International Review Round-up - A and B bands, classic reviews - part 1

In my continuing attempt to review as many horror punk releases as is (in)humanly possible here is the next in my international reviews, a bunch of classics here all focusing on bands starting with 'A' or 'B'.

AFI - All Hallows (EP - 1999, USA)

Chances are you may be familiar with this classic EP. As AFI moved to a distinctly horror punk/hardcore sound after their earlier releases (of which I am a massive fan - 'Very Proud of Ya' being one of my all time favourite albums), and in the midst of the pair of classics 'Black Sails in the Sunset' and 'The Art of Drowning' that would propel the bands popularity, they released this 4 song EP containing a Misfits cover to make their inspiration readily apparent. The three original songs here are all killer. The relentless energy of 'Fall Children' mixes with a gothic edge and is a classic of the genre; 'The Boy Who Destroyed the World', featured on Tony Hawks 3, is a skate punk meets Misfits ripper, whilst 'Totalimmortal' is just a singalong masterclass. The version of 'Halloween', not a song lacking in cover attempts, *nearly* exceeds the original. Rounded off by some incredible artwork, the All Hallows EP is a horror punk classic.

Streamable on Spotify and available in physical form on various websites!

America's Most Haunted - First Blood (EP - 2022, USA)

From Denver emerges a new force of horror punk with America's Most Haunted. For a debut EP this absolutely kills it. The opening trio of songs alone is worth the price of admission - 'Witching Hour' starts with a scream, quickly ascends into a rollicking psychobilly-influenced horror punk masterclass, followed by 'Sign of the Wolf', a lycanthropic tale of lusting for blood that is mid-paced but will claw itself into your head like the very best of earworms. 'In These Woods' laments a killers actions with a particularly catchy-as-hell song which will have you singing along in no time. The final two songs are less upbeat and don't quite match the opening trio, but it's a tried-and-tested formula for a HP release and both sound great still. A hell of a debut EP.

Yet another EP up on Bandcamp for free, but well worth chucking the band some cash.

America's Most Haunted - New Blood (EP - 2023, USA)

Following up their excellent debut EP, this 4 song release from America's Most Haunted is just as great. Opening track 'Screaming in the Grave' is the absolute standout - a lament to misery and death with a 50s rock n roll vibe and an irresistible chorus. 'Sworn to the Dark' is pure satanic horror punk ritual, whilst 'Sometimes They Come Back' uses a clip from the movie adaption of the Stephen King novel to great effect as it opens a relentless onslaught of a song in classic HP style. 'Dead and Broken' ends the EP on a strong note. At just over 9 minutes 'New Blood' is a short burst of the bands credentials, but boy I wish it was longer. An album from these guys would be immense.

Available on the band's Bandcamp (for free, again) and was available in limited numbers as a physical release. 

Antarctica Vs. The World - Grave New World (Album - 2005, USA)

Fuck yeah this is my jam. Antarctica Vs the World were a band out of New Orleans who seemingly released this single album back in 2005. This is pure old school American hardcore punk blending the ferocity of the 80s Midwest sound with elements of So-Cal melody and an obvious debt of gratitude to the Misfits. The album speeds along at a rate of knots barely slowing down at all as it delivers gut-punching horror themed punk; songs are short focused slaps to the face, lyrics cover various horror tropes without ever being too cliched or by-the-numbers. An ode to 'Tales from the Crypt' is a standout track, as is the tongue-in-cheek 'Murdered my Girlfriend' which has an irresistible groove to it. For fans of D.I., Zero Boys, Negative Approach (could name a hundred 80s bands here to be honest).

You can download the entire album at the Louisiana Music Archive here. 

Blood Geyser - We Want to Give You Nightmares (Album - 2020, Australia)

Blood Geyser, from Melbourne, Australia, seemed to release two albums in 2020 and then promptly disappeared. What they leave as their legacy though is quite simply brilliant. An unholy mix of horror punk sensibility, black metal guttural growls, synthy backgrounds, an almost surf-punk groove and a ton of audio clips from a plethora of blood soaked horror classics. Somehow they managed to gather that eclectic mix into a cohesive, terrifying aural horror show which evokes 80s slashers, hammer horror and jump scare horror. It's quite a remarkable achievement!

We Want to Give You Nightmares is the first album. It crackles with 80s slasher synth, rumbles with a tsunami of doom-laced surf punk pierced with growling vocals. The audio clips (each song has plenty of audio clips from a variety of films) act as much as the vocals as the unnerving vocalist, and brilliantly so, creating a brilliant cacophony that picks away at your unconsciousness. It's difficult to pick out a standout track - 'Monster' just rips along on a surf rhythm, it's incessant lyrics listing various horror icons somehow working superbly. This sort of mix shouldn't work - but it does. An unbelievable album.

Available - completely for free - on Bandcamp here. You owe it to yourself to listen to this. 

Blood Geyser - Possession (Album - 2020, Australia)

The second Blood Geyser album carries on from the first with an incredible mix of genre-influences and horror movie iconicness. There's a pronounced surf punk edge ('Get Out of the Water' and 'Submerged' both brilliant examples of the sub-genre, but it permeates the entire album), metal vocals still fester their way out of the songs, the audio clips are omnipresent (and this time around the classic soundtracks are worked into the songs, both Jaws and The Night of the Living Dead prominent parts of the collage of aural terror in their respective influenced songs) and the horror is prominent (the laid back surf punctuated by screams of 'The Sinners of Hell' a particularly haunting example). The only way it can be described is Surf-Punk-Horror-Soundtrack with death metal vocals and a synth backbone. Incredible, once again. 

Once more available - completely for free - on Bandcamp here. What an absolute gem of a pair of finds.