pecially the horror soundtracks. It all began – not surprisingly, given the title of my new column – with
M
Alice Cooper. When I was about ten years old, a friend played Constrictor for me. Something about the way Cooper sang about splatter horror and wild sex appealed to me on the level that things typically appeal to pre- pubescent boys. What really caught my atten- tion, though, was the synthy track “Man Behind the Mask,” which was the theme song to the then-most recent Friday the 13thmovie, Jason Lives. I hadn’t quite gotten into horror movies yet because, truth is, they scared me to death. But that song got me interested in both renting them and, eventually, collecting their sound-
tracks. I’ve amassed some pretty great records since then – including my orig-
inal mint condition copy of Cooper’s Pretties For You, autographed by the shockmaster himself – but the sweet, sweet vinyl versions I covet most are those original horror movie soundtracks. There’s just something about having the music – really, the very soul of these amazing films – captured in crackly, atmospheric vinyl and housed in eyeball-pleasing art. My col- lection includes classic John Carpenter scores such as Escape from New York and The Thing, but I wish I could find more original Italian horror soundtracks. This is why I love Cineploit Records, a small Austrian label dedicated to
high-quality vinyl releases of music inspired by the glory days of Italian horror and exploitation, which just released the second volume of an album by Canadian act Orgasmo Sonore (roughly translated: “Orgasmic Sound”), titled Revisiting Obscure Film Music. It’s a slab of orange vinyl that came across my imaginary desk last year featuring reinterpretations of Fabio Frizzi’s Zombie 2, Stelvio Cipriani’s Nightmare City and more. Recently the label sent us some beautiful
splatter vinyl releases, including a seven-inch titled Omaggio a Joe D’Amato e Marcello Giombini that features covers of Marcello Giombini’s themes from sleaze epics Anthro- pophagus and Erotic Nights of the Living Dead. (In RM#129 we reviewed the equally gorgeous 12-inch Omaggio a Lucio Fulci e Fabio Frizzi by Alain Leonard and Alex Wank.) If the music itself doesn’t impress you, the detailed packaging will, as it incorporates original stills, poster art and other promo materials. Perhaps even more impressive are the 180 gram releases by instru-
mental acts Thelma, Malabimba and Zoltan. Each group brings its own fuzzy creep to completely original works inspired by the likes of Riz Or- tolani, Goblin and Frizzi – similar to the early releases of Pittsburgh’s Zombi. These warm, atmospheric records will evoke memories of the first time you heard the main theme from Ortolani’s Cannibal Holocaust, and are simply made for the analog format. So if you share my vinyl affliction and want to learn more about Cines-
ploit, visit
cineploit.com or look for yours truly at the next Rue Morgue event. There’s nothing I love waxing poetic about more than wax. Well, except maybe The Coop.
AARON VON LUPTON RM 06 A U D I O D R O M E
y name is Aaron Von Lupton, and I have a vinyl fetish. No, this isn’t some bondage club confession, I just really, really love records. In fact, they’re some of my most prized possessions, es-
writing, perhaps not surprisingly draw- ing inspiration from Blue Oyster Cult. There’s a dreamy quality to the music that will appeal to occult rock followers and the odd deadly riff (“I’ll Die For You” is a killer track), but there’s also a seri- ously pretentious and long-winded quality to Angels’ Necropolis, which isn’t exactly what one looks for when trying to get pumped up for a ritualistic sacrifice. Satan probably would not be pleased. AVL 00
NEUROSIS Honor Found in Decay
METAL
NEUROT RECORDINGS It’s been five years since post-metal soundscapers Neurosis’ last output, and on Honor Found in Decay the Oakland mountain men sound huger than ever. Though it’s only seven songs long, each track averages eight minutes of sheer sonic mass. Bringing in a range of sounds, from country folk to glacial gui- tar riffs and drum pummelling to more melodic passages and awesome key- board effects straight out of a John Car- penter film, the basic premise of Honor is the shifting dynamics from slow and beautiful to harsh and massive, without the songwriting ever becoming pre- dictable or pedestrian. Violins are intro- duced on opener “We All Rage in Gold” and closer “Raise the Dawn,” creating a weird, foreign-sounding vibe. Because this is a Neurosis album, it will take a number of listens to digest it, especially since the band has never sounded more expansive, layered and technical. An- other monstrous effort from one of the more challenging groups in the game. AVL 0000
than most “new old-school” projects popping up these days that are eager to ape the sound of Entombed, Dismember and the early Swedish death metal school. Zombified’s intensity is dis- played primarily in the seasoned growls of bassist/frontman Robban Karlsson, who has proven his metal pedigree with such diverse acts as Scar Symmetry, Darkified, Facebreaker and Edge of Sanity. The guitar work on Carnage Slaughter and Death is impressive as well, especially considering this is only Zombified’s sophomore release. Patrik Halvarsson and Par Fransson ensure that their riffs are memorable without leaning into plagiarism territory, while the drums of J. Johansson blast away with reckless abandon, locking into a Grave-esque oompa-oompa groove only when needed. The ghouls of Zomb- ified certainly have their collective fin- gers on the pulse of bowel-churning, world-eating death metal violence, and Carnage Slaughter and Death is a fitting term for this annihilative effort. GP 0001/2
DECEASED Supernatural Addiction
METAL
ZOMBIFIED Carnage Slaughter and Death
METAL
CYCLONE EMPIRE The grinding death noise of Sweden’s Zombified is of a more serious nature
HELLS HEADBANGERS Hard to believe that it was over a decade ago that cult horror metal band Deceased’s landmark album Supernat- ural Addiction was featured in Audio Drome. And, as this reissue proves, it has aged surprisingly well. Compared to the blunt death metal approach of the Virginians’ previous zombie concept album Fearless Undead Machines, this 2000 release has significantly more melody and songwriting depth, giving each one of these creepy tale-inspired songs an epic feel, and a unique sound befitting a band with such an under- ground, niche following. This disc in- cludes five demo recordings that feature a wonderful rawness, augment- ing Deceased’s inherent punk and garage overtones. “Dark Chilling Heart- beat,” based on Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Tell-Tale Heart,” is a particular standout, and the rest of the bonus tracks bring in an equally cool edginess. That’s not to say I would take the demos over the originals, but they do make a legiti- mately good reason to revisit this grave- yard classic. AVL 0000
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