HOODED MENACE CD out now!

HOODED MENACE "Fulfill the Curse" CD out now on Razorback Recordings!



Who are these unholy savages who hunt out their victims by sound alone? They are HOODED MENACE, arisen from their tombs to unleash Hell on Earth! The debut album is a 9 song masterpiece of deadly DEATH/DOOM METAL with tales of virgin sacrifice, slathering beasts baying at a full moon, and the relentless blood-search of the walking Blind Dead. Features Lasse Pyykko from the cult early 90's Finnish death metal band Phlegethon! This is one of the most heavy and amazing debut albums on Razorback ever...get it now before HOODED MENACE tears you to pieces as they ride across a DOOM filled landscape of terror!
Price: $10 US/$12 World
www.razorbackrecords.com





CRYPTICUS "They Called Me Mad" CD out now on Razorback Recordings!
The moonlight shines into the secret shafts & awakens The CRYPTICUS once more!
After 3 years sequestered in the unholy secrecy of the Filth Chamber,
Patrick Bruss has unearthed the dreaded sequel to his first album...
A supernatural symphony of sickness, madness & obsession whose title must serve as a warning to all mankind: "THEY CALLED ME MAD"!
12 new tales of terror designed to offend the religious & delight the insane!
Banned by the P.M.R.C. & protested by Colorado Mental Health officials,
only RAZORBACK RECORDINGS has been brave enough to temp the Horrors From Beyond
by unleashing this degenerate masterpiece upon an unsuspecting public!
You have been warned! Imagine Edgar Allan Poe and HP Lovecraft locked up in a haunted house while jamming early-DISMEMBER, DEMIGOD, ABHORRENCE(Fin), DEMILICH, GRAVE, etc.!
Get your copy of this morbid monstrosity now!
Price: $10 US/$12 World
www.razorbackrecords.com






also available on Razorback Recordings

LORD GORE "Resickened" CD
IMPETIGO "Horror of the Zombies" CD
CIANIDE "Death, Doom And Destruction" CD
GRUESOME STUFF RELISH "Horror Rises From The Tomb" CD
BIRDFLESH "Alive Autopsy/Trip to the Grave" CD
F.K.U. "Metal Moshing Mad" CD
COFFINS "Mortuary In Darkness" CD
IMPETIGO "Ultimo Mondo Cannibale" CD
FONDLECORPSE "Blood And Popcorn" mini-CD
BLOOD FREAK "Multiplex Massacre" CD
BLOOD FREAK "Live Fast, Die Young, and Leave a Flesh-Eating Corpse!" CD
BLOOD FREAK "Sleaze Merchants" CD
LORD GORE "The Autophagous Orgy" CD
FRIGHTMARE "Midnight Murder Mania" CD
WTN "Rotting In Pestilence" CD
ANIMA MORTE "Face the Sea of Darkness" CD (horror soundtrack music in the vein of Goblin and Italian horror/zombie movies! like the soundtrack to a Fulci/Argento film!)

all CD's are $10 US/$12 World each
http://www.razorbackrecords.com

Razorback Recordings
PO Box 321
Farmingville, NY 11738
USA

TOMBSTONES have risen!

From the ashes of Beware, comes TOMBSTONES!

The new band feauturing Stevo from Impetigo, Patrick from Crypticus, and Wayne from Decrepitaph!

Debut CD out early 2009 on Razorback Records!

Take a listen to a rough mix advance song from the album!

http://www.myspace.com/tombstonesdeath

HOODED MENACE interview!

The debut CD from HOODED MENACE will be out this Fall on Razorback Records! I spent some time asking lead hooded-freak Lasse some questions about the band and upcoming album! Check it out! And also go to the Razorback Records myspace page to hear an exclusive new track from the album.


1.Hey Lasse, tell us a little bit about how HOODED MENACE came together. What was your inspiration to start this band?

Lasse: It all started in June of 2007 when I was jamming Candlemass songs with my two friends. Instead of melodic singing I just growled the lyrics in death metal vocal style. We really enjoyed playing that style and liked how it all sounded and thought that maybe we should write our own material that was a combination of doom and death metal. Also we couldn..t think of too many awesome doom/death bands that were around at the time but just lame keyboard "doom" bands and boring funeral doom crap so we decided to give it a try.

2.HOODED MENACE takes influence from the Blind Dead films, but also other stuff as well. Why do you think the Blind Dead imagery fits so well with Doom Metal? Also, what is your favorite of the 4 Blind Dead films?

Lasse: The overall creepy atmosphere of the films and the slow pacing of the Blind Dead just fits so perfectly to this type of music. All that foreboding mood... It's a match made in heaven or hell.

Choosing the best of them is so hard that I'd rather not do that but if someone forced me to I guess right now I would choose "The Ghost Galleon" because I haven't watched it for a while. Next week it could be "Night of the Seagulls". So the favourite keeps changing. I just choose them all!

3.I know yo'u're a big fan of CANDLEMASS. Tell us which your favorites are by them! Also, do you think the melodies in the band help keep HOODED MENACE separate from some of the other bands playing doom metal today?

