Halloween Horror Trailer Week: Halloween III: Season of the Witch

For so many years, Tommy Lee Wallace's "Halloween III: Season of the Witch" was the unwanted, redheaded stepchild of the "Halloween" franchise.  It's only been in the last few years that the film has received the due respect and recognition it deserves, carving out its own rabid fan base.  I like Michael Myers as much as the next guy, but we got totally cheated when "Halloween III" failed to garner any acclaim...or more importantly money.  The series was originally conceived to be a yearly horror anthology series with a new story every film.  How awesome would that have been?  How did a movie about a mass ritual murder of children not set the box office on fire?  Oh what a world we live in.

Watch the trailer below and Happy Halloween!  Be safe out there and remember kids, be in front of your TV sets for the Horrorthon!

Halloween Horror Trailer Week: The Beyond

I probably use this descriptor too much, but Italian schlock master Lucio Fulci's 1981 film "The Beyond" is absolutely bonkers.  There is so much crammed into its run time, so much gore, so much madness, so much schizophrenic storytelling, that it seems to exist purely as a brain melter.  This movie has everything: a portal to hell, death by spiders, a lynch mob murdering a suspected warlock, a horde of zombies in a hospital, an obligatory Fulci eye gouging scene, gallons and gallons of blood, and a totally bleak ending...just the way it should be.  For best effect, enjoy this movie with a group of like-minded weirdos such as yourself, but go ahead and watch the trailer below now.

Halloween Horror Trailer Week: Martyrs

There are a handful of films out there that have left me completely speechless once the credits roll.  Films that stay with me long after they're finished, images and scenes burned into my brain for better or worse...a long waking nightmare.  Pascal Laugier's 2008 French film "Martyrs" is one of those movies.  I don't even know where to begin.  And maybe i shouldn't.  I went in completely cold when i first saw the movie, and maybe that's the best way to do it.  Watch the trailer below.

Halloween Horror Trailer Week: Kill List

The last few years have seen British filmmaker Ben Wheatley come out as a real master of genre cinema.  Every one of his films feels totally unique, playing with bits of horror, noir, crime, and more, yet maintains a director's signature and style.  2011's "Kill List" was the first Wheatley film i had the pleasure of viewing, and it's a monster.  Following two former soldiers who become hitmen, the movie begins as a crime film, the duo carrying out a list of three assassinations given to them by their shadowy employer.  As the jobs progress, things become uglier and more brutal, and nothing is as it seems.  Mystery and dread intensify up to the horrifying ending.

Watch the trailer below...and you should go ahead and check out Wheatley's whole filmography.  Every one is a winner.

Halloween Horror Trailer Week: Night of The Demons

Featuring plenty of gore and demon transformations, a whole array of high school horror tropes, plenty of Raimi-aping camera work, and a villainess who's a cross between Dr. Frankenfurter and Zuul, but in demon form, Kevin Tenney's 1988 film "Night of The Demons" is just too much fun, a bloody laugh for the midnight movie crowd.  It's one of those movies that feels like it needs to be watched on VHS at a friend's house in a sleeping bag, with a bunch of other like-minded maniacs cheering along with you.  Is it kind of cheesy?  Sure!  But that's what makes it great.  Watch the trailer below.

Halloween Horror Trailer Week: Possession

All week long, i'm going to be posting a trailer for a different horror movie or thriller, hopefully for films that most of you have not seen...or maybe even heard of.  First up is the absolutely amazing and bonkers 1981 film "Possession," written and directed by Andrzej Zulawski.  Featuring full throttle, balls out performances from Isabelle Adjani and Sam Neill as a couple whose relationship is going to tense and bloody pieces after an adultery, the film begins as a psychological thriller that soon becomes more surreal and horrific as it progresses.  Zulawski pulled from his own divorce to craft a film that's at once a personal purge of emotion, but also a terrifying supernatural nightmare.

I was floored after seeing this film at a special screening a couple of years ago, and i cannot recommend it enough.  Watch the trailer below.

Julien Baker

Sometimes when it's late at night, and you're sitting in the dark with the cold glow of the television gently lighting the room, and your wife is sleeping on the sofa next to you, and you're tired but not sleepy and maybe a little buzzed from the dark beer you've been drinking, you'll come across something perfect to soundtrack your little scene, your little world.  In my case tonight, it's the beautiful, stripped down lullabies from Tennessee singer-songwriter Julien Baker.  The 19-year old's "Sprained Ankle" LP feels like the work of someone who's lived and experienced way more in her lifetime than she ever really could have.  It's old soul music that gets under your skin and moves its fingers around in your heart.  I should go to bed.  Listen to "Brittle Boned" below and get the album here from 6131 Records.

