Written on August 5th, 2008 by GlowStormLion4 shouts
We’re back for your weekly dose of utterly demoralizing musical extravagance which is my way of describing TerrorTrack Tuesday. At least this time I’ll actually be throwing this up on the actual day that it’s supposed to appear, so that means we’re off to a good start!
Today, here in my chunk of the ever-burning Phoenix we experienced a massive torrential downpour that lasted around thirty minutes or so. Of course, it’s dry now, but we got a rather wicked display of nature’s homebrewed pyrotechnics – lightning! Thunder, too, and a nice purplish sky that city lights create. Quite an inspiring atmosphere for me and goes great with this week’s track which is Mad World by Gary
Jules.
PCGoddess, one of the newest members of our horror forum mentioned that she liked this song in the Dark Music thread. I didn’t think I’d heard it so I looked up the YouTube video (which I’m including at the end of this article). Come to find out I absolutely did know this song but I never knew the name or really what it was saying. Kind of like that song Tarzan Boy that they used in the old Listerine ads, if you remember those. A song that you get into but doesn’t always register strongly enough that I go out and look it up. I’m glad I did, though.
Turns out Gary Jules version is a cover of the original performed by Tears for Fears, the rockin’ English New Wave band that you’d have to be older than me to really know much about. Gary Jules is considered a folk/blues musician and he hails from California. The guy doesn’t just sing and play piano, he also wields the guitar, harmonica and the ever intimidating mandolin!
This particular version of Mad World was used for the cult classic Donnie Darko, a movie I’m still to lazy to go find and watch despite all the fervent praise I’ve heard from its fans. It’s been used in various American TV shows and also the XBox 360 video game, Gears of War. Over in the UK it managed to make the UK Christmas Number One single which goes to prove those gloomy Brits are scraping new lows for
inspirational holiday music. Sad.
I figure this is about all I need to yap about and right now you probably just want to hear the song/see the video. Well, before you go, in case you wanted to learn more about our ole pal Gary, you can visit his website and buy T-shirts and stuff or hear his music if you’re into that kind of thing.
That wraps us up for this week’s Terror Track and I’ll be back next week with something alot more violent and aggressive, I promise!
Welcome, once again to Terror Track… um… Wednesday! Yes, I got caught up doing another review and neglected this week’s Terror Track, so please Merry Readers, forgive me. And as a side note I already had this track ready to review two weeks ago. Why, you ask? Well, I have Amazon set up for "One Click Purchase" and that means if I accidentally click to see the full album I might wind up hitting "Order" instead, which is precisely what I did. As a result I’m now the proud owner of this very song in MP3 format because I doubted they’d believe I accidentally downloaded it so I didn’t pursue a refund. My bad.
Turns out, this is the theme song to the original Lost Boys movie, re-done by the band Aiden for Lost Boys: The Tribe. Yes, Lost Boys has a sequel I, a huge fan of the original, didn’t even know it! That’s because it’s a straight-to-video production but you know what? It still has Corey Feldman! Not Corey Haim, though, because he was apparently unable to remember his lines and act according to what I’ve read. Too bad, would’ve been great to see both of the Frog Brothers back at it again.
Since Red Hawk’s promising us a review of this sequel I won’t go into the whole thing here except to tell you that it’s supposed to share a great deal in common with the original. That first film featured Cry Little Sister by a performer named Gerard McMahon (now known as G Tom Mac due to the media’s inability to correctly pronounce his name during interviews) and his version sold some 7 million copies its release in 1987. Reportedly, that version blew director Joel Schumacher away and I know that it’s incredibly catchy, the kind of song that burns into your brain.
