Friday saw some appropriate releases to entertain us leading up to the zombie apocalypse. Most significantly we see the return of Farida Lemouchi of The Devil’s Blood, coming back after the tragic death of her brother. Spirit Adrift and Slasher Dave offer up distinctly different flavors that all go well with the Halloween season. I’ll also touch on some TV series, movies and books.
Molassess – Through The Hollow (Season Of Mist)
Farida Lemouchi and three other members of the Dutch occult psych noir/prog pioneers The Devil’s Blood, under the new name Molassess with their debut, Through The Hollow. They are inevitably different from the previous band given the tragic demise of Farida’s brother and bandleader Selim. The singer known sometimes as The Mouth of Satan is just as potent as ever. The band, who first appeared at Roadburn in 2019, five years after their farewell performance as TDB at the same festival, consists of TDB guitarists Oeds Beydals, Ron van Herpen and bassist Job van de Zande, with former Birth of Joy drummer Bob Helgenelst and Donnerwetter keyboardist Matthijs Stronks.
Teasing the anticipation, the 11:05 opening title track starts with two minutes of ambient sounds and creepy creaks. It takes a while to build steam, first with Farida’s snaky vocal melody and a repetitive circular guitar riff, then synths and keyboards swirl about adding a kaleidoscopic psychedelic atmosphere and a couple changes. While not sounding exactly like their previous band, it’s recognizable. Not so much on the death disco prog of “Death Is,” or “Formless Hands,” which settles into a funk groove in the middle of the ten-plus minute track that’s somewhere between Parliament, Pink Floyd and Black Sabbath, until horror soundtrack sounds augment the eerie, chanted crescendo. “Corpse Of Mind” brings us back to TDB in that Selim was much more serious about his occult interests and Satanism than most bands, calling their shows “live rituals.” It’s unclear exactly what Molassess beliefs are, but this track sounds comes off like a spiritual chant or hymn. “Tunnel” is an atmospheric interlude that evokes a sinister soundtrack, and epic closer “The Devil Lives” lives up to it’s promise with uplifting vocal melodies transitioning to an eerie ambient bridge simmering with tension and chanted vocals until transcendent twin guitar solos triumphantly close out the last two minutes.
Molasses is a worthy, satisfying successor to the legend of The Devil’s Blood, making up for the disappointing III: Tabula Rasa or Death and the Seven Pillars (2013), when Selim’s mental health was in decline. Rising like a phoenix from a past of tragedy and suffering, Through The Hollow ascends to a powerful, progressive statement of a new psych noir classic. It’s packaged as a double album/CD, and is a Fester’s Lucky 13 contender.
My Dear Mycroft – Heaven’s Entertainment
The debut album from New York City trio My Dear Mycroft dwells in the murky, atmospheric waters of garage noir and American first inhabited by the likes of Black Heart Procession, Sixteen Horsepower and Mark Lanegan a couple decades back. October 30 is the perfect time to release such dark, autumnal music. Synths add a modern, yet still out of time, ethereal element for the songs influenced by hard boiled crime fiction, Ursula K. LeGuin, William Blake, fairytales, and the general impending collapse of civilization.
Spirit Adrift – Enlightened In Eternity (20 Buck Spin)
The highly anticipated fourth album, Enlightened in Eternity, from Spirit Adrift is a big success. Originally a solo project for Nate Garrett to work through issues as he meditates atop an Arizona mountain, they are now a fully formed unit of metal shaman passing down their musical nuggets of enlightenment. Starting with a traditional doom base on their first album, they have gradually introduced other elements along the lines of labelmates Khemmis. Garrett, who also serves in death doom band Gatecreeper, revealed his diverse interests as early as Curse Of Conception (2017), including DIO, Bauhaus, Waylon Jennings, Tangerine Dream, Neil Young and, of course, Iron Maiden. That could result in a confounding mess, but those influences only subtly color the music, giving what remains basically traditionally heavy metal just a bit more depth and dimension.
