Not to be confused with famous Misfits horrorpunk evergreen, this Hammer Horror is a bit different than their other stuff, because it is really a thriller rather than horror with religious fanaticism, madness and drama coming your way. The screenplay was again written by Richard Matheson, based on the novel by Anne Blaisdell and directed by Silvio Narizzano. Patricia Caroll(Stefanie Powers) travels to the countryside to visit mother of her late boyfriend, but little does she know that Mrs Trefoile(Tallulah Bankhead) is in fact a crazy religious fanatic who traps Patricia with help of her servants and is ready to torture her physically and mentally to have her revenge for the death of her son. As I said, this one is no horror, rather a very intense psychological thriller with both main actors just fantastic especially Tallulah Bankhead whose Mrs Trefoile is one diabolic crone set to get hers and will stop at nothing. This is one of the gems of house Hammer, just confirming why Hammer horror is one of my favorite horror subgenre.
Swedish punk rock legends No Fun At All are back with their seventh full length opus, first one in four years. It is long awaited and contains 12 songs. What to say? This one has old school NFAA vibe, but also what surprised me is a new hardcore aggression and energy that stems from the songwriting on this record. I was surprised with Tear Me Down, song that hits in the head with hardcore raw energy, combined with Ingemar´s melodic singing and gang sing along backing vocals. Every Single Screen and See The Splendor are more old school melodic punk No Fun At All songs, with strong main melody, cutting guitar work and anthemic choruses for you to hum and sing along to. Another song that stands out is Smart You Out, mid tempo punk anthem about unrestricted freedom. Also, Wonderland is a bit Bad Religion influenced song, especially in the second half of the song. Dead And Gone is sure going to be concert favorite for many of us, I think this is a sure hit. Of all the songs it is really hard to choose highlights and favorites, but I have tried, so those above are mine. You listen to this new opus of this legends and catch them play live somewhere, I saw them live twice and their show is awesome.
Romanian bands are something special. This magic country that gave us Vlad Tepes and shrouded in Carpathian fog provides yet another superb opus to our black metal hearts. This time it is Wormgod from Bucharest area. This duo gave us their first full length although the band has been in existence since 2009 releasing one demo and single, but it has been nine years of ominous quiet and then this jewel. What to expect on this one? Well, you can bet that these nine hymns are excellent and I recommend them to any fan of melodic black metal with lots of atmosphere and melancholy in the song structures. This album reminds me a lot of nineties black metal and the reason why I love this music, the mix of aggression and melody, melancholy and battle. From the all out blast beat epic melody of My Blood, across more mid tempo and atmospheric The Blossom Of Fear which is one of my personal favorites, to epic Failure’s Reign and Olden Crusade, this one is a black metal opus par excellence. There are some a bit more modern parts, I would dare to call them post black metal in some song structures but that parts bring more eeriness and haunting feeling. Lyrics are, as you can see in English language and they deal with more personal side of hauntings, dealing with demons and darkness. Vocals are excellent, screamed but not too over the edge, fit just great in the songs. This is one of the better black metal releases this year.
KRAYKULLA-WEBZINE 