Now this one was fun! Super Monster Party call themselves Video Game Metal because their new record contains songs based on old school retro video games like Altered Beast and Splatterhouse. This one totally brought me back to my childhood when we were bunch of misfits and no goods just roaming local arcade at the swimming pool playing all those old school games and just being jerks and horror freaks we still are today.
This record contains twelve songs of melodic metal with horrorpunk influences. The song called Altered Beast is based on melodic metal guitar work, yet vocal lines are done in the vein of let us say Blitzkid and I love it totally. There are power melodic metal influences, like double pedal bass and guitar work, I must here say that all musicianship on this record is superb. We can also hear some thrash metal riffing with horrorpunk influenced vocal lines in It´s Resident Evil, one of my favorites on this record.
I love the dark ballad atmosphere of Another Castle, and keyboard piano melodies in the background add to the heaviness, drama and intensity of the songs. Also, one of the highlights on this album I must mention is Streets Of Rage, just perfect song for fist pumping in the air and singing along to the anthemic chorus. This album and band is such wonderful surprise. Love it! Go and listen!
We recently talked to Emilio Menze about his new project and the called Dark Ride in an interview.
Finally, the new debut e.p. is out now. Dark Ride is a spawn of Emilio Menze, who is known in the scene for his work in Stellar Corpses, Mister Monster, Plan 9. Emilio did vocals, guitars and bass for the recording and couple of friends helped with the rest. This record contains five songs with the opener Mistress Blade being kind of intro with ominous keyboard melody being wicked and reminding me of the opening sequences of some eighties horror movie. The music is not too fast, but it is very melodic horrorpunk with kinda melancholic atmosphere, like a vampire raised from the grave to create music about horror, death, love and darkness. Heresy is a song with some metallic influences in the guitar work and superb catchy chorus and Emilio´s voice is one of the best there is right now in the scene. My personal favorites are the last three songs, first being Infernally Yours which I played over and over again. Anti-Hero is a song for which there is a fantastic video by Adam Judd and this song is my absolute hit on the playlist since it came out. I listen to it at least once a day but rather three times. This song is perfect example how modern horrorpunk should sound, lyrically and musically. There is a nice electronic background prior to the last part of the song which fits perfectly into the song structure and chorus made for singing along. My Best Friend´s Exorcism is the last song on this record and I am awed by it. It has so pumping bass line almost reminding me of some oi punk song, but it is technical with impeccable guitar work and super backing vocals and I would really love to see this whole material played live somewhere. This is one of the best horrorpunk releases this year.
These five songs are in fact a sequel, follow up to the part 1 that was self released in 2018. The music of The Speakeasy is something to be reckoned with. I love the no bullshit, no holds barred old school mixture of nineties melodic hardcore punk/skatepunk with some pop punk influences thrown in the song structures. From the two fast more straightforward skatepunk songs Whisky Tigers and Sunday Blues with nice catchy hooks, melodic verses and harmonies on choruses just made to sing along with, to my favorite song on the record being Down In History, with such beautiful lyrics about loss and coping with it and carrying on when you can´t no more, topped with drama and melody, this song was on repeat for like ten times. Lord Knows is a bit different song from other material, being more rock song with metal influenced guitar riffs reminding me of Volbeat in a weird way. Requiem is another personal favorite of mine, I know, I know, I am depressed sad little fucker, but I love rough yet melodic vocals this band has, speed, melody and such fantastic lyrics this song has. This is an awesome record, I can´t wait for the full length and to see these guys once live playing on stage once this covid shit ends.
KRAYKULLA-WEBZINE 