Free Metal Monday: Season of the Witch-Season of the Witch

Self-Release/Independent
2007

Season of the Witch* is a horror punk/raw thrash metal band that is based in Louisville/Cincinnati. This self-titled release was the group's first (and possibly only?) album and it came out in October of 2007. It's a name your price digital recording that should appeal to fans of Samhain and possibly even Danzig.





*Season of the Witch can be found online by clicking here.

Scarlet Anger-Freak Show

Hänsel & Gretel
2016

Scarlet Anger is a Luxembourg-based heavy/thrash metal act that was formed in 2007 by vocalist Joe Block and guitarist Fred Molitor. In late 2009 the group (which by this point also featured the services of long-time bassist Vince Niclou) put out it's first recording entitled "La realidad es triste..." and that four-track demo would eventually be followed by the highly-regarded 2011 EP, "Kill the King". That twenty plus minute EP marked a change in style for Scarlet Anger as they picked up the pace, packed on the aggression and went full-speed ahead into thrash metal 101 territory. One year after that fateful occasion (one which saw not only praise from not fans and critics alike, but actual label interest!) the band issued their first full-length album. Released on the label Dust on the Tracks on May 11, 2012, "Dark Reigh" was also well-received by the general listening public and that Bay Area thrash- infused LP would help pave the way for the band's sophomore album, "Freak Show". It's worth noting that in-between "Dark Reigh" and the soon-to-be-released "Freak Show" this hard-hitting outfit gave fans the independently-released single, "Stupid Boy". The reason I bring that up is because Scarlet Anger's forthcoming sophomore album includes a song that is titled "An Unbelievable Story of a Stupid Boy". As I haven't heard the late October, 2012 track "Stupid Boy" I won't comment as to whether or not "An Unbelievable Story of a Stupid Boy" is a re-working of said song or not. I simply found it interesting, but then again so is the vast majority of songs on the aptly-titled and sincerely-recommended "Freak Show"! And those unique songs would of course be:

1. Awakening of the Elder God
2. Attack of the Insidious Invader
3. The Haunted Place – House of Lost Souls
4. Welcome to the Freak show
5. The Abominable Master Gruesome
6. Through the Eyes of the Sufferer
7. The Thing Without a Name
8. On the Road to Salvation
9. An Unbelievable Story of a Stupid Boy
10. Deadly Red Riding Hood

If you're looking at those song titles and wondering if Scarlet Anger is a (maybe just maybe) a little sick & twisted around the edges then let me just say that you wouldn't be all that far off. Drawing their inspiration from classic eighties & nineties comics and horror stories, Scarlet Anger has created a colorful album that is lyrically-rich and (thankfully) about as far from ordinary as one can get! Musically-speaking this one falls somewhere between traditional heavy metal, dark metal and power/thrash metal and for once we're talking about a band that doesn't particularly sound like anyone else! Scarlet Anger simply doesn't go for the whole cookie-cutter metal thing or at least they don't on the well-constructed "Freak Show". These days the band is rounded out by guitarist Jeff Buchette (ex-Rude Revelation) and drummer Alain "Skeelo" Flammang (Chris & Band, ex-Dreaming in Red, ex-Man Made Suicide, ex-Mindpatrol) and as far as individual performances go there are no weak links in Scarlet Anger's current line-up. Scarlet Anger will released "Freak Show" on March 18th so if you are a fan of classic metal, dark metal or heavy power metal/thrash be sure to mark that date down!

Raging Dead-Born In Rage

Self-Release/Independent
2015


Heavy punk/hard metal band Raging Dead was formed in 2014 by Cloud Shade (vocals, guitars) and Matt Void (lead guitar). Bassist Simon Nightmare and drummer Traci Decadence complete the line-up of "Born In Rage" and this horror-infused EP opens strong with the track "Awakening The  Damned". From there you'll be treated to numbers like "Scratch Me", "Redemption" and "Nightstalker" with the heavy rock thrash of "Vengeance" closing things out just as effectively as "Awakening The Damned" opened things up! With influences such as Rob Zombie, Marylin Manson, Wednesday 13 and the Murderdolls listed you'd be forgiven if you thought that this EP might just lean towards the electronic side of horror rock. Thankfully that's far from the case as the group's horror-inspired debut offering is more in line with The Misfits and The Exploited than Marylin Manson and Rob Zombie! Otherwise listing Skid Row as a source of inspiration, Raging Dead errs on the side of caution with this EP drawing a straight as can be line right through gritty hard rock, raw heavy metal and horror punk/hardcore. Recorded, mixed and mastered by Oscar Burato at Atomic Stuff Studios in Isorella, Brescia, Italy, "Born  In  Rage" is full of rage and fury and for that I offer a tip of my hat in appreciation towards this up and coming Italian band ! 

