Bloody Hammers: Songs of Unspeakable Terror

This album dropped in January 2021, but the band gave listeners an extra single in March. That single, a straight-ahead cover of Golden Earring’s “Twilight Zone,� is definitely worth checking out. I say that with some relief. I tend to prefer originals over covers, and so I naturally worried that this cover might not work. Fortunately, Bloody Hammers gives us a “Twilight Zone� that respects the original while also giving it a little extra boogie, groove, and doom. Since “Twilight Zone� is not on Songs of Unspeakable Terror, you’ll have to look for it on the band’s Bandcamp page. I think you’ll dig it, but if you don’t, maybe try the William Shatner version instead.

If you haven’t listened to Bloody Hammers before, they are a husband-and-wife team based in North Carolina. Anders Manga provides the vocals and plays guitar and bass; Devallia plays the keyboards and organ. Together, they combine a healthy love of horror movies with heavy metal, doom, and goth rock. They’ve released a handful of albums over the years, all of which were pretty strong.

This album grew out of jam sessions prompted by the COVID-19 shutdown. The band basically played through tunes by The Misfits, Plasmatics, The Voluptuous Horror of Karen Black, and the Cramps and then started developing some new songs in that general vein. The music on this album is generally consistent with the band’s earlier output, but there’s a little more retro horror punk bounce and verve to the whole thing. I found the whole thing infectious and dark and fun. I’d suggest checking out “A Night to Dismember,� “The Ones Who Own the Dark� and “Night of the Witch.� And don’t forget the terrific cover of “Twilight Zone.�

Let’s hope these guys can hit the road soon.

Track Listing:
1. A Night to Dismember
2. Hands of the Ripper
3. Witchfinder General
4. Not of this Earth
5. The Ones Who Own the Dark
6. Waking the Dead
7. Night of the Witch
8. We are the Damned
9. The Brain that Wouldn’t Die
10. Lucifer’s Light
11. I Spit on Your Corpse

Added: June 4th 2021
Reviewer: Carl Sederholm
Score:
Related Link: Band Instagram Page
Hits: 586
Language: english

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