NEW RELEASE! WOLFMEN OF MARS...DON'T LET IT IN

Horror synth rockers, Wolfmen Of Mars, have come roaring back with yet another impeccable release; Don't let it in! This is the Wolfmen's 11th album following on the heels of Warp Suburbium. Once again they lay down some serious grooves while giving shape to the soundscape of your favorite nightmares.

The album opens with the title track and might be my favorite song of theirs so far. "Kiss The Broken Bottle" is thudding urban gothic funk from hell. "Ritual" is  the title theme for some great lost Argento film. "Welcome To The Fear Theme/Hallucinatoria" will time travel you back to the glorious days of the video store and renting something fucked up you were too young to see. "At The Barn" and "Omens" are short interludes on the way to the album's closer, "Della Strega," which is Italian for whip lash or back strain, but I wonder if it's a reference to the 1973 Italian film Il Sesso Sella Strega or Sex Of The Witch? 

The artwork is by Patrick Sparrow, who had previously done The Wolfmen's The Light In The Corner Of Your Eye. It's a damn great total package, lots of fun, and will leave you wanting more, more, more! It's available HERE at Bandcamp and it's a name your own price deal.

Keep up with evil goings-on of Wolfmen Of Mars on Facebook and Twitter and play their music loud!

WHAT'S YOUR TOP THREE FAVORITE HORROR FILMS? WOLFMEN OF MARS GIVES UP THEIRS!

It's almost here, kids, the big day and all month our pals have been giving their top three favorite horror films, in case you were stumped for the perfect flick for your Halloween night! Well, another one of my favorite groups, Wolfmen Of Mars, have shared theirs. If you don't know Wolfmen Of Mars then you must be new around here. Since 2011 they've dropped a dozen releases on their Bandcamp page, inspired by horror soundtracks of the 1970s and 80s, but with more of a rock vibe. Their latest release, WARP SUBURBIUM, shows an amazing band continuing to evolve their sound, while staying true  to what made them good to begin with. Hit their page HERE and download their catalogue for the perfect soundtrack for your Halloween shindigs!

Confession time kids, WoM have picked two films I have not seen! And frankly, I have no excuse for the first one. Tobe Hooper made two of my all time favorite films, TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE 1 and 2, as well some staples of my youth POLTERGEIST, LIFEFORCE, and SALEM'S LOT. In 1981, Hooper made a film called THE FUNHOUSE. In the film, a group of friends try to hide out in a carnival overnight, but wind up bearing witness to a nasty little crime and get discovered by the crooked carnie barker named Conrad and his deformed son Gunther. After that the kids are fighting to survive against this twisted duo. After reading up on the flick and watching the trailer, I'm sorely disappointed in myself for passing up on this...but to be honest, that fucking clown on the cover of the VHS box was rather unsettling to me as a kid and knowing it was by the guy that made TCM? Well, Hooper scared the shit out of me with TCM and now he's going to do it with a clown? I wasn't touching that movie! But I do believe I'll be remedying that soon.

The next one I have not seen is a film called HAUSU. Directed by Japanese filmmaker Nobuhiko Obayashi, HAUSU is about six young girls who travel to one of the girl's aunt's house, only to one by one be devoured by the house. Pretty standard horror fare, I'd say. Produced by Toho, who are probably best known to American audiences for their GODZILLA films, they approached Obayashi to make a film similar to JAWS. Well, I don't know what inspired the tangent he went off on with this flick (which is now available from the Criterion Collection) but the trailer is a delirious two minutes in itself. In fact, I wonder if Sam Raimi saw this movie before making EVIL DEAD, because the mix of genres and mediums just in the trailer are nuts and I can see those same qualities in the first two EVIL DEAD films.

And now that brings us to a film I have seen and hold in high esteem. Would I immediately consider it when looking for a horror movie to watch? No, but would it exist without the horror genre, probably not! THE BURBS, starring Carrie Fisher, Bruce Dern, Tom Hanks, and Corey Feldman is a fantastic, fun, creepy, and wonderful film. I've showed it to my kids and they got a kick out of it. It's probably my favorite thing outside of BOSOM BUDDIES that Tom Hanks ever did. Directed by the great Joe Dante (THE HOWLING, GREMLINS), THE BURBS is about a quiet suburb that gets turned upside down when the weirdo Klopeks move in. It's about neighbors who can't mind their own business and let paranoia run wild, or is it just paranoia? THE BURBS reminds me of a classic TWILIGHT ZONE episode, stretched out with some zany 80s comedy. The cast is fantastic and it's a nearly flawless horror comedy, of course it's way more comedy with the horror being very understated for the majority of the film.

KING VULTURE'S SOUND ATTACK; 10.3.15 OCTOBER HAS BEGUN MIX

WOLFMEN OF MARS VS THE MANGLED DEAD IS NOW AVAILABLE ON VINYL!!!!

In case you missed it, this slab of horror rock from The Mangled Dead and Stranger faves Wolfmen of Mars is now available in glorious 12" vinyl and it roooocks!











Hit up Wolfmen's Bandcamp page HERE to purchase.


Check out a track from each band, if you don't already know them...

Mouth Like a Pirahana

Frankenstein Pays The Rent

WOLFMEN OF MARS WINS AGAIN WITH KICK ASS "GAMISU"!

