Careful With That Axe, You Meanie - A Manchester Morgue Halloween Compilation

I've been too busy to post for a while, but I have spent a bit of time whipping up a new Halloween compilation guaranteed to absolutely frighten the Christ out of you. Or not. Really apart from Fantomas and their rendition of the theme from The Devil Rides Out, there's nothing particularly frightening going on here. I'm really going for a spooky fun-times kind of mood with this one. I didn't want to put anything too obvious, so no Monster Mash will be found here. In fact this is really more of a Halloween/General Horror kind of compilation. Lots of songs about Halloween, but songs about dancing Draculas and Jewish Werewolves as well.

When looking for horror themed music you mostly find two varieties of music, horror punk and any kind of "abilly" music - rockabilly, psychobilly, gothabilly, surfabilly. I actually had more surf/rockabilly stuff on here at first but that stuff REALLY starts to sound the same if you listen to more than 5 songs in a row. I mean there's still plenty of horror punk and a wide variety of abilly tunes here, but I've tried to mix it up a bit more than it was initially.

Any 45 Grave fans will want to download this album as I've included their track Night of the Demons from the remake that just got released on DVD. I ripped it from my copy so the sound isn't as good as I'd like, but I don't think it's been released anywhere yet.

Your tracklist:

1. Fantomas - The Devil Rides Out
2. Afi - Halloween
3. David Bowie - Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps)
4. The Young Ones - Nasty Theme
5. The Damned - Nasty
6. 45 Grave - Night of the Demons (ripped from the remake DVD)
7. The 5,6,7,8s - Highschool Witch
8. Type O Negative - Halloween in Heaven
9. Rezurex - Everday is Halloween
10. Zombina and the Skeletones - Dracula's Tango
11. Tracy Morgan - Werewolf Barmitzvah
12. Flock of Seagulls - Nightmares
13. Zombie Zombie - Halloween Theme
14. The Meteors - Halloween Scream
15. The Flaming Lips - Halloween on the Barbary Coast
16. Frank Zappa - Goblin Girl
17. Messer Chups - Mobile Coffin
18. Siouxsie and the Banshees - Halloween
19. The Young Werewolves - Halloween
20. Moontrekkers - Night of the Vampire
21. The Lurking Corpses - When The Blood Flows
22. Phantom 5 - Graveyard
23. Bobby Bare Jr. - Rock and Roll Halloween
24. Coffinshakers - Dark Wings Over Finland
25. Phantom Rockers - Halloween Night
26. Ministry - Everyday is Halloween
27. Dead Vampires - Orgy of the Dead
28. Vampires of Dartmoore - Tanz Der Vampire
29. The Spiders - Witchcraft
30. The Simpsons Halloween Addams Family Theme
31. The Bee Gees - Haunted House

I wear my silence like a mask and murmur like a ghost

I feel I need to explain a couple of these, so:

The Bee Gees - Haunted House. Listening to the lyrics I'm thinking this is more of a metaphorical haunting. However the song was listed as "Halloween Mix" and it's actually damn spooky sounding at times I kept it. And surprisingly as a non Bee Gee fan, this song kind of rules. Check it out.

Tracy Morgan as Tracy Jordan - Werewolf Barmitzvah. 30 Rock is one of the fastest paced comedies I've ever seen and surely one of the funniest shows currently on television. This song was featured on the show last year around Halloween and I would've included it, but I don't I've made an actual Halloween comp before, so here it is now.

Theme from The Young Ones Nasty Episode - This is the theme that plays at the beginning of the Young Ones Halloween episode titled Nasty. Kind of an old spooky haunted house movie feel complete with thunder and rain. I followed this with The Damned song Nasty which was performed in the show. Excellent song, one of my favorite Damned songs actually. So much so that I swiped my title from this song.

I was planning on making the cover more Halloweenie with leaves and pumpkins and shit, but while reading Fangoria back issues I stumbled upon this image from a film nobody saw (except for me) called Night Life and I knew a scene of extreme gore was the way to go.

One of my recent compilations got taken down pretty soon after going up and since I've got a few higher profile outfits on here (one of them sold a good 2 or so hundred million albums over the years) so grab this one before it gets kiboshed.

The small businessman... always, always, always gets it in the ass.

Looking at some old Fangorias again and I came across this ad for The Texas Chainsaw Massacre Part II featuring the very same Leatherface standee I mentioned two posts ago. Now if I had $20 (plus $2.95 for shipping & handling) and the ability to travel to 1987 I'd be all set.

