The lunatics from the
sticks are back! That's right, The
Casket Creatures are proudly carrying the torch for southern monster rock with
their new album Sex, Blood, & Rock ‘n Roll. Their first album, Tales From The
Unknown, announced that this was a band to take
notice of. With Sex, Blood, &
Rock ‘n Roll, the boys from Gainesville, Ga have established themselves as
a true force to be reckoned with.
Ever since The Misfits
laid the groundwork for the genre, certain things have been expected of a
horror punk band. Lyrics based on
horror movies and murder. Sing along
choruses. Fast, powerful riffs. A heavy backbeat. Those looking for these tried and true crowd-pleasing elements
will find them here. But, as with bands
like The Other, The Crimson Ghosts, Order of the Fly, or The Bloodsucking
Zombies From Outer Space, the bands that rise to the top of the genre are those who take those tropes and use them to forge a unique sound of their
own. On this album, The Creatures’
sound has solidified, and the band seems to have found their identity.
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| The current lineup: Cliff, Ryan, Derek, Jamie, & Dakota |
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The first thing you’ll
notice about the album is how much the guys have grown since their first
release. Tales was a damn good
album. SB&RNR, on the other
hand, is a great one. The level of maturation
evident in the songwriting is amazing.
The band has really honed their craft.
Ryan Howard has zeroed in on his signature vocal style, which I would
describe as a “crooning growl.” It’s
both melodic and intense, and the backing vocals mesh well on the obligatory
“whoa-oh-oh’s.” The dual guitar attack
of Derek Obscura and Jamie Robertson is dead on. The riffs are outstanding, and the sub-par soloing you find in a
lot of horrorpunk bands is replaced by some high energy and inventive
leads. The Brothers Chandler (Drew and Bradley), who have
since amicably parted ways with the band, more than hold up the rhythm
section’s end of the bargain and provide a sturdy backbone for the beast.
The second thing you’ll
notice is that the production is top notch. The music sounds fantastic.
Kudos to Ty Watkins (recording) and James Nation (mixing). It’s very rare to find an independently made
album that sounds this good.
The third thing, and what
I think really sets The Casket Creatures apart from lesser bands, is the overall
atmosphere that comes across in their music.
Far too many bands of this ilk take themselves WAY too seriously. Aside from the quality of the music, the
thing that makes their live shows so exciting is that you can tell the guys are
having a blast doing their thing. That
energy and attitude comes across well on the record. They sound like they’re having a good time without sacrificing
any of the aggression of the music, and that makes the album a lot of fun to
listen to.
So, what are the standout
tracks? That’s really hard to say. If the radio was actually relevant enough to
play music like this, I think there would be two songs competing for the spot
as the big hit single. “Lizzie’s Song”
is the very definition of a brain worm.
It will firmly plant itself in your head and refuse to leave. You’ll forget about it for a while after
listening to it, and then in a calm, quiet moment you’ll catch yourself singing
the “Lizzie’s been a bad girl” refrain and bopping your head. While “Lizzie” is probably the catchiest
song on the album, “A Step Ahead of Death” is technically the best. It’s pretty damn close to being the perfect
horror punk song. Classic movie sample,
memorable riff, chorus you can’t help singing along with, awesome solo… it’s
just the total package. Either of these
songs easily have the potential to be The Casket Creature’s “Last Caress” or
“Somewhere in a Casket.” If you know
what songs I’m talking about, go buy this album immediately just on principle.
It’s tough to single those
songs out because there are so many great ones here. There really isn’t a weak link among them. "B-Movie Massacre" is a bad-ass tune. One of the bonus tracks, “Graves” is a
Lugosi’s Morphine cover. Please, for
the love of all things unholy don’t tell Lugosi’s Morphine I said this because I
love that band, but this version is better than the original. They infused it with their own style and
turned an already great song into a bona-fide anthem. Every year a big part of my Halloween tradition is making a new
disc of holiday related music to listen to coming and going to various haunted
houses. I can’t wait to put their Oct.
31 ode “Devil’s Day” on this year’s edition.
I love “Vulture Eye.” “Bats,
Blood, and Bitches” is the perfect opener.
“Black Widow Bride” is a completely unexpected surprise and a rarity in
the genre, a great duet. Hell, the
whole damn album is excellent.
If you put a gun to my
head and made me pick a least favorite track, it would actually be a
rerecording of “Agnes,” a Casket Creatures favorite. It’s not that there’s anything wrong with the song itself. It’s actually the same problem I had when
Blitzkid rerecorded “My Dying Bride,” my favorite song by them, on Anatomy
of Reanimation. I dig the rawer version of Agnes on Tales From The Unknown
so much that I feel the slicker production actually works against the
song. It’s still a great tune, I’m just
so used to the original that it sounds weird to me. If the only issue I had with the album is that one of the songs
sounds TOO good, then that’s definitely a rich problem to have.
To sum it all up, this is the best American horror punk disc I’ve
heard in years. Their sophomore album
sets The Casket Creatures on par with the elite of the horror rock scene. There may be bigger bands, but you won’t
find one doing it any better. I’m not
just saying that because they’re members of the extended SOC family
either. Trust me, if it sucked I’d say
so. Sex, Blood, and Rock & Roll is
a satisfying slab of sonic sickness that deserves, no... DEMANDS a spot in any
serious horror punk fan’s collection.
So now that you know you have to own this album,
that just leaves one issue to address; how do you get it? Well, there are several options. It’s available on itunes. You could go over to http://horror-punks.com and enter to win a
copy during The Casket Creatures’ month long takeover. You could hit the band up on facebook HERE
and inquire about how to get one. Or,
my personal recommendation, you could go see them live and pick one up from
them at the show. Your next chance will
be this Saturday at Sweetwater in Duluth, Ga.
If you live in the vicinity, come rock out with the ‘ol Son of Celluloid
and your new favorite band. However you
decide to get it, get it quick because when the rest of the world catches on to
these guys and they become ghoul rock heroes, you’ll want to be able to say “I
was into them way back when.”
It’s
become almost fashionable amongst horror hipsters in recent years to proclaim,
“True horror punk is dead.” I’m calling
bullshit. As long as The Casket
Creatures roam the earth, killer rock and roll shot through with macabre
madness will continue to ravage your eardrums and provide the soundtrack for
all of our killing sprees.
Here it is, Cellmates. The second round of Horror Business Episodes for your streaming and downloading pleasure. Horror Business and its sister show, Missing Link Mixtape, can be heard on alternating Monday nights at 10pm only on The FDTC Network.
Episode 8: The Netherspawn
