Slasher Dave
Frights
20 Buck Spin
3/5
Because metal is apparently nearing it’s last gasp as we head into the weird world of synthwave, I’m writing my very first synthwave review here at New Noise Magazine. A project formed by the frontman of Acid Witch, we’ve got a horror-influenced strain that is not entirely uncommon for the genre; though notable wherever found. As Halloween approaches, this wonderful mix of thick tones and horror movie grandeur is just what The Reanimator called for when it comes to putting you into the Halloween spirit. “Corpse Magician” might grow a little monotonous with the repetitiveness of “the body will move” but it’s creepy organs definitely keep me glued. The title cut feels like a mix of metal, harsh synth and a barrage of other elements. Harsh vocals are also featured, making for a great mix of synth metal ala Dance With The Dead. “Death Chamber” seems to really come alive when the keyboards come into view, making for a Phantasmagoria of sound. It’s rather ghastly, quite like a Poltergeist. “Into The Dark It Glows” seems to have a bit more laser in it, making me think of the evil robots in Chopping Mall, which is dying for a remake. Hopefully NOT with Dwayne Johnson. “Shrieks and Creaks” brings to mind The Shining, and is delightfully uncomfortable.
“Fulzzi” attempts to mix metal with ghostly synths which works to an extent, but doesn’t feel completely fleshed out. There’s almost a bit of dubstep here, which I’m glad Dave didn’t go further into. I’ve heard some of that shoved horribly onto some of my synthwave jams and that’s how you turn a smile into a frown. “Blue Labyrinth (Fogmaze)” is decent enough, but the clips get on my nerves a bit. I don’t feel that the song is fully realized until the 2:20 mark, wherein a slew of captivating guitar leads are featured. There is also a selection of chug towards the end of this piece that sounds very similar to the intro for the Duke Nukem theme, which I started to hum shortly after. “Strobe Room” sounds like Brutal Doom’s soundtrack just a bit, with some creepy key additions that feel just right in that world. It is extremely difficult for me to hear this one and not think of Doom and I think you’ll be of the same mind. Saying little more about this one, it is definitely one of my favorite cuts.
“Let The Creeps Inside” sounds a bit more industrial than you’d expect for a horror album, I could easily picture it in Aliens. Or at least until the Quake 2-esque chugs come into play. It feels like Slasher Dave was somewhere in between horror album and 90’s video game soundtrack when it came to writing this album and couldn’t decide where he wanted to go. “Video 1” literally sounds like it came from Decap-Attack for The Sega Genesis/Mega Drive (which is a good game, so go play it if you haven’t) and even seems to feature the same soundfont. “Asylum Head” doesn’t really do anything for me at all, but “Neon Shadows” certainly does. Forgive me for being an elitist here, but this is the closest that Slasher Dave gets to true synthwave. Anyone who has listened to the genre for as long as I have knows that this is a prime example of the genre and I feel that it is a sample of what might be Slasher Dave’s next attempt, a full-on synthwave disc. From what I’ve heard here, he can pull that off pretty easily.
If you liked what you’ve heard, you can find several more artists out there in this style who utilize the horror movie aesthetic like Slasher Dave, albeit without so many of the audio clips that got on my nerves and distracted from the musical performance as a whole. For these artists (who create unbelievable amounts of records per year) the audio clips are usually placed at the beginning and the ending of the tracks, allowing more room for the music as a whole to take focus. I love what’s shaping up here with Frights, but feel that there is still necessary room for improvement. See you next album, Slasher Dave!