Interpals, I have a confession to make. I am not, and have never been, a fan of KISS, and frankly I hold the members personally responsible for a significant episode in Childhood Disappointment. Just look at KISS (I mean, look at them by going to Google Images or something, cos I am not going to besmirch my blog with their image): they look like awesome monsters to a naive child, with their grease paint and leathers. In a Just World, they would sing mainly about Frankenstein and haunted houses, perhaps with a soupcon of Satan. But no--they mainly sing about "rocking." I can barely express to you what a bummer this discovery was for me once I finally got to hear their music. At least I would later be comforted by the unabashedly macabre tunes of Alice Cooper and King Diamond.
But still--the Coop and the King are but individual men, and one man cannot be expected to simultaneously embody the characters Starchild, the Demon, the Alien and the Kitty-Cat. It would be DECADES before I would stumble across something to make up for the hole in my soul left by my KISS-related disappointment.
Thank a dark deity that this emptiness has finally been filled by THESE GUYS:
THESE GUYS, dear friends, are Death SS, an Italian heavy metal band. I don't want to disturb my image of them with the more recent Marilyn-Manson-esque costumery they've cultivated. In fact, I'm not sure I want or really need to know anything more about them than the following facts:
- They appear to sing about monsters and Satan (perhaps adding significantly more than a soupcon of said, but I'm giving a free pass).
- They hang out with topless chicks.
- Perhaps most importantly, they are dressed as monsters. Not "characters that are kinda similar to monsters but a mime version of same," REAL FUCKING MONSTERS.
It's like someone finally realized that Gene Simmons' appearance kicked the most ass out of the entire lineup of KISS and said "golly, wouldn't THIS be vastly improved if we were ALL the Demon?" And then some other guy was like "yeah I want to be a werewolf" and then another guy was like "OH SNAP I get to be a werewolf" and thus something beautiful and pure was born.
At least that's the way *I* imagine it.
But I know what you're thinking. You're all, "sure, Kate, but DO THEY ROCK but not in a literal and boring manner?"
In a word, YES. Witness:
15 comments:
What? You don't like GWAR?
If you didn't like KISS, you'll not like Lordi...a Finnish KISS.
Actually, Death SS looks way cool! Must check them out!
Lordi is GWAR-lite. In fact, I think Oderus Urungus has challenged Lordi to a metull battle to the death, to which they have predictably not responded.
I'm thinking a GWAR/Death SS/King Diamond tour would be pretty much the apex of monster awesome, just on visuals alone.
We need more METULL MUMMIES. :)
KISS drummers always draw the short straw. After the kitty-cat was the little fox. I guess they couldn't figure out how to do hamster make-up.
I am strangely ambivalent to KISS. I have seen them live once (sans make-up), though I went because Ted Nugent was opening. Then I found out Ted was a Republican, and kinda fell out of love... Still, is there a better song than "Stranglehold" - I think not. Well, probably.
@Darius: "Wango Tango." ;)
Comment verif.: "bandenn." The cave-like area where internet personages go once they are banhammered.
I'm kind of a shock rock fanatic and I've never heard of these guys so many thanx for sharing, Kate!
You should check out a band called Impaler. They're more punk/metal, but they have great tunes about vampires, serial killers and haunted houses, and so on.
http://www.impalershockrock.com/
also,
http://www.myspace.com/impalerhorrorrock
It's a shame to hear these guys have changed their makeup, as I like to think some mustachioed Svengali asked them if they'd like to be regionally famous rockandrollers and they all yelled the Italian equivalent of "Hell yes!" and he presented each of them with the characters and as soon as they got all tarted up he cackled and said "Then shall you be rock monsters...FOREVER!" and now they're damned to wander the earth feasting on an ever-dwindling legion of fans in the service of their Luciferian manager. If that band made Phantom of the Park I'd be all over it.
Here in Italy we have a strange metropolitan legend that sees them as 'jettatori', someone who brings bad luck.
I've heard of car accidents, friends betrayed by their girlfriends and piano players who have accidents and lost their fingers after every concert.
Cranky and Vicar--GWAR is a lot of fun! I remember my first exposure to them via Headbangers Ball as a young teen and thinking they were pretty damn a'ight. I never got round to full-on fandom, but they definitely rock. As to Lordi... while I don't dig them, I do think they're the finest monster-themed band to ever have won Eurovision Song Contest. I just wish this monster-themed jam had won the following year:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lGUHbg2r4_I
Darius, what IS it with these 70s rockers embracing The Man? At least The Nuge appears to be round-the-bend enough to remain interesting, while The Coop is just kinda a warm-weather retiree... but with more boa constrictors :(
You're welcome, Rev! I forgot where I heard of Death SS in the first place, but it was within the past couple of years and I remember being SUPER-excited. Hell, I'm *still* super-excited. As to Impaler--holy CRAP! You had me at that opening splash image. Flippin' RAD.
DB--I quite literally LOL'ed at your comment. And--dude--that movie would be TIGHT. I'm so ready to write a financier's check, baby.
Icaro--that's fascinating! Death SS is a band that is almost unknown in the US, but they look to have a dedicated fan-base in Europe. It's surprising to me that their popularity never crossed the Atlantic, given that they were first recording during a time when occult-themed heavy metal was very popular here!
I think with the Nuge, he equates liberals with drugs, and he an big anti-drug guy. He probably also thinks tough guys are conservatives, though I certainly wouldn't call Bruce Springsteen or John Mellencamp pussies. Then there is the gun thing...
As for Alice, I never got into him; when I saw him on tv playing golf... Well, I don't need that in my life :-D
I remember hearing about a band called Children of the Night back in the mid-70s. They all dressed up as classic monsters (Frankenstein played bass, Dracula was on keyboards, the Wolfman played drums, etc.) I caught their "gig" at the '75 Famous Monsters Convention. It was the first time I saw a live rock band (my first concert would come a year later: Foghat and Rush at the Palladium). They were, um, ok, but I hope they didn't quit their day jobs.
hey, i was going to bring up Children Of The Night too! i should post that record. i have a little item about them from The Monster Times that i need to dig up as well...
Ted Nugent (like Frank Zappa)has been staunchly anti-drug since the old Amboy Dukes era. His position has very lttle to do with connecting Liberalism to drug use - he disdains Liberalism as an ideology because he's been a hardcore Conservative for quite a while now, and knows exactly where he stands.
However, I would call Springsteen and Mellancamp both pussies, because they are! I'm not sure what it is about Bruce that gives you some sort of idea that he's such a tough guy. The truth of the matter is, he's never been in a fistfight in his life, and has been know to back down from more than a few fights (ask anybody who knew back in Freehold). Have you ever met John Mellancamp in person? He's about as big as my 11 year-old son, and with those pipe-cleaner arms of his it's unlikely that he'll ever be in a position to kick any grade-schooler's ass. Add to the fact that backstage he's a an insufferable asshole of a primadonna, and you've got the makings of a total creampuff.
-The Evil Twin
FWIW, backing down from a fight does not automatically make one a pussy in my book, any more than being ready to throw down at the drop of a hat makes someone a badass. But maybe that's b/c I am, myself, a pussy. ;)
>>He's about as big as my 11 year-old son, and with those pipe-cleaner arms of his it's unlikely that he'll ever be in a position to kick any grade-schooler's ass.
No wonder Authority always wins! :P
@Kate - I listened to a little Death SS on Blip the other day. Not bad, but I am sure the visual really adds to the appeal.
None of them are Gelatinous Cubes, are they. I can't tolerate those.
Where did you find the image of the band with the topless girls? is it an album cover or a publicity shot?
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