0 comment Saturday, May 31, 2014 | admin
Good evening, monstrous maniacs.
Tonight I have something special in store for you. Instead of reviewing some movie or a dusty ol' book, I thought that I would invite you to kick back, turn up the radio, and allow the tunes of Rue Morgue Magazine's first album to lull you into a deep and deeply disturbed sleep. You've heard right. Rue Morgue, a magazine that is fast in becoming my favorite genre-based periodical ever, has compiled a gathering of some of the sickest and most talented minds in the horror music department to rock out some songs that are guaranteed to get your hearts beating and your big toes tapping.
This album really is a treat and a definite labor of love from all the creative minds that worked behind it. These songs will crawl into the dank recesses of your gray matter and cause you to rock your head at completely inappropriate times to beats that only you can hear. At times I become disheartened by the availability of horror-themed bands and groups, so to have a weighty compilation composed of nothing BUT terror fanatics of the musical persuasion is a great gift to horror fans everywhere.
And did I mention that this gift is FREE?! That's right, completely open for the taking. You can download it (along with the great artwork that adorns the album) HERE at the Rue Morgue Magazine site. But hurry! This opportunity only lasts till the end of July. Get your copy before the zombie apocalypse breaks out!
Without going on for too long and spoiling anything, I do have some shout outs to make for some of my own personal favorites from the album:
RUE MORGUE RADIO- THE CREEPSHOW
This awesomely-named group gets the ball rolling with an ode to Rue Morgue's weekly music broadcasts headed by DJ Tomb Dragomir. Sarah Blackwood's pure vocals sail beautifully over the demonic chants of her band mates. Something you can definitely thrash your body to in Exorcist-like fashion.
INTO THE CAULDRON- CAULDRON
There are a few bands on here that I haven't had the pleasure of encountering, Cauldron being one of them. Here they deliver an anthem-like tune set to a fantastic and infectious guitar riff with groovy, growling lines by the lead singer.
BLACK DREAM- THE INDEPENDENTS
Ahh, psychobilly! Just the stuff to get my hips shaking and give me a powerful yearning to croon into a microphone. The Independents give a head-boppin' good time that always manages to put a wicked grin on my face everytime I hear it.
IT'S ONLY THE END OF THE WORLD- HARLEY POENo, it's not a rip-off of that song by those other fellers. Harley Poe's song sounds like a drunken jig performed by a group of pessimistic survivors during the complete obliteration of the planet as we know it. As downbeat as that may sound, the band makes the Apocalypse sound like a rootin-tootin good time! Woohoo!
MY BODY'S A ZOMBIE FOR YOU- DEAD MAN'S BONES
This slow dirge sounds like a mix of tearful doo-wop and "Kids" by MGMT. Weird combination? But it works! And effectively so. Between the lead singer's soulful, choked voice and the chant of children screaming "My body's a zombie for you!", it actually makes for a rather sweet and heartfelt track amidst of den of debauchery. Don't be surprised if those pupils get a little wet.
SOMETHING WEIRD- ZOMBINA AND THE SKELETONES
Totally loony and kooky in every way. The chorus sounds like it's made up of rejected cast members from "The Muppet Show" and there's a line referring to a dancing chicken. It's very easy for me to picture a music video of this song featuring psychedelic whirlpools and angry, evil sock puppets.
GRAVE ROBBER AT LARGE- CREATURE FEATURE
The minute I heard these boys were debuting a new song on this CD, it became all the reason I needed to download the entire thing. Curtis Rx and Erik X are back in all their keyboarding, spooky glory. And what better than to sing about body snatching. Catchy and delightfully morbid as they always are, this is the bloody icing on my horror shortcake. You can see my review for their debut album HERE.
SAINT OF KILLERS- DAMN LASER VAMPIRES
Even with the addition of the flawless Creature Feature, I think I have to say that this is my favorite track from the album. I had never heard of Damn Laser Vampires (great name!) before, but after this I'm determined to seek out more of their material. Ironically this is the hardest one for me to explain my admiration for. It's got a great rocking electric guitar, the lead singer has a deep, wavering and completely intoxicating voice, and it all blends together to sound like some twisted tune that I envision accompanying a zombie surfer as he glides through a blood-red wave. Yeah, I'm as confused by that as you are.
These are just a few of the absolutely fantastic songs that make up this album. This should not be missed by any horror fan whatsoever. One can only wish that Rue Morgue will make this a regular, ongoing project and give these deadicated bands the exposure they need. In the meantime, the rest of the world can plug in their dread-phones and dig this sumptuous spookshow like a six foot grave.
Labels: 2010S, Band, Creature Feature, Damn Laser Vampires, Horror Music, Monstrous Medleys, Rue Morgue