By Anselm Anderson, Rock At Night Manchester UK
Review: Bat Hearse’s album Transylvania Moonshine – Release date
*Bat Hearse was featured in Rock At Night’s Fall 2021 DARKNESS print edition
Gothic Rockabilly outfit Bat Hearse have released latest album Transylvania Moonshine, a follow up to their self-titled debut LP The five-piece recorded the album at Jim Diamond’s Ghetto Recorders studio in their native Detroit. The band, led by Rick Ruiner of The Ruiners formed a couple of years ago during the Covid lockdown to pass time and have fun. Ruiner formed the band with his The Ruiners’ bandmates Nina Friday (Vocals) and guitarist Jungle Josh. They were later joined by drummer Ajax and bassist Nate Knox.
“Transylvania Moonshine’ is eleven tracks of gothabilly, punk and horror-movie themed soundtracks that produce stomping guitar-driven songs with macabre dual vocals. The LP begins with “Slide into My Web,” a song that uses the metaphor of a spider trying to get into a web. The up-tempo guitars try to match the energy of vocalist Nina Friday’s screams with Rick Ruiner’s sordid backing vocals. The cries of “It Sucks to Be Me” follows suit with catchy choruses, crunchy riffs, and odd sound effects. The lyrics about Dracula are dark and humorous. Bat Hearse combine a style of dark humour with memorable tunes.
The title track ‘Transylvania Moonshine’ starts with a monologue segues into hip-swinging tunes, distorted guitars and a manic vocal style that sounds like a fun rocky horror show clip. The album continues with this feeling the band are really enjoying writing and playing music inspired by their favourite horror themes.
The spaghetti-western themed “One More Nail” shows the band can venture into other styles. The album keeps up this high tempo of riffs, interchangeable vocals, and interesting stories throughout that shows no signs of slowing down, including the frenetic “Bat Bang”, which sounds like a party for the undead, the creepy “Crawl with Me” with soaring solos and finally, Nina Friday wraps up the album in her mother tongue with a Russian version of “Swim at Night,” a dark and sultry song that will hypnotise and mesmerise the listener to want to hear more.
Bat Hearse bring the genre of “Gothabilly” a new meaning with this tale of horror, intrigue, and delight.
Tracklist
TRACK LIST
Slide Into My Web
It Sucks to Be Me
Transylvania Moonshine
I Should Have Known Better Than to Swim at Night
One More Nail
Hunt You Down
Candy Loving
Bat Bang
Cuddle Me Tonight
Crawl With Me
Swim at Night (Russian Version)
VIDEOS
BAND MEMBERS:
Ajax: Drums
Jungle Josh: Guitar
Bass: Nate Knox
Vocals: Nina Friday
Vocals and Fire: Rick Ruiner
Songs Written by: Jungle Josh and Rick Ruiner
Lyrics by: Rick Ruiner
Camera Crew: Ajax, Andrea Kahn and Austin Kahn
Recorded: Live at The Pharmhouse Studio by Gabe Doman
Mastering by Jim Diamond
Ghetto Records Copyright 2020 ASCAP Ruiner Music
Cover photo’s credit: AJ “Ajax” Kahn
Distribution: self distributed on iTunes and Facebook page
SPOTIFY
SOCIAL MEDIA
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