It’s been a crazy time for The Casket Creatures in the three years it has taken them to finish their third full-length album Deranged. With guitarist Derek Obscura now moonlighting as a member of Davey Suicide‘s band, vocalist (and Wrestling with Pop Culture contributor) Ryan Cadaver, bassist Cliff Damage and Obscura remain the core Creatures, with a rotating cast of drummers keeping the beat. Just as the She Screams EP showed a monstrously more accomplished band than we’d previously heard, Deranged displays the Creatures’ diversity within the horror rock genre.
While the blood-spattered cover photography by