Nosferatu

It's October.  Halloween is right around the corner.  Why wouldn't you want to listen to some impeccable horror movie soundtracks?  The latest from Waxwork Records is a beautiful double LP of Popol Vuh's score to Werner Herzog's 1979 "Nosferatu" remake.  The band's droney psych music is creepy and oozing and transcendent.  Get it here and listen to "Through Pain to Heaven" below.

Absinth3

"She's Not From Here" is the latest release from Retro Promenade featuring four jams from synth artist Absinth3, drawing inspiration from Stephen King's "Christine."  And that's all you really need to know.  Listen to the whole thing below.

Francoise Hardy

I am a HUGE fan of Francoise Hardy, her decades long career of French (and a bunch of other languages too) pop and folk music finding its way into my regular audio habits and never failing to make me smile.  It's simple, and honest, and beautiful, and should be required listening for everybody.  So, it's pretty awesome that her first five albums are getting the remaster/reissue treatment from the damn near infallible Light in the Attic.  The vinyl editions come out in January, and you can get more info here.  In the meanwhile, listen to "Quel Mal y a-t-il a Ca," a French language cover of Patsy Cline's "When I Get Through with You," from 1965's "L'Amitie" below.

Savages - The Answer

Looks like we've got a new album from post-punk band Savages coming out in January on Matador, which is fantastic news.  Watch the video for album opener "The Answer" below and be on the lookout for "Adore Life" early next year.

Faith No More - Sunny Side Up

Whoa.  Check out the Joe Lynch directed video for Faith No More's "Sol Invictus" track "Sunny Side Up."  See a senior citizen version of Faith No More!  See a bunch of old people in a nursing home tripping out, making out, and more!  It's kind of demented.  It's kind of off putting.  It's kind of amusing.  It's kind of perfect.  Watch below and, if you haven't yet, grab the record from Ipecac.

Merchandise featuring Dum Dum Girls

So, Merchandise and Dum Dum Girls made some music together...and that's pretty damn cool.  Listen to the sultry "Red Sun" below and get the 7" from Sub Pop next month.

Beach House - Thank Your Lucky Stars

Here's that surprise Beach House album that came out on Friday, "Thank Your Lucky Stars."  It's pretty.  Get it now from Sub Pop and enjoy the last few precious moments of your Sunday.

Nostra Signora delle Tenebre

A couple of weeks ago, i was fortunate enough to check out the second annual poster, art, and music-palooza that is Mondo-Con.  As per usual, i emptied my pockets for all manner of goodies...namely horror movie soundtracks.  While digging through the import albums that Death Waltz main man Spencer Hickman brought with him from across the pond, i came across an interesting compilation album called "Nostra Signora delle Tenebre" from Backwards Records featuring a whole slew of weirdo experimental artists performing covers of music from old Italian films, specifically from horror flicks and giallos.  We're talking stuff by Morricone, Fidenco, Goblin, Frizzi, and more.  They may as well have just stuck a big, neon sticker that said TOMMY on the thing, because purchasing the record was a total no-brainer.  Just listen to Heroin in Tahiti's "Nuda per Satana" and instantly want more, more, more.  You can currently purchase a copy (stateside) over at Mondo.

Cindy Lee

Calgary post-punk band Women was easily one of my favorite acts to come out of the 2000's, and i was super bummed when they disbanded (pun absolutely intended) in 2010.  Since then though, the surviving members have been cranking out individual projects to rival Women's all too short of a run.  One of those projects is the band (soon to be formerly known as) Viet Cong who put out what is still my favorite album of the year back in January.  Another project was called Androgynous Mind which seems to have morphed into what is now called Cindy Lee.  Their debut full-length LP, "Act of Tenderness" is due at the end of December, and from the samples and songs that i've heard, it's a messy, noisy masterpiece.  Listen to the jerky and haunting "Quit Doing Me Wrong" below and be on the lookout for the record from CCQSK.  Get more info here.

