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That
eerie twang and ominous vocal you hear is "Black Wedding," the opening
theme to Nekromantix's psychobilly B-flick, Dead Girls Don't Cry.
Creepy, eh? Dig how it builds to a Benedictine blast, blowing open the
church doors in a hail of spitting guitar and double bass, offering a
"Backstage Pass to Hell." The church makes for an ironic, inviting maw;
you're compelled, if not exactly willing, to enter. You stick around
because it's a fuckin' riot.
That has been the Danish trio's (meat)hook-a creepy, fun vibe that is
inherently rock n' roll-since singer/coffin bassist Kim Nekroman
founded the band in 1989. You might have sampled some of that on their
Hellcat (and U.S.) debut, 2002's Return of the Loving Dead. Well, Dead
Girls Don't Cry is actually the seventh instance of their signature
brand of psychobilly and, thus far, the best. And that's a helluva
feat, considering Nekromantix wrote and recorded it on the fly (not
unlike a bat out of hell).
"We did everything in a hurry," explains Nekroman, citing a limited
window of opportunity, resulting from his recent relocation from
Copenhagen to LA while guitarist Peter Sandorff and his drummer bro
Kristian stayed put. Rehearsals began after a string of shows with
Rancid and Tiger Army; they budgeted a week to get a pile of 14
instrumentals down, then commenced recording with Jon Silas Cranefield
at the Steakhouse in North Hollywood. "All the lyrics written at the
last minute," says Nekroman. "I woke up early in morning and did the
lyrics, then we stayed up late at the studio recording. It was all very
impulsive."
And how! The performances are urgent and visceral, the pacing frantic
and foreboding…just like a great horror film. "The sequence is really
great on this album," Nekroman enthuses.
To illustrate, think of "Black Wedding" as the opening credits,
"Backstage Pass…" as the intense, harrowing taste of exquisite horrors
to come. "Moon Chaser" dampens the pace and the creep factor, setting
up the listener for the punk punch of "Wrecking Ball" and "Where Do
Monsters Go?," which lead to the title track, where our antagonist
serenades his captive bride-to-be. Subsequent tracks "What's On Your
Neighbor's BBQ?," "Shock Star," "Stone in My Name" and "Dead By Dawn"
amount to more striking plot points you'll have to discover for
yourself.
Of course, there's no real concept to Dead Girls Don't Cry, "no deep
source behind it." Nekroman says the band was simply trying to get a
record out, and somehow convey the band's live energy in the process.
That, and get a few things off his chest. The songs, he says, aren't
the overt kitsch and camp they appear to be.
Nekroman recalls, "Somewhere around the age of six and seven years old
I saw Nosferatu and the old King Kong, and shortly after that, I saw
Frankenstein. I was kinda scared, but I saw something else in these
movies. They grabbed me and I kinda immediately saw there was more to
it than some scary story." The fun in fright was key, Nekroman
maintains, but a larger literary element-even in trashier
B-flicks-spoke to him: It was possible to express one's thoughts and
feelings through many different elements, be it straight prose and
flowery poetry or pointy-eared predators and gargantuan, forlorn apes.
"That's what I translate to Nekromantix. My lyrics might appear
symbolic or just kinda scary or whatever, but I know people out there
feel same feelings I had when saw when I was a kid."
And so Nekroman writes using as foils the Necronomicon, gargoyles,
zombies, killers, cathouses, cannibals, graveyards, kinky clerics,
ghouls, death-in-general and dead girls (sometimes cheerleaders) to
make points with underlying poignance. Dead Girls'… most notable
examples: "Backstage Pass…" (about the unseen melodrama of the
backstage area, where "numb, fake" people interact with no more
sincerity or pulse than a pack of ambling zombies), "Moon Chaser"
(about LA dreamchasers, forever barking at the moon), and "What's On
Your Neighbor's BBQ?," the cannibalistic implications of which simply
explore the fact that you never really know your neighbor.
Therein lies the Nekromantix philosophy: have fun and hold nothing
sacred. It's ingrained in their sinister sound, which has defined and
endeared them to psychobilly fans over the past 15 years. And that's
what they'll purvey stateside, as they prepare for another round of
thrilling U.S. shows.
"We're not into writing a hit album at all; we're not that type of
band. We're all about getting more and more fans and be able to
tour-just do our main thing, which is playing live. To me, albums are
just something you need to do in order to go on the road." |
Kim Nekroman: coffin bass, vocals
Peter Sandorff: guitar, vocals
Kristian Sandorff: drums |
Website: Nekromantix
Email: Anna@epitaph.com
Address:
Epitaph Europe
www.epitaph.com / www.hell-cat.com
Phone: +31.20.550 38 38 - Fax: +31.20 622 3941
Nekromantix - Dead Girls Don't Cry
Nekromantix - Demons are a Girl's Best Friend
Nekromantix - Devil Smile
Nekromantix - Gargoyles Over Copenhagen
Nekromantix - Graveyard in your Memory
Nekromantix - Howlin' At The Moon
Nekromantix - Subcultural girl
Nekromantix - Who Killed The Cheerleader
Nekromantix - Alive
Nekromantix - Dead girls don't cry
Nekromantix - Gargoyles over Copenhagen
Nekromantix - Gargoyles Over Copenhagen
Nekromantix - Haunted Cathouse
Nekromantix - Last Night I Saved An Angel
Nekromantix - Love At First Bite
Nekromantix - Nekrofelia
Nekromantix - Nekrofilia
Nekromantix - Nekrofilia
Nekromantix - Nice day for a resurrection
Nekromantix - Save my grave
Nekromantix - Sea of red
Nekromantix - Subcultral Girl
Nekromantix - Trick Or Treat
Nekromantix - Who killed the cheerleader
Nekromantix - Who Killed the Cheerleader
Nekromantix - Graveyard in your memory (MP3)
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Chicago, usa,
20-04-2007
Pomona ,California, usa,
13-04-2007
Atlanta, usa,
25-04-2007
Hollywood, usa,
14-04-2007
Asbury Park, usa,
05-05-2007
Nekromantix - Dead Girls Don't Cry
Nekromantix - Brought Back to Life
Nekromantix - Curse of The Coffin
Nekromantix - Demons are a girls best friend
Nekromantix - Return of the Loving Dead
Curse Of The Coffin
(CD, Nervous)
Demons Are A Girls Best Friend
(CD, Record)
Hellbound
(CD, Tombstone)
Return Of The Loving Dead
(CD, Hellcat)
Undead'n'Live
(CD, ESP)
Brought Back To Life
(LP, Crazy Love)
Curse Of The Coffin
(LP, Crazy Love)
Demons Are A Girls Best Friend
(LP, Be Be's)
Return Of The Loving Dead
(LP, Hellcat)
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