SuperHorror – “Italians Die Better”
9th April 2020They say that timing is everythingâŚand todayâs review absolutely reinforces that statement. If I may use George Carlin as an example here, as a comedian he wasnât one to bite his tongue and said A LOT of thingsâŚthings which may provoke the ire of many folk. This in all fairness though was his strength because frankly, he couldnât care less. On September 9th 2001, he recorded his final special, which in typical Carlin fashion was ludicrously titled âI Kinda Like It When A Lotta People DieââŚtwo days later 9/11 happened. Now do you think that special saw the light of day? Did it fuck. Bad timing folks, bad timingâŚ
Todayâs band fall into a similar set of circumstancesâŚthough I really donât think it was intended to be fair. SUPERHORROR are an Italian horror-punk outfit consisting of vocalist Edward. J. Freak, guitarists Didi Bukz and Jimi, bassist Mr.4 and drummer Franky VoltageâŚand according to their bio, their back story is straight out of an 80âs B-Movie comedy gorefest, but itâs that same inspiration that raises questions over the timing of their latest album; âItalians Die Betterâ.
Â
Sure, the name is in part a reference to Italyâs status as one of the most notorious producers of exploitation horror cinema, thanks to the likes of Dario Argento, butâŚthe world is, if you didnât already know, currently amidst an on-going struggle with the Coronavirus pandemic, with one of the worst affected countries being, you guessed it; Italy. At the time of writing, Italy has sadly lost over 16,000 citizens to the virus, the highest death toll of any countryâŚyet here we have SuperHorror, releasing an album called âItalians Die Betterâ on April 10th. Bad timing folks, bad timingâŚletâs see if Eric Bischoff was right however and find out if controversy does indeed create cash.
We open up with the title track, and we get some grainy audio of basic percussion and strings that represent the atmospherics of classic horror; somehow aesthetically bridging the tones of early Transylvanian settings and even certain aspects of unsettling tribal ideology, like the darker aspects of King Kong or even darker cannibal jungle scenarios. It sets the scene for the bands influence effectively as the track then tears into an onslaught of up-tempo trash-punk with an enjoyable guitar solo, and lyrically it plays on their gimmick of actually being dead themselves, finding their place in society. Its tongue in cheek, itâs got good pacing and rhythm and ultimately itâs an enjoyable start.
Next up we have âAverage Horror Bandâ and the level of self-awareness has to be admired quite frankly. MURDERDOLLS and even WEDNESDAY 13 himself is falling victim to his own gimmick at times as the novelty is wearing off over timeâŚso letâs not mince our words here; SuperHorror are a BTEC Murderdolls at best, so we have to take them at face value.  The instrumentation is fine, with some of the guitar work in particular sounding great, while Edwardâs vocals are coarse enough to add ample character, but they hit the nail on the head with this one. âHappy Deadâ takes the gimmick all the way with a Friday 13th inspired spin on classic 70âs American sitcom âHappy DaysââŚand itâs hard to tell if The Fonz would give this the thumbs up or not. The garage glam aesthetics of the track allow for a bold, up-beat and melodic listen and itâs cheesy for all the right reasons.
As far as the rest of the album goes, you have to remember, Murderdolls themselves are a B-Movie horror punk band, so does that make SuperHorror straight to VHS? I know what youâre thinking; youâre thinking I meant to say DVDâŚno I meant VHS. Iâll go as far as Betamax, donât push me. âDie As You Areâ does its best attempt at some sort of anti-ballad with its lower tempo and more subdued deliveryâŚâL2Dâ houses more of a classic glam-inspired rock ânâ roll style, as does âGraveyard Dolce Vitaâ, before we eventually finish on âPensiero Violentoâ, which does end things on more of a raw, punk tone, combining elements of say, ANTI-FLAG and RED TAPE with guest vocalist Irene Viboras and it does close the album on a stronger note. Sadly however the bulk of the album is summed up by track two and they are in fact, an average horror band. The instrumentation and delivery of concept is generally OK, but despite some enjoyable guitar work, ultimately theyâre a little more uninteresting than they are undead. Stay quarantined, stay isolated and stay safeâŚjust like Covid-19, this album should pass by soon enough and we can all carry on with our lives, I mean come on lads, Italy has enough on its plate and itâs not even Dolmio day.
Album Score: 5/10
Track List:
- “Italians Die Better”
- “Average Horror Band”
- “Sultans Of Sin”
- “Happy Dead”
- “Goat”
- “Die As You Are”
- “Six Feet Above Ground”
- “L2D”
- “Haitian Rhapsody”
- “Graveyard Dolce Vita”
- “Pensiero Violento”
Record Label:
Krach RecordsRelease Date:
April 10thTo purchase a copy of the album, click HERE