Die Monster Die – ‘Only the
Dead Will Survive’ (Doctor Cyclops Records)
One of the best
bands currently doing the horror rock thing is Die Monster Die. While you may
not have heard of these guys, this is their fourth release. Musically they have
much more in common with bands like Social Distortion than they do the Misfits,
including the inclusion of guitar solos. The vocals are mostly melodic,
sounding a bit like Danzig, Michael Graves and Dave Vanian without being
imitative. And on occasion (as on “This is Suicide”) vocalist Zero Delorean
will throw in some old school gruff “oi” style vocals, though not as much as on
past releases. I also want to note the lyrics, which generally avoid the “lets
write a song about our favorite horror movie” crap that has been played out
since ‘Walk Among Us’. Instead there’s some real imagination used to come up
with original tales of terror. The production is polished while leaving enough
rough edges that it doesn’t sound sterile. Only one track out of 14 came across
as filler to my ears (“Rock N Roll Supermonster”), and one otherwise good song
(“When the Reaper Calls”) finds Zero singing a bit out of his range in spots.
Everything else is as good as horror rock gets. For more info, go to
http://www.diemonsterdie.net. (Bob Ignizio)
Humans
Bow Down sound like a band that would have done really well in the alt-rock
explosion of the nineties. No, that's not a put down. I was a huge fan of that
period, and still am. This record is full of roaring guitars, feedback, and
emotion. Sounding like a cross between Radiohead, Supergrass, early Semisonic,
and Crown Heights (If anyone remembers them, God I loved their record). These
guys have their act down to a tee, and this record is pretty damn impressive. I
would predict big things for them in the future. Check out “The White Sun”, and
the title track, “A Mirror”, for the full effect. (Eddie Fleisher)
Usually collections
of leftovers and remixes aren’t much to get excited over, but that’s not the
case with this album. Things start off with a cover of “Halo of Flies”,
probably my favorite Alice Cooper song, and Jello and company more than do the
number justice. There’s also four new original songs, and they’re just as good
as anything that made the cut for last year’s ‘Never Breathe What You Can’t See’
album. Dead Kennedy’s fans will find “Those Dumb Punk Kids (Will Buy Anything)”
of particular interest, as Jello directly addresses the hijacking of the band
name (and his songs) by his former bandmates. There’s also an alternate version
of “The Lighter Side of Global Terrorism” that extends the song and takes it
into more stoner/space rock territory than the original. And of course I have
to mention the new version of “California Uber Alles”, which was recorded live
and substitutes Arnold Schwarzeneger for past targets Jerry Brown and Ronald
Reagan. Remixes aren’t really my thing, but the three on here which close out
the disc are fine. Highly recommended. (Bob Ignizio)
After taking a
detour into sword and sorcery territory with their previous album, 2003’s
‘Dungeons & Dragons Soundtrack’, Midnight Syndicate return to the realms of
darkness with ‘The 13th Hour’. But have no fear, by no means is this
a step backwards for the duo. Instead, ‘The 13th Hour’ finds them
sounding more cinematic, more minimalist, and more on occasion more dissonant
than before, with their compositions reminding me a great deal of seventies
horror soundtrack music, notably the works of John Carpenter and Phillip Glass.
Sure, there’s still a fair amount of gothic organ and ghostly choirs, but the
sonic palette on ‘The 13th Hour’ is noticeably broader and a bit more
experimental. Standout tracks include “Time Outside of Time”, the ambient “The
Drawing Room”, “The Watcher”, “Harvest of Deciet”, “Veiled Hunter”, and the
title track. Overall ‘The 13th Hour’ is a more mature, less
“commercial” (if one can apply such a term to anything these guys have done)
album than what Midnight Syndicate have released in the past. The whole
“haunted house” music thing has been good to Midnight Syndicate in the past, but
the future for this band is definitely in composing film soundtracks. With ‘The
13th Hour’, they prove they’re ready. (Bob Ignizio)
One of the best
bands currently doing the horror rock thing is Die Monster Die. While you may
not have heard of these guys, this is their fourth release. Musically they have
much more in common with bands like Social Distortion than they do the Misfits,
including the inclusion of guitar solos. The vocals are mostly melodic,
sounding a bit like Danzig, Michael Graves and Dave Vanian without being
imitative. And on occasion (as on “This is Suicide”) vocalist Zero Delorean
will throw in some old school gruff “oi” style vocals, though not as much as on
past releases. I also want to note the lyrics, which generally avoid the “lets
write a song about our favorite horror movie” crap that has been played out
since ‘Walk Among Us’. Instead there’s some real imagination used to come up
with original tales of terror. The production is polished while leaving enough
rough edges that it doesn’t sound sterile. Only one track out of 14 came across
as filler to my ears (“Rock N Roll Supermonster”), and one otherwise good song
(“When the Reaper Calls”) finds Zero singing a bit out of his range in spots.
Everything else is as good as horror rock gets. For more info, go to
Humans
Bow Down sound like a band that would have done really well in the alt-rock
explosion of the nineties. No, that's not a put down. I was a huge fan of that
period, and still am. This record is full of roaring guitars, feedback, and
emotion. Sounding like a cross between Radiohead, Supergrass, early Semisonic,
and Crown Heights (If anyone remembers them, God I loved their record). These
guys have their act down to a tee, and this record is pretty damn impressive. I
would predict big things for them in the future. Check out “The White Sun”, and
the title track, “A Mirror”, for the full effect. (Eddie Fleisher)
Usually collections
of leftovers and remixes aren’t much to get excited over, but that’s not the
case with this album. Things start off with a cover of “Halo of Flies”,
probably my favorite Alice Cooper song, and Jello and company more than do the
number justice. There’s also four new original songs, and they’re just as good
as anything that made the cut for last year’s ‘Never Breathe What You Can’t See’
album. Dead Kennedy’s fans will find “Those Dumb Punk Kids (Will Buy Anything)”
of particular interest, as Jello directly addresses the hijacking of the band
name (and his songs) by his former bandmates. There’s also an alternate version
of “The Lighter Side of Global Terrorism” that extends the song and takes it
into more stoner/space rock territory than the original. And of course I have
to mention the new version of “California Uber Alles”, which was recorded live
and substitutes Arnold Schwarzeneger for past targets Jerry Brown and Ronald
Reagan. Remixes aren’t really my thing, but the three on here which close out
the disc are fine. Highly recommended. (Bob Ignizio)
After taking a
detour into sword and sorcery territory with their previous album, 2003’s
‘Dungeons & Dragons Soundtrack’, Midnight Syndicate return to the realms of
darkness with ‘The 13th Hour’. But have no fear, by no means is this
a step backwards for the duo. Instead, ‘The 13th Hour’ finds them
sounding more cinematic, more minimalist, and more on occasion more dissonant
than before, with their compositions reminding me a great deal of seventies
horror soundtrack music, notably the works of John Carpenter and Phillip Glass.
Sure, there’s still a fair amount of gothic organ and ghostly choirs, but the
sonic palette on ‘The 13th Hour’ is noticeably broader and a bit more
experimental. Standout tracks include “Time Outside of Time”, the ambient “The
Drawing Room”, “The Watcher”, “Harvest of Deciet”, “Veiled Hunter”, and the
title track. Overall ‘The 13th Hour’ is a more mature, less
“commercial” (if one can apply such a term to anything these guys have done)
album than what Midnight Syndicate have released in the past. The whole
“haunted house” music thing has been good to Midnight Syndicate in the past, but
the future for this band is definitely in composing film soundtracks. With ‘The
13th Hour’, they prove they’re ready. (Bob Ignizio)