The band relocated to in 1980, but, disillusioned by life there, evolved towards a darker, more challenging sound, and acquired a reputation as 'the most violent live band in the world'. The Birthday Party is regarded as a major influence on, and Cave, with his shock of black hair, baritone singing voice and pale, emaciated look, was described in the media as a for the genre. After the break-up of the Birthday Party in 1983, Cave formed. Much of the band's early material was set in a mythic American, drawing on and, while Cave's preoccupation with notions of good versus evil culminated in what has been called his, ' (1988). The 1996 album features ', a duet with, Cave's most commercially successful single to date. The band has released 16 studio albums, the most recent being 2016's. Cave formed the group in 2006, which has since released two albums.