The terror-ific trio from Phoenix, Calabrese, is back with a new album titled Lust for Sacrilege. Check out the lyric video for the title track below.
I got my copy on Saturday. Yeah, I said copy! I still get physical CDs from certain bands, plus if you pre-ordered, you were entered to win some cool stuff from the band. I did not win any of said stuff but I got my CD!
I haven't given it more than a couple of listen throughs yet so I don't have any kind of hard hitting analysis to offer but if you've liked their previous stuff, you'll like this album!
You can check out samples and get it on Amazon.
Releasing today is a new 6 track EP from the dread master of drumstep, Figure. Now this type of music would probably not be something I'd listen to normally but it's got plenty of drops from horror movies mixed in to make a madcap Halloween dance party.
The EP features remixes of songs from Figure's Monsters of Drumstep discography. I grabbed it on iTunes this morning and I'm actually not sure I like all the tracks. Some of them have a little too much "electronic disturbance" for my taste but that's the style of the music. I'm sure I'll add this to my Halloween rotation but some of it won't make the year-round playlist. I will, however, recommend any of his previous Monsters of Drumstep albums to feast your ears on, they're a little less audio aggro.
Calabrese, one of my absolute favorite bands, released a new video this week for the track "I Wanna Be a Vigilante" from their latest album Born With a Scorpion's Touch.
While it's not as crazy as some of their videos from the last album, I really dig it! It's directed by Brian Pulido (creator of Evil Ernie and Lady Death comics) and has a vibe that I can only describe as "classic Mtv." If you were around in Mtv's infancy, or are a music video historian, I think you'll see what I mean.
And the song! It's amazing. When I first listened to the album, it blew me away. I had a huge smile on my face while listening to it because the guys caught me by surprise with this one, especially with the vocals. The whole album is really good. It's like a concept album about some motorcycle ridin', leather jacket wearin' badasses on a grisly road trip. Someone needs to make the movie for this soundtrack!
Here are the other two videos from the new album
Born With a Scorpion's Touch
There's an Evil Inside
Sadly, I missed them on tour last year because I was at DisneyWorld. But I did manage to get a photo with Mickey while holding the CD for the guys. They're heading east in the spring but nothing announced in New England yet but I'm keeping my fingers crossed!
With October less than a week away, you might be on the lookout for some new audio delicacies to spook-ify your Halloween season. And I'm here to help you!
I have to take a moment to completely gush like an exsanguinated body over the latest release from horror rock band Calabrese, who are also one of my absolute favorite bands right now! The album is called Born with a Scorpion's Touch, which is also the first single.
I got my copy in the mail the other day (it pays to pre-order!) and I have not stopped listening to it. The boys seem to be exploring some new territory on this one and I am loving it. I have to say they've really surprised me with a few of the tracks on here because they're so different from what you'd expect after hearing previous albums. I'm anticipating some people not being thrilled with the new direction and will probably accuse them of selling out.
Screw them! If a band doesn't evolve, it gets old and dies.
VIVA CALABRESE!
Anyway, Born with a Scorpion's Touch rises from the earth on October 1st and you can get it from the Calabrese site. Believe in Rock n Roll!
The second offering is one I only just recently discovered myself.
It's from Lonesome Wyatt and the Holy Spooks and is called Halloween is Here.
From their website:
"Halloween Is Here" is a terrifying tribute to all those strange and obscure Halloween albums from the 1950s to the 1980s. It contains twelve spooky stories and monstrous sing-a-longs for your unholy holiday party at the local insane asylum.
If the album art and that description weren't enough to sell me (which they are!) it was also being released on a limited edition green 12" vinyl. I say was because those are all sold out! The CD is limited to 300 copies which you can pre-order directly from them. You can listen to song clips there as well. This album also drops on October 1st.
I also recommend poking around the site and checking out their other albums. Their sound has been described as gothic country, as if country music wasn't depressing enough!
Lastly, there's a new track from Creature Feature! Although I only own one of their albums (Greatest Show Unearthed), they're right up there on my Halloween playlist.