Lasse: I'm a fan of the old stuff up to "Tales of Creation" which I think is the last great Candlemass album. "Epicus Doomicus Metallicus" is easily my favourite right next to "Nightfall". I know they (Leif Edling) improved from the debut album to "Nightfall" a bit songwriting-wise but at the same time the band lost a bit of that murky atmosphere that made "Epicus..." so special. Of course the singer is also different and I have to say I..m more a fan of Johan Langquist than Messiah Marcolin though both are awesome vocalists. I just think that Langquist had more feeling in his vocals and he just had that perfect tone for Candlemass.

Yeah, I guess the melodies we have must make us a bit different from the other bands out there nowadays. I hope so. We are not about pure monotonic crushing doom or gay keyboard sweet melody "doom". We are more like an evil ugly and chunky little brother of Candlemass or Cathedral. A brother that didn't want to sing but just grunt.

4. What are some other doom metal bands you enjoy? Do you think there's too many of them and not enough to make any stand out from each other? What do you think helps keep HOODED MENACE interesting and not "just another doom band"?

Lasse: Aside from old Cathedral and Candlemass I enjoy doom bands like Electric Wizard, Trouble, Saint Vitus, Reverend Bizarre,Isole to name a few. The rough doomy stuff like Winter and Coffins is also cool. I don't follow the scene too much and I listen to only a handful of bands compared to some doom freaks out there. I can stick with my old faves and get inspired by them again and again.

I don't know if there are too many doom bands as I don't follow the scene that much. I guess there are too many bands in every category today and as far as I know in every category vast majority of the stuff is boring. Probably it's just the same thing with doom bands.

I think Hooded Menace is interesting and stands out because we have good, catchy songs tho they are very crushing and doomy still. We are not slow just for the sake of slowness. We do not play one note for like 4 minutes to make our song more "epic". We try to avoid of being boring. Good songwriting is the fond of it all. To make a slow, creepy, crushing, long but still interesting and great song is a challenge in writing doom/death metal. Also not many bands don..t seem to play stuff like we are.

5.Your first release just came out, "The Eyeless Horde" 7" EP. Tell us about this release and how it came out on Doomentia Records! The quality and packaging is amazing! Will you be doing the LP version of your album with them also?

Lasse: Thanks! I agree it really came out great! Doomentia did amazing job as well as Eric "Rot" Engelmann created totally brilliant artwork for it. We will work with Doomentia again for the vinyl release of our full lenght. I bet that will be such an awesome package too!

6.Tell us about the upcoming debut album on Razorback Records. Name some of the songs, and tell us what they're like compared to the demo/EP songs you did. Are you happy with the production and sound for this album?

Lasse: The album is entiled "Fulfill the Curse" and it contains 9 songs. We are very happy with the result. It sounds and looks great. Putrid did a stunning job with the artwork. It..s all black&white and just grim! Also the layout by who else but Sly from Fondlecorpse rules! The production is crushingly heavy and big. Still totally DIY without any of that expensive pro studio shit.

Music is still very much in the same way as on the demo/EP. However there is a track like "The Love Song for Gotho, Hunchback of the Morgue" which is a bit faster than our usual stuff. Of course "fast" only in terms of Hooded Menace. I would also bring up a song called "Grasp of the Beastwoman" with its pretty melodic Candlemass and horror soundtrackish Fabio Frizzi influenced parts. That..s also a new flavor and hey, we have also covered Fabio Frizzi..s "Theme from Manhattan Baby" for the album!

7. What are some goals for the band? Do you want to play live or just focus on recordings? Do you want to get more EP's out and more vinyl releases? Any bands you'd like to do splits with?

Lasse: We have no plans to play live. It doesn't feel tempting at all. We just wanna document our music. Playing live, doing a show is not really what we are all about. We rather use that time and energy in creating new music. We don't have plans after the full length is out other than planning the follow up album but sure a split or 7"EP could be cool. I really don..t know with whom we would love to make a split. We haven't thought about that at all yet. Maybe they should reform Eternal Darkness for the split release... or are they already resurrected?!?! I know shit! Anatomia could be also a cool partner for a split.

8.When it comes time to do a 2nd CD, what would you like to try to do with it? Any changes? Is it a challenge to write such epic sounding songs?

Lasse: It will be a challenge to write songs but it..s also something I..m really looking forward to. We have a few riffs in store and they all sound like "Fulfill the Curse" material so for now I don't except any big changes. I only wish that we could record as solid entirety for the follow up. We wanna stay as creepy and crushing as always.

9.Tell us about any doom bands from Finland that you enjoy. What has the response been towards the band over there?

Lasse: Puritan (if you can call them doom) and also Fall of the Idols sounds nice. Again, as I don..t follow the scene that much I possibly miss some decent stuff. So, I'm far from an expert to answer to this.

The response towards Hooded Menace has been pretty good in Finland also. Sweet reviews and nice response.

10.The glory days of the old Finnish death metal scene are long gone, but it seems like you're helping to keep it alive with HOODED MENACE, as well as your other band VACANT COFFIN (interview with that band in the future). Do you miss the old days in the early 90's? Who were some old bands you were good friends with in those days?