Garrett sounds more confident than ever in pounding out raised fist anthemic choruses, his vocals rising to the task on “Astral Levitation,” aided with some epic power metal riffs. That and “Battle High” match well with the dramatic into battle glory cover art. I bet they could do some convincing power pirate metal along the lines of Running Wild without cheesing us out too. “Cosmic Conquest” is chock full of soaring guitar pyrotechnics, as Garrett proclaims his desire — “All I want to be / One with everything.” That’s something previously only the likes of DIO could get away with convincingly, but he pulls it off.
The album wraps up with the 10:48 “Reunited in the Void,” revisiting their doom roots with it’s funereal pace picking up at the end with some great riffing that would do doompapa Tony Iommi proud. Between High Spirits, Butterfly, Unleash The Archers and the upcoming Pallbearer, Wytch Hazel, and Eternal Champion, it’s looking like a great year for heavy metal, with Spirit Adrift sitting imperiously on a throne atop the heap.
On a spooky but less serious note, Slasher Dave is right on time with a new batch of Horror Synth, Night Of The Jack-O-Lantern. It’s pretty short, but there’s plenty more for those craving it, such as his two albums of Cannibal Death Gods from earlier this year
Mpls based P A T H S パス create an imaginary horror soundtrack with mainly a Moog Opus 3 synth for that nostalgic feel of 80s horror movies on VHS tapes.
“It’s Halloween night, and this year, the stars and planets have never been more perfectly aligned. The gateway between the living and the damned is especially vulnerable. One hermit warlock sees this as his opportunity to bring forth a legion, under his command, through witchcraft and ritual — but he needs the blood of victims to complete his unholy act. He makes plans to visit the suburbs and collect what is necessary. No one will suspect a strange man in a mask tonight. The streets will be flooded with naive children and their unsuspecting guardians, to celebrate what will one day be known as — THE LAST HALLOWEEN.”
Poverty Metal is the impressive sophomore solo album from Henrik Palm, formerly of Swedish metal bands In Solitude and Ghost.
Dávid Makó of Budapest, Hungary records bleak folk noir under the name The Devil’s Trade. The Call of the Iron Peak is his third album since 2016, and this release from August 28 fits well here with it’s dark autumnal spirit. At times it can get a bit overwhelmingly dirgey along the lines of Michael Gira’s Angels Of Light, and could benefit from a bit more diverse, rocking pacing like Wovenhand. But it oozes enough grim vibes to be recommended.
Self-described sole merchants of “street doom,” Portland’s R.I.P. are back with their third album of tales of fear, death and leather, sounding even more lo-fi than ever, like a overhearing a boombox in a garbage can playing a warped tape of Motörhead, Pentagram and the Misfits. And the garbage is down at the other end of a long, moist, creepy alley. Songs like “Nightmare,” “One Foot in the Grave,” “Death Is Coming” and “Buried Alive” are just the ticket to put one in the holiday spirit.
Austin’s Lord Buffalo, who came out with the intense desert/psych noir collection Tohu wa bohu in March, were recently featured on a split album with Denver doomgazers Palehorse/Palerider.
More horror synth (and darksynth and synthwave) that was released earlier this year: Carpenter Brut, Master Boot Record, Magic Sword, Electric Dragon.
Exhumed & Gruesome – Twisted Horror [split EP] (Relapse)
It’s unusual that there aren’t more horror themed death metal releases lately. There’s plenty of bands that often specialize nearly exclusively on Halloween flavored horror, including Ghoul, Vaultwraith, Hooded Menace, Troglodyte, frightmare, Acid Witch, Witch Vomit, and Ichabod Crane. Released back on June 5, we do have a split EP from Exhumed and Gruesome, both fronted by Matt Harvey, featured on the first Halloween themed Metal show/playlist on Bandcamp. Exhumed is his main band, formed in 1991, while Gruesome is a tribute to Florida pioneers Death. The multi-talented Harvey also released his first short story, “The Vessel,” in which a cult, Heralds of Celestial Ascendancy, is hellbent on reviving their dark god. All they need is a body for their Master to inhabit. It came out Oct 1 on C.V. Hunt’s Horrorama collection, available free for Kindle Unlimited users.