Dead Federation-Dead Federation

Red Hour Records
2014

With Halloween less then two weeks away right isn't it about time that we pull out all the party favors? And no, we're not just talking about hard cider and hot wings here (even if those two particular items are a must-have for all my horror-related excursions!). Or for that matter all the lovely ghouls that one can dig up for the evening's festivities! Rather we are talking about how no party would be complete without some maddening tunes for all the creatures of the night to get on up and get down to. Especially if all you want to do on October 31st is to shake a leg and wake the dead! That's where punk metal misfits of science like Dead Federation come in handy. This Akron-area group has been lurking around these parts since at least 2010 and even if some of the band's original freaks have succumbed to the environment (corpses actually do not last long in the hot sun friends!) there's always grave robbing as an option right? Right! With the current line-up featuring lead singer Tom Dark, guitarists X46 ( Jeff Hardy ) & Mike " Shoobs " Schubert, bassist Caitie O' Shea and drummer Tommy Rocker Jr Dead Federation now has a lively bunch of misfits on hand for what is merely the latest slab of horror-related punk metal madness from this Ohio lot. While the band self-describes their sound as being like "a werewolf howling at the moon on a rocking Halloween night" a closer examination of the crime scene reviles the DNA of a dark metal band with some old-school goth/horror-punk leanings. That might sound an awful lot like Danzig/Misfits worship (and even some Samhain love), but for Dead Federation this eight-track album rocks a different beat entirely with the cast of characters involved here reinforcing the notion that Ohio's punk, hard rock and heavy metal scenes sound unlike any other. One has to imagine that Dead Federation is an absolute hoot live, but no imagination is needed when it comes to this self-titled studio piece as you can hear it here: https://deadfederation.bandcamp.com/     

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Dead-Federation/200599879953057 

Castle Freak-Still Rotting (Cassette Release)

Tridroid Records
2014

Leave it to our friends at Tridroid Records to offer up yet another great release on cassette tape! This time around the label is tackling Philadelphia, Pennsylvania's Castle Freak who, besides (likely) being named after the old horror classic of the same name* (Can you say Jeffrey Combs baby? Awesome!) self-describe themselves as "grinding death punks"!

*I have a fond memory of renting this 1995 horror film on VHS.

Influenced by bands such as Repulsion, (early) Death, "Scum"-era Napalm Death, Autopsy, Carnivore, Discharge, (early) The Misfits/Samhain and even old-school Megadeth (as well as Beer/Weed, Gore flicks, Troma & Horror of all kinds.) the band (Gigan-lead vox/guitar, Zak-guitar, DZ-bass and P-drums) cuts a clear enough path between punk/hardcore and grind/noise while making "merry" music that will have you thinking it's 1980 something all over again! Having shared the stage with Full of Hell and Noisem (two bands who, alongside Castle Freak, are featured on A389's 2014 Digital Mixtape) this Philadelphia four-piece strikes a real underground cord thanks to their punk attitude and raw, D.I.Y. vibe. For Castle Freak (who also have a 2012 demo to their name) this upcoming cassette release should help the band achieve further acclaim while simultaneously showing how Tridroid Records is slowly turning into a dependable source for underground/up-and-coming acts of all shapes and colors!