Tropic of Cancer

Here's a new somber, creeping, crawling, droney synth exploration from Tropic of Cancer called "Stop Suffering."  It sounds kind of like crossing over into the abyss.  Listen below and grab the EP of the same name at Blackest Ever Black.

Jean-Michel Jarre and Fuck Buttons

Longtime electronic music artist Jean-Michel Jarre has a new record coming out this week, "Electronica 1: The Time Machine," featuring a whole slew of guest artists, from Air to Massive Attack to M83 to Tangerine Dream and more.  Take a listen to the Fuck Buttons assisted "Immortals" below and get the record here.

Anna Von Hausswolff - Evocation

October and November are bringing us all kinds of new and fantastic music to meditate or gyrate to, and one of the big ones on my radar is the upcoming "Miraculous" LP from Swedish singer/songwriter/organist Anna Von Hausswolff.  The album is shaping up to be a grand and gothic masterpiece.  Watch the video for "Evocation" below and get the record from City Slang.

Psychic Blood

Still working on a natural high from my Longhorns' victory yesterday, so much so, that i don't even care that my Saints are basically a burning garbage barge sinking into the Mississippi River.  So, let's listen to some hazy, noisy, possibly drug-fueled guitar treatment from Massachusetts band Psychic Blood.  "Blur World" hails from the band's new album "Alien" and is a swirly, swoony wonder, sun-drenched, reverby garage rock to blast away your ears to.  Listen below and get the record from Wharf Cat.

Stronghorns!

It's an awesome day today!  Hook 'Em Horns!  OU Sucks!

Jesu / Sun Kil Moon

So, Mark Kozelek is an asshole.  There's really no denying that.  But he's still a talented dude, and he's got a collaborative album in the works with Jesu's Justin K. Broadrick due in January on Caldo Verde/Rough Trade.  I'm expecting it to knock my socks off.  Anyway, a first taste has surfaced, the interestingly and totally Kozelek-sounding titled song "America's Most Wanted Mark Kozelek and John Dillinger."  It sounds like a more atmospheric Sun Kil Moon, but i'm game for that.  Listen to the track here.

Minuit Machine

Late last year, right around Halloween, i came across a wonderful, gothy darkwave album from French duo Minuit Machine...and lo and behold they're back again this year just in time for Halloween with another record of pulsing synths and dark pop grooves.  Listen to "Everlasting" below and get "Violent Rains" here from No Emb Blanc Records.

Tender Age

Good old-fashioned noisy, swirly shoegaze rock will always put a smile on my face.  Here's a beautiful, reverb-drenched gem from Portland band Tender Age called "Get High."  Indeed.  Listen below and grab the 7" from SINIS Records.

Pill

It's good to know that the grit and grime and screech of No Wave is still alive.  Brooklyn's Pill have a new single coming out on Mexican Summer, and it's a steaming hot mess.  It's also perfect, cacophonous ear candy.  And, as per usual, i fucking love me some sax.  Listen to "Hot Glue" below.

Tortoise - Gesceap

Holy cow!  There's a new album from Tortoise on the horizon!  The post rock band will be releasing its first album since 2009 in January on Thrill Jockey.  What a great slice of news today.  In the meanwhile, listen to "Gesceap" below and pre-order "The Catastrophist" here.

Eartheater

When i first came across the name Eartheater, i instantly assumed it would be a heavy, doom-laden metal act.  Boy was i wrong.  Instead, the Brooklyn based project from Alexandra Drewchin is warped pop, sometimes sounding like what Druids would create if given electronic instruments to play with.  Listen to "Wetware" from the upcoming "R.I.P. Chrysalis" LP below, and get the album later this month from Hausu Mountain.

Army of Darkness

Austin's a little crazy right now, as Fantastic Fest winds down, and ACL Fest gears up, and the 2nd annual Mondo-Con gets ready to melt our faces again.  I'm going to attempt to cram in as much as possible, on top of a seemingly endless amount of unpacking to do in our new house.  Man, my head hurts.

Anyway, one of the must-retrieves for me this weekend at Mondo-Con is the bitchin (look at that cover art above) reissue of Joe LoDuca's "Army of Darkness" score.  I have been a huge fan of all things "Evil Dead" and Ash for so long that i'd be lying to myself if i didn't at least acknowledge that it had a little bit of influence on my son's name.  So, i need this.  Listen to "Building the Deathcoaster" below and check out Mondo-Con here.