First thing in full disclosure. I know absolutely nothing about this band but I have come to learn that it features Spencer Charnas of Ice Nine Kills. As soon as I found that out all of it made sense to me.
Normally I dive right into the review of the album, but I feel like if I don’t talk about this deluxe edition and the packaging, I’m cheating you. I absolutely love the horror theme for the lack of a better description. Not only is the artwork super cool, which is a big thing for me. I grew up in an era where you would buy a record based solely on what it looks like before you add any idea what it sounded like.
It features double vinyl, one of them being a bright green that goes along with the artwork and the other one’s a bright purple that also goes along with the artwork of the record. It comes with a two-page poster and on the opposite side a lyric sheet. I’m hoping all of you that purchase this will allow yourself to drift off and truly listen to each one of these songs and follow along with the lyrics. I’m a big believer that that adds to the experience. Especially when the band has taken the amount of time that they have to put together something this unique.
From the moment I dropped the needle I liked it right away because the vocals are so incredibly good. The songs are well written with catchy hooks. But with so many of these bands, you don’t get good vocals and well written songs. Many times, I feel that you’re looking at cookie monster vocals and average writing. For younger people that are reading this review the easiest way I can say it is I can imagine the fire and pyro going off as they perform to a festival sized crowd. My guess is that they will incorporate some horror or other themes into their live performance. As a professional photographer I sure hope that they do.
This is one of the best albums I’ve heard so far in 2025. If you like this genre of music along the lines of ice 9 kills, motionless and white, Black Veil Brides and others. This one is a must for you to pick up. The tracks that stand out to me are suffocate city, Chernobyl, and hearse for 2 which made me chuckle when I first read the name of the song. The fourth side of the two LP set features some live songs as well as demo. That’s another thing I appreciate. When you purchase a double album, you expect it to be full. Nothing bothers me more than when a band releases a double album and the fourth side has nothing on it. This band seems to really get it and if you’re a fan you will not be disappointed. If you’re not familiar with them and you love the genre, give this a try. To me this is a must-have record in 2025.