Lasse: I miss the freshness of ideas and since I'm very nostalgic person I miss the those times just like I miss the 80..s too. Anyway, I'm very comfortable with the present and what I ..m doing musically today. These days rule! To me it's almost like the late 80s, early 90s are back since I spend over a decade doing basically nothing sensible and serious musically.

I don't know if we were very "good friends" with anyone but I recall we felt that we had something in common and some kinda friendship with bands like Disgrace, Xysma, Sentenced, Demigod... We weren..t the most social guys really.

11.If you have any last words please tell us! Good luck with the debut CD and keep crushing with the mighty HOODED MENACE!

Lasse: Thanks for this nice interview, Billy! I'm pretty bad at last words so I'm just gonna say look out for the upcoming Hooded Menace album! If you liked the demo /EP you won..t be disappointed! Cheers!
http://www.myspace.com/hoodedmenace

VACANT COFFIN cover artwork!

VACANT COFFIN "Sewer Skullpture" CD coming later this year!
artwork by Wes Andersen!

CRYPTICUS interview!

The new CRYPTICUS album, "They Called Me Mad", will be out soon on Razorback Records. Here's an interview with mastermind, Patrick Bruss, that lets you know all about it!



1. Patrick, tell us a bit about the upcoming new CRYPTICUS album, "THEY CALLED ME MAD". It this a concept album? What are some themes you're taking on with it this time around? Anymore Lovecraft inspired stuff?

Patrick: Hey Billy, here we are 3 years later doing another interview!
I initially didn't intend it as a concept album, but as I was writing the lyrics they all ended up concerning weird obsessive madmen & secret cults planning elaborate & supernatural revenge upon the world for its lack of imagination.
I'm not expecting any radio play, to say the least!
As always, I snuck in many Lovecraftian elements, but "THE SHUNNED HOUSE"
& "ASTROPHOBOS" are the only real literary adaptations this time.

2. Why did it take over 3 years for the album to be completed?
Did you become METALLICA or something? haha, just kidding.
What were some of the hardest parts of doing the album and some of the challenges and goals you had for it.

Patrick: Hey, we still have 2 months to go before it's officially 3 years!!
Also, I'm pretty sure this sounds MUCH better than "ST. ANGER"!
(or "ST. ANKY" as I like to call it.)
I basically kept changing things & re-recording stuff until I felt
that there were no boring, or redundant parts & that it was all evil!
Then I got really obsessive & began to micro analyze every detail,
trying to capture my weirdest thoughts & translate them into Death Metal riffs.
After about a year I had so many strange elements lying around
that it became a titanic task just to assemble everything
into something someone else might possibly enjoy listening to!
Luckily my friends Justin, Andon & Carl came on board & helped give me some perspective as well as lending their talents.
Initially I just wanted to make some more evil Horror Metal,
but things got WAAAY out of hand & it turned into a Frankenstein monster with a life of its own! In the end it all came together as a good sequel to the low budget original. If the first album was "THE EVIL DEAD", this would be "EVIL DEAD II"!

3. One of the things that's different on the new album are the use of real drum sounds, instead of the drum machine from the debut.
How do you feel having real drums over the drum machine this time around?
Who performed the drums, by the way?

Patrick: That was one of the big challenges in the beginning.
I'm so used to doing everything myself that it felt very strange
involving other more talented folks!
It was a true collaboration - My friend Carl Kumpe (of the late PAINSTAKE)
played the drums, but they were mainly composed by myself & my buddies
Justin Lascelle & Andon Guenther who are in ENEMY REIGN.
Putting the 2 albums side-by-side there's no comparison:
The live drums have a much nastier, more rotted sound to them & alot more character!

4. The new album once again features artwork from Allen K.
What is it about his art that you enjoy so much and that makes you want to work with him? A few people have said the new album art reminds them of the DECEASED "SUPERNATURAL ADDICTION" art, which is not shocking since it's the same artist. But the art on the new CRYPTICUS album was drawn YEARS before the DECEASED one, right?

Patrick: As far as I know, yes.
Either way though, Allen K. is a master of the macabre
& I'm a HUGE fan of that DECEASED album as well!
Both DECEASED & Allen K. have been a huge influence on CRYPTICUS,
so it's no coincidence.



5. You told me you felt the new album is more "cinematic" than the debut.
Tell us what you meant by that.

Patrick: I set out to create an album meant just for headphones.
Every song leads right into the next one & there's a lot more weird,
progressive riffs & atmospheres than before.
Strange interludes, snippets of macabre dialogue & more creepy keyboard parts!
The title track alone has almost as many riffs as the whole first album.
Instrumentally it's much crazier than before, but it's all meant to create a circus of horrors in the mind of the listener.

6. CRYPTICUS seems to be a band that is a pure "album only" band.
Everything has been crafted perfectly to be a true album listening experience.
Are you content with this, or do you ever see yourself playing live in the future?
What makes you prefer recording albums over doing the whole live thing?

Patrick: I've been on tour with other bands & never really enjoyed it.
Too goddamn hectic!
I'm much more of a studio musician -
I like having the time to experiment & change things.
Just like my hero Dan Swano I sweat all the tiny details,
but thankfully I don't have all that damn talent of his to weigh me down!
I'd like to play a couple of special shows someday,
but that would be purely for fun, not for commerce.

