Come one, come all! This musical treat will entrance
and amaze a truly fascinating mix that can only be
called; Goth-Rock-Tech-Horror. You doubt? Imagine
melodic 80's rock clever lyrics and then 8-bit synth
backing. (ala "Zombies ate My Neighbors").
Creature Feature is the duo of Curtis RX and Erik
X, both are (De)composers and artists of the highest
caliber. Their passion is for things unknown, and
that's evident in the love they put into this album.
Things start out with "The Greatest Show Unearthed"
where the undead carnival parade marches out with
an amazingly diverse vocal cast, memorable chord progressions
and clever lyrics. Then on to "Buried Alive"
a tune that talks about yearning for that comforting
concept of being 6 feet under and still kicking, backed
up with more synth backing and some crisp 80's guitar.
On to "Aim for the Head" which is a veritable
musical "how-to" for the inevitable day
when the earth is overrun with undead flesh-hungry
shamblers. "How do you kill what is dead? I shoot
from hip and I aim for the head" This track continues
to please with everything that has made this album
to delightful. Also starting in this track are some
sound bytes that could be straight out of a 70's flick,
only adding to the ambiance.
"Six Foot Deep" features some of the most
creative synth backings in the whole album. "A
Gorey Demise" is something so Burtonesque, I
could swear it was a deleted scene from Corpse Bride.
It's more lighthearted than the other tracks, enjoyable,
but almost out of place with the chorus of creatures
singing "La la la…." On to "Look
to the Skies" the synth gets more front/solo
role, which goes hand in hand with the sci-fi flavor.
While listening to "How to Serve Man" the
only thing gets diced up more than the victims, is
the English language, this one is loaded with double
entrande`. Lyrically delightful, yet still a little
unsettling no matter how you cut it. Still in the
horror vein, yet more earthly than the rest of the
album, "Bound and Gagged" is a high power
musical correspondence between a kidnapper and his
victim's parents, which still comes across as enjoyable.
The pace stays high with "The Meek Shall Inherit
the Earth" in which we hear the Earth fall to
mutant insects and rolls right on into: "A Corpse
in My Bed" which sounds like Ed Sullivan gives
them an intro. Another interesting note on this one
was the absence of synth. But when you're talking
about a love affair beyond the grave, you gotta let
some things go I suppose. The last track "Such
Horrible Things" poses the statement I'm asking
myself by the end of this album: "I am not a
bad man even though I do bad things, very bad things,
such horrible things, but it's not quite it seems,
aw' hell it's exactly what is seems" I'm willing
to believe that this song is the childhood memoirs
of Curtis or Erik, I'm just not sure which one. This
track gives us a year by year report of a less than
angelic child, at least until he was 14, (3:20).
The album features some great musical themes, which
are offset by the fact that each song is "an
island unto itself". The album features more
of unification via method than content. Which is a
great strength, even in an Ipod shuffle, a track from
"The Greatest Show Unearthed" will stand
fine on it's own. It's terrifying, creepy, not for
the squeamish, and sometimes down-right strange. The
music is unique, creative and diverse. I love it,
and I can tell you, I'm dying to listen to this one
again.
Key Tracks: Greatest Show Unearthed, "Such Horrible
Things"
Reviewed by Jamie Reiner |