Carcass – Despicable EP (Nuclear Blast)
Definitely worth a mention is the legendary Liverpool brutal death/goregrind metal band Carcass. They had an impressive comeback after 16 years with Surgical Steel (2013). Time flies, and it’ll be another eight years before their next full length, Torn Arteries comes out next year. However, on Oct 30 we get an EP lead by the track “The Living Dead at the Manchester Morgue” just in time for Halloween.
clipping. – Visions of Bodies Being Burned (Sub Pop)
As on last year’s There Existed an Addiction to Blood (2019), this Los Angeles hip hop band explores horrorcore with much success. Less a sequel than the second half of a planned diptych, Visions of Bodies Being Burned brings to my mind the powerful, horrifying imagery recently referenced in both the Watchmen (2019) series and Lovecraft Country (2020) of the Tulsa massacre in 1921. They give the genre inspired by Gravediggaz a Jordan Peele style literary treatment influenced by Ernest Dickerson, Clive Barker, Shirley Jackson, Lovecraft as well as filmmaker Tobe Hooper (Eaten Alive!, 1976) featuring Tortoise’s Jeff Parker and experimental drummer Ted Byrnes. “Final Piece” is based on a Yoko Ono text score from 1953! The band’s parting words of wisdom on their lengthy Bandcamp liner notes — “. Never, ever, under any circumstances, assume the killer is dead.”
Some bands like to release a single in the Halloween spirit, often right around the holiday. Here’s one from psych noir pioneers Lucifer, a great cover of Tom Waits’ classic “Dirt In The Ground,” and Lingua Ignota covers Dolly Parton’s “Jolene,” giving it a far more sinister, anguished meaning, as if she’s singing to Jolene’s dismembered corpse.
Lovecraft Country (HBO)
With the stream of new quality content slowing down, Lovecraft Country is truly a gift from the Cthuhlu gods. I was inspired to subscribe to HBO for the first time in 20 years in order to catch up on the first two seasons of The Boys, last year’s amazing treatment of Watchmen which surpassed the movie and even the original comic, and now Lovecraft Country, from creator Misha Greene and executive producer Jordan Peele. Like Watchmen, it feels very relevant with it’s realistic approach to racial trauma, both shows centering their righteous rage on the Tulsa race massacre of 1921, the single most horrific incident of racial violence in American history, which of course was covered up and ignored in textbooks and schools until quite recently. Loosely inspired by the stories of H.P. Lovecraft, this show has it all — a Japanese fox demon, vampire-like monsters, time and space travel, transformation spells, extremely gross sex, and even an Indiana Jones style archeological adventure. Every episode is full of jaw-dropping surprises, and is seriously a contender for the best horror series of all time. Eat your hear out Stranger Things!
The Haunting of Bly Manor (Netflix)
The next in Mike Flanagan’s Haunting series after The Haunting Of Hill House (2018), this stars many of the same actors. This is a rich mixture of ghost story and gothic romance, and possibly one of the best adaptations of Henry James’ 1898 novella, The Turn of the Screw. Which is surprising, because Hill House kind of sucked. A great haunted house movie was ruined by wallowing in melodrama, focusing too much on a couple decades after the family of seven abandoned the house. Every member was clearly damaged by their experiences in different ways, but it all comes down to poor communication skills on the part of everyone, particularly the waste-of-space father. Every character was so annoying, with their heads so far up their own arses, that we were actually rooting for EVERYBODY to die. Flanagan thankfully learned from his massive f-up, and corrected everything that he did wrong previously, and got it all right on this one, aside from a bit of a sludgy pacing at times. The spooky event of the season after Lovecraft Country.
Oktoberfest: Beer & Blood (Netflix)
1900: A rich newcomer with a shady past arrives in Munich determined to crash the local Oktoberfest with his own brewery. But when his daughter falls in love with the heir to a rival brewery, a violent chain of events is unleashed that will threaten both families’ futures.
