The Deadhouse
The Deadhouse is the premiere site for Horrorpunk on the Internet!
Boasting ten tracks (well, nine if you discount the intro) of their particular take on the genre, it’s always refreshing to get a look at some new blood in the genre. So, how does the three-piece band from Ulm, consisting of Evelyn van Bytingale on vocals and guitar, Andrew Lycanhead on bass and vocals and Dr. Combat on drums, stand out in today’s crowded horror environment?
Horrorpunk has always been a very international genre, with genre lovers worldwide taking a stab at blending punk and horror. Portugal is not necessarily a hotbed of the genre, but a sudden blast has come from the European country. Skeletal Crew is comprised of Allsin Rotrotted and Skinwalker Pete primarily, having just formed this year. Putting together six tracks of what they describe as ‘putrid voices and groovy riffs’ Frankenstyle is undoubtedly one of the best debuts in the genre this year.
While Gallowmere have never been officially reviewed on this site, they did contribute a track to The Deadhouse Presents Cuts From The Slab and have long been a favorite around these parts. After a long layoff that seemed like forever, the band is back with a new album featuring 7 tracks of blistering horrorpunk. From The Forested North is the band’s second official release, in addition to a live album and a few sporadic singles, and the band takes their best shot with this one
This one has been a long time coming. It was last summer when I first interviewed Argyle Goolsby before his performance with the Roving Midnight in Toronto where we discussed his plans to release a studio recording of the Hollow Bodies acoustic side of his music.
Do you ever miss those old incredible 80s slasher movie soundtracks that somehow have gone onto live a life of their own, like Dokken doing “Dream Warriors” for A Nightmare On Elm Street Part 3: The Dream Warriors, or hell, the entirety of what I still consider the best movie soundtrack in existence, Return Of The Living Dead. Well fiends and ghouls, you are not alone. Sematary Spawn takes us back almost to a moment in time when these types of albums and theme songs were the norm, and does one hell of a job in doing so.
At this point, it would be foolish to not consider Shadow Windhawk one of the biggest names in the horrorpunk scene today. Windhawk has been steadily active over the past half-decade, and a long-time supporter of this very site. In fact, Windhawk and fellow supporter Al B. Damned were the first two artists to embrace and help spread the word about this very site. I’ve been lucky enough to have interviewed Windhawk on a few occasions and you can check those out here and here. Now, after years of touring and also serving as a member of Argyle Goolsby’s Roving Midnight band, Windhawk has released the concluding chapter of his ‘Funerary Trilogy’ which began with the Casket Spray EP and continued with the 2016 release of Cremation Garden.
A sad reality of the horror music scene is that many bands come and go on a very frequent basis, with more bands releasing an album or two then disbanding then bands with a level of staying power. Sadly, the band formerly known as JasonXVoorhees, who changed their name to simply JXV before the release of what will now be the band’s swan song. Ritual may only be eight tracks long, but it hits like a ton of bricks.
Let it be noted right from the start, this is not your traditional horrorpunk album. While Bloodshed is very much born out of the scene and still an active part of it, his music has evolved over the years moving slightly away from the traditional horrorpunk sound with each subsequent album. I was listening to this album in the car with my girlfriend and she noted how it was a step away from what I normally have blasting when I get into ‘review mode’ and I plainly stated that if old school Danzig and Queen were to ever have made a lovechild it would be Robby Bloodshed and if they made an album, it would be 21 And On.
I’ve been noticing a litany of new groups popping up all over the Great White North. One of these bands just happens to be based right here in my hometown of London, Ontario called Running From Daylight. Back in November I did do a Stereo Terror review looking at their debut album, Coffin For Two, which you can check out here. So when standup bassist/vocalist Garrett Keith hooked me up with an advanced copy of the band’s newest album, Elvis Ain’t Dead Yet, I was more than thrilled to dig into what my fellow Londoners had put together.
It’s no secret that Wolfman Chuck has been a long-time supporter of my work here on The Deadhouse. Just click his name there and you will see I’ve done numerous reviews and an interview with the man, so when I was presented with the opportunity to check out his newest project, backed by a full band with a more metal edge to the music, I jumped at the opportunity. I won’t lie here, I was also privy to some of the demos as this long gestating project came to be, so I had a bit of an idea of what to expect. But even with that knowledge I had no idea how great Safe Space would turn out. Hell, it may be the best work the man has ever done!
Stellar Corpses have been one of the most popular and enduring acts in the horrorpunk and psychobilly genres for over a decade now. Things have been pretty quiet over the past few years since the 2012 release of their last album Dead Stars Drive-In, but with the release of a single (which has been retooled for inclusion on this album) and a cover that was featured on HorrorHound Presents It’s Only A Movie they’ve kept fans clamoring for new music. And on Friday, April 13th fans finally get their wish with the release of the new Hellbound Heart EP.
Death rock and horrorpunk go hand-in-hand in many ways. So I always ensure that when I am looking for new music, or have some new music presented to me for an opportunity for review, that I check it out. Not all of it makes the cut at any given time, but the new debut album from solo artist Joe Becker is an interesting one that piqued my attention. And I am sure that it will grab some new listeners that are part of The Deadhouse cult.
Disaster and bandmate Jimmy Moon spent the better part of the past two years working on We Are The Filthy Ones, aiming for it to be the heaviest album they could while staying within their acoustic horrorpunk sound. So, how does the album come across with this change in sound direction for the band?
It’s rare that I will take a look at an album so short that it only features two songs, but sometimes you hear something that just clicks. Certainly being the case with the new release EP 1 from Mexico’s Fiend Cats.
Hailing from Arkhangelsk Romero’s Nation was formed in 2008 and has had a few releases over the years, but the band came together to release a brand new LP just as 2017 drew to a close. The aptly titled Punk Rock Zombies gives you an idea of what the band is bringing to your earholes from the title, and once you crack into the album you are treated to some awesome old-school sounding horrorpunk!
he idea of a ‘concept album’ has been really hit or miss in the horrorpunk genre, so I did have a few reservations when it was explained to me that the album is based around and serves as a tribute to the king of the b-movie gimmick, William Castle. For those of you unfamiliar with that name (and shame on you!) Castle was known for attaching gimmicks to coincide with the theatrical releases of his films, from having skeletons hanging in the theatre, to rigging the seats to vibrate during certain scenes.
