We know what happened when corpse paint met metal. Some people took things way too seriously and a few Scandinavians even decided to start a church reduction campaign. Thankfully things have calmed down a bit now and we have the splendidly tongue in cheek Evil Scarecrow singing about cyborg crabs destroying everything instead. Punk rock wasn’t having any of being all frowny right from the start and it’s now reaping those rewards with bands such as Headstone Horrors who might like to look dead but play like their very lives depend on it.
The Nottingham quartet have taken a little while to get going with their early style showing promise but needing a few wrinkles ironing out. Now they are silky smooth, at least as far as horror punks go. They had a kind of epiphany at Rebellion festival in 2015 putting on such a strong showing that they were one of the first bands offered a repeat booking the following year. ‘Tales From The Murder House’ makes that same leap from earlier material with the naturally raucous sound tempered by some well varied writing. It’s not complicated but it hits the spot.
Natalie Thornton has worked hard over the years moving from simply one of the pack in her Girlfixer days to something rather special. Her wildcat vocals on this record fit the music perfectly although there are odd moments when the production threatens to overwhelm her voice. The mixing, it has to be said, is a bit woolly throughout. We do get something quite rare for a punk record though, a genuine power ballad, of sorts. ‘Born From The Storm’ shows a band willing to be creative while also acting as a platform for Thornton to show off a cleaner style.
‘Tales From The Murder House’ captures Headstone Horrors’ natural energy rather well, coming across a bit like a live studio recording. It sounds a lot like those underground vinyl pressings you used to get back in the eighties which captures the right mood at least. The really big plus is the strength and depth of the writing within a genre that traditionally offers little scope. That, along with a stable line up, means we are likely to hear a lot more from the ghouls from Nottingham in the future. Prepare for corpse paint sales to soar.
GARY TRUEMAN