When it comes to horrorpunk I am rather conservative. I usually appreciate bands more if they stay close to the template the Misfits created. My favorite bands in the genre took that template and made it their own, but stayed close to the original. This requires great skill: don’t stray to far from the path to loose me, but also don’t sound too close to said template. I must admit the last couple of years I became a bit bored with the genre. My favorite bands still release stellar records, but I can’t find a lot of new bands that I’m really excited about. My conservatism is being a burden here.
I am happy that my colleague Sarah Jane seems to have a broader scope on the genre. Her reviews make me look at the genre with new eyes. So I was happy to snap up this new release by Los Morts, a band who’s EP Slasher she reviewed last year. Enthusiastically I listened to Slasherpunk, trying to figure out what I could add to her review of that EP. This full length is released so close after the EP that I expected Los Morts would not have made a drastic stylistic change. So what is new or different?
Let’s first look at what is the same. The first thing you notice, and a quick look at the track list of both releases will suffice, is that three of the four tracks of the EP return on this album (“Mort”, “Elm Street”, “Massacre En Texas”). As these are killer tracks, I will not complain about this. The three titles should give you away that this band is inspired by horror movies. That theme is continued on the album. Every track is based on a movie. The band also sticks to Spanish lyrics. Where I am usually all for bands sticking to their native tongue I notice that this time around it is bothering me a bit. One of the things I enjoy so much about horrorpunk is how bands sing so cheerfully about horror and gore. I know these lyrics probably fit that mold (how could they not, considering the topic), but I experience it slightly differently. This doesn’t stop me from singing along though, so it doesn’t bother me that much.
Like Sarah Jane I can hear Misfits influences. I also hear a couple different touches. First thing I noticed is that the doo-wop influences are dialed down, bringing Los Morts in more regular punk territory. Yet they skillfully use synths, something you don’t see a lot in punk. At times these synths sound like they are inspired by Cradle Of Filth, just check the intro “Slasherpunk” or “Rojo Profundo”, at other times I am reminded of how some bands from the eighties incorporated synths in their songwriting. “Damballa” is a very good example of the latter approach.
Los Morts are unto something with their approach. I enjoyed this album a lot, yet it still misses something. This is the kind of release that is a welcome addition to my horrorpunk playlist, yet I doubt it will be on regular rotation on its own. Who knows what their future will bring?
