SCAREMAKER

Billy Nocera has been releasing so many quality old school gore and death metal releases for so many years on his Razorback label that the time must have seemed right to start his own band with wife Vanessa. Not that they've not contributed to past releases (as lyricists for example),but SCAREMAKER is their baby, so to speak. Then again, if we're talking about ownership, most of the credit really needs to go to Vanessa who is responsible for writing all of the music and most of the lyrics, except for a co-writing credit on "Gore Shriek" with drummer and DM journeyman Elektrokutioner (DECREPITAPH, BEYOND HELL, etc.) and "Devil's Son", which was originally written by DC LaCroix in 1987. As if that weren't enough, Ms. Nocera also plays all guitars and bass and does most of the vocals. Billy then is credited with vocals and lyrical contributions (in whole or in part) on some songs as well. Well gosh; it does appear that Vanessa has senior partner responsibilities in the firm then, eh? Any guesses as to what the album sounds like?

Very good. It is old school, it is death metal, it is raw, and it is rife with tales right out the straight-to-video section of your local movie rental retailer's horror section. In other words, it is right up Razorback's alley, at least in a general sense; "What Evil Have They Summoned…" doesn't sound exactly like any other Razorback release though. Oh, it's OSDM for sure, but it's got a personality all its own and comes with a pretty diversified collection of songs. Doom shadows most of the death involved, sometimes in tempo and always in feel. Much of what you'll hear is late '80s/early '90s death metal with a natural live-in-the-studio feel, including gloomy guitar, full/warm bass lines, and drumming from Elektrokutioner that is more sundry than usual for him, all of which translates to an amalgamation of early Swedish death, bands like ROTTREVORE, and in a broad sense (really in "feeling") INCANTATION.

The standout cuts to these ears are the death-thrashing "Nocturnal Bloodbath", righteous doom-deathster "Burning Inquisition" with its contrasting creepy verses and unhinged choruses, and the downright snappy "Gore Shriek" with the album's most effectively simple chorus of "It takes a special kind of freak to let yourself gore shriek". Lyrics for the track are co-written by IMPETIGO's Steve-o and Billy, which just makes sense. Somber guitar instrumental "Fate Evil" is worthy of attention as well. The big surprise comes by way of the SCAREMAKER rendition of "Devil's Son", which features Vanessa departing from her classic cavernous growl and instead using a punky, trad-metal vocal that is cool beyond cool.

The boundaries have not been breached on "What Evil Have They Summoned…" and not a DM soul will care. A very solid album indeed, the first 200 copies also come with a special limited edition official SCAREMAKER toe tag. Get going and seal that deal.