Music

Album Review: The Other ‘New Blood’

Published

14 years ago

August 30, 2010

These past few weeks, we’ve had Rod Usher, singer of the German horrorpunk group The Other, submit his Top 10 horror rock songs and his Top 10 horror poster taglines. Now I’m here to review their new album, ‘New Blood’, which hits US stores tomorrow! Is The Other worth it for horror fans? Check out after the jump!

The album starts with the title track, which is a very horror-inspired symphonic instrumental that conjures up images of gothic mansions, creepy laboratories and dark cemeteries. It is a lead in to the ‘Back To The Cemetery’ which kicks in with sustained guitar chords and thick bass riffing, all with Rod Usher singing in a very operatic manner over top. The song shifts from full on punk to moments of metal riffing. It’s a very driving song and a very clear indicator of what to expect from the rest of the album.

The production of the album is spot on. Each instrument sounds pristine and the album is mixed very professionally. Perhaps this is a strange comment, but with the dark lyrical content and the ferocity of the songs, it almost feels like a bit of rawness here and there in the production would have worked. The only thing a bit off is the vocals sometimes go a bit off key, but as I just mentioned, with the feel of the songs, it actually works in favor rather than against.

Lyrically, this album is a treat to any horror fan. Each song deals with some topic of horror, ranging from live burial to Transylvania to Castle Rock. ‘Castle Rock’ is a special treat for any Stephen King fan as there are references to many of his books in the lyrics. I had to have a friend come in and translate the lyrics to ‘Hier Kommt Die Dunkelheit’, as I’m not exactly well-versed in German. While translating, she shivered and proclaimed the lyrics were ‘‘Spooky!’’

Overall, ‘New Blood’ is a high-energy album that is a great deal of fun. This album will definitely be making rounds at my next Halloween party.

4 out of 5 skulls

JonathanBarkan

Managing editor/music guy/social media fella of Bloody-Disgusting

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Music

“He Walks By Night” – Listen to a Brand New John Carpenter Song NOW!

Published

2 weeks ago

April 9, 2024

John Squires

It’s a new day, and you’ve got new John Carpenter to listen to. John Carpenter, Daniel Davies and Cody Carpenter have released the new track He Walks By Night this morning, the second single off their upcoming album Lost Themes IV: Noir, out May 3 on Sacred Bones Records.

Lost Themes IV: Noir is the latest installment in a series that sees Carpenter releasing new music for John Carpenter movies that don’t actually exist. The first Lost Themes was released in 2015, followed by Lost Themes II in 2016 and Lost Themes III: Alive After Death in 2021.

Sacred Bones previews, “It’s been a decade since John Carpenter recorded the material that would become Lost Themes, his debut album of non-film music and the opening salvo in one of Hollywood’s great second acts. Those vibrant, synth-driven songs, made in collaboration with his son Cody Carpenter and godson Daniel Davies, kickstarted a musical renaissance for the pioneering composer and director. With Lost Themes IV: Noir, they’ve struck gold again, this time mining the rich history of the film noir genre for inspiration.

“Since the first Lost Themes, John has referred to these compositions as “soundtracks for the movies in your mind.” On the fourth installment in the series, those movies are noirs. Like the film genre they were influenced by, what makes these songs “noirish” is sometimes slippery and hard to define, and not merely reducible to a collection of tropes. The scores for the great American noir pictures were largely orchestral, while the Carpenters and Davies work off a sturdy synth-and-guitar backbone.

“The trio’s free-flowing chemistry means Lost Themes IV: Noir runs like a well-oiled machine—the 1951 Jaguar XK120 Roadster from Kiss Me Deadly, perhaps, or the 1958 Plymouth Fury from John’s own Christine. It’s a chemistry that’s helped power one of the most productive stretches of John’s creative life, and Noir proves that it’s nowhere near done yielding brilliant results.”

You can pre-save Lost Themes IV: Noir right now! And listen to the new track below…