May The Devil Take You Too (Shudder, Oct 29)
Those looking for fresh terror may find it worth it to subscribe to Shudder for a month. Timo Tjahjanto’s latest film finds a woman hunted by a demon two years after an escape. Also on Shudder, Color Out of Space with Nicholas Cage, Spiral, Scare Me, and Revenge of the Ghoul Log. Also The Vincent Price Collection, five classic films including The Masque of the Red Death, The Tomb of Ligeia, and The Monster Club.
Jordskott (Shudder)
I also watched the first season of the bleak Nordic thriller Black Lake (2016), set in a remote, never-used ski lodge on the Swedish/Norwegian border, which was decent. Along those lines there’s also two seasons of Swedish supernatural mystery-thriller Jordskott (2015), which has sucked us in after the first couple episodes. Translating from Swedish to Earthquake, it’s much more interesting than Black Lake, with more lush, less frozen moody Nordic woodlands settings. I don’t wish for all the main cast to die horrible deaths like I do with Black Lake. Nature fights back against the constant assault of humans with sinister supernatural power! I’m rooting for nature.
The Witches (HBO MAX, 2020)
This remake of the Road Dahl classic The Witches, originally done in 1990 starring Angelica Huston (streaming on Netflix), is a bit tricky. HBO subscribers via Amazon Prime or Xfinity cable do not yet get HBO Max. Those who get it on cable can access it via the web or the app, but not if the app is on an Amazon Fire like I have. So I’ll have to unplug the Roku from the basement (it’s the gym with no furniture, not ideal for watching movies) and move it to the living room to watch it, which will probably happen Halloween night. With Guillermo del Toro, Octavia Spencer, Stanley Tucci and Anne Hathaway involved, it should be worth the effort.
Sweet Autumn (Hallmark Channel)
Don’t want to be scared, but instead prefer to vomit from and over-sweetened cozy romance? Look no further!
The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires – Grady Hendrix (2020)
Grady Hendrix usually has a pretty fun twist on horror, with Horrorstor (2014), My Best Friend’s Exorcism (2017) and We Sold Our Souls (2018). Don’t be fooled by the cheeky titles though, these are plenty scary.
Wonderland – Zoje Stage (2020)
Shirley Jackson meets The Shining in this richly atmospheric and thrillingly tense new novel from the acclaimed author of the “deliciously creepy” debut Baby Teeth (New York Post).
A well-worn tale of city slickers moving to the country, but with a twist. Orla and Shaw Bennett move to the isolated quiet of New York’s Adirondack mountains. But, of course, something evil lurks in the woods surrounding them.
The Hollow Places – T. Kingfisher (2020)
Portals to alternate realities, each with their own creatures that feed on fear. Sounds delightful! Kingfisher is pretty respected in this genre, so while I haven’t read it, it seems promising.
C.V. Hunt’s Horrorama (2020)
Ready for the book version of a horror movie marathon? Horrorama brings you three novelettes reminiscent of those popcorn fueled all-nighters. In “Stor-All Self-Storage” by A.S. Coomer, Richard Dennison has just landed a new job at the Stor-All Self-Storage as a night security officer. The owners are a bit strange but not as bizarre as the renters who visit their units at night. And the only instructions he’s been given are to call the police. In Lucas Mangum’s “Primitive,” a group of old friends decide to spend the weekend camping on Moon Mountain only to have their vacation interrupted when a disheveled woman appears out of the woods. She tells them she’s looking for her son but the group find her story hard to believe. Will she find her son and will they all make it off the mountain alive? Last story, Matt Harvey’s “The Vessel” was described above in the blurb about the Exhumed/Gruesome split EP.
Haunted House Books – Darcy Coates
From 2014-18, Darcy Coates published at least 14 books, most of them haunted house stories. I can’t speak to the quality of all of them, but if you subscribed to Kindle Unlimited, there’s zero risk as many of them are available for free, including The Haunting Of Ashburn House (2016).
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