Posted on: November 14, 2010 Posted by: James McQuiston Comments: 0

I’ll probably be strung up and gutted for saying this, but the Nekromantix mix the best elements of Insane Clown Posse and Misfits to create one of the most innovative and refreshing albums of the early year. Whether it is the chugging bass of “BackStagePass To Hell”, or the rock-a-billy beat of the follow-up track, “MoonChaser”. Throughout the entire disc, there just are no slower-tempoed tracks to be found; everything on “Dead Girls Don’t Cry” is fighting and striving for the ultimate end, creating a rollercoaster ride that wont stop until it flies off the tracks. Pounding drums make this urgency really tangible, especially in tracks like “Struck By A Wrecking Ball”. Seamlessly mixing together 80s new wave music with California pop-punk, along with 15 or 20 different influences that I can’t piece together, the Nekromantix are a band that further show the depth of Epitaph’s roster (yes, the album is on Hell-Cat, but Hell-Cat is an imprint of Epitaph).

While “Dead Girls Don’t Cry” is an album that will force an individual to devote all their attention to it, a song like the title track is transcendent of any genre, and actually verges on the edge of being a killer dance track. Incredibly strong of an album in a period where a few radio singles and a hell of a lot of filler constitute an album, “Dead Girls Don’t Cry” is a rare album where every single track is interesting, fresh, and solidly written and played. The pseudo sixties ode, “Ghoulina”, will insinuate itself in your brain with its catchy melodies and will not relinquish its grip until one takes a drill to their head.

Nekromantix have been around for about 15 years, and “Dead Girls Don’t Cry”, their sixth full album overall, really shows that the band has an idea of where they want to go and the ability to take them wherever they wish to go. “Dead MoonWalking” is Nekromantix in a nut-shell; the guitar and lead vocals are eerily comparably to Alice Cooper, and the walking bass line and rhythm guitars are immediately recognizable as being cobbled from earlier country tracks. Nekromantix are an extraordinarily original band, whether it be Nekroman’s modified stand-up basses or the genre-transcending style of music the band as a whole plays, and with their agreement with Hell-Cat/Epitaph, hopefully they will get deserved popularity stateside.

Rating: 8.5/10

Nekromantix – Dead Girls Don’t Cry / 14 Tracks / 2004 Hellcat Records / http://www.nekromantix.com / http://www.hell-cat.com / Released 27 April 2004 / Reviewed 13 April 2004

Top Track: Ghoulina, BackStagePass To Hell

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