I first stumbled across Hallowmas – The Road To Hallow’s Eve on the Century Media Records online store – CM Distro.com. The CD cover artwork took my Metal breath away, I am a huge Metal sucker for the scary and horrific album covers… this goes back decades for me. You cannot always judge a book, uh, album by it’s cover. In the case of my purchasing The Road To Hallow’s Eve based on the artwork and song titles, well, I proclaim a Horror Punk victory! This album is on Coffin Records, a recognized label notorious for underground talent. Hallowmas released this album back in 2005, I bought it about one year ago, during one of my Halloween spirited moods. Cutting to the Metal chase here, this is one dandy of a Horror Punk Band, a terrorizing thrill a second is The Road To Hallow’s Eve. It’s all good… Horror Punk style. I have numerous times, since buying this CD, have tried to read and/or find out more about this cool Hallowmas band… all in vain however. The only trail I find on the world wide web about them are the basics I found in the liner notes of this very album. Hallowmas is without question an underground Horror Punk band. I sincerely hope they resurface and continue their Horror Punk path… The Road To Hallow’s Eve makes for an intense foundation for them to build upon.
Lead singer Boris Randall does remind me of the Misfits era Glenn Danzig… strikingly similar, still there was and always will be only one legendary Glenn Danzig. Hallowmas plays tight enough to forge together quality Horror Punk Rock songs, all the while giving off the impression that this is as uncommercial a band that will ever be. To say that this album Rocks is a Metal understatement of the facts… this album leaves me wanting more, much more Hallowmas please. The center spread photo of the band, within the liner notes, shows them donning skeleton costumes and skeletal makeup. Between the music Hallowmas plays, along with their persona, it would be too easy to dismiss them off as copycats of the Misfits. By comparison, look at how many Death Metal bands that share the same characteristics of their peers – how many Glam/Hair Metal bands that sported the same look as their peer bands. As a devout fan of the Misfits, I personally am flattered when other Punk or Horror Punk bands take on the style of such a historical and legendary band.
The more I listened to The Road To Hallow’s Eve, the easier it was for me to break into the shell of the Hallowmas Horror Punk and hear some spirited originality. Each song is Rock and Roll rooted, from the pulsating rhythm section to the attention grabbing guitar riffs, a fine mixture of Old School Punk meets dark infested Horror Punk this album is. The only song (based on the info in the liner notes), that Hallowmas did not perform or write on this album is Road To Hallow’s Eve. This is a gothic influenced and spooky instrumental, (keyboards), that was written and performed by Killjoy and Sigh’s Mirai Kawashima… I find the vocals to be quite haunting, almost like a chant you would not want to hear alone in a remote and dark forest. In my Metal opinion, Hallowmas and The Road To Hallow’s Eve is another devilishly cool Horror Punk CD that I will turn to often… especially this Halloween Season!
Hallowmas as they appeared on The Road To Hallow’s Eve:
Boris Randall – vocals
Damien Matthews – guitar
Johnny Coffin – bass
Drew Blood – drums
The Road To Hallow’s Eve – Track Listing:
The Hanging Girl
Twins Of Evil
Planet X
Miss Devil Doll
When You’re Blue
The Road To Hallow’s Eve
Pagan’s Night
King Diamond, the legendary Metal front man for Mercyful Fate and Horror Metal/Heavy Metal icon. King Diamond and his band have left more than a mark on Heavy Metal history, a chunk of Heavy Metal history is King Diamond. On October 13, 2009, the infamous Metal Blade Records will reissue two King Diamond Classics… The Graveyard and The Spider’s Lullabye. Very cool. Just in time for Halloween… very cool again. Both albums have been re-mastered by King Diamond guitarist Andy LaRocque. The Spider’s Lullabye was originally released in 1995, with The Graveyard originally released in 1996. Bonus live bootleg footage will be available for download, for those who purchase either of these two reissues. The bonus footage for download will be these three King Diamond songs: The Spider’s Lullabye, Trick Or Treat and Up From The Grave. Reissue’s are always great, especially when they include new songs and/or videos – downloading the bonus content for these albums is fine with me, especially when King Diamond is looking at giving the fans the highest quality in sound and video. Man, I better start saving up some spare change or my Christmas want list is going to be very long with all of the new Metal CD’s that are coming out next month! Metal rules. King Diamond is a big reason why. King Diamond is delivering a Happy Halloween to his fans and all fans of Metal on October 13, 2009.
I think about Heavy Metal a lot. I listen to Heavy Metal… a lot. I buy Heavy Metal Music… very often. (Alright, that is a down right lie, I buy Heavy Metal Music – constantly). When I refer to Heavy Metal, just to simplify things here, I am incorporating all the Metal Music Genres in one. Heavy Metal… all things Metal Music. As I sit around towards midnight on this, September 17th going on the 18th… many Heavy Metal thoughts have crossed my Metal mind. Heavy Metal favorites have drifted around my head this late evening, uh, early morning, some unusual ones at that… here they are, enjoy:
Metal Odyssey > Heavy Metal Music Blog 
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