Multiplex Massacre

I love this god damn album. No I really love this album... I want to get drunk, fuck it in a one night stand and have a bastard child with it. I've always loved Blood Freak and loved the music Maniac Neil makes, but this is by far the best album by him and one of most well-rounded albums I own. No one song really sticks out because they all kick ass. There are no fillers on this baby. All the songs have great riffs, solos, drums, bass, vocals, you name it. It seems as though Blood Freak has been improving with each new album in every aspect. Song structure, musicianship and quality. No more 20-somethin' songs that are a minute and a half long with movie samples taking up half the tracks. Don't get me wrong, I love Blood Freaks' old shit but this is certainly top-notch stuff.

Now of course since this is one of Maniac Neils' bands you know there's gunna' be a lot diverse genres coming into play here. There are parts that sound thrashy and parts that sound really heavy, so any type of fan can really get into this.

The intro to the album is pretty good, not too long and not too short. And no movie sample here. When you hear it for the first time it's quite menacing and really gets you ready for the whole album. Now as for the rest of the songs all I can say is get ready for fast guitars, mesmerizing solos and mind-numbing drums and blasts.

Songs like "Don't Metal With Satan", "Poultry Pervert" and "Lady Lunatic" sound very thrash and even crossover at times, while songs like "Rocktober Blood" and "Savage Streets" sound oldschool death and grind. There's even a hint of doom I recall in the song "Roadkillers" which is generally slow through out the song.

The last track, "Savage Streets" is heavy. Starts off with the bass line and then some quick snares kick in. The main riff is amazing, very memorable. The song keeps up that fast but heavy tempo for about a minute and a half before going into a short but sweet solo. They play the main riff one last time before all the music stops and then essentially goes into the outro of the album in the same song. It's some what melodic and lasts little under a minute. Which is perfect because it ends the album perfectly without dragging on into a half hour instrumental outro, which most bands like this tend to do. This might be my favourite track on the album, although it's hard to choose because I love all these songs.

To sum this up, it's a great album. Simple as that. One of, if not my favourite album I own at the moment. Pick this up and you will not be disappointed, I promise. I haven't stopped listening to it since I got it. This album is a sign of great things to come and I can't wait for Blood Freaks' next album.

Well smack my ass and call me Lucy, this is a wicked album. If you were any way near of loving Blood Freak before then you will absolutely adore this slab of gory horror mangle. After a kick-arse intro that would fit any older horror flick the gore starts. Taking the groove from 80ies thrash metal, adding the gore of Impetigo, the brutality of old school death metal creates a potent mix of energetic, churning riffs, quality drumming and gore to be reckoned with. The riffs are really the focus point here, as each and every stroke on a string is so well-planned, and each solo just fits like a glove. It’s usually mid-tempo, but when this bad boy starts grinding is difficult not to go apeshit and slaughter the neighborhood. Neil’s vocals offer so much variety, going from gory to growling to screaming, and everything at the same time. Absolutely top notch.

Lyrically it’s a tribute to 70ies and 80ies horror and slasher films, and a warning to Hollywood for remaking old classics and turning them into shit. And while on the subject of lyrics, let me just tell you they’re absolutely awesome. "Don’t metal with Satan" is absolutely hilarious! And the artwork totally fits the theme. This is the shit, and destroys any and all opposition.

Originally written for www.mylastchapter.net

Sometimes, while searching for decent music at the local recording cemetery, I’ll exhume a CD that inspires me to think: “I’m not Metal enough.”

This was one of those albums.

Multiplex Massacre makes me want to pull down my pants, force both hands into my ass, and turn my skin inside out, revealing those slimy-red, pulsating innards. It’s a repugnant gore experience that blasts at the bowels, and I’m going to make them readily available for the gut-busting devastation.

But the one-man monstrosity Blood Freak—created, performed and composed by Maniac Neil—is more than a sickly adventure through the moss-covered crypt of horror cinema’s past (though that trip is half the fun). The band performs consistently original extreme music.

The Death components thunder like a collapsing mortuary (Rocktober Blood, Roadkillers).

The Thrash riffs bang your head for 15-second intervals before seamlessly changing into other tasty licks (Body By Death, Savage Streets).

The Grinding passages provide brisk diversity that somehow coalesce into a logical structure.

Then there’s Neil’s guitar chops. He writes insanely creative riffs in multiple genre formats; he plays some of the most memorable leads I’ve ever heard; and he stays modest, never ruining songs with out-of-place technicality.

For example, the ending guitar lead to Lady Lunatic is anti-climactic, punctuating the album with one of those moments that force you to listen. It warms your heart. Makes you smile. Respond. Feel like this genre is still alive in all of its zombified glory.

Don’t Metal With Satan—my personal favorite—has a ridiculously superior structure for this form of Metal. Threaded by Neil’s attention-grabbing leads, I had this song stuck in my head, note by note, for weeks. And I loved every sentimental second of it.

The vocals are equally as impressive and varied. Listen to Poultry Pervert to hear Neil shift between a disgusted, higher-register screaming gurgle to a booming death-growl. The transitions between vocals are much like his riffing—seamless.

Production is sharp, yet retains a noticeable amount of crusty Metal fuzz, amplifying personality. Leads are loud and colorful, drums crush with every acoustic beat and vocals are high enough in the mix to let you occasionally catch disturbing imagery.

If this review was too long-winded for you to imagine Multiplex Massacre’s sound, just look at Putrid’s cover artwork. The whole package is evocative of this gore-splashed incident put to record.

Now I’m just waiting for Blood Freak’s next release. After Multiplex Massacre, I’ve been Metal enough for everything lately. I need to remember what it’s like for someone to hand my viscera to me.

Originally posted at http://web.mac.com/mistersquiggles