7. Musically, the new album is more varied and a bit more "insane" sounding,
but still keeping that catchy early 90's Swedish death metal influence strong.
What were some things that helped to influence and inspire you for the new album.

Patrick: Oh boy - this will probably freak-out alot of the Razorfiends,
but besides my steady diet of NECRONY, DISMEMBER & INFESTDEAD,
the new album was hugely influenced by SIGH, GOBLIN & early RUSH!!
I've combined the weird, proggy aspects of '70s & '80s
Horror movie soundtracks with the Scandinavian Death Metal elements.

8. Your vocals seem to be even deeper and more "inhuman" than on the debut album,
though I remember you told me that doing the vocals were the most difficult part of the album. Tell us about the vocal recording process and what you like and dislike about it. And how the hell do you get your voice to sound like a demon lurking deep within the grounds of hell?

Patrick: Unlike Rogga Johansen, I haven't been blessed with the voice of Hell
so it's pretty tough for me to do this crazy stuff!
I refuse to go the Goregrind route & just pitch-shift everything,
so my throat gets pretty messed up by the end.
This time I discovered that eating hot peppers between verses helps to preserve the gross growls. A better microphone helped too!

9. It doesn't seem like CRYPTICUS fits into any one "scene" or genre, despite being total death metal. It seems like the people who enjoy the band are people who really enjoy quality death metal and aren't looking for the next trend or fad,
and just enjoy the band for what it is. How do you feel about that?
Are you happy being a cult band or do you have any bigger goals for the band?

Patrick: Well Billy, as you know I've been turning down offers to play OZZFEST for years now. They just refuse to fulfill the pipe tobacco & New Belgium Beer clause in my rider! Seriously though, I'm just really happy that there are morbid individuals out there who share my love for the macabre & hatred of sunlight!
All my goals concerning the CRYPTICULT involve horrific plans best not described here - just read the lyrics to "MOAT OF BLOOD" & you'll understand!!

10. I remember a few years ago you were planning to do a split CD with RIBSPREADER. Whatever happened with that release plan?
What are some bands you'd like to do splits with if you could? Do you plan to do any EP's with CRYPTICUS ever?

Patrick: I will if you put them out ya bastid!
I'd love to do anything with Rogga, him being another hero of mine.
I think he's probably too busy these days though.
My dream splits would be with DEMIURG, CLAWS, MACHETAZO or VACANT COFFIN. I'd really like to do some 7" releases in the future, so anyone interested
in releasing some cursed vinyl needs to get in contact!

11.You're currently recording for the debut BEWARE! album.
Tell us what that's been like so far and how it's all going and what you expect people will think of it. What kinds of musical influences are you bringing to this band?

Patrick: It's coming out great!
Wayne from DECREPITAPH has done all the drums & they sound awesome!
So far it's a mix between DECEASED, "SHOW NO MERCY" era SLAYER & CIANIDE.
A total Deathbanger's ball!
It's all in the spirit of early '80s Death/Speed Metal,
so I'm going to keep it raw & under produced as an antidote to all this triggered, soulless bullshit Metal. I hope all the Razorbastards will love it!

12. Thanks for creating an amazing and memorable new album!
People are really gonna be blown away by this very special and horrific recording.
Any last words?

Patrick: As always, thanks to you & Jill for releasing so many awesome underground gems & for giving my music a chance to be heard outside of my basement! It's great to actually be a part of my favorite label!
Now get to work on finishing that CLAWS album!!!!

CRYPTICUS myspace page
http://www.myspace.com/crypticus

Cinema Wasteland 2008!

I’ve known about the Cinema Wasteland conventions for years now. I’m a long time fan/supporter of the Video Wasteland mailorder and have been buying stuff from them since 1994, so I’ve always followed what they’ve done. Their mailorder catalogs had a big influence on Razorback and myself over the years. When my good pal Steveggs started going to the conventions I would always hear about the great and fun times he had there and always wanted to go but just never got around to it. After last year when we both went to the amazing IMPETIGO reunion, we both started to talk about what we could do to top that special event. When my trip to Portland, Oregon was cancelled earlier this winter, I started thinking about making it over to Ohio for the Cinema Wasteland convention, especially since I knew that lots of my friends were gonna be going, especially lots of out of state AND out of country friends!! When Sly from FONDLECORPSE announced he was officially going, I knew right then and there that this was truly the time to go to the convention, and that I did! This was going to be like the unofficial sequel to the IMPETIGO reunion show from last year, but only this time it would be in a total horror/drive-in movie environment with nothing but the coolest freaks ever all hanging out and having some good, down to earth fun!

