The Lab Ratz "Terror Is Loose!"

(Crazy Love Records 2016)

Sailing Ratz

My Psychobillity

Trop Tard

Uptown Mouse

Revenge

Duct Tape Boogie

Terror Is Loose

Be My Baby Tonight

Channel Real TV

Riding

Where The Demons Go

Fukushima Surf

Wild Cavemen

Another début album has landed at Chez O'Prez causing a domino effect in that my nipples became so erect upon listening to it that they knocked over a line of cynical auld cunts claiming that psychobilly is dead in the water. My arse it is! We're only a few weeks in to 2016 and already the gauntlet has been thrown down by Canada's Lab Ratz. This thing will be a tough act to follow by their psychobilly cohorts. In days of yore when psychobilly was first adopted and adapted by our cousins across the pond it didn't really sound right. With the exception of The Quakes, it all sounded like tough rockabilly as opposed to having that very European twist which to my ears is the essence of psychobilly. After all, though a direct offshoot of rockabilly, it is not rockabilly, so fast rockabilly, psychobilly does not make. It needs that big dollop of European flavouring to make it pleasing to my ears. It needs aggression. It needs a mental rockabilly beat that does not sound like it's from the 1950s. It needs musicians that are beyond expert at their craft and a vocal styling that says "look at me again and I'll fuckin' kill ya". The Lab Ratz check all these boxes and then some. I'd heard of the band before in passing (possibly through my love of the Gutter Demons...Johnny Toxik plays guitar in this band too), but as with the complete and utter overkill of social media, my mental note to check them out kept going out of my head. So I didn't really know what to expect when I got this album. Psychobilly bands are either excellent or shite. There's no in between. The boys are the former. Even after I take me headphones off I can still hear em reverberating through me skull; a bit like after having the head blown off ya at a live show. This is straight-up 100% psychobilly of the highest order. 

The O'Prez

THE LAB RATZ ON FACEBOOK

BUY THE ALBUM

HELLACIOUS HARMONIES ON FACEBOOK

The Nevrotix "Paranoid"

(Crazy Love Records 2016)

Mad About You

Hyena Bop

Moon Monster

Mummy Boy

Rampton Rage

Nightmares

Queen Of The Night

Panic Attack

Paranoid

Zapped

Walking Dead

Gothenburg is home to two bands that have the most highly anticipated full length album releases in a long long time. The Test Pilots is one and The Nevrotix is the other. The latter landed on my plush red carpet the other day. An apt carpet and colour as this is indeed an outstanding début release. From the get-go I knew this was going to be something special. It kicks off with the rim of the snare being played which only added to the anticipation of what was to follow. Then there it was; the woody slap bass tone, the minor chord guitar and the vocals minus those much abhorred horror theatrics. The Nevrotix aren't comparable to any other band. Yes they play a classic concoction of psychobilly/neo rockabilly but I can't detect any obvious influences. They do their own thing. Psychobilly seems to go through phases. Sometimes called first, second or third generation psychobilly. Sometimes it's more punk, sometimes metal, sometimes hardcore. Eventually though it all comes full circle and goes back to what it was originally. Rockabilly for the lunatic fringe. Rockabilly with no rule book and played with a big pair of hairy bollocks. This is how The Nevrotix play their brand of psychobilly/neo rockabilly. Original name, original sound, I fuckin' love em. You can get the album directly from The Nevrotix or from Guido over at Crazy Love Records and all the usual mail order aficionados that stock non-shite related releases.

The O'Prez

THE NEVROTIX ON FACEBOOK
HELLACIOUS HARMONIES ON FACEBOOK

The Raiderz "That Takes Care Of..."

(The Raiderz 2015)

Cowboy Of Death

The Truth Feels Like I'm Sick

Waiting For My baby

Juanita

Hippiesucker

In The Jungle

R.I.P.

Stranger Of The Night

The Bogeyman

Water And Wine

Germany seems to be thee mecca for all things Neo Rockabilly and Psychobilly. There are bands in abundance. Taking up the neo gauntlet are Dresden's Raiderz. Recorded by Flatty of Killjoy Records fame and brought to your greedy hands and ears by the band themselves, it's a 100% self-made affair. They remind me of The Rapids in places. I love The Rapids. They have a neo rockabilly crossed with western kind of sound but with that rawness that almost makes them psychobilly, but not quite. For what is essentially a demo CD, or a sampler would maybe be a better description, it's obvious the boys have some fresh ideas as is evident by their intelligent lyrics and not that endless dross about Cadillacs (rockabilly) or having sex with corpses (psychobilly). They get the thumbs up for that alone. I'd like to hear what the boys would come up with in the studio for their first official release. But as an introduction to their sound, this has certainly piqued my interest. You can contact the band directly to get your claws on this little gem through their Facebook or TheRaiderz.com.

