Before I wore eyeliner. Before I wore upside down cross earrings to Scouts church parade.  Before the skulls, the long hair, the leather jackets, the pretending to worship Satan and the various hair dye jobs, (no wonder I am bald) and the 36-year love of punk, goth and metal. Before all of that came the real spark. The catalyst. The real darkness that burrowed into my DNA like summat from a Cronenberg flick. It was Video. To be specific a video shop on Holloway Road in North London. My mum would never let me watch horror movies when I was 11. She knew what an impressionable young fella I was and figured that sleepless nights were not a good idea. My mate Babs was a year older and had parents that worked night shifts.  So, in 1985 one Saturday evening two films entered my life. One – NInja III fed both my youthful obsession for martial arts films and Sho Kosugi in particular and my lust for Lucinda Dickey who I had fallen for on watching “Breakin’” (known as Breakdance in the UK) and then realised that my attempts at backspins would never win any girl. The other was Halloween II. That’s right, not even the first Shape movie. The now discarded sequel was the first X certificate horror to hit my eyes. Michael Myers scared the shit out of me and fascinated me in equal measure. I used to practice that eerie head tilt at night in the mirror before scaring myself.  There began a lifelong obsession with the dark side and macabre.

Now in the world of alternative culture that is a story that probably rings true with many of you – replace VHS with DVD or streaming of course. Vladimir Pavelka must have a similar story to have made this sincere and interesting tribute to celluloids greatest late 20th century scaries.

Pavelka is known as the guitarist and bass player of Czechia epic Black Metallers Cult of Fire and he brings the sense of epic darkness to this project whilst injecting elements of darkwave and synthesizers into the fray.

The House pay tribute to the heavy hitters. The Mack Daddies/Mommies of the video shop. There are no props for Chopping Mall or Eaten Alive or even Basket Case, all great films but also all given much love by a myriad of Death Metal bands over the years. Nope, this album goes straight for the OG’s of the 70’s and 80’s. A Nightmare on Elm Street, The Exorcist, Halloween, Pet Sematary, The Shining, Suspiria, Phantasm and Christine.  What a cracking list! Does the music match up to this loathsome library? Yes, yes it does, thanks to Pavelkas interpretation of original scores, frugal use of sound clips and injections of metal extras to offer something more than nostalgia.

The fact that there are two stand out bangers here is a surprise to me. I was expecting a nice trip down memory lane leading to a search through my movie collection. Once I realised that Pet Sematary is a cover of the Ramones classic I knew I was gonna start grinning and singing along. Unto Others are giving this track a new lease of unlife on tour at the moment and The House rip along here as well in a Black ‘n’ Roll style. It sounds proper eeeeeeeevil. Carpathian Forest vibes.

Now if that was more of a straight up banger the fact that The Exorcist leaps out of my speakers and spews pea soup in my face whilst claiming that my mum does terrible things south of heaven was more of a shock. Of course, The House riff all over Tubular Bells, mixing in church bells and wonderful proggy moments turning the iconic piece of million selling music into a metallic delight. However once Pavelka adds in blastbeats and the tortured cries of Regan as Pazuzu contorts her larynx and flesh the track becomes a cacophony of terror, that also made me want to headbang until my face turned the wrong way. It is no small feat that this track won Hit or Miss on my radio show.

So to the rest of the album.  The collection starts of eerily with the iconic nursery rhyme from A Nightmare on Elm Street before laying down atmospheric synths straight out of the originals dream sequences. I wait for Robert Englund “Hey Nancy! No running in the hallway” and am taken back to just how ground-breaking that movie was. I remember seeing it for £100 retail in Virgin records in 1986. Crazy price.

After the Catholic baiting track mentioned above it is a trip to Haddonfield.  Starting with the court proclamation of Michael and the sound of Laurie Strode running for her life whilst Michael breathes heavily through his Kirk mask. Of course the John Carpenter score, possibly second only to the cello playing shark as most spine tingling refrain is featured but not until a good minute of so into the track.  Nice use of Gregorian style chant in there and synth kick drum which may have given poor Laurie a boost in her endeavours.  The track becomes more bombastic which means the eeriness and foreboding creepiness is lost somewhat and the drum roll that segues into blast beats is representative of what happened to the Halloween franchise over the years. A lot of bluster and gore foregoing subtlety and creepiness.

The Shining and Suspiria both have the creepy seventies vibe of the movies.   The former has The House using synthesised strings and brass for a straight cover of Krzysztof Penderecki’s main theme. Penderecki, I have just learned, was also the composer behind The Exorcist’s main score.

The House stick with the main grandiose, imposing refrain from the original without adding the quirky shrieks and eerie moans of the opening credits. Of course Jack Nicholson makes a cameo in this version as Jack Torrance.

Talking of icons – for horror fans Goblin standout as possibly the most influential and genre defining groups of musicians in the world of horror movies. Here The House take on the theme to Argento’s classic replacing the originals bazouki, celesta and tabla with a more straightforward prog metal take on the score.  It works and breathes a different kind of life into the familiar ditty adding a spot of blackwave grandeur in via sweeping keys and mid paced blast beats and straight up metal drums in equal measure.

“If this one doesn’t scare you – you’re already dead” – Phantasm. What a movie. A horror franchise for the Avant Garde. More David Lynch than John Carpenter, the Tall Man took viewers to a strange place that was far beyond the usual razor fingered maniac or chainsaw wielding mummies boy. The House give the theme a proper 80’s VHS remastering (the original came out in ‘78) with some vivid synthwave touches and bright guitar work alongside some dark metal drumming. Watch out for those flying balls!

This tribute comes to a close with a classic car and another trip into the world of Stephen King and John Carpenter for Christine. As well as being a marvel behind the lens, Carpenter knew how to hit the keys and along with Vangelis and Jean Michel Jarre has helped influence generations of synth musicians. The offering here is a beefed up version of the original, as if the ‘58 Plymouth Fury from the film has been given a 21st century Fast and Furious upgrade. It’s a chunky chuggy synth rock take on the original score and it works. Just don’t upset Arnie and turn your back.

As a love letter to classic chillers this album really works. As a standalone piece for younger generations who may not be as familiar? It works too. The originals are great pieces of music that became iconic for good reason and The House’s take on them is fresh whilst still maintaining the atmosphere and integrity of the originals.

Now where is my old collection of Fangoria?

(8/10 Matt Mason)  

https://avantgardemusic.bandcamp.com/album/horror-tribute-collection