Mocata's Den of Horror

Despite having five years' worth of releases already, Walk Among Us was the first full-length album to be released by the Misfits, way back in 1982, the year before the band would split up.  By this time, the band's image and sound were both fully in place, with band members sporting the devilock hairstyle, lyrics which made references to all kinds of horror and sci-fi movies, Glenn's vocals, and Jerry's growling bass tone.  The album also features what is arguably the "classic" line-up of the Misfits: Glenn Danzig- vocals, Jerry Only- bass guitar, Arthur Googy- drums, and Doyle- guitar.  Cover of LP reissue from Rhino Records Comprised of thirteen songs and clocking in at a total of about 24 minutes, Walk Among Us is a no-nonsense affair.  This is an album without filler.  Of course, there is the odd inclusion of a live recording of "Mommy, Can I Go Out and Kill Tonight" right in the middle of the album, even though there hadn't even been a st

For Halloween, there are so many movies to watch to get into the spirit of the season, as well as books to read, and, of course, music to listen to.  I already wrote a bit about Denial of God's most recent album, The Hallow Mass in my post about the book, The Reel Ghoul , so here are a few more that I think really capture the spirit of Halloween. Acid Witch: Evil Sound Screamers This is the third full-length album by Acid Witch, a band that has referred to its own music as "Halloween metal".  That makes Acid Witch a natural choice for Halloween music.  The lyrics often incorporate horror movie themes and Halloween.  There is also some of the stoner doom kind of stuff, which initially put me off from the band, but then I heard some of the band's music and was able to look past the stoner stuff, which I have never really been a fan of.  Evil Sound Screamers , to me, seems to be the most Halloween-oriented album thus far.  Though still present, the stoner element is a b

The Beast Within is something of a forgotten gem of '80s horror.  Released in 1982, it features Ronny Cox (who would later appear in Robocop and Total Recall ), Bibi Besch, R.G. Armstrong, and others, including Paul Clemens as the main character, Michael MacCleary, who has inherited some monstrous curse from his unknown father.  Born as the result of an attack on his mother, Caroline (Bibi Besch), on the night of her wedding to Eli MacCleary (Ronny Cox), Michael is raised by the two as if he were any normal child, rather than the result of a sexual assault.  When, in his late teens, Michael starts exhibiting strange symptoms and the doctors are unable to determine the cause, Eli and Caroline return to the town where the attack occurred all those years ago, looking for answers.  Unknown to them, Michael heads there as well, driven by some instinct inside him. U.S. theatrical poster Michael begins to show signs of some personality change, developing an obsession with a family by th

The Reel Ghoul is a book of movie reviews, primarily horror, but also including some action and sci-fi films.  Written by life-long horror fan, Ustumallagam, over a roughly three year period, the author had initially intended to publish them in an old-fashioned 'zine form, but found himself with too much material for that smaller size publication and instead opted to publish them in book form through Feral Books. Front cover Ustumallagam is also known as the vocalist for the Danish band Denial of God, which has been releasing music since the early '90s.  To date, the band has three full-length albums, numerous EPs, and a couple of demos to its credit.  Much of the discography would be tough to track down, as is pretty common with metal bands in general due to things going out of print and labels going out of business, not to mention the very international nature of the music.   Back cover The reviews in this book are fairly short and to the point.  He typically gives a brief su

With Halloween rapidly approaching, I wanted to discuss a movie that is good for watching around that time of year.  This year, I want to talk about a cult classic of the '80s, Trick or Treat .  Starring Marc Price (aka Skippy from Family Ties ), this film tells the story of a metal fan who is an outcast at his high school, which is also the school his hero, Sammi Curr, attended 20 years earlier.  After hearing about Curr's sudden death in a hotel fire, Eddie (Marc Price) swings by the local radio station where he talks to the DJ, Nuke (played by Gene Simmons).  Nuke gives Eddie an acetate of the final, unreleased Sammi Curr album, which cheers the distraught kid up.  Eddie listens to the record at home and soon discovers this is much more than a regular musical recording.  Through this recording, he is able to raise the spirit of his hero, Sammi, who begins wreaking havoc on the town, starting with helping Eddie best the assholes who enjoy harassing him at school.  U.S. DVD re

At some point in the late 1980s, I saw a cassette tape for sale in the Halloween aisle of either Wal-Mart or K-mart.  The packaging was the simple cardboard back with a plastic blister-bubble glued to it which contained the tape.  The tape itself did not come with your standard cassette case, just the actual cassette, which was black with orange sticker labels showing the title in black print, Horror Sounds of the Night .  I ended up taking the case from a tape-head cleaner and keeping my copy of Horror Sounds of the Night in it.  I even wrote the title on the spine of the j-card for the tape-head cleaner. Side A of Horror Sounds of the Night After buying this tape, it quickly became a favorite of mine.  I would play the tape and listen to it, just as I would have listened to my Twisted Sister tape.  One year, I went to a Halloween party at the church of a friend (I was not a church-goer, but some of my friends were, so I tagged along at their invitation sometimes for these kinds of e

I may be jumping the gun here a bit, but with August rapidly approaching, that means the Halloween season isn't all that far away.  Since I was a little kid, Halloween has always been one of my favorite times of the year.  Once summer had arrived, I would realize that Halloween was getting much closer.  It seems only appropriate to discuss some things related to Halloween from throughout the years. First, we have a release on A&M Records entitled Halloween Horrors .  I first encountered this on cassette in 1985.  It was the first time I had seen a release like this.  I hadn't known there were Halloween-themed albums for sale.  If I recall correctly, I picked this up right after Halloween.  I was with my parents and found the tape and asked my parents for it.  Thankfully, they bought it for me and I listened to it many times over the years and still listen to it to this day. Cassette copy I got in 1985 When I got older, I found out more about that tape and even discovered it

Lucio Fulci was an Italian film director who worked in just about every genre there is.  He did sex comedies, westerns, historical/period pieces, gialli, and basically anything else Italian cinema had to offer during his long career.  His directorial credits go back to short documentaries in the late 1940s. Laserdisc edition by The Roan Group However, it wasn't until the late '70s that he would begin the work that would form his legacy, whether he liked it or not. VHS release by Anchor Bay Entertainment 1979 saw the release of his film Zombie (aka Zombi 2 , Zombie Flesheaters , Woodoo , Zombie 2: The Dead Are Among Us , and many others).  This film would kick off the most celebrated part of his career, with films like House By the Cemetery , The Gates of Hell , The Beyond , and The New York Ripper to follow.  Written by Dardano Sacchetti (who ended up taking his name off the movie) and Elisa Briganti, Zombie was Fulci's first foray into horror.  He had previously tackled

What can you say about Dawn of the Dead ?  It is one of the most revered of horror classics and arguably, the most beloved of zombie films.  A film that both shoves gruesome gore-filled scenes in your face and presents some still-relevant social commentary about consumerism, Dawn of the Dead was a follow-up to another already classic film, Night of the Living Dead , that managed to stand on its own, rather than just hanging out in the shadow of its predecessor.  It is an American movie with Italian funding, featuring a score by an Italian prog rock group, mixed with various pieces of stock music.  There is a nearly-as-classic documentary by Roy Frumkes that deals with the making of the film, Document of the Dead .  On top of all that, there are multiple cuts of the film, with each having its own group who support it as the best version. The "Ultimate Edition" DVD release from Anchor Bay Includes U.S. theatrical cut, extended cut, Argento's cut, and Document of the Dead W

Time for a little self promotion. I recorded an EP last month, which has just been released digitally.  It is no nonsense death metal, with horror-inspired lyrics.  As it turned out, every song was inspired by Italian horror movies: Burial Ground ; Papaya, Love Goddess of the Cannibals ; Beyond the Darkness ; The Beyond .  Although it is a digital-only release at the moment, I would like to have it released as a 7" record, which was the format it was really geared toward.  If you like Mortician, Impetigo, Gorelord, and the like, head on over to Bandcamp and check out Revel in Horror and Gore.  And while you are there, check out the releases by Xenward and Grand Guignol as well. https://mocata9.bandcamp.com/releases

Aristide Massaccesi, primarily known by the pseudonym, Joe D'Amato, didn't just slog through the foul waters of horror and exploitation, but also delved into pornography, both of the softcore and hardcore varieties.  It is only fitting then, that this was his approach to the cannibal film boom that was happening in the late '70s. Blu-ray edition with slip-case from Severin Emanuelle e gli ultimi cannibali (1977), aka Emanuelle and the Last Cannibals and Trap Them and Kill Them , mixes up the jungle adventure featuring cannibals with the softcore porn elements of an independent woman reporter named Emanuelle, played by Laura Gemser, who played Emanuelle in a number of films, starting with Black Emanuelle (1976), who does whatever she needs to do to get her story, all the while taking the time to have sex with anybody and everybody she feels inclined to do so with.  While she is undercover in a mental hospital, she encounters a young woman who is violent towards nurses