Jet Black Berries Unleash Postmodern Ghosts

Rochester New York's own Jet Black Berries have just released their first new album in 22 years. It goes by the name of Postmodern Ghosts and the album is comprised of new material as well as re-recordings of several classic New Math tracks like Invocation and They Walk Among You. Original members Chris Yockel, Gary Trainer, Mark Schwartz and drummer extraordinaire Roy Stein have all returned, the only missing member would be vocalist Kevin Patrick. Unfortunate that he's not back with them, but their tremendously talented new vocalist Johnny Cummings is a truly excellent replacement.

I've had a chance to check the album out and I recommend any Jet Black Berries/New Math fans seek it out at once. Post Modern Ghosts is an excellent comeback album that should be well received by old fans and one that should gain them many new fans as well.

Head over to CDBaby to obtain a physical copy, or swing over to iTunes for the digital copy.

Role Models

Found these great model kit ads while looking at some old Fangoria scans. As a kid reading Fangoria (back when an issue cost less than a pizza) I used to beg my mom for pretty much anything I saw in any of the ads. Models, Shirts, that Leatherface mask that was always in the same ad with a Predator mask. I never actually successfully coerced her into buying me any of the stuff but she did once score a life-size Leatherface cutout from Texas Chainsaw Massacre II from a theater or video store. At the time, it was about the coolest goddamn thing I'd ever seen. Sadly over the years Bubba ended up getting lost and I've never seen another of the same cutout since. I've seen them for the remake Leatherface, but not the one from Part II. Probably for the best, hard enough to be involved in a serious relationship without a cardboard cutout of a 6 foot tall mentally retarded bumpkin wearing a Gein-ian skin mask in the corner of the living room.

Hot Blood - Disco Dracula

This is German disco group Hot Blood with their 1976 album Disco Dracula.

This album combines my love of bloodsuckers and shitty novelty disco. Of the seven tracks most are standard upbeat disco, but a couple of tracks like Sex Me and Even Vampires Fall In Love amp up the sex factor while slowing down the tempo and come off sounding like they should've been featured in Dracula Blows His Cool or some other racy vampirical smut from the late 70's.

1. Baby Frankie Stein
2. Even Vampires Fall In Love
3. Soul Dracula
4. Sex Me
5. Blackmail
6. Dracula Goes Dreamy
7. Terror On The Dance Floor
   

Mrs. Johnson, dead line, tonight, midnight

Mad Tea Party Presents... Rock 'n' Roll Ghoul

"Just in time for Halloween: Mad Tea Party releases ROCK N ROLL GHOUL

Asheville’s rock ‘n’ roll duo Mad Tea Party celebrate their favorite holiday again this year with ROCK N ROLL GHOUL, a follow-up to 2009’s ZOMBIE BOOGIE. With garage-rock icon Greg Cartwright (Reigning Sound, Oblivions) at the production helm, this year’s monster offering promises to make you howl at the moon.

Mad Tea Party provides their usual palate of shimmering vocal harmonies over Jason Krekel’s one-man-band juke joint guitar/percussion and Ami Worthen’s electric ukulele. Of course, ROCK N ROLL GHOUL also includes some sonic surprises.

The EP offers up 4 spooky selections for your rockin’ Halloween party. “Possessed,” a 60s-tinged psychedelic number, features Worthen’s wicked vocals and a demonic guitar solo from Mr. Cartwright. The furious screamer “Rock-n-Roll Ghoul” expounds upon the theme of flesh-eating music critics while drivin’ rocker “Dr. Phibes” is an ode to the popular Vincent Price villain. The duo close with the Hollywood Flames’ song “Frankenstein’s Den” with Cartwright on drum kit and Caroline Pond (Snake Oil Medicine Show) joining Worthen on doo-wop vocals.

ROCK N ROLL GHOUL is available as a 7” vinyl record and as digital downloads. The EC horror comics inspired art for the record was hand drawn by San Francisco artist Gus Cutty. Find out more at www.themadteaparty.com."

Record release shows planned to date:
October 2 - The Pour House - Raleigh, NC (with the Straight 8's)
October 15 - Stella Blue - Asheville, NC (with Mark Sultan)
October 16 - Double Door - Charlotte, NC
October 29 - Uketoberfest - Aberdeen, NC

Just click here and you can download the 4 spooktastic tracks about spooktacular things like Anton Phibes ancient plagues and Frankenstein's living quarters. Ukulele fans take note.