If you could hug music and give it a big girly kiss, then the music of Wolfmen of Mars would probably sue me for sexual harassment-or at least get a restraining order. This band gets a big stamp of approval from Stranger With Friction and their new album GAMISU does not disappoint.
If you're unfamiliar with WoM, they are an instrumental synth rock band who's music is heavily inspired the great horror movie soundtracks of the 70's and 80's. Not to be confused with the equally cool Werewolves In Siberia, the Wolfmen have a more fuzzed out driving rock sound.
GAMISU (which apparently means 'fuck off!' in greek) finds WoM innovating and evolving their sound, while still sounding like WoM. Particularly, the first five tracks sound exactly like what fans would expect, but following track six, Hurricane Season on Monster Island (a quieter more atmospheric track than the title suggests), the Wolfmen take it up a notch with the bi-polar-tempo Electric Snakeskin, the driving synth workout No English, fuzzy mosher Machines With Warpaint, and the demonic Morricone-esque Pazuzu Sunrise.
Making this near flawless release all the more delicious is that frame-worthy cover by Patrick Sparrow; monster hands reaching down from the the stars to destroy suburbia...pretty good description of the music there in! While the album became available on Bandcamp June 2nd, vinyl fetishists will get their fix in July when GAMISU takes on it's 12" physical form. Hit their Bandcamp page HERE  and give your day the proper soundtrack it deserves!

BEST ALBUMS OF 2014

Its been a good year if you're into original soundtracks on vinyl, doom metal, and synth music. Out of all the great albums that have landed this year I chose five, one being a re-issue.

Werewolves In Siberia "Beyond The City of The Dead"

Wolfmen of Mars "The Light In The Corner Of Your Eye" (Read my joint  wolfy review here)

Mortals "Cursed To See The Future" (Read my Popshifter review here)

Timeworm "Luminescent Wake" (Read my Popshifter review here)

Creepshow original soundtrack re-issue from Waxworks Records (I didn't write a review of this amazing release, but next to last year's Re-Animator release, this is a great package! Translucent blue vinyl with GORE-GEOUS artwork from Ghoulish Gary.)

KING VULTURE'S SOUND ATTACK 10.9.14 HALLOWEEN TIME AGAIN!

SAMHAIN...ALL MURDER ALL GUTS ALL FUN

WOLFMEN OF MARS...DOWN THE SPIRAL STAIRCASE

ALICE COOPER...ROSES ON WHITE LACE

THE CRAMPS...HUMAN FLY

MISFITS...HORROR BUSINESS

RAMONES...YOU SHOULD NEVER HAVE OPENED THAT DOOR

THE EXPLOITED...HORROR EPICS

CALABRESE...BORN WITH A SCORPION'S TOUCH

BALZAC...D.A.R.K.

WEREWOLVES IN SIBERIA...NIGHT OF THE FLESHEATERS

MISSION CREEPS...CREEPY

NEW ALBUMS FROM WEREWOLVES IN SIBERIA AND WOLFMEN OF MARS...REVIEWED!

I've been a monster kid all my life and a fan of real horror since the mid-80s and I think right now is the best time to be a horror fan. Our access to the most obscure gems is nearly limitless, the over-all artistic quality of films coming out is inspiring (We Are What We Are, Maniac, American Mary, Here Comes The Devil, The Innkeepers), the availability and abundance of collectibles are as attainable as your wallet allows. The boom in quality horror culture has brought a loving resurgence in vinyl soundtracks (my Re-Animator OST from Waxworks Records is to die for) with superior sound quality, amazing art, and sexy colored records.
Along side reissues of classic soundtracks from John Carpenter, Goblin, Richard Band, and Lucio Fulci films there are a number of synth bands inspired by these scores making original music. Bloody Disgusting issued a top ten list of these bands last week, but left off my two favorites; Werewolves In Siberia and Wolfmen of Mars. WiS just dropped the new album Beyond The City Of The Living Dead on April 1st and WoM will release The Light In The Corner Of Your Eye on May 2nd and they are both must owns!

Hailing from my favorite city, Boston MA, Wolfmen of Mars lays down groove heavy synth rock inspired by '70's and '80's horror films. An Abrupt Ending (To A Wonderful Evening) kicks off the album with an atmospheric doom metal feel that sets the tone for a road trip through a scary sci-fi nightmare. Boasting tougher than nails  beats, fuzzier than a lycanthrope guitars and old school keyboard this album perfectly compliments 2013's Universal Madness. And look at that cover! The album wraps up with a sick team up with another horror rock group, The Mangled Dead, that sounds like a lost Samhain song.
Go here to check out the first single, Technicolor Rd.
Go here for the group's Bandcamp page.


Where WoM have more of a rock sound, Werewolves In Siberia has a much more traditional 80's synth feel while introducing different types of beats keeping the music fresh. While WiS can certainly build a cool groove too, the emphasis is definitely on atmosphere and more cinematic. I've enjoyed this album a lot while writing at night with my headphones on. Like 2013's The Rising, Beyond The CityOf The Living Dead is an album you can just get lost in. The Woods lulls you in before chasing you into the dark recesses of your imagination. Lycanthropic Dreamscape opens the werewolf movie of your dreams. Street Vengeance should be the main theme if The Warriors remake ever happens.  The album's closer, A Hole In The Space Time Continuum, is probably my favorite with a driving synth bass line and dread to spare.
Go here to purchase WiS's albums and while you're there download the free Halloween EP and Halloween mix tapes.

So yea, as a horror fan, I've got no complaints these days...aside from being perpetually broke while any number of amazing releases come and go. This synth rock/dark-wave/whatever you call it movement is a welcome addition to the horror rock sub genre that's been a bit bloated with psychobilly and Misfits legacy bands (not to knock any of them!) the last several years.

You can follow both bands' sites at the links above and follow them on Twitter @werewolves_i_s and @wolfmenofmars. To close out here's WoM's Seance By The Sea from their first album We're Gonna Die Either Way...

King Vulture's Sound Attack

Wolfmen of Mars...Seance By The Sea

The Mugshots...Dr Bloodmoney

Bedtime For Robots...Guess Who This Is

ReAnimator-Suite from the original soundtrack

Alice Cooper...I Am Made of You