You can get the new single, Netherworld, on iTunes and since they're 100% independent, it will help them crank out more tunes and videos for October. Head on over to their site where you can sample other songs and check out their bio to see if you might dig them like a grave.
I first found out about them because Gris Grimly did the artwork for the first couple albums. And after hearing "A Gorey Demise" I was an instant fan!
If you've got any Halloween music recommendations that are slightly off the beaten path, go ahead and let me know in the comments. I'm always up for hearing something new!
Hey there! Are you tooling around on a Friday night wishing you had something epic to do?
Well, I can't help with that, but I can give you a few things to help pass the time.
For today only, Stainless Games is offering the latest incarnation of their video game Carmageddon for free! If you've never had the pleasure of experiencing this classic, you're missing out! Where else can you run over pedestrians in a tricked out death machine?
Grab it free for the next few hours for iOS or Android.
Horror rock band (and personal favorite around here) Calabrese have released yet another music video. The track is from their latest album, Dayglo Necros and is called Coffin of Ruins. But, if you missed out on the previous two videos, Dead Don't Rise and Ghostwolves, I highly recommend hitting them up first. It's not necessary but it'll put the new one in better context for you. These guys are total goofballs, in the best way.
Have you ever sat around your home and thought "What this place really needs is some giant monsters on the wall to liven it up."? Well, the awesome people at Steam Crow have a Kickstarter for you! They're already 124% funded.
Lastly, the mail order trading card service Boxsome is giving away a couple of cool Iron Man 3 Funko Pop Vinyl toys this month. All you have to do to enter is place an order. And you can use discount code REDDIT to get 15% off your order.
Tell 'em I sent ya, they'll treat ya right.
Write a stream of conscious post listing the things you love and hold dear.
The length of this post vs how long it actually takes me to write it will probably be way out of proportion as I try to self-edit and keep myself from going on and on and on...
My parents and wife! They've been amazing as long as I've known them.
You, yes you there reading this! I had no idea how starting a silly little blog would change the way I interact with the internet and introduce me to so many great people.
Comments! I can see how many page hits a post gets but seeing comments gives me a little more validation that someone's interested in what I'm writing.
Star Wars! (even some parts of the prequels) Being able to escape to another place I know so well whether through movies, TV, games, music or other audio things...
Music! Oh my god, there is sooo much music I love. Stuff that's been with me forever and takes me back (Pac-Man Fever album), stuff that I listen to when I'm down (Trans-Formers soundtrack got me through some tough times), stuff that I blast when I'm pissed at the world (Calabrese, Zombina and the Skeletones and tons of other punk & metal) and stuff I put on to zone out to (anything relating to Tron).
Tron! If you've been reading for a bit, you know how much I love this franchise.
Halloween! The movies are ok but I'm talking about the holiday and the fall season. Bringing out the Salem Creep every year and scaring the pants off people. Having Trick or Treaters come to the door, especially when they're Star Wars or something else pop culture related.
Photography! There are few things I enjoy more than going to a cemetery alone, wandering the stones and taking pictures. I do like taking photos of other things too, as you might have seen. But, gravestones don't move around and try to be funny in pictures...usually.
Movies! Oh so many to list but I have a spot in my heart for the horror/scifi of the 50s, 60s and 70s. In particular if it features Vincent Price or something being a lot bigger /smaller than it naturally should be, I'm there!
Cartoons and Saturday mornings! Adventure Time, Regular Show, Gravity Falls, the Aquabats Super Show. Being able to revisit stuff I haven't seen in ages like Battle of the Planets (and the original Gatchaman), Thundarr the Barbarian, StarBlazers and StarCade.
Games of all kinds: board, card and video! As far as we've come tech-wise I still love the hell out of old school arcade and vintage games, especially my Atari 2600 favorite: Yar's Revenge.
And I'm going to wrap with toys! I always feared as a kid that I'd get too old for toys. Glad I was wrong! LEGO minifigs, action figures, capsule toys from vending machines, Halloween themed Playmobil figures.
Wow, I woke up this morning and there is so much cool stuff I want to share with you guys before getting to my proper Halloween post!
