GET EXCITED; MURDER BALLADS IS COMING

I can't overstate how much I'm looking forward to Bluetrane Productions' upcoming Murder Ballads. The teaser trailer dropped on line a couple days ago (you can watch below) and it reminds me of those great Dario Argento films like Deep Red or Tenebre. I only know director/co-writer James Branscome via Twitter but he seems like a righteous dude with impeccable taste, but I've know co-writer Jeffery X Martin for a hell of a long time. If you haven't read his books Black Friday or Stories About You then you need to get on that shit!

Bluetrane Productions has released the teaser for Murder Ballads to help build interest in the project and to seek additional funding. You can and should follow Murder Ballads progress on Twitter and Facebook at

https://twitter.com/Murder_Ballads

https://www.facebook.com/bloodsplatteredbanjos

And take a minute to read the press release and then watch the teaser.

Bluetrane Productions is pleased to announce the beginning of pre-production on their first feature length film production, MURDER BALLADS, a horror thriller in which a mysterious killer murders their victims in gruesome ways that resemble the lyrics of traditional folk songs. 

Co-writer/Director James Branscome describes it as a “hillbilly giallo.” 

“I got my fascination about the songs from my grandfather,” Branscome said. “He grew up listening to bluegrass, folk, and country music and played the banjo. I didn’t appreciate it right away, but once I did, I really got into it. As I did my research, I discovered I was drawn to certain songs. More often than not, those songs were the most morbid lyrically. And I started getting ideas of doing something based around the songs.”

“I’ve always loved gialli (Italian murder mysteries),” Branscome continued, “especially the films of Dario Argento, Sergio Martino, and Lucio Fulci. James DeHaven and I talked about wanting to write one for years, but we could never find the hook. Then I thought about the folk songs and suddenly it all came together.” 

“Since we’ve been working on projects over the years, I’ve always felt we were headed towards something great,” co-writer James DeHaven says. “I’m excited to be a fan of genre films, especially knowing that ‘Murder Ballads’ is so close to becoming a reality. We haven’t been given anything new in a long time. I think ‘Murder Ballads’ is going to fill a gap that genre fans have been longing to be filled. It’s a smart, gory horror movie. This isn’t your mother’s ‘Sound of Music.’” 

Creator of the horror fiction series, “The Elders Keep Project,” and film essayist Jeffery X Martin helped bring the story together. “I knew James from his earlier work, a comedy web-series called ‘Pumpkin Morgue Paranormal Investigations.’ I pitched him some stories and wrote a couple scripts. Collaborating with James was one of the easiest things I’ve ever done. We saw eye to eye on almost everything right away. We’ve been working together ever since.” 

Martin is also a fan of gialli. “I know some people have tried to make American giallo films,” he says, “but they’ve always seemed to be missing a couple of elements. ‘Murder Ballads’ captures those great giallo aspects while making it something uniquely American, specifically the American South.” 

“Murder Ballads” combines a compelling murder mystery, filled with shocking gore and suspenseful set pieces, with a story that plumbs the depth of the history of American music. 

“We want nothing more than to share the things we love with the rest of the world. Folk music, giallo movies and horror that doesn’t insult anyone’s intelligence,” Martin says. “It’s an ambitious project, and we can’t wait for everyone to see it.” 

“At the end of the day, we’re fans,” Martin concludes. “We want to make the kind of movie we would want to see as fans. Hopefully, that will resound with other fans and make this a special event.” 

With the first round of casting done, Bluetrane Productions is preparing to reinvigorate the horror genre with “Murder Ballads,” an official selection in the Screenplay Competition of Fright Film Fest 2013.

And here's a murder ballad just for kicks...

The Louvin Brothers "Knoxville Girl"

SPECIAL DUTIES '77 ONE MORE TIME' REVIEWED

If you're a fan of British street punk like The Exploited then you'll love Special Duties. As much as I like old school Brit punk, I somehow missed Special Duties, which is a shame, because this reissue is a damn fine album. Tight and snotty, fast and nasty. In other words; right up my alley. Formed in 1977 Essex by three school friends, SD recorded their debut album in 1982, "'77 in '82". And then blasted Crass with the tune Bullshit Crass, which didn't go over well with distributors Rough Trade and Small Wonder, who refused to stock their albums. The band broke up a year later, but would reform a few times over the years.
Now Jailhouse Records is re-releasing all their material over two albums. Blasting this album makes me feel like I'm seventeen again. Lots of violent audio fun. This is a must for old school punk fans with a disdain for all the sun shiny overproduced pop crap.

  

KING VULTURE'S SOUND ATTACK 8.14.14; IT'S ALL THE SAME TO ME

NEPTUNIAN SUN...HALLS OF OBLIVION

TOWNES VAN ZANDT...WAITIN' AROUND TO DIE

DOWN...STAINED GLASS CROSS

KRIS KRISTOFERSON...CASEY'S LAST RIDE

BLACK SABBATH...CHILDREN OF THE SEA

JOHNNY CASH...DOWN THERE BY THE TRAIN

CROWBAR...NO QUARTER

BILLY JOE SHAVER...GEORGIA ON A FAST TRAIN

BLACK MOTH...BLACKBIRD'S FALL

LUCINDA WILLIAMS...GET RIGHT WITH GOD

MORTALS...VIEW FROM A TOWER

MY HEROES HAVE ALWAYS BEEN MONSTERS PART 42; HELLRAISER 1-4

It starts with a scum bag named Frank Cotton seeking a puzzle box that is supposed to unlock the secrets of the flesh, instead it opens a door that lets in four perverted explorers in the extremes of pleasure and pain from an alternate dimension that may or may not be the Biblical Hell. These explorers, known as the Cenobites, quickly decimate Frank's body, literally ripping it to shreds. Welcome to Clive Barker's Hellraiser.

My first exposure to Hellraiser came from watching Siskel and Ebert savage Hellbound; Hellraiser II. Even at twelve I knew those guys were blowhards and didn't care for scary movies. The Cenobites, Pinhead, Female, Butterball, and Chatterer were like nothing I'd seen before. Dressed in kinky black leather with mutilated flesh, these guys went beyond the pale and made Freddy's striped sweater look quaint. Based on the footage shown, Hellbound looked amazing, but I'd be sixteen before I finally got see the first two Hellraiser films. By then part 3, Hell On Earth was coming out, so I got to watch all three in quick succession while reading the original novel, Hellbound Heart.
My first films based on Barker's work were Rawhead Rex and Nightbreed and I'd read those stories and the Thief of Always. So by the time I sat down to watch Hellraiser, I was already a fan of Barker. The Hellraiser and Nightbreed comics from Epic were also highly sought after items for me.
My expectations were quite high for Hellraiser and I went into the first one with almost no info. To say

the least, I was not let down. I'd call the first two works of art that hold up well today. The gore is still sick, most of the special effects are still effective. Part 3 was a massive let down, with no redeeming qualities.
Hellbound was a film I re-rented often. I loved it's epic nature and how it stood out from other horror films. I didn't return to the first Hellraiser as often, because at the time it just disturbed me too much. I think it still has the power to disturb the uninitiated, but I'm jaded enough now, that I can enjoy it on a technical level. The rebirth of Frank is one of my favorite sequences in horror.
After Hellraiser, much of my art was colored by Barker's influence, even as my disillusion with horror films started to build through the 90's. The image of the four original Cenobites, Pinhead, Female, Butterball, and Chatterer is so iconic and unparalleled. Barker raised the bar for horror artists. With Hellraiser, Nightbreed, and Rawhead Rex crossing over in the comics and creating a big shared universe, Barker had created a mythos as exciting as Lovecraft's Cthulu mythos.
When I had the chance to see Part 4, Bloodlines, I was less than excited after 3. I sat in my car at the drive in for the double feature with Tales From The Crypt; Bordello Of Blood. Which sucked.

Bloodlines did not. I know some people balked at Pinhead in space (not nearly as much as Jason in space, I know), but I really enjoyed how the film traced the history of the Lament Configuration (puzzle box) from 1700s France to a space station in 2127. New Cenobites are introduced and the scope of the film restored the epic feel of Part 2.
Even though there have been five more Hellraiser films and part 4 didn't let me down, I haven't had any interest in seeing them until now. I went back to the original two and 4. There is no reason to retry 3. So this weekend I'm watching Part 5 Inferno and will continue through Revelations where we'll pick up  MHHABM Part 43; Hellraiser 5-Revelations.
In the mean time, keep watching the sky, nerds. And leave those puzzle boxes alone!

Here's the only good thing from Part 3, Motorhead "Hellraiser"

STORIES ABOUT YOU VOLUME 1 by JEFFERY X MARTIN

Dark.  

It  is  dark  and  the  wind  scalpels  its  way  through  the  cracks  in   the  wooden  walls,  the  spaces  between  the  logs  where  the  newspaper  no   longer  holds  back  the  elements.  When  the  wind  rushes  in,  the  fire   moves  back  a  bit,  as  if  letting  someone  scoot  past  to  get  to  their   usual  seat  in  church.  Winter  is  on  the  way.    

Your  mother  is  already  in  a  fitful  sleep.  Her  shoulder  twitches   occasionally,  and  she  makes  small  fear  noises.  Your  brother  sits  in   the  rocking  chair  in  front  of  the  fire.  He  does  not  blink.  He  stares   into  the  flames,  like  he  is  waiting  for  a  message,  a  sign,  a  reason  to   move.   

So begins the first story, How We Quit The Woods, in Jeffery X Martin's (Black Friday) new book Stories About You Volume 1. If you read Black Friday you'll know Martin as an engrossing writer and Stories About You possess that same ancient/ritualistic rhythm, that same sense of experience that Black Friday had. But this time Martin has added a twist. The title is quite literal. YOU are the star of each story. The whole book is written in the second person. Hold on. I know what you're thinking and yes, it works.

While not every story is a horror story enough of it is for you creep fans. Martin can deliver the dread by the truckload with literary skills to back it up.What I found most interesting was the meditative quality of the stories, they're almost hypnotic the way YOU the reader is always being addressed.Also, as with Black Friday, emotion is one of Martin's most powerful weapons. He's not just trying to shock or scare you-he's trying to get at your heart. 
I don't think a book of second person short stories could be pulled off by just anyone. To even go for such a project takes balls and to pull it off with such style takes a mind and imagination like Martin's. Stories About You is very cool and really enjoyable. Screw the mainstream cookie cutter supermarket paperbacks, embrace a writer with class and style, fiends!
You can get Stories About You HERE. 

DOGMA/CORRUPT LEADERS SPLIT 7" COMING FROM MOSH PIT TRAGEDY

From the Blackout PR press release

July 9, 2014 - Moshpit Tragedy Records has announced it will release a split 7" between Indiana hardcore bandDOGMA, and Canadian crustgrinders CORRUPT LEADERS. The EP will be released digitally on Aug 5, and in physical format on Sep 5. Vinyl will be strictly limited to 200 copies (first 100 orders on color), with pre-orders also beginning on Aug 5. Dogma and Corrupt Leaders formed in 2012 and 2013, each releasing a self-titled EP in their first year. Both bands have toured frequently and the idea for the split came after the two bands did a run of about 6 shows together in 2013. Featuring artwork by Jasper Swerts at Infested Art(Nasum, Phobia, Noisear), the split EP was self-recorded by each band and mastered by Dan Emery at Black Matter Mastering (Argentinum Astrum, Blowfly, Graves at Sea).

Moshpit Tragedy Records formed on 6/6/06, later becoming known as the foremost "pay-what-you-want" digital label which released music from Doom, Phobia, Extreme Noise Terror, Agrimonia, Skaven and many dozen more. Before the Bandcamp days, many other labels (Inimical, Feral Ward, even Relapse to name a few) experimented with the PWYW system by releasing titles on the Moshpit Tragedy website.

I just listened to a preview and this is some blazing hardcore/grind. If you're a fan of this type of music you'll definitely want to get in on this one. Head over to Moshpit Tragedy (link above) and check out their other releases as well.

KING VULTURE'S SOUND ATTACK; 7.6.14

SEA BASTARD...NIGHTMARE OF THE MONOLITH

Ahab...Yet Another Raft Of The Medusa (Pollard's Weakness)

Graves At Sea...Pariah

Bast...Denizens

Black Cobra...Crimson Blade

Mortals...View From A Tower