It’s impossible to retrospect on the last thirteen years in horror
music without crediting the internet for blowing things wide open. In the late ’90s, your favourite radio station, magazine and music TV channel were still the primary source of new tunes. Today, kids “tweet” on social networking site Twitter about the latest Norwegian black metal album they’ve just downloaded, before finding a new flavour-of-the-week between status updates and brooding self-por- traits. Tack on the overwhelming impact of sprawling global arteries that are genre blogs, internet radio stations, independent review sites, online periodicals and digital rabbit holes such as MySpace and Facebook, and the plight of your average horror band has changed immeasurably in thirteen years.
“[The internet] truly is a double-edged
sword,” says GWAR singer and 25-year music industry vet, Oderus Urungus. “Yes, it makes it easier to get your music out there, but the downside of it is that because it’s so easy, there’s a huge profusion of shitty bands who basically only exist be- cause they have a MySpace page. Oh, how I yearn for the days of demo tapes and fax machines.” Consequently, a greater number of hor-
ror bands can now theoretically sustain themselves. But they have to stand out from the pack. And so, the subgenres at the darker end of the musical spectrum have splintered. Heavy metal, thrash, doom, death metal, psychobilly and rockabilly now become sub-subgenres: metalcore, death- core, grindcore, goregrind, deathgrind, gothabilly, thrashabilly, punkabilly, surfabilly, black metal, drone metal, folk metal, gothic metal – you get the picture. While major labels continue their strug-
gle to adapt to the public’s ever-changing musical digestion, indie labels with less pull (but also less overhead) are not only mak- ing headway, they’re feeling the effects of a level playing field. “Without a doubt, particularly in visual
genres like horror punk, horror metal and shock rock, I would estimate 90 to 95 per- cent of our customers and band fanbase are directly because of the internet,” says Shane Diablo, co-owner of horror punk im- print Dr. Cyclops Records (DieMonsterDie, The Crimson Ghosts). “Big money labels are losing sales, but the small guy who truly believes in what he does now has a chance in this industry. Really, you are one single or one very cool video away from opening the floodgates to new fans, new bands, and a long future.”
OCTOBER 17, 2003 The Texas Chainsaw Massacre heralds the arrival of remakes from Michael Bay’s Platinum Dunes.
For Edward Douglas of gothic instru-
mental group Midnight Syndicate, the shift away from the tightly wound promotional machine means the ability to survive as a working purveyor of horror music – a no- tion that, prior to the changes in the indus- try over the past thirteen years, would’ve been an uphill battle. “The internet has allowed us to reach
fans around the world without ever tour- ing or having a radio hit,” he says. “It has also lessened the deathlock grip that the record labels, commercial radio stations and distributors had on this industry when we first entered. You're only going to be able to reach so many people through the traditional avenues and the cost is great. The internet opened the door to a much wider audience for inde- pendent artists at not much additional cost.” Lonesome Wyatt of Those Poor Bastards,
a band whose self-described “doom coun- try” stylings have definitely benefitted from the proliferation of subgenres, is even more succinct. “Probably about 70 percent of [our] fans
are from the internet. A band like this could exist, but it would just be harder to spread the disease.”
NOVEMBER 21, 2003 Oldboy ignites a mini Korean K-horror wave, that includes The Host (2006) and Thirst (2009).
FEBRUARY 25, 2004 The Passion of the Christ is released to become the top-grossing “torture porn” flick of all time.
APRIL 2, 2004 Guillermo Del Toro’s adaptation of Mike Mignola’s Hellboy comic hits theatres.
AUGUST 2004 Rue Morgue Radio, the world’s first horror-themed podcast, begins.
AUGUST 27, 2004 Rue Morgue’s annual Festival of Fear convention launches with George A. Romero as guest of honour.
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