First, local band Darling Pet Munkee has a new 7 track EP titled You Better Believe It! I posted about them before but if you're not familiar with them, they do songs based on those classic comic book mail order ads. Here's the video of the first single from the new album, "Hypno-Coin." You can pay what you want for the new album online.
Horror rock band Calabrese (that rocked me recently) has released a video for their song "Dead Don't Rise" from their newest album Dayglo Necros.
Finally, another of my favorite bands, Zombina and the Skeletones have also released a new EP called That Doll Just Tried to Kill Me. If you don't know them, they're sorta rock n pop wrapped in a surfpunk soft shell. If you buy from their download page (as opposed to say, iTunes) you get a bonus track.
They've also posted band member Doc Horror's Halloween sound collage.
You can get that for FREE!
Well, the big day is finally here!
Our local weather is predicting no rain so I'm a happy spook!
Friday night I got to see one of my favorite bands, Calabrese, for the second time. What's that got to do with Halloween you ask? They're a horror rock band! I'll talk about them a little more later on, first I'm going to do a little flashback and then a rundown of the evening.
Seeing them on their first East Coast tour last May gave me something to blog about and the kick I needed to actually start blogging. I originally started on Tumblr and moved/expanded here within a couple of months. So if you've been enjoying the blog, give Calabrese a listen as I don't know where this would be without them!
You may want to go grab a snack and get comfy before proceeding...
If you're looking for new Halloween music to go with your weekend activities, you came to the right place! No matter who you are or your taste in music, at least one of these should appeal to you. They're listed in no particular order of favoritism but instead I'll start with the "lighter" sounds and move onto heavier ones.
Kristen Lawrence
I'd be ok with calling Kristen the Musical Mistress of Halloween. She coined the term Halloween Carols to describe her songs, and really, why has it taken this long for anyone to do that? Her music is inspired as much by Bach as Danny Elfman/Oingo Boingo. Her vocals can be ethereal, lending an extra spooky touch to her haunting music.
If Kristin is the Mistress of Halloween Music, thenDr Gasp is the Imp King.I've been seeing the Doctor usually twice a year as part of my Halloween regimen. In addition to his October show, he also performs around May for a Springalloween show (photos). It's very similar to his Halloween show, just in the Spring! His folksy acoustic style, vocal range and quirky lyrics make him a must for any Halloween fiend. If you only get one album, you'll want Halloween Special.
Rock out with your Cthuluhu out! This band's songs frequently include references to the Cthulhu Mythos...if the entire song is not outright dedicated to it. Their song "Shhh...." was featured as DLC in Rock Band. I "discovered" them when they opened for They Might Be Giants at GenCon one year. Official Site
Zombina and the Skeletones
ZATS is a band I could gush about constantly. They are one of my favorite bands on the planet! They're just as much punk rock as they are doo-wop and surf. And they somehow manage to fit infectious pop in there too. Their songs frequently have B-movie inspired lyrics and are a lot of fun. One of their best songs is "The New Orleans Incident" which tells how the band is stalked and killed off one by one. As each death happens, that band member drops out of the song. That is genius, right there, folks! Their concept album, Death Valley High, is an amazing showcase of just how diverse they are.
This is the video for the newest single, Teenage Caveman Beat Gargantua.
I think it gives you a good idea of what they're about.
Ghoultown
If you never thought you needed more western influenced music in your ears, this is the band to change your mind. But they're more "drifter waiting in the dirty alley behind the saloon looking for a fight" than cowboy. The first, and probably only, band to be called "Cowpunk" they are a blend of horrorpunk and psychobilly with heavy spaghetti western influences.
Self described as "The Misfits meets Ramones meets The Damned." These guys are also high on my favorite band list. When performing, they are fierce, hammering their instruments (especially drummer Davey) and belting out horror laced lyrics and frequent "whoooaaa"s. Off stage, they're guys that you want to hang out with and total geeks (in a good way). I got to hang out with them a bit after their recent Providence, RI show (gig photos)
These Finnish heavy metal shock rock monsters draw a lot of inspiration from Kiss. They even refuse to be photographed without their makeup. They have done unmasked interviews, but the band is always shot from behind so their faces are obscured. They may look fierce but their songs are generally in the horror B-movie vein.