I got to JFK airport much earlier this time to beat the insane security lines, and this time it worked because NOBODY was on the line when I got there! This was a good sign right away. The flight was easy going and simple, it only takes 1 hour and 20 minutes to get to Cleveland! I arrived around 11am on Thursday and Steveggs picked me up and we immediately went to a local IHOP for some breakfast. From there, it was on to the infamous "Norton Furniture" store to meet the owner who makes these insane and retarded commercials that make no sense at all! We were laughing non-stop about this last year so it was so funny to finally go to that crazy place. Check my photo section to see what I’m talking about. We also went to the rock and roll hall of fame and snapped a few pics, and then we headed back to Eggs house to wait for Gregg from LINCOLN LOVE LOG and now CONVULSIONS to show up, as he was going to be staying with us in the motel room at the convention. Gregg showed up at Eggs house at about 10pm after driving for almost 9 hours. We hung out in Eggs room for a bit and then headed over to the local Jigaw club to check out TROUBLE live and goof around. Met some old metal pals from Parma as well. Good to see Duane Morris again! It was a fun way to kick off the insanity that was to come!

Friday morning came fast and me and Gregg hit a local place for breakfast called Eat And Park(I think that’s what it’s called?) while Eggs slept at home. We then all went shopping for food and drinks and stuff and loaded the cooler and the car up with amps, guitars, and all our bags of stuff and headed over to the Motel 6 to check in. We went into the convention at about 5pm and immediately saw Putrid hanging out and we hit up with him and started laughing and then the madness began! I was quite overwhelmed with how many horror merchandise tables were set up. It was a horror/drive-in fan’s dream come true! Literally THOUSANDS of DVD’s, posters, lobby cards, toys, and all kinds of cool stuff was everywhere! Gregg told me that the director of the early 80’s cheesy zombie film Bloodsuckers From Outer Space was there and he was talking to him for awhile, so I hit that table and started chatting it up with the director and bought an autographed DVD. I already had a bootleg of this but wanted this special edition with a cleaned up transfer and bonus footage. Then I went over to the Xploited Cinema table and immediately bought the new region 2 uncut PAL DVD of the rape/revenge classic MS.45! I was kinda not digging the prices on the DVD’s, though. Everything was about 5 or 10 bucks more than the online prices and that kinda took away my excitement to do DVD shopping. I realize the sellers are catering to the impulse buyers, but still, I’d rather do my DVD shopping online, especially with free shipping and lower prices! I figured I’d only buy some special import DVD’s and treated myself to only a select few gems, instead of buying tons of stuff.

As I was checking out an insane poster seller with tons of rare stuff, a voice called my name from behind and I turned around and it was my best horror pal Tanya the boargirl! I couldn’t believe that she actually made it all the way from Canada for this! Then I met her boyfriend Kevin and we immediately started hanging out, taking photos, and checking out all the cool horror goods all over! I’m still in awe that you guys made it, insane!! Right after that, I noticed a huge, hulking dude wearing a Frightmare hoodie and realized it was none other than Reuben, the mighty Splatterbeast! I ran over and greeted him and his killer gore-gal Ruth and we snapped a few photos. I was also wearing a Frightmare hoodie so it was kinda funny. Splatterbeast is an awesome guy and we hit it off right away! Then I met Greg and Erik from the Exploited Filth forum/chat room and we started talking about various stuff. It was cool to meet these horror freaks and Razorback supporters!

I also met a few other cool freaks from myspace like Thulsa Doom and Aggro Joe! Great to meet you guys. Joe spent 600 bucks on a 35mm print of Street Trash from Roy Frumkes, holy shit! And Thulsa, I’ll hook you up with that Savage Streets soundtrack on CDR you asked about man. Lemme know your shipping address!

Out of nowhere I saw Slasher Dave and his ultra-cool gal, Dez! We started talking and hit it off right away! This guy kicks total ass! Really down to earth, friendly, and full of enthusiasm! Totally the kind of people I like to hang out with. He was wearing the green Razorback logo hoodie that Putrid drew which I thought was really cool of him to do, as was Dez wearing a hoodie of it as well! Thanks for supporting Razorback so much you guys! I really appreciate that. I also met Slasher Dave’s sister as well.

I also met Shagrat, the killer artist who drew the new SLASHER DAVE CD art and has done tons of other killer art! You’re a really cool and laid back guy and it was really awesome to meet you man! I look forward to working with you again soon man! Your art rules!

Tom from Cardiac Arrest/Convulsions/Severed was there and we quickly greeted each other and talked about a bunch of stuff. It was great to meet up with Tom again as we’ve become good pals over the past year with him helping to run the Exploited Filth board and us sharing lots of the same views on today’s underground metal scene and stuff. We joked around with Gregg a bit and then Tom ran off to do some shopping.

Time passed and I started to think "where the hell is the Goregnome and Mrs. Gnome(Nickolle)"? Someone told me they arrived so it was only a matter of time until I found them....which I finally did! I haven’t seen Sly since last summer so it was totally cool to meet him once again! This guy is one of my best friends in the world and here he was back again in America! Then out of nowhere I met Jeff Zornow, one of the biggest supporters of Razorback ever and one of the greatest horror artists today! This was a total freakshow!

I also met up with Ryan Jones (aka Humanburger), the killer gore/horror/sci-fi artist from Canada! This guy was totally cool and nice just like he is through emails and myspace! Fucking insane that he made it to this! He gave me a preview copy of his upcoming comic book WRETCHED, which is going to be a killer 30 page underground gore comic that I’ve been waiting for! Great stuff!

