Curated by Monk
Well, it’s only a few days until our favourite night of the year – even though we’ve already attended our first fancy dress ball of the season – and so we’re throwing open the doors for this special edition of the Singles Club featuring some of the spookiest and, it has to be admitted, loosely Halloween-themed tunes that have been bothering our death decks in the lead up to All Soul’s Eve… so, let’s dive into the big gooey cauldron of rock ‘n’ roll fangtasticness, shall we? OK, if you insist…
Atomis ‘In The Realm Of Hungry Ghosts’ (Self-Released)
These Canadian progressive post-metallers have paid tribute to their late drummer, and creative driving force, by releasing a boxset of their entire three-album discography, including an alternative version of their debut and a shit-tonne of previously unreleased live tracks. They get us in the mood with this deeply introspective and atmospheric epic taster:
Badflower ‘Haunting You’ (Big Machine Records)
The LA/Nashville quartet really get us into ethereal mood with this standalone release which takes us into the world of a literal ghost haunted by the lingering presence of the lover’s orbit they were removed from, with a track that is at much at home on a break-up ‘bangers playlist as a Halloween one:
Cradle Of Filth ‘Malignant Perfection’ (Napalm Records)
Well, it wouldn’t be Helloween Havok without Mr Filth bringing a touch of the grandiose macabre to proceedings, would it? And that’s exactly what he does with this horrific homage to the female deification of evil on this suitably dark and gothic slice of typically OTT splendour, released ahead of their tour, which kicks off in Bristol this very night:
Great American Ghost ‘Lost In The Outline’ (SharpTone Records)
Having already sung us a ‘Hymn Of Decay’ and taken us into the land of the ‘Forsaken’, GAG open the next chapter of their upcoming fourth album, ‘Tragedy Of The Commons’, due for release at the end of January:
Hell In The Club ‘Carolina Reaper’ (Frontiers Music)
This standalone offering is the first from the new look Italian/Swedish retro-metallers, who welcome new singer Tezzi Persson to their fold and deliver another slice of archetypal blend of ‘90s sleaze and ‘80s NWoBHM, combined with a healthy dose of Noughties Scandi-rock:
Hollywood Undead ‘Hollywood Forever’ (Sumerian Records)
The mysterious rap rockers return to their roots, with the resurrection of their iconic masks and this tribute to the fans who have stood by the band:
Izzy Reign ‘Spooky Scary Skeletons’ (FiXT)
Known for her quirky covers – her version of ‘This Is Halloween’ has topped ten million streams – Reign uses her unique blend of alternative, alt-pop, and chill pop elements to turn this once-goofy Andrew Gold Halloween staple into a dark and atmospheric track filled with eerie undertones and haunting vibes, but once again injecting it with her sense of light-heartedness:
King Satan ‘Abyss Of The Souls’ (Noble Demon Records)
These Finnish industrial metal heretics are drawing us deeper into their dank and dark abyss as they prepare to preach ‘The Devil’s Evangelion‘ with the release of their fourth album on 8 November:
New Skeletal Faces ‘Until The Night’ (Peaceville Records)
The title track of this, the new album from the Californian death rockers, sees them delving deep into the forgotten, dark underbelly of rock and roll and exploring the “ritualistic deviancies partaken by the lost souls of our planet” to deliver “an anthem for the heathens that plague the night”. And we’re not arguing with them…
O’Phantom ‘Cold Call’ (Self-Released)
This Hull alt-indie “ghost collective” take their inspiration from the rugged and isolated northern landscapes of their surroundings, melding a keen devotion to tape music and lo-fi sounds, Yorkshire’s gothic history and the region’s DIY attitude to develop frenetic soundscapes centred around melancholic self-reflection:
Paradise Sins ‘Love Like Hell’ (Self-Release)
These young English melodic rockers have previously taken us to the realms of the ‘UnDead’ and shared their brand of ‘Voodoo Love’, and now share their hellish love of the darker side of rock ‘n’ roll with this first taster of their upcoming debut EP, on which they will be expressing their innermost ‘Desires’ at the beginning of December:
Phil Spector’s Gun ‘Vampire Blues’ (Candlepin Records)
Another cover version, this time of the darkly eloquent Neil Young deep cut, sees this Philadelphia garage rock quartet delivering primal rhythms and relentless energy mixed with a decadent touch of sleaze:
RedHook ‘Dr Frankstein'(Self-Released)
The Sydney alt-rockers team up with ÜK counterparts Holding Absence for this slice of retro-horror schlock, a tasty appetizer (sic) for their upcoming second album, due for release in just a few short weeks’ time:
The Earls Of Babylon ‘My Little Frankenstein’ (Wicked Cool Records)
This is something of a moment in history as it is the first new song from these Illinois garage rock legends since 1967, when their flame burned brightly but briefly with their original version of ‘Hi Ho Silver Lining’. Now, more than 50 years later the band’s two protagonists have been brought together by a chance encounter in a bar in the town from which they take their name – and what better way to make a comeback than under the mentorship of the one and only Mr Steve Van Zandt and in collaboration with two other legends of the garage rock scene, Brian Ray and Steve Conte, who wrote this comeback ‘banger:
The Gates Of Slumber ‘Full Moon Fever’ (Svart Records)
Well, we really to have a slab of heavy doom for Halloween, don’t we? Well, the sound mixes with the darkness of the nights, and this tribute to the late Tom Petty, with its ever-so slight tongue-in-cheek twist on the band’s normally serious demeanour, is a suitably emphatic in its declaration of intent ahead of the Indiana band’s new album next month:
Timeless Rage – ‘The Devil’s Masquerade’ (Metalopolis)
To change the mood for our penultimate offering we have some traditional symphonic power metal and the first original offering from this Eastern European powerhouse since the recruitment of former Tokyo Blade/Domain vocalist Nicolaj Ruhnow, heralding a slightly deeper direction to the band’s sound:
Zombina & The Skeletones – ‘Don’t Kick My Coffin’ (9×9 Records)
What more fitting way to round off our seasonal playlist that with a dose of wicked horror punk from these revitalized (sic) Merseyside zombies, who came back to life last year and have just released their suitably twisted and blood-chilling comeback album – appropriately recorded in a disused church (as you do!):
So, that’s it for this latest special opening of the Singles Club. We hope we’re brought some suitably energizing and exploratory havok to your Halloween celebrations… now, we’re off to suck some blood and eat some brains until we get ready to share some more musical delights with you. So, until next time, remember: keep ‘er lit, keep ‘er between the hedges and keep on Über rockin’ in the free world \m/
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