The member's of Castle Freak just saying hi to all the haters!

https://www.facebook.com/TridroidRecords

https://www.facebook.com/CastleFreakPhilly

Dead Dark Slide-I am Dead

Dead Games Records
2014

Ever wanted to like a band so bad only to hear it and immediately shudder?  On principles alone I should have dug this outfit. An industrial goth rock band whose influences include Gwar, White Zombie , Bauhaus,Type O Negative and Ministry? Count me in right? For Dead Slide it sounds great on paper and yet having listened to this a few times it has yet to overly impress me. If ever there was a band in need of a better and/or additional lead vocalist it would be this Florida  act. At first I thought it was just the first two tracks of this five-track. Horribly harsh to the point of being out of tune and simply dreadful both "The Seas Are Black" and "Just Die" made it difficult to to own up to to the prospect that this release was let then half the way through! So I did the logical thing and moved onto the album's lead single, "Your Blood Runs Red". somewhat better it is saved by the music which is actual none-to shabby. But, cool music with heavy guitars and cleaver keyboards is ruined when someone like Ryan Michalski (vocals, guitar) gives a half-ass performance where you are wondering if the band's claim to be "the future of metal" is meant to a LOL moment or not does not make it look or sound any better then it is! My advice to Dead Dark Slide would be add another vocalist to the mix or work on reining in Ryan's voice and his "I'll just bellow into the mic and we will just bury it in the mix" style. Just my two cents....

Otoño-Something Metal This Way Comes

Human Cyborg Productions
2013

The month of May might seem like an odd time to cover a Halloween-themed album, but if we can keep the spirit of Christmas alive in all of us year long then why not a whimsical night when all the little ghouls and goblins come out to play? For sure it isn't always about Halloween for Hollister, California's Otoño (Spanish for "autumn"), even if this trio (first formed in 2003 as Human Cyborg Relations before the name change in 2009) seems to be generally inspired by horror, but here on their latest/second overall full-length release the band does it right by covering tracks like "This is Halloween", "Phantom of the Opera" and "Ghostbusters" and including samples from movies such as "Evil Dead",  "Hellraiser III: Hell on Earth", "A Nightmare on Elm Street", "The Shining", "The Exorcist" and The Omen"! Oh, and did I mention the fact that Otoño also pays tribute to Peter Steele with a sweet little cover of  Type O Negative's "Black No.1"? I didn't? Well, I am now and I'll tell you what else my friends, there is a lot going on for this group (even if they are off of most peoples radars). For a group whose roots run deep down into the depths of high school (talk about a real hell on Earth for many of us!), when founding members/guitarists/vocalists Eldridge and Bangulo covered their fave groups (Metallica, Slayer and Diamond Head) while looking for that one magical line-up to take them to the top (enter bassist/vocalist Angel in 2008), and one which started off as more of a straight-forward (if slightly enhanced by black metal and thrash elements) melodic death band, "Something Metal This Way Comes" is a real charm, a progressively-enhanced ambient charm! Said to be inspired by "different genres of music ranging from metal to classical… and snippets of everything in between" or, better yet folks, "a fusion of various musical influences" (Opeth, Gwar, Persefone, Metallica, Sepultura, Agalloch, Edge of Sanity, Liquid Tension Experiment, Torchbearer, Machine Head, Buckethead, Katatonia ) Otoño tires on a sore's worth of different hats on "Something Metal This Way Comes". And it's that exact reason why Otoño should be setting off alarms on people's (metal) radar! To be sure a band like Otoño is probably best described as (melodic) death metal first and foremost (so as to offer fair warning to anyone who might be scared off by such an "extreme" format), but this trio doesn't exactly follow any standard set of rules other then say, paying homage to many a great film, book (or, in the case of a number like "Room 237"*, both film and books!) and band. And why not? It's these different forms of media that helped groom the band for what would come about, later on, and it's all done in a manor so that everything just meshes together! Available for free right here: http://otono.bandcamp.com/ this is one of those release which is clever and, yes, plain fun! Sure, Xentrix first did it back in the early nineties, but doing a headbanging version of the theme from "Ghostbusters" is just awesome! As is the band's instrumental take on "Phantom of the Opera". Featuring some killer solo work**, which shows up on just about EVERY track here(!), "Phantom of the Opera" is covered in metallic fashion and while it might not be my fave moment here (I love "The Book of the Dead" which also features stunning lead work!) it's still a nice addition to "Something Metal This Way Comes". Most assuredly this album is worth downloading and for Otoño it's a great addition to an every growing catalog***. Moving forward Otoño could/should deliver on the promise of an album like this one and REALLY make a hell of dent on the melodic death metal scene, but who can say for sure? Today's scene is so fickle and for every worthy (and original/interesting!) band that pops up doesn't it just seem like labels bypass them in order to scoop up and sign a dozen bands who all look and sound alike? Yeah, it sucks. So, like I always say support band's like this! Get up and go! See them live, buy their merch and show them real love! And with that you can follow these guys via these links:
www.otonometal.com 

