Spooky albums full of gore, bore
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I
A pair of ghoulish albums
are just in time to cash in
on the Halloween hoopla
By Casey Kelly
tor the Emerald
Listen up boys and ghouls, just
in time for your Halloween de
bauchery come two CDs featuring
some spooky sounds that are sure
to set your annual Halloween cos
tume party on fire.
Satan’s Pilgrims, those cape
wearing, three guitar-bearing pur
veyors of reverb-drenched surf
rock are back with a brand new
disc chock-full of scary sounds.
That’s right, Portland’s pre
miere all-instrumental band has
released its fourth full-length al
bum, the appropriately titled
“Creature Feature.”
The CD begins with a spooky
sample of film legend Peter Lorre
promising that “tonight we will
hear about everyone that you
have always been terrified of.” It
then immediately moves into the
eerie opening track, “Ghoulash."
Combining a steady beat with that
famous Pilgrims’ triple-guitar
twang and some swirling wind
sound effects, “Ghoulash” gets
the record off to a fine start.
Creature Feature
Satan’s Pilgrim’s
RATING:
★★★Ar*
Halloween Hootenanny
Various artists
RATING:
★ ★★ * *
Next in line is the much faster
“Scorpio 6” featuring Dave Pil
grim on the Hammond organ, a
high-pitched musical monstrosi
ty. With its mile-a-minute, guitar
driven melody, “Scorpio 6” is
probably one of the best tunes
these lads have ever recorded.
“Vampiro,” propelled by John
Pilgrim’s steady bass line, is guar
The costume
was so good
• • •
even Farmer
John didn't
recognize his
horse, Ed.
Goodwill.
Great costumes...
not so scary prices. .
Nine bewitching locations in Lane County
anteed to bring even the deadest
of the dead back to life. But if that
doesn’t do it for you, then there’s
always the title track, “Creature
Feature.” Once again, the Pilgrims
combine a haunting rhythm sec
tion anchored by drummer Ted E.
Pilgrim with three reverberating
guitars to create a song that cap
tures that supernatural feeling
you get while watching a scary
movie in a dark, cold theater.
Throughout their almost seven
years of existence, the Pilgrims
have always managed to avoid
stagnation by combining various
musical genres with their tradi
tional surf sounds.
Released in 1995, “Soul Pil
grim” had a touch of soul that
made the Pilgrims sound more
unique and original than the ex
cess of Dick Dale and Ventures
clones that comprise 95 percent
of modern surf rock. On other
records, the Pilgrims’ ability to
combine musical styles from
garage rock to jazz has kept them
sounding as fresh and innovative
as the first wave of surf musi
cians.
With “Creature Feature,” the
Pilgrims take their sound one step
further, adding spooky samples
and zany sound effects to their
musical cauldron. Recorded by
Larry Crane — the man behind El
liot Smith’s Oscar-nominated
song “Miss Misery” — this CD
features arguably the best produc
tion of the Pilgrims’ career. Crane
is one of the best in the business
when it comes to capturing the
energy of a band’s live perfor
mance on record.
“Halloween Hootenanny,” an
other Halloween-themed CD fea
turing 19 tracks by 16 bands, is
out now on Rob Zombie’s Zom
bie-a-go-go Records.
Although Zombie is best
known for the now defunct death
metal band White Zombie, “Hal
loween Hootenanny” includes a
whole slew of today’s premiere
rockabilly and surf bands, includ
ing Satan’s Pilgrims.
The Pilgrims’ track, “Grave
walk,” sounds like an outtake
from “Creature Feature." While it
didn’t quite make it onto the full
length CD, it still has that great
Pilgrims’ dance party feel to it.
Blending a steadfast rhythm sec
tion with some excellent guitar
work, it is easily one of the best
tracks on this compilation.
The highlight of the CD, how
ever, is provided by Rocket From
The Crypt, San Diego’s ultra-hip
masters of garage rock. “I Drink
Blood” combines distorted vocals
with guitars that are loud as hell.
The result is an energetic blast of
sound that will blow you away.
The worst song of the CD, ironi
cally, was the only one that fea
tured Zombie himself. Collabo
rating with southern California
surf rockers The Ghastly Ones on
"Halloween (She Get So Mean),”
Zombie’s guttural vocals ruin an
otherwise decent instrumental
surf tune. Perhaps Zombie would
be better off if he stuck to the
psuedo-satanic speed metal of
White Zombie.
Although “Halloween Hoote
nanny” includes good tracks by
RFTC, the Bomboras and South
ern Culture On The Skids, the
overall quality of the record is dis
appointing. The majority of the
bands, including the once revered
Reverend Horton Heat, provide
little more than poor musician
ship and cliche vocals.