THE GHOULSTARS

They are creepy, they are kooky, and if their debut album is any indication, they are also altogether ooky (whatever that means). THE GHOULSTARS are horror-punk hellions on a mission to bring joy to the scowling legions of the dark by any means necessary. "The Dark Lords of the Universe" is an opening statement with sharp teeth and a lobotomized grin. Fans of WEDNESDAY 13, THE 69 EYES, VOLBEAT and NEKROMANTIX will need little encouragement to get on board this particular ghost train. The formula is set in bloodstained stone, and THE GHOULSTARS are hell-bent on nailing the essentials. The opening "Too Ghoul For School" says it all: fiery, succinct and, in the best possible way, dumb as a bag of rocks. It channels the hook-wielding prowess of the '80s glam metal scene and the grubby ferocity of THE MISFITS in their cherished early days, resulting in a psychotic singalong that is as infectious as chlamydia and as memorable as a house fire.

Thereafter, THE GHOULSTARS rattle their way through nine more hymns to the spooky netherworld and its swivel-eyed inhabitants. "The Dead in Purgatory" lightens the mood slightly, with Spaghetti Western whistling and a straightforward, pop-metal adrenalin rush; "Zombie Apocalypse" harnesses the thuggish power of thrash in a flagrant quest for brains; and "The Dark Overlords of the Universe" weaves full-throttle punk rock and anthemic power metal together with a dash of goofy sci-fi thrown in for bad measure. Frontman Arthur "LL Ghoul A" Thure is a laudable master of ceremonies throughout, his commanding rasp turning the B-movie, cartoon abomination of "The Brain That Wouldn't Die" into a furious slice of old-school, hard rock evangelism with an obvious and endearing debt to MOTLEY CRUE's "Dr. Feelgood". Meanwhile, yobbish gang vocals and a nimble, speed metal attack ensure that "Graverobbers from Outer Space" is the darkly kitsch celebration of spooky, low-budget movies that its title demands.

With a production that strikes a shrewd balance between heavy metal oomph and horror-punk clatter, "The Dark Overlords of the Universe" is a supremely confident and well-executed debut. Songs like "The Wolfman" and "The Ballad of the Cursed Bandits" have all the raw energy and primitive power that fans of this stuff could ever need, and guitarist Markus "Daddy Ghoul" Laakso has a ludicrous number of great riffs at his scabby fingertips. This band have been generating a fearsome buzz for a while now, and this is exactly the debut they needed to make to grab the attention of fellow ghouls the world over, and possibly even beyond that. These are intergalactic ghouls, after all.