Devils Whorehouse "Revelation Unorthodox" CD
[Regain]
I've been hearing about this band for awhile now, but this is my first exposure to 'em. Formed by Marduk members Morgan Steinmeyer Håkansson and B. War, Devils Whorehouse started out as a Misfits/Samhain cover band, and then eventually started doing their own material. Now, they're billed as being a band that plays in the tradition of the Misfits/Samhain, but that's not accurate at all in my opinion. Yes, the vocals are absolutely modeled directly after Danzig's early work, which can be both good and bad... because, let's face it, there's only one Glenn Danzig, and this guy ain't him. So, his voice is alright, and I like the vocal patterns, but... it still just doesn't feel right in some ways, being so similar to (but not as good as) Danzig and all. But, musically speaking, this stuff isn't at all like the Misfits or Samhain. For one thing, it's heavy as fuck. The guitar tone is monstrously huge, backed by an ultra thick bass tone, both enveloping the vocals and much of the crisp percussion. Many of the songs are short and definitely have a punk influence, with hints of melody, but the vocals are the key element that tie this to any Danzig project (just check out the awesomely rocked out "Blood Nymphoman"). The much longer "Bondage Goddess" sounds more like a metal version of something off of the first Danzig record, and similarly "Funeral Dream" is slower and has a rocked out sort of early Judas Priest tinge. However, some of the tracks are fast and furious, definitely in tune with Marduk's precise brand of black metal - "Pentagram Murderer", "Swallow Your Soul"... those are borderline black metal tracks on a music level! They cover "Deathwish" by Christian Death, which I'm not familiar with in its original form, but this version's pretty damn cool. The layout is quite minimal, with a band photo under the tray, illustrations of the wolfman, devils, etc. elsewhere, and a photo of the band decked out like the Misfits in the center spread, complete with devillocks. No lyrics are included, though. This is a pretty good disc. I like its diversity even though I prefer the shorter and faster songs, and the catchiness is cool, but I have to say that the vocal style doesn't fit such a heavy form of music. I think keeping the vocal patterns intact but using a more aggressive form of vocals would make the record a hell of a lot better. It's almost like they need to decide if they want to be a Misfits/Samhain styled band or something a bit different - they'd either need to adjust their recording to fit these vocals, or adjust the vocals to fit these compositions. Not bad, but a little disconnected. (6/10)
Running time - 35:50, Tracks: 13
[Notable tracks: Swallow Your Soul, Howling, Revelation Unorthodox, Blood Nymphoman]
Regain Records - http://www.regainrecords.com

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