REVIEW: Mr.Underhill - The World Through X-Ray Eyes

Cast your mind back to 2002;  George W Bush signed the No Child Left Behind Act, we saw the first official release of the Mozilla Firefox browser (suck it Internet Explorer!) and The Lord of The Rings – The Two Towers, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets and Star Wars II – Attack of the Clones dominated the box office. It was also the year that Vancouver vamp-rock band Mr.Underhill (made up of the three Kirkham brothers – Chris, Robbie and Anthony) were due to release their 4th album. This didn't happen however, as the band split up and two new acts were born – Chris Kirkham became Nim Vind and Robbie Kirkham formed The Vincent Black Shadow.

Fast forward to late 2013 and Mr.Underhill's lost album The World Through X-Ray Eyes is finally given a proper release, now available digitally and on vinyl in extremely limited quantities featuring 13 tracks of the band's trademark vampire punk rock. Listening to it through, it is clear that the record was unfinished, but the rawness of the production adds an edge to the songs that further studio refinements may have eliminated. "5000 Fingers of Dr.T" features 50's pop harmonies and lifts a guitar riff straight from D Generation's "No Way Out" whilst "My Middle Eye" and "Pistol Whipped and Bloody Lipped" see the band exploring a more subdued rockabilly/flamenco guitar style a la Tiger Army.

The band are at their best when songs are played fast, kept short, and there is less opportunity for the vocals to warble uncontrollably and this is the case on both "The Grange" and "The Crush". The one negative I can pick out is that Chris' vocals are all over the place and something he has addressed with his solo work.

Whilst it is great that The World Through X-Ray Eyes has finally seen the light of day, the reality is that the music subsequently created by the bands it itself spawned, make this record sound dated by comparison. One for the completists only I'm afraid.

Rating: 6/10 skulls

Available on vinyl(sold-out)/digital:
https://www.facebook.com/mrunderhilmusicl


Reviewed by Steven Farkas

REVIEW: Frank Ilfman - Big Bad Wolves (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)

When first asked to review the soundtrack for the recently released Israeli thriller, Big Bad Wolves, I was expecting a traditional compilation record with the usual contributions from horror-themed bands, but I couldn’t have been more wrong. This is actually the classical score to the film, taking what I thought would be a pretty simple review to a whole new experience. Listening to something that has been created to work with visuals, but without the plot of the film to follow is difficult - it’s a bit listening to an audiobook in a different language; you can sense when the pace quickens, or something dramatic happens, but you don’t really have any idea what is really happening.

All that said, the music compositions are very slick and impressive and (I imagine) work seamlessly alongside the film. As you’d expected, they are all orchestral pieces of varying pace (depending on the atmosphere being created), with strings playing a very prominent role. This is especially noticeable in those sections where drama is building, as in The Chair of Horror as well as in The Chase, where percussion adds an even more thrilling element.

I have to admit after numerous listens, I begin to appreciate the monumental amount of work that goes in to creating a collection of music that can tell its own story and also work in the separate context of enhancing a visual experience. The meticulous level of detail that composer Frank Ilfman has shown is truly impressive, and whilst this was not what I was expecting to review, it was a pleasant experience nonetheless.

Rating: 7/10 skulls


Available on CD/digital from:
http://moviescoremedia.com/big-bad-wolves-frank-ilfman/

Reviewed by Steven Farkas

REVIEW: Little Miss Stakes - Monster Party Hits

Have you ever been stuck at a really dull Halloween party and sat imagining a much cooler one in your head? Oh. Well I have and this would be the soundtrack to it.

Monster Party Hits is a four track collection that 45 Grave would be proud of. Sounding like monsters have raided an episode of Top of the Pops, this release comes complete with catchy as hell hooks, fifties and sixties style backing vocals and riffs that just scream for the air guitar to come out. I defy anyone to not have a good time with this record.

