Halloween really is a great time of year?
The temperature has just taken a dip, there is a real chill in the air.
And this Halloween night the streets will be filled with fun, mischief and possibly a little horror.
There are modern day trick or treaters.
And there are those who stick with traditions of years gone by.
Many will be dressed in Scream masks, maybe donning Freddie Krueger bladed gloves or even in the guise of a Disney Princess. Door bell rung they’ll holler the words “Trick or Treat” in the hoped exchange for money or candy. (that’s sweeties to us) Kids love it….and yes, most adults with kids will possibly admit to secretly enjoying the nights events.
Then there’s the old guard, you know the ones? Don’t you?
From these houses kids are dispatched dressed as witches and ghouls, skeletons, freaks, zombies and vampires.
A knock on the door of these houses and you’ll receive plentiful amounts of fruit and monkey nuts in exchange for telling a joke, reciting some kind of spooky poem or perhaps even singing a song.
It’s the latter that Manchester band The Gramotones opted for this year.
Horror Draped in Dry Ice was made available at 8PM tonight on Youtube and has already proven a big hit. Check it out.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0hwTi-UB2oU]
Signed to “Howling Rhythm’ it made perfect sense to release as a seasonal party piece. It’s available as a limited free download too, so be quick before all the ghosts n goblins snaffle it up..
What’s it like?
Clearly, a fair bit of thought has gone into making this record. And the timing aside, it’s evident that the band have really considered about different ways in which they can explore their creative spectrum without a complete departure from ‘The Gramotones’ sound. That’s important to them too, you can tell.
(You can read more about that sound in previous posts of mine, for now though, back to the point.)
The Gramotones sound becomes evident as “Horror” gets into full swing but it’s definitely in disguise for this outing. The guitars riffs start off a little cosmic then twist and shred into an uncaged monster by the end of the track.
It’s spooky, moody, haunting and trippy at the same time. Somehow it manages to put an idea of what it’s going to sound like into your mind, then systematically begins to tear strips from that idea.
This is possible through the varied influences evident. Nothing is more testament to this in this song than when the drums become as wild as the onset of thunder and the thrashing of guitar that was just momentarily ago a peaceful meander through the woods.
If you thought this was going to be a peaceful Halloween saunter, think again.
Look, do yourself a favour, turn this up LOUD!!!
Read on… here’s a small poem about it.
HORROR DRAPED IN DRY ICE
Halloween church bells, is this a thriller
Halloween church bells, what is this Madness
Ahhh, is this the ghost of Crispian Mills
No, this riffing, less LA’s, more Impala.
But people always seem to let them down,
Perhaps that is why they distance themselves
This brings a darker and edgier groove
Try them once, to hear something different.
Delving into territory a new
A video to fill the heart with fear
These are troubled men, that’s what their saying
Watch, find their craft has stuck inside your brain.
Obscure experimentation, this is.
They have added to their sound and impressed.
Extra string, razor bow, will feel to ya
Gramotones dipped, spook psychedelia
