The Deadhouse
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Greetings fiends and ghouls, and welcome back to another edition of Mass HyStereo where we take a look at a few different albums in more of a rapid fire fashion, so without further ado, let’s get to it!
The Devil’s Sons are a psychobilly band out of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. They are fronted by Brad Graves on guitar/vocals with Fernando De Los Santos on upright bass/backing vocals and Johnny Crash on drums. Their most recent EP Black Moonshine was released in fall 2018 through Batcave Records and this one sure is a banger!
When the opportunity to take a look at Hangman’s Noose, the new album from South Bay psychobilly act The Thirsty Crows, I imagined this would be one for my good friend Psycho Billy take a look at. But as fate would have it, this one has landed in my lap. Longtime readers know I am not exactly the biggest fan of psychobilly/rockabilly music, but I am always willing to expand my tastes. And in this case, it worked out rather nicely.
The Lycotones is the brain child of Mikey Garou, and Monster Hop! is the band’s first official release. If you’ve read my reviews in the past of albums that could fall in the doo-wop style (especially those from friends of The Deadhouse The Mutant Members Only Club and The Bastards) you’ll know it’s very hit or miss for me personally, so how does Monster Hop! work out?
Greetings fiends and ghouls, and welcome back to another edition of Mass HyStereo where we take a look at a few different albums in more of a rapid fire fashion, so without further ado, let’s get to it!
I first came across The Blackrats in September when I heard of their tour through Quebec and Ontario. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to catch a show this time around, but I did pick up their latest release After Dark and I became instantly hooked.
Where to even begin with a band like Voice Of Doom? Originally formed back in 1983, the band toiled around for several years until disbanding in 1988. From there, miraculously the band would come back together in celebration of their 25th anniversary where they somehow found a brand new following and have been slowly plugging away ever since. Their newest release, Toxic Swamp, is currently set to be released on good ol’ Halloween, and the band have put together an excellent limited edition for fans and collectors alike.
I get a lot of different music from all over the world sent to me. So, it is increasingly rare that I come across something that really stands out, whether it be lyrically, sonically or otherwise. But with the new album from Anorexic Mannequin, entitled A Dressing And A Curse, I can unequivocally state that this is something different than the hordes of what I usually have filter through my inbox.
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.
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.
