Just imagine: You’re the last survivor of the party. We just celebrated the New Year, but all your friends are already sleeping in salads. In order not to fade out of boredom, you switch the TV channels. Pictures of tinsel and sparklers on the screen, everything is as always. But there’s something wrong with your TV tonight. Something otherworldly bursts into the ether, completely perverting the essence of traditional mothball hits. Something evil and funny. Dangerous if you get too close, but damn attractive. This is about how you can describe the feeling of the band’s album Bloodsucking Zombies from Outer Space – Bloody Unholy Christmas 2016.
Which galaxy are you from?
Bloodsucking Zombies from Outer Space is a twenty-first-century standard psychobilly team from which you can start to get involved in the style. Bloodsucking zombies always sound not just powerful, but also very high-quality, as modern rock music should sound. At the same time, there is no feeling that it is a commercial project for making money on subculturalists. In short, a normal smile for ordinary people.
I love these Austrians dearly, and perhaps I will tell you about their selected records here one day. But now it’s not Halloween, it’s Christmas, so we’ll start exploring this gift under the Christmas tree.
Krampus is not coming!
At first, without really diving into the album material, looking only at the picture, I expected a delightful set of scary tales with a winter theme. Most of the time, the albums of this group are arranged in this way. But not in this case!
The album consists of a set of cover versions of various pop and rock hits. The set is very diverse: Michael Jackson, Madonna, ABBA, Queen, the Beatles, Kiss, and even Robbie Williams. The only thing that unites all these things is the nostalgia factor: these are all hits from bygone years. What does Christmas have to do with it? I do not know for sure, but I am sure that this is the tracklist of the local blue light. A typical set for central Europe.
Or how your tipsy party buddy took over the music. And now this DJ from the god of sparkling wine literally makes everyone join his favorite songs. Well, let’s start getting involved!
Bloody Unholy Christmas – the first and only original track is greeted with a miniature audio performance in which Santa is knocked down by a Kamaz truck. On the album, such scenes are the main connecting link for a very diverse content. In general, this is a very characteristic action movie for the team, at the junction of horror-punk and psychobilly, with a bias towards the former genre. Short, melodic and mobile, it’s like a welcome word on a record, giving the right mood.
Material Girl – that’s it, guys! They said a toast – let’s go wild! Turn on the Loboda! Or rather, the Madonna. The original of this piece from the album “Like a Virgin” is 84 years old, the second in the discography of the Empress of pop. The version turned out to be cheerful, causing the desire to jump and sing along to the obsessive chorus. This song was greatly helped by the classic formula of billy covers: swing and drive. Is it amazing to hear a saiko cover of Madonna? The next track is even more unexpected.
Der Kommissar – At least I knew Madonna, but I only met Johann Hoelzel, aka Falco, because of this thing. This is the second reworking of the synthetic pop of the 80s, as in the previous case, the stylization was beneficial. The double bass intro here is just great, and the track itself grabs you by the scruff of the neck and carries you towards unrestrained fun.
Let Me Entertain You – next in our blue flame is Robbie Williams! Do you remember this one? Well, who sang about Russian parties. He also had a video with a parody of glam rockers, that’s just this thing. The cover added more energy, but in fact, unlike the previous tracks, everything remained very similar to the original, only faster and angrier.
Thriller – well, Krampus himself ordered it, and today he is for God. If Sykers love pop music, it’s absolutely necessary to play a Jackson Thriller! I never thought that this song lacked a striding bass in the chorus until I heard this version. Just wonderful! God of Thunder – so, there was a parody of glam, it was time for glam itself, the great and terrible Kiss. It’s very interesting to rework the effects of the original track, all those children’s screams in the background.
Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight) – this is probably the first time the guys have missed, in my opinion. The main melody doesn’t fit the rhythm at all. Overall, it’s a great thing for wreck. Maybe I just don’t like to lie. Well, I can’t help but mention a great clip. High-quality shooting, excellent makeup. It’s quite a short horror comedy of category B. With the video sequence, this version reveals itself much better.
Help – there’s no mistake here, but I love the original too much to enjoy this rug. Like the previous one, it fits perfectly in the album, so there’s a taste here. Science Fiction / Double Feature – where are we in sayke and horror-punk without Rocky Horror? There are a lot of places, of course. Recognition doesn’t work on me, so as Oleg Tinkov says in the now popular meme: “Its okay.”
Welcome to the Jungle – this thing is very much at odds with the concept of the album, in my opinion. What kind of jungle for Christmas? The cover itself is good, but it didn’t get me at all. Don’t Stop Me Now – Well cool! It turned out to be a great version, fighting, rushing forward, everything is as it should be. Queens are a very difficult material to rethink and, in my opinion, Zombies have coped with this non–trivial task.
Merry Xmas Everybody is a mandatory part of the program. No fateful New Year is complete without this Slade song. The zombie version is no better or worse than any other.
Music for the second of January
Upon careful consideration, this album does not carry much artistic value. He listens perfectly, but leaves little behind. The concept of a shallow flame described above is just my speculation, but I would really like it to be that way.
Otherwise, it’s very strange to look at someone else’s nostalgia. You understand these feelings perfectly, but it’s impossible to get into them. This whole situation reminded me of how I watched Slade’s concert on New Year’s Eve on REN-TV in the noughties. An absolutely unexpected and pleasant accident. It’s the same here. A completely different new year.
Anyway, this is a great attempt to do something new in such an ossified genre as the Christmas album. I consider it successful, although not outstanding. Instead of a winter fairy tale, we have a two-day binge in front of the TV, in the company of cheerful friends. And it’s very good that it’s there. Not everyone can wait for Santa Claus.