Opening track "Killer Klowns From Outer Space" – taking its name from the 1988 Chido Brother's cult classic – makes me wish this record had been released in time for the film's release. It would genuinely serve as a much better theme tune than the the Dickies' classic did.

"The Ghoul Next Door" and "Mina" are perfect pop tunes guaranteed to get even the dead dancing in their graves.

"Drag Queen Dracula" is a much more vicious affair. Vocalist Mick Van Dyke spits the lyrics out like the angriest monster you've ever heard in your life. Sounding at times like a really pissed off version of 45 Grave's Dinah Cancer, at others like a possessed version of a fifties pop singer, Mick offers a truly exciting and fun alternative to the Glenn Danzig-clones horror rock is so often littered with.

I don't know whose bed Little Miss Stakes have been hiding under, but I'm glad they've unleashed themselves on we puny humans!

Five screams out of five!

Available from:
http://littlemissstakes.bandcamp.com

Reviewed by Ben Smith

REVIEW: There's No Escape From Governer Grimm and the Ghastly Ghouls

Governor Grimm and the Ghastly Ghouls - There's No Escape From..., the debut EP from Ohio based horrorbilly band Governor Grimm and the Ghastly Ghouls, is an impressive first-outing, featuring five original songs. In an already crowded genre they don't add anything particularly new to the mix, but what they do offer is a high level of musicianship and solid songwriting.

The lyrical themes are as expected for the genre, but the stories they tell are well constructed and don't feel forced in any way. The balance between simplicity and storytelling is perfectly struck and the music itself is the same; cool guitar riffs, pounding bass lines and excellent use of the moog, which is easy to overdo in this genre. "Raise the Dead" and "I've Seen Myself Die" are stand out tracks, especially the former which features a seriously awesome guitar lick and verses that almost forcibly drag you up to stomp and clap along. The rest of the tunes are certainly solid, if not a bit forgettable.
Quality vocals are another area where many horror/psychobilly bands are found lacking, and I'm pleased to report that this is definitely not the case with GG & The GGs. James Madison follows the Glenn Danzig school of vocals, but that's no bad thing– his vocals really elevate this band above the pack.

7/10 Skulls


Available on CD/digital from:
http://governorgrimmandtheghastlyghouls.bandcamp.com/

Reviewed by Steven Farkas

REVIEW: Thirteen Shots – Tales That Start With a Whisper

Thirteen shots are a horrorbilly 4-piece band from Birmingham, England. They offer everything from high-paced, surf-rock riffs to slower, eerie, more jazzy kind of segments, with plenty of garage sprinkled in. One can definitely hear that these ghoulish rockers take influence from such horror greats like Nekromantix, Calabrese, and The Meteors so if you find yourself gravitating towards such music, “Tales that Start With a Whisper” is an album worth checking out.

As Thirteen Shots are a new band for me its hard to say how they’ve evolved, but from listening to prior material (as well as they entirety of “Vaudeville” as included in the European tour edition of the album) I get the feeling the sound isn’t changing a ton, but rather getting more clean, crisp and tighter as a group altogether. They bring a high energy, party rocking from the grave feel to the forefront of their music, which is particularly apparent in the tracks “Death Jam 2000”, “Nekrosexual”, and the title track “Tales that start with a Whisper”. As well for the more rock/punk oriented boils and ghouls out there, they’ve got the spooky intro and crushing, catchy chorus of “Bewitched”, and for the more jazz/blues inclined, “Psycho Jukebox” brings a rockabilly and spooky underground jazz club vibe to the rest of the album.

All in all, Thirteen Shots did a great job putting together a collection of catchy, rocking, horrorbilly tunes and on top of that some really simple, yet effective artwork to tie everything all up. If you have any interest at all in classic psychobilly and punk, rockabilly, horror punk or anything of the like, “Tales that start with a Whisper” is a must listen! 

7.5/10 Skulls (8.0 for the European Tour Edition)

http://thirteenshots.bandcamp.com

 Reviewed by Ghoulshow