Around this time everybody started to split up and went shopping for stuff, and I started to feel a bit hungry so me, Tanya, Kevin, and Greg went to eat some dinner and had a good time just relaxing and talking about various stuff. It was a nice and quiet dinner which was like the calm before the storm, haha! After that, we headed on over to my hotel room and took some crazy photos as Tanya and Kevin transformed into the blood-thirsty Boargirl and deranged drug-addict Acid Dropping Satan! It was awesome hanging out with these freaks who are some of the coolest and most die-hard horror/Razorback fans I’ve ever known! Then Gregg from CONVULSIONS showed up in the motel room and jammed some riffs he had for the upcoming material. Awesome stuff!

We all hung out a bit more back at the convention and talked about tons of stuff. But then Tanya and Kevin headed back to their hotel room to get some sleep. But there would be NO sleep for me on this night, as the party really began to kick into high gear. It was just non-stop insanity with me, Steveggs, Gregg, and everybody else just goofing around, laughing, and shouting "LET THE BLOOD FLOW" from the new DENIAL FIEND album at the top of our lungs until about 3am in the morning! I finally went to bed but got up around 6 am or so because I was wired and just couldn’t sleep at all.

I got up and made a few phone calls back home and then Gregg and Steveggs woke up and it was time to get some killer breakfast buffet at the hotel. We went back into the convention and all the freaks showed up and it was just non-stop hanging out, talking, and shopping! During the middle of the day, all of us went to some outside section of the hotel and took some massive photos of ourselves which totally fucking rule all! Don from Nunslaughter showed up and took the photos for us. Really cool to meet you again man!

Tanya and Kevin had to split early as they had a long drive ahead of them and it was really sad to see them leave so soon. It was awesome getting to meet you guys finally and I hope to see you back at this thing again in the near future! I’m glad we got all those fun photos to remember forever. After they left, I went back to the motel to hang out with Gregg and he started a barbecue with a small grill he brought and some chicken legs. What a fucking freak! I had to get back to the convention to pick up some DVD’s that I had ordered from Xploited Cinema as the convention was about to close for the night, so I ran there really quick and got my stuff to get back fast to get that damn chicken but those dorks Gregg and Erik ate it all! hahaha, fuckers!! You’ll pay for that!

I got to meet Dave from the killer LIQUID CHEESE fanzine and his writer/partner Ryan! You guys are awesome dudes, and thanks for hooking me up with the back issues bro! Glad you guys dig Razorback and I’m flattered you liked the lyrics I wrote for the BLOOD FREAK CD’s! Goretits forever! I also met Scott Gabbey from ULTRA VIOLENT zine! Thanks for the hook up on the mags, man! I was glad to finally score that issue with the Camille Keaton interview. Great stuff! Enjoy the CD’s!

A neat thing was getting to meet Ken Kish who runs the Cinema Wasteland convention and Video Wasteland mailorder! I gave him the BLOOD FREAK CD that had a dedication to Video Wasteland that Lucio Holocausto wrote. He was very humble and nice, and his company has been a big influence on Razorback over the years! Awesome stuff.

Finally me, Steveggs, Slasher Dave, and Gregg started recording some crazy noisecore/grind stuff in our motel room and got a few minutes worth of stuff done. It was pretty fucking BROODUL n’ SLAMMIN stuff! We all started to hang out in the motel room and everybody started to show up, including the amazing horror artist Adam Geyer! Holy shit, really great to meet you man! I wish we could have hung out more. Then we ordered around 8 pizzas from Dominos and continued to hang out, until we all went back on over to the convention hotel for a massive hang out that lasted HOURS with everybody going completely insane (I’m looking at you, Gregg and Jeff! hahaha you lunatics!!). I started getting really tired so I went to bed again around 3am, until Gregg woke me up and put a plastic lobster on my face and took photos of Steveggs while he slept putting dumb stuff on his face. Don’t ever get a motel room with Gregg, he won’t let anybody sleep at all! haha!!

Sunday morning came and it was time to pack up the car and have one last hang out at the convention with everybody. I had brunch with Jeff, Dez, Slasher Dave, Putrid, Sly, Nickolle, and Humanburger at the hotel and I think we all ordered the same thing, chicken fingers! haha. Gregg took off back to Illinois and Humanburger was heading back to Canada. I hung out more with Jeff and Tom in the Evil Dead room and went shopping with Sly and Steveggs a bit more. Slasher Dave bought Jill some cool vulture magnet and a Creature from the Black Lagoon magnet, and then we all headed over to Steveggs house for a giant dinner that his Mom made for everybody. It was awesome having everybody over at Eggs infamous place. Everybody had a great time and we took some cool photos on the porch that I’ll remember forever. Then we drove with everybody back to the hotel and said our farewells which was painful to do...but we already started to talk about the next convention in October! Hopefully even more people will show up next time to make it even more insane! (Kam Lee, Stevo, Mark Sawickis, Maniac Neil, Shad, Adam Screamatorium, Lucio Holocausto, Jose...I’m looking at YOU guys! heh heh).