The O'Prez

Hellacious Harmonies On Facebook

The Psyclocks "Don't Think, Feeeel!!!!!!!!"

(Killjoy Records 2015)

Radioactive Baby

Everybody Stomping

Zombie Walk

That's Alright

Tokyo's Psyclocks are back to titillate us with their latest slab of black vinyl (the colour ones are sold out) on Germany's Killjoy Records. When I first stuck this platter on my turntable I thought "Fuck me, Junichi sounds like Sparky on helium" but then I realised this particular 45rpm 7" should be set to 33rpm. I've said plenty of times in the past that I am NOT a fan of bands that deploy that sore throat vocal style (with the exception of DAG) but with that said I've now gone back to listen to Everybody Stomping for 4 times in a row. It's classic psychobilly at its best. No frills. The production values give it a kind of underground "sounds of the street" vibe. I love that kind of vibe. A soundtrack to our chosen subculture if you will. Sonically the record epitomises what psychobilly is in my head. Next time someone asks me what psychobilly is I'll just play em this record.

The O'Prez

THE PSYCLOCKS ON FACEBOOK

KILLJOY RECORDS OFFICIAL

KILLJOY RECORDS ON FACEBOOK

HELLACIOUS HARMONIES ON FACEBOOK

Gutter Demons "Unfinished Business"

(Falsetto Records 2015)

Digging Up

Hellride

Gutterkings

After Dark

Invaders

Pieces

Bloodfeast

Gemini

Tornado

Phantom Creep

Unfinished Business

A few years back the Gutter Demons decided to be a trio of cunts and disband. This left me in utter dismay. Sure, I tried to love other bands but it just turned out to be nothing more than lust. I felt so cheap. I was ashamed. I could hardly even bring myself to put on my headphones at one stage. The sense of loss coupled with the sense of abandonment was just overwhelming. I pleasured myself nightly to other psychobilly outfits but it was no good. Then one night in 2014 whilst watching the ink bleed from a photo of Toxik as my tears alighted on his un-sliced loaf of bread styled quiff, I read the news that they were back together and a new album was in the pipeline. Well, after I changed my shirt (as my nipples had pierced the one I was wearing, such was my glee), I immediately became whole once more and stared at my computer screen waiting for the day the new album would be released. So, here we are now in 2015 and I have sores on my arse and bloodshot eyes but such scourges were worth the wait as the new album was pushed through my slit a few days ago. Now with a band like the Gutter Demons, where you have very high expectations, this could go either way. Are they going to go in a new direction after all these years OR are they going to hit us betwixt the thighs with an album full of instant Gutter Demons classics? Well right after the 56 second intro the answer presented itself in no uncertain terms. This is the Gutter Demons we all know and love. Pounding slap bass and drums, crunchy guitar and Toxik's distinctive vocals. I fuckin' love the Gutter Demons me and this album only cements that fact. Tucked away neatly between the originals is a fantastic cover of The Jiants "Tornado". When I saw the track listing I was hoping it was going to be this song. But the new batch of originals, fuck me but they're cleverly constructed lyrical masterpieces. One song I've always loved from the Gutter Demons was "Out Of Sight". Psychobilly ballads (if you could call them that..) have always appealed to me so one of thee standout tracks on this outing is "Pieces". Others to immediately grab me by the frenulum were Gutterkings, After Dark, Bloodfeast and Phantom Creep. These were all immediate favourites with the rest being of the variety that grow on you and sometimes surpass the immediate favourites over time. Now then, I won't be sticking up a sample track at the end of this as I noticed that in addition to the Falsetto logo on the back that there's also a Universal Music logo on there and those big boys can be a bit narky when it comes to that sort of thing. But the album can be sampled via all your favourite download sites or of course you can purchase the sexy CD that comes housed in digipak format with pristine artwork from Paskal Millet. That's what I did! Did I mention I love the Gutter Demons?

The O'Prez

GUTTER DEMONS OFFICIAL

GUTTER DEMONS ON FACEBOOK

SAMPLE/DOWNLOAD THE ALBUM

BUY THE CD

HELLACIOUS HARMONIES ON FACEBOOK

King Moroi "Hardly Better Than Nothing

(Bellfire Records 2015)

Funsize

Hiding In The Graveyard

Switchside

Staying Bad

Disparex

Meatgrinder

Sir B.I.A.

