation, rebranding themselves as Dooms Virginia — so named for the town where Sullivan was laid to rest in the early '80s. Their sound changed accordingly, taking on a vaporous, psychedelic form; while their garage smarts have yet to dissipate, it's clear that this meeting of the worlds had a profound effect on the quartet.

Not long after wrapping up a recording session at the Dock — a San Francisco studio frequented by Thee Oh Sees — Dooms Virginia have unveiled "Devour," a riotous ode to the grim state of modern affairs. "The media is lying to the masses, and it's time to wake up," the band says in a statement. "We have to fight against racism, xenophobia, homophobia, misogyny and hate."

Now that's a mission everyone can get behind, including their ghostly, thunderstruck muse. Listen below.