I definitely left out tons of details in this, but this is what I can remember about the entire thing. Hope you had fun reading it. It was one of the best times ever and I look forward to doing it again! I wanna thank some people now for making this the weekend blast that it was!

*Steveggs: once again you are the MAN when it comes to setting up events like this! Thanks for hooking me up with a place to stay, getting the 3-day pass in advance, hooking up the motel room stuff, picking me up at the airport and driving me back, taking me to get food, letting me use your computer, and just continuing to be my best friend ever! You’re still the same totally cool guy after all these years and our friendship will never die!

*Gregg Metzgore: You’re fucking HILARIOUS man! It was great to hang out with you even more than we did last year at the Impetigo reunion. Thanks for being a funny, down to earth, and great guy...and for also being totally nuts and out of your mind! The jokes we made will last forever and I’m sure we’ll hang out again in the near future man! CONVULSIONS is gonna rule!! You’re the new BC, haha!

*Sly the Goregnome and Nickolle: I can’t believe you made it to the states a second year in a row! You’re the coolest ever man! There would be no Razorback without you man! Great to joke around and hang out with you bro, and I hope you enjoy the rest of your time with Nickolle! It was nice to meet and hang out with Mrs. Gnome again. We had some great laughs and don’t forget the classic ".........................." hahaha!! I’ll be calling you guys up on the phone soon to see what you’re both up to!

*Tanya and Kevin: Thanks for making it all the way from Canada! You guys rule! Thanks for being such cool freaks and fans of Razorback and for the amazing support and for being REAL horror fans that are truly into this kind of stuff. Thanks for also bringing Squeak along, great to meet him finally! I wish you guys could have stayed longer, but there’s always next time! It was so unreal to finally get to meet you both!! I still can’t believe it, haha!

*Tom: Fucking awesome getting to hang out more with you this time than last year man! Thanks for jamming those CONVULSIONS riffs for me, that shit kicks ass! We got some cool photos taken, and hope you enjoy the CD’s and stuff! Wear your ultra slamming DECREPITAPH t-shirt with pride, man! haha! And next time Gregg is gonna sleep in YOUR motel room and not mine! haha!

*Slasher Dave and Dez: Holy shit, you guys rule! Dave, thanks for letting me hear that advance new Slasher material, along with the AMAZING song by CRINGE! That stuff is unbelievable! Folks...Slasher Dave is more than just synth music, wait til you hear what this guy can do with some REAL DEATH FUCKING HORROR METAL! Also thanks for buying Jill some goodies and for all the great words you had to say about Razorback, I truly appreciate it man! You and Dez are the kind of people that make doing Razorback worthwhile for me and Jill. Thanks for all the true support.

*Putrid: This is the 3rd time we’ve met and hung out man! Great to see you again! You’re always the most enthusiastic person ever for horror stuff and you’re also my favorite artist around. You’re like a celebrity at these horror cons, man! Woah! Everybody was raving about you man. You just totally fucking rule and I see huge things for you in the future, bro! It’s an honor to work with you on art projects man! Don’t forget about me when you’re rich and making tons of cash in the future, haha! See you next time at the BLOOD FREAK show! And don’t forget, the REVOLTING and HOODED MENACE art is going to kill!

*Jeff Zornow: Great to FINALLY meet you! I always tried to stop by the Evil Dead room to see what you were up to and I’m glad we got to hang out bro! Thanks for letting me hear that new FKU stuff, sounds fucking killer! Your art is amazing and you deserve all the success in the world! The 10th anniversary t-shirt art you did totally kills man! Looking forward to hanging out again in the near future, bro! Thanks for being such a die hard Razorback fanatic, it means a lot to Jill and I.

*Splatterbeast and Ruth: Hey Reuben, we gonna pahrty like the scars do!! haha! You guys kick ass! So killer to finally meet you in person man. Thanks for the drawing you gave me and for all the cool talks we had about horror stuff. Hope to meet up with both of you again in the near future at one of these things!

*Greg and Erik: Very cool to meet you guys! Thanks for all the great support you’ve shown Razorback over the years, I really appreciate it! Erik...you owe me some chicken, dude! haha

*Humanburger: That rules you made it man! Great to meet you finally, and I hope to meet up with you yet again at the upcoming BLOOD FREAK show later this year! You’re a killer artist and I can’t wait to get the first issue of your comic book, man! You rule! Enjoy the t-shirt man.

Did I miss anybody else in this? I hope not! Phew...time for some sleep! This was a very memorable event for me and I recommend others to go to this thing! It’s very down to earth and easy going with no corporate aspect to it at all! (well, I did see some people trying to promote the shitty new PROM NIGHT remake, but nobody seemed to take any of the promo flyers they had for it, haha!! fuck that dumb looking PG-13 weak assed crap!).

Til next time, LET THE BLOOD FLOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Razorback end of the year newsletter!

It's been a long time since I wrote a newsletter, but with so much coming up I felt this was the right time! 2007 is coming to a close and it's time to prepare for 2008, which is going to be the most BUSY year EVER for this label! It is also going to be Razorback's 10 year anniversary as well, so there's LOTS to discuss!