Crying Dying Man

Hardly Better Than Nothing

Spytank

Headvice

My Train (Has Gone)

Creepcake

I must admit I'd never come across King Moroi before until this release. Aesthetically the album looks great coming in a gatefold digipak with some excellent artwork by Horror Rudey. There are some world class artists on this scene that don't get the recognition they deserve (me included *ahem*). But does it sound as good as it looks? Yes. Yes it does. It kicks off with a sound that to my ears is reminiscent of the Krewmen sound during their Egyptian phase....ie. the Into The Tomb album. That sound pops up again here and there throughout the album. Lead vocals are shared between guitarist Jerry Toothpaste and slap bassist Smirnov. At least I think they are as the vocals take the band in very different directions stylistically with one vocal being of the clean, rockin' psychobilly variety and the other being of the punkabilly or psychOi! variety. I prefer the former, but that's just me. The latter seems ultra popular on the psychobilly circuit. So you could say they're catering for both sides of the coin. The guitar sound/style give the boys that much needed stamp of individuality in a scene that's swamped by "itallsoundsthesame-abilly". No mean feat for a band to come up with something fresh-sounding when every other band wants to sound like their 1980s forefathers. Yes, I know I mentioned the Krewmen earlier on you nitpicking shower of cunts but that was a comparison, I'm not saying they're a Krewmen tribute act. They sound fuck all like em, the guitar just reminded me of that Egyptian thing they had going on. Quit bustin' my balls. But anyway, King Moroi. A powerful release from the German trio of male models that will please both fans of old school psychobilly and their upstart punkabilly siblings alike.

The O'Prez

KING MOROI OFFICIAL

KING MOROI ON FACEBOOK

BUY THE ALBUM!!

HELLACIOUS HARMONIES ON FACEBOOK

The Hyperjax "March To Your Own Beat"

(Lime Digital Music 2015)

Staring Out The Old Guard

Hard Knock Chops

Blood And Sand

City Of Broken Rain

Three Sheets To The Wind

Whatever Happened To The Krewmen?

Blast Me Into Outer Space

Sweet Solitary

Burn In Your Own Flame

It's The Nature Of The Beast

Angry Young Man

Carats, Briefs And Boils

The Hyperjax eh? One of those bands that seem to have been on the periphery of the scene for many years. But which scene? Too clever for psychobilly, too ballsy for rockabilly and too rockin' for punkabilly. The boys are a law on to themselves. Perhaps as the album title suggests, they definitely march to their own beat. And what a fuckin' beat it is. It's an enigma of sorts. There's pounding drums and slap bass accompanied by that Holy Grail of guitars, the Gretsch. Nothing different about that ensemble of musical tools when it comes to things with "billy" stuck on the end, but it's what the lads do with their tools (oooooh matron) that makes the sound instantly recognisable as The Hyperjax. They're like a sub genre on to themselves. Thedogsbollocksabilly! Yes, that's it. This is some powerful stuff. Power mixed with melody. Some bands have either one or the other (some neither) but The Hyperjax have both. They're fuckin' hyper alright. And I had to run to the jacks* in between songs as the sounds within loosened my sphincter. (*jacks is Irish slang for toilet...hyper...jacks...did you see what I did there? ....tough crowd!). But anyway, the lads have a fairly sparse back catalogue given the fact they've been playing together in various incarnations for almost 20 years. I of course own all the stuff they've released prior to this and it's self-evident that the boys have really honed their skills in the studio/production department. That's by no means disparaging towards their previous output. It simply means that the production values on this album hits a new pinnacle of perfection for the trio. It just oozes quality...sonically and lyrically. The album is currently available as digital download from over 200 sites (Amazon, iTunes, 7digital etc.) with both CD and vinyl releases to follow. Fine, I'll stick up some links ye lazy shower of shites! Usually I add a sample song at the end of these reviews but it's hard to pick just one so you can sample em all on the download sites below. What a guy!

The O'Prez

THE HYPERJAX OFFICIAL

THE HYPERJAX ON FACEBOOK

MARCH TO YOUR OWN BEAT ON AMAZON

MARCH TO YOUR OWN BEAT ON iTUNES

MARCH TO YOUR OWN BEAT ON 7DIGITAL

HELLACIOUS HARMONIES ON FACEBOOK