www.facebook.com/otonometal 

 https://twitter.com/OtonoMetal



*Audio sample on "Room 237" were taken from 1980's "The Shining" and the track also features excerpts taken from the novel. "The red death held sway over all" (originally in Edgar Allan Poe "The Masque of the Red Death") was used by Stephen King in the novel. 

** Solo on "Phantom of the Opera" by virtuoso guitarist Allen "Robot" Van Wert.

***The band also appears on Sinister Path Promotion's "Unsigned Metal Band Compilation Volume 1" https://sinisterpathpromotions.bandcamp.com/album/sinister-path-promotions-unsigned-metal-band-compilation-volume-1

October 31-Meet Thy Maker (2014 Re-Release)

Hells Headbangers
2014

Originally released in 1999, and serving as the full-length follow-up to the October 31 album "The Fire Awaits You", "Meet Thy Maker" is a case study in how take something that was good (ie: This band's already distinct take on horror-themed traditional heavy metal) and make it ever better! This sophomore release saw the band, which was lead as always by Deceased's King Fowley (vocals and drums), add a rhythm guitarist to the fold by the name of Kevin Lewis (Cryptameria, Nailhead and Overlord). The "two guitar attack plan" allowed for more versatility all-around out of October 31 and it certainly seems as if it helped to light a creative fire under guitarist Brian "Hellstorm" Williams because his lead solos here are nothing short of bad ass! With bass duties being taken care of once more by Jim Hunter (While Heaven Wept, Twisted Tower Dire) this new four-piece brought a shit-load of enthusiasm and energy to the party making the difference between album number one by October 31 and album number two stick out like a sore thumb! Things get turned up to 11 (I love you Spinal Tap!) as King Fowley takes his boys on a journey into the heart of darkness all while tearing the f**k out of anything and anyone that comes in their way! These four gentlemen serve up a huge can of whoop-ass by means of this wicked combination of "Killers"-era Iron Maiden,  "Painkiller"-era Judas Priest and"South of Heaven"-era Slayer! If all of that sounds cool on paper just wait until you get a load of it in live, dripping buckets of blood baby, color! If the original album wasn't cool enough (I mean, it came with a snapping Saxon cover in the form of "Power and the Glory" folks so what more could you ask for????) this upcoming re-release will also feature bonus material including the group's 1998 EP, "Visions of the End"! That alone would make this re-issue a real treat (especially as this bunch pulls off a smashing cover of  Lizzy Borden's "Give 'Em the Axe" on said EP!), but then you also get the following bonus material as well:

1)"When Darkness Covers the Sun" (which was recorded during the sessions for "Meet Thy Maker" and is one fiery slab of primitive heavy metal goodness!)

2) A 1997 demo version of "The Chosen One" 

3) A 1999 demo version of "Meet Thy Maker" with Chuck Parsons on lead vocals (Very cool and gritty version to boot!)

4) A live version of "The Chosen One" from 2000 with Shawn Pelata on lead vocals (Again, a cool version that is raw, but real and very METAL if you know what I mean!!!)

So, what it all comes down to is this. With this upcoming 2014 re-release of "Meet Thy Maker" Hells Headbangers has delivered the goods as far as choice bonus material and this is a MUST OWN for fans of October 31! With a new album also scheduled for 2014 it looks as if good things are in store for King Fowley and his crew although (and I hate to say this as I am really starting to dig this group) the chances of October 31 suddenly having a breakout moment are probably slim. This sort of heavy metal comes from the heart and is wicked cool, but let's face it today's kids just don't seem to be all that interested in "normal" heavy metal anymore. Instead of having it served straight-up it has to be mixed with this or that which is a shame as October 31 has so much to offer metalheads who like their metal with muscle and menace! Still, I'll keep on shouting from the rooftops about this kind of traditional heavy metal until my dying day because it's in my blood and a band like October 31 fills me with warm feelings! Yeah!