BLOODY HAMMERS - Spiritual Relics

I’ve got good news and bad news. The good news is that the band of the moment in horror/occult rock comes from Transylvania. The bad news is that it’s not our Transylvania (or the Hungarians’, or the Canadians’ from RMGC), but the Americans’ Transylvania County; the one in North Carolina.

Bloody Hammers took their name after a song of guitarist Roky Erickson, one of the lead figures of American underground, the eccentric founder of 13th Floor Elevators and parent of psychedelic rock. This would be enough to get an idea where their music is headed. But that’s not all; the band leader, Anders Manga (vocals, bass), is a veteran of the independent gothic/dark wave scene, with more than 10 albums under his belt. With his new project, Anders Manga abandons synthesizers in favour of the Hammond organ, and tries to scare us in a vintage manner.

Spiritual Relics comes less than one year after the self-titled album, but sounds light years away. While the 2012 album had 3 truly memorable songs (Fear No Evil, Witch of Endor and The Witching Hour), followed by a lot of relatively OK songs that recycled the same ideas; Spiritual Relics provides a much more varied and consistent image. Indeed, the new album starts predictably, but after the third song pleasant surprises start appearing. Anders Manga seems to play with a variety of inspirations, newer or older, from Black Sabbath to Sisters of Mercy, Type O Negative and Queens of the Stone Age, to create a modern horror rock album - listen particularly to the middle part of The Transit Begins to Night of the Long Knives (possible live hit)! And about the closing song of the album, Science Fiction, I can only say that it moved me in a way that no Lake of Tears has done in a long while.

Of course, a novice in horror rock would ask, what’s the difference between Spiritual Relics and the excellent Venomous Rat Regeneration Vendor of Rob Zombie, also released this year. The answer would be to watch the Exorcist (1973) and the Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974) in succession!

The conclusion is, if they know how to play their hand, Bloody Hammers could fill the empty spot left this year by the poor albums of Uncle Acid and Ghost!

Gedi Nota: 8