Lugosi – Video Nasty

Lugosi – Video Nasty
Self-Released
Release Date: 12/03/2021
Running Time: 26:29
Review by Alun Jones
8.5/10
OK, here we go! The clue is in the title, folks – you can probably figure out where we’re headed with a band called Lugosi straight off the (vampire) bat. If not, let me give you some pointers…
To get to Lugosi’s haunted house, depart from the Ramones’ basement, travel up Misfits Avenue, take a left at Danzig Drive, head on past Lemmy’s Bar’n’Grill till you get to 1313 Mockingbird Lane. And you’ve arrived: horror themed punk’n’roll with fast’n’furious tunes and daft lyrics about dodgy old horror and sci-fi movies. In other words, exactly the kind of goth rock Halloween shindig that your ol’ Uncle Al loves to crash.
Let’s get the devil-locked elephant in the room dealt with first: ‘cos there’s going to be a Misfits reference in nearly every sentence I write of this review! To be fair, although there’s an undoubted Misfits influence in Lugosi’s work, it’s more in the lyrical content: songs about vampires, Dawn of the Dead and devil worship are aplenty, but in a tongue in cheek, Hammer horror style rather than any serious Satanic pretence. This is music made by fans of cheesy, campy horror classics for other fans of the same.
The music itself has less of the big “WOAH” Danzig choruses and a more Motorhead inspired punk’n’roll sound, like Supersuckers or Zeke. There’s even a really cool instrumental in the middle of ‘They Came From Outer Space’ that has an Iron Maiden feel. The riffs are not too far from Clutch, and – is that a Thin Lizzy influence? Well, I was surprised to learn that Lugosi are from Dublin – I imagined they were from a remote cabin in the Texas backwoods somewhere…
‘Late Night Slasher Movie’ starts things off perfectly, in the speedy rockin’ style I mentioned, with hilarious lyrics! ‘We’re Here To Drink Blood’ is one of the punkier paced, Ramones tracks – and it’s catchier than a zombie plague. Then there’s ‘Soylent Green’, which reminds me of Jerry Only era Misfits (this is a good thing). A heavier, Sabbath feel rocks right out of the grave on ‘The Vampyre’ and ‘Hellfire Club’. There’s an almost doom sound to ‘1313’, augmented by high-pitched, theremin like weirdness. I think you get the idea.
“Video Nasty” is a great album, thoroughly enjoyable in many ways: a successful Frankenstein bolting together of B-movies, punk and heavy metal – ideal for your next gathering on All Hallows Eve. Kitsch, ridiculous, over the top – and FUN. Lugosi have really reanimated the corpse of horror punk, and – it’s alive!!!
‘They Came From Outer Space’ (Official Video)
TRACKLISTING:
01. Late Night Slasher Movie
02. They Came From Outer Space
03. We’re Here To Drink Blood
04. Soylent Green
05. The Vampyre
06. Hellfire Club
07. Dawn Of The Dead
08. 1313
09. Ourboros
LINE-UP:
JM Burr – Vocals
Alan Morton – Guitars
Neal “Rim” Wright – Bass
Jimmy Rooney – Drums
LINKS:

Disclaimer: This review is solely the property of Alun Jones and Ever Metal. It is strictly forbidden to copy any part of this review, unless you have the strict permission of both parties. Failure to adhere to this will be treated as plagiarism and will be reported to the relevant authorities.