GRUESOME STUFF RELISH is finishing up on their 2nd album, "Horror Rises From The Tomb". This is going to be our first release for 2008, and from the few tracks I've heard it's definitely their best material ever! I've been wanting to do a second album with this band for a long time and I'm glad they returned to deliver the gory goods! The artwork alone by Jeff Zornow is amazing. The album is about to get mastered in Germany and once we have everything we'll be sending it to press!

CRYPTICUS has completed 7 songs for their 2nd album for Razorback, titled "They Called Me Mad". There's only 6 more songs left to complete and then it will be finished and ready for pressing! This album is going to be a totally dark, masterpiece of true horror Death Metal that will finally put this band on the map once and for all. Working with this band has been so much fun as Patrick is totally into what Razorback is all about and really lives for the horror genre and REAL death fucking metal music! The cover artwork by Allen K. is awesome and the booklet will have even more art from him!

CIANIDE's 3rd album from 1998, "Death, Doom and Destruction" is being re-issued by Razorback and we're thrilled to be doing this! I've been a fan of this band since 1991. They're one of the few bands that never gave up on playing killer, pure death metal and get heavier and more intense on every album they do. Seeing them live at the Impetigo reunion show this past summer was UNREAL....truly the HEAVIEST death metal band ever! The album is being re-mastered by Patrick Bruss from Crypticus. If you heard the work he did on the Impetigo re-issues than you know this is gonna sound HEAVIER than ever before! Also, the insane Putrid is currently working on the cover artwork for this which is going to blow everybody away!

BLOOD FREAK is working extremely hard on their 4th album for Razorback, titled "Scared Stiff". This is going to be the most extreme BLOOD FREAK album ever. More death metal, more grind, and more doom than ever before. The album is going to be recorded at an analog studio in the first few months of 2008. Ed Repka is currently working on the cover painting which is going to be incredible! The band is also currently preparing for their first live show in January, and they're also planning a West Coast tour after the release of the new album! They will play in California, Arizona, Colorado, and possibly some other states as well. We'll post more news about this when we have it. Look out everybody, BLOOD FREAK is coming to KILL! Also, Morbid Reality Records is going to be releasing the BLOOD FREAK albums on vinyl LP! The first album "Sleaze Merchants" will be first! More info on that soon as well.

VACANT COFFIN from Finland is new to Razorback, but lead guitar/vocalist Lasse is no stranger to the underground! One of the founding members of the early 90's cult death metal band Phlegethon, Lasse has been working extremely hard on the debut VACANT COFFIN album to be titled "Sewer Skullpture" which is going to be one hell of a killer debut album! This band is bringing back the great oldschool Death Metal/Grind sound that bands from Finland used to be famous(or infamous!) for! Down-tuned, heavy, fast, with those killer shredding riffs that send shivers down your spine! The artwork is being done by the wicked Wes from Australia and is going to be a horror/gore fan's delight!

EVISCERATED from Sweden is also new to Razorback Records. The band plays pure oldschool Swedish Death Metal with a total horror influence! These fiends are obsessed with the classic European horror films from the glory days and have incorporated that into their diabolic sound. We're absolutely thrilled to be working with them. They're currently preparing their debut 7" EP release so really soon you'll be able to hear new material from them and what this band is capable of. The album will be recorded sometime in the Spring/Summer of 2008 for a Fall release.

HOODED MENACE, the Doom/Death Metal band that features Lasse from Phlegethon/Vacant Coffin, is another new band on Razorback Records. The band is writing 8 songs for their debut album on Razorback to be titled "Fulfill the Curse" which will be released sometime in 2008. The Blind Dead Templars will rise once again and sacrifice young virgins to Satan when this album is unleashed! This will be one of the most incredible debut doom albums ever. This is a band that was meant to be on Razorback Records! Beware!

FONDLECORPSE is still writing material for their long awaited debut album, "Creaturegore". The band was recently featured on the short horror film, FLUSH! They also have a new t-shirt available from Warlord Clothing (http://www.warlordclothing.com/). The Couch-Potato Gore Army will rise to crush in 2008! More news and updates from the band soon.

FRIGHTMARE is currently on hold as Maniac Neil is completely busy with Blood Freak. There will be a 3rd album, but not until at least 2009. The band has 2 new t-shirts available from Warlod Clothing as well! Check them out!

CONVULSIONS.....is not dead. More news when I have it!

As for our 10th year anniversary plans....we will keep that a surprise! You never know what the old Goreboar will do next, so just keep looking for updates and other surprises in the weeks and months to come! We have something very special planned, but we're not yet ready to announce it. We'll also be repressing lots more out of print titles as well in 2008. We'll announce those more up ahead.

On a final note, I just want to really thank all the cool freaks who have supported this label for so long and never gave up on us. When we first started this label we never knew exactly who out there was going to be interested in our vision of what we wanted extreme metal to be, but we're glad to know we weren't alone! This label has always been dedicated to our love for the horror genre and the classic metal we grew up with. It's never been about trends or trying to fit in with the latest fad of the month. Look for a stronger and more focused Razorback Records in 2008...and beyond!

http://www.razorbackrecords.com