So can Aiden bring us a decent cover? And who the hell *is* Aiden? Other than the name itself being the number one boy name for babies born in 2006, I’d not heard of Aiden. Turns out they’re a post-punk band out of Seattle. When the formed back in 2003 they took their name from the little boy featured in The Ring movies (which you can find reviewed on our site by using the search function to your right) and have been through three record labels already: Unfun Records, Dead Teenager Records and Victory Records. Sounds like an upward progression to me, even if I do think Dead Teenager Records sounds like a catchier name. Aiden’s toured with acts like Lostprophets, The Used, 30 Seconds to Mars, Taking Back Sunday and HIM (His Infernal Majesty) so they’re nothing to sneeze at. Not only this, but they’ve got quite a fanbase in Kerrang! magazine, as well. Not only have they released three albums and two EPs, they’ve got songs in the following movies – Underworld: Evolution, Dead Silence and Resident Evil Extinction. You’ll also find their song Die Romantic featured on the video game NCAA MVP Baseball 2006.
With a resume like that, I expected a lot from the song heading in and I have to say the band delivered. It’s got enough similarities to the original that this version of Cry Little Sister certainly brings back memories, yet at the same time they added their own flare and brought a distinct sound to the table. In the end, I can recommend picking up this track and just may do a full review of an Aiden album in the near future. If you’d like to pick up this track, you can grab it right here: Aiden – Cry Little Sister.
GlowStormLion asked me to cover this week’s Terror Track offering and I had just the song in mind. Traditionally, my taste in music runs in a more unusual direction than some. My favorite singer is "Weird Al" Yankovic, and my favorite show to listen to on the radio is Dr. Demento. This taste in unusual music has led me to some very fun songs, one of which I’m going to share with you now.
RE: Your Brains is a simple song about an officeworker, Tom, getting a message from his coworker, Bob, who just also happens to be one of the living dead.
"Things have been okay for me, except that I’m a zombie now. I really wish you’d let us in," croons the soon-to-be festering Bob as he tries to persuade his way into where Tom’s hiding out.
The whole song is sung from Bob’s perspective, complete with a rousing chorus of "All we wanna do is eat your brains," which goes well with the video I’ve included at the end of this article: scenes from such movies as Dawn of the Dead, Return of the Living Dead and a few others.
The singer, Jonathan Coulton, is from Brooklyn, New York, and is mostly known for his songs about geek culture (one song, Code Monkey, even became the theme song to G4’s "Code Monkeys" animated series). Between 2005 and 2006 he embarked on his Thing a Week project, where he recorded 52 pieces of music in a year, one a week. Some other songs he’s known for are Skullcrusher Mountain (looking at a mad scientist’s point of view of a kidnapping) and an excellent boy band style cover of Sir Mixalot’s Baby Got Back.
Well, that’s about all I have for this entry. Hope you enjoy the song. Remember, in the event of a zombie attack, keep those doors and windows locked, even if the zombies ask politely to come in. Until next time, this is Red Hawk signing out!
Welcome once again to the Happy Horror mainstay known resoundingly throughout all the dark recesses of our known universe ASTerror Track Tuesday! I wanted to go off the beaten path and bring you another band you might not know of and they’re called A Lower Deep. Why might you not have heard of them? Well, from the statistics we get it appears we don’t have heavy traffic originating from Alabama, the band’s home state. And for two, you may be aware that Clear Channel pretty much owns the radio waves now and they’re not terribly great about promoting metal.
That’s where I come in! I went searching for some music and found myself in a metal kinda mood, so I crawled my way through the tentacles of Google and came across the band’s 2007 offering Black Marys, their fourth studio album. Today I’m covering the song, which is also the title track of the album which bears the same name. It’s over six minutes long in total and you’ll find the video at the end of the article, so make sure to check it out because after all if it’s on YouTube you KNOW it’s good, right?
"Black Marys" is actually a phrase taken from a series of books named The Kingdoms of Thorn and Bone by Greg Keyes. In the books they refer to Black Marys when they mean terrible nightmares that are so horrific they scar the dreamer or even waking moments that transcend into, well, a black and hellish nightmare. The band intends to refer to these same events be they physical, emotional or otherwise and when you watch the video you might get the impression that I did that it’s pertaining particularly to addiction related realities where peoples lives pretty much turn into living nightmares.
The video’s imagery is very compelling and surprisingly well-crafted for an unknown band. The imagery shifts between the band performing and a backdrop of surrealistic images that feature its lead singer, Billy Mullican, suffering at the hands of his own Black Mary. Though it reminds me of other videos along similar lines, A Lower Deep definitely have their own flavor of metal to offer and it doesn’t come off cheesy or contrived.
The most inspiring point is that these guys have worked their asses off to get where they’re at. After over a decade of struggling with other lesser-dedicated musicians and bands, they came together and got to work, introducing their debut recording in 2002. Since then they’ve dedicated themselves to keeping their downloads out there and touring through the Southeastern states. They’ll be playing at the Kansas City Power Metal Festival in August of this year (2008) so if you’re in that neck of our woods I think you’ll find they’re gonna offer a terrific performance.
They’ve been described as melodic thrash and I agree with that assessment. In the video you’ve got a lot of variety from Mullican’s brooding vocals right on up to a guitar solo that will keep you quite entertained if you’re into those and really, who isn’t? I admire these guys for sticking to their art and keeping it out there for fans. Metal’s quite a bit more popular than it may seem from time to time, because despite the prevalence of hiphop and emo (both of which I enjoy, for the record), metal consistently meets the number one goal of all music genres: it sells records.
So take a look at A Lower Deep and see if these guys don’t pique your interest. If you’d like to visit the band’s well-built website head on over to A Lower Deep’s Official site or you can friend them on MySpace right here. We also invite you to discuss them and any other band you feel like in our horror forums!
Until next time, this has been GlowStormLion, threatening to blacken your mary if you don’t watch that mouf!
Suicide was always about life. But we couldn’ t call it Life. So we called it Suicide because we wanted to recognize life.
- Alan Vega of Suicide (1985)
Well, it’s late once again, but yet you shall have your deeply longed for Terror Track Tuesday this week! And this one I’d love to take credit for and cite my deep musical knowledge and comprehension of how punk has evolved over the decades and stretched out into various veins such as industrial, etc etc. However, to do that I’d be merely lying, Merry Readers, and if you’ve come to know one thing about me then you realize that I’m a man of rock solid integrity that you should never question simply because when I tell a lie it so grandiose, so completely over the top that you’ll be able to tell immediately. I boned your mom.
With that out of the way, I’d like to give special thanks to one of our founding members over at our horror forums who goes by the enigmatic name of Sio. She made a great big post where she listed off not only favorite horror flicks but a bunch of music she likes, too. This one song caught my eye: Frankie Teardrop by Suicide. I’d not heard of it but since the title bears a passing similarity to Fuck Frankie, a Marilyn Manson song, I couldn’t help but check up on it to see if it might be equally disturbing. I found the YouTube video and I’ll be slapping that on at the end of this article. And yes, Sio introduced me to a song that’s quite disturbing in a strange kind of way.
First off, Suicide’s a "band" that’s really a duo. Two guys who go by Martin Rev and Alan Vega. They’re synthesizer musician and vocalist, respectively and were part of the proto-punk or No Wave movement back in the 70’s and 80’s. I’m painting in broad strokes because I want to cover alot here so if you’re a diehard Suicide fan (LOL!! ahem), then please bear with me and feel free to leave angry comments safe in the knowledge that I won’t give a damn either way.
If you’re like me then when you like a band you hit Google like a crank addict and you look up every freakin’ thing you can possibly find on said artists. Then you try to piece together the ’scene’ that they came from or, in rare cases, founded. That’s how I found out about Coil, Acid Bath and a bunch of other totally groovy bands I’d never have encountered otherwise. Sucide’s no exception and it very much looks as if these guys made a major impact on the industrial scene and quite a few other music genres, as well.
The band’s sound (at least in terms of Frankie Teardrop) ends up being pretty easy to describe on the surface. You’ve got Alan Vega, who’s been described as a ‘dark Elvis’ talking a bit with an occaisional scream or two for emphasis (and you better be ready for that when it happens because it’s a touch shocking if you’re as into the music as they’re intending for you to be). Then you’ve got Mr. Rev on the synthesizer putting out a painfully simple beat and a touch of music dashed in there with all the frugality of a Nazi minimalist painter. Sounds easy, right? Yeah, not exactly. Yes, that’s what the song is and it’s got very few lyrics but it’s the FEELING of the song, the ambience that really makes it pack a punch.
Now for those of you who like a more pop-oriented feel you probably won’t care for this song and video so I’d just skip it if that’s the case for you, Merry Reader. This is definitely some ‘avant garde’ shizz right here. It’ll probably take a few listens to grasp what all’s happening as the piece plays. Vega’s got a very rockabilly sensibility to his vocals that reminds me of the Butthole Surfers or maybe if Johnny Cash went bone-deep crazy. Rev on the other hand seems to be able to lay out the barest musical touches ever and instead of making the song frustrating, actually allows you to ‘plug into it’ – that’s the only way I can think to describe the effects.
So that’s Suicide and their life-altering track, Frankie Teardrop. Oh and in case you’re wondering (HERE IS A SPOILER the song’s about a Vietnam vet. I find it to be a moving piece and that it’s really turned me on to this band so if you want to buy me a random gift please send me the CD or better yet the documentary about ‘em! They win a resounding 5 out of 5 and Sio does too, for mentioning ‘em to me!
That’ll do it for this week’s Terror Track and remember, if you have a suggestion be sure to let me know because I WILL review it as long as it’s dark.
Welcome, once again, to the dark evil ritual of sonic madness known as Terror Track Tuesday! Now, I know in the past I’ve been touting older songs and bands, but I’m looking to change that. If you know of any upcoming releases I oughta stick my ears towards, be sure to leave a comment here or in the forums and I’ll give ‘em a spin.
This time we’ve got a hot one! It’s supposed to hit the airwaves today, July 1st, 2008. I managed to scour the tube sites and find a version to show here so I’m doing that. It’s Slipknot’s latest single, Psychosocial and they promise it’ll rip your face off. Then again, what metal band doesn’t promise that with pretty much every single they release, right? However, I’ve given it a listen and it looks like Slipknot might finally be back in the saddle. After Rick Rubin gave them a sour experience in 2004 with Vol. 3 (The Subliminal Verses) I never truly felt they recaptured the momentum of their first couple albums which I was a big fan of. Not quite willing to take on the title of ‘maggot’ for myself, but a fan.
If you enjoyed their big hit, ‘Wait and Bleed’ then I believe you’ll find a whole lot to enjoy with this new one, ‘Psychosocial’. It’s off the album All Hope is Gone and the band’s taken their time to craft a damn fine album if this single’s any indication. They’re leaning more towards experimentation and innovation in the thrash metal genre, but it’s nothing so far out as to be irritating. In fact we’ve got that dead-on blend of hardcore metal with quality chorus vocals that I think brings things to a new level. It’s a good deal more accessible than some of their other tracks which I’ve scared the living crap out of people with. I don’t know how a band can really sound that "scary" but I’ve played their stuff for friends and been told it was "too much" and "too evil". Obviously, none of these people delved into death metal too much or they’d know Slipknot’s not the most evil out there, but to each their own.
Now, here’s a few things I’m not sure how to feel about. For one, the band’s working with AOL (American Online) to reveal their new masks. I’m all for new masks but… AOL? Could AOL really have that many metal fans? Maybe I’m behind the times or something but I just don’t see AOL as terribly relevant when it comes to serious musical releases. That and this track was played each hour at Hot Topic. Now I’ve got nothing against that mall chain, but I know alot of ‘hardcore’ music fans just hate the hell out of Hot Topic and the "poser mallcore" crowd. I’m wondering how this marketing move will wind up affecting sales.
Now you can pre-order All Hope is Gone (and I intend to) on Amazon right here which is where I get my albums from. They’re also touring right now with the Mayhem Festival, put on by Rockstar (energy drinks, not the game company). They’re the headliners, matter of fact – that’s a festival I can’t say I’d mind seeing! The album’s going to drop on August 26, 2008 so be sure to check here in case I get lucky and wind up reviewing it. Below you’ll find a YouTube video where you can hear the whole song, also!
So, until next time this has been GlowStormLion doing his best to corrupt those of you with even an ounce of purity left in your dark fluffy hearts.
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