Mocata's Den of Horror

 I have neglected this blog this year, mostly due to focusing on music and just daily stuff like work. Still, I wanted to get some Halloween music recommendations out there for this year.  I think I will do this a little differently this time, with most of these being releases I discovered through Bandcamp.      Fleshrot - Unburied Corpse First up, we have a new band that is putting together some pretty old-style death metal.  Nothing groundbreaking, in general, but it is just plain good.  This isn't a band preoccupied with being technical and playing faster than anybody else.  This is a band trying to make some good, old-fashioned, memorable death metal, which I think the band succeeds at. Hailing from Lubbock, Texas, Fleshrot released a demo on Bandcamp, which also was released as a cassette and a 7".  This was the release that introduced the band to me.  When the album came out, I snagged a copy and have been enjoying it quite a bit....

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...

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 ...

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 previou...

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 ...

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

A long time favorite band of mine is Necrophagia, which initially formed in the early/mid '80s before splitting then eventually resurfacing with a new lineup in the late '90s, continuing on until the death of its founder, Killjoy, in 2018. Set list from Necrophagia show, plus flyer and stage-used drumstick from drummer Shawn Slusarek There are a couple of recent releases from two different labels released as tributes to the band and the memory of Killjoy.  The first is a best-of compilation and the other is a cassette release containing the band's demos from the '80s. Best-of collections are generally a bit of a weird thing for me, personally, as they are derivative by nature.  However, they are good for people who are trying to get into the band, but don't know where to start.  I also find them good for situations where you want to listen to a specific band, but want to hear stuff from different albums, which I find does happen to me from time to time.  Th...

Most people don't realize that there is much more to comic books than superheroes like Spider-man or Superman.  Over the decades, many different genres have had their ups and downs in the world of comic books: western, science fiction, horror, crime, romance, and, of course, superheroes.  Comics are also not just an American thing; they are produced in many countries around the world.  Today, I want to write about one such comic-- the Italian fumetto dell'orrore (horror comic), Dylan Dog . Two different issues of Dylan Dog Dylan Dog, created by Tiziano Sclavi and published by Sergio Bonelli Editore, debuted in 1986 and continues to this day.  At this moment, the regular series is at #400.  Dylan Dog, the character, is a private investigator residing in London.  However, he does not handle normal cases; he is the nightmare investigator.  He deals with monsters, ghosts, deranged killers, etc. Dylan Dog is a man who lives somewhat nonchalantly,...

Few things are as pleasant as having a couple of beers and watching a good horror movie.  For some horror movies, there are certain beers that are especially appropriate to drink while watching, usually due to that beer popping up in the movie itself.  Here are a few to start with.  At some point, I will likely do another, because there are certainly more than I will be listing now. The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974)- Shiner Premium To start off, we have Tobe Hooper's classic, which features some country guys drinking some Shiner Premium in a cemetery at the beginning.  The choice of Shiner makes sense for the movie, as it is a Texas beer, brewed in Shiner, Texas.  This particular beer was, as far as I know, discontinued for some time, but it showed up some time back on shelves, with the label looking very close to the ones visible in The Texas Chain Saw Massacre .  So if you plan on watching this one and want to really get into the vibe of the movie,...

Sad news recently, as Killjoy (real name, Frank Pucci), main man of early death metal band Necrophagia, died.  I have been a fan of Necrophagia for years, leading me to also enjoy other bands Killjoy participated in: Wurdulak, The Ravenous, Cabal, Enoch, Haxxan, and others. I am very happy that I had the opportunity to see him with Necrophagia and also got to meet him.  He was quite friendly and Necrophagia put on a great show.  I remember being at the front of the crowd right in front of Killjoy and singing (or growling, I suppose would be more appropriate) parts of the song when Killjoy held the microphone out to me and the guy next to me on multiple occasions (especially during the song "Cannibal Holocaust").  The headliner on that tour was actually 1349, but I was there to see Necrophagia and Necrophagia did not disappoint. Killjoy performing with Necrophagia, 2015 I remember being at the Housecore Horror Festival a few years back and wearing a Necropha...

It has now been a decade since the Robert Rodriguez/Quentin Tarantino double feature, Grindhouse , hit theaters.  Despite the fact that it did not perform as well as expected at the box office, I still believe, to this day, that this was one of the best movie-going experiences in my lifetime.  For me, personally, most movies don't seem to warrant going to the theater these days.  I think it is a combination of modern home viewing technology and the movies that are made today.  There are plenty of good movies that come out today, but they don't grab my attention quite the way movies used to and are on DVD and Blu-Ray just a few short months later, playing theaters for just a few brief weeks, so there is only a small window to go see them in the theaters now. With Grindhouse , it was different.  This was something I waited for and looked forward to for some time before the release.  It was one that I knew would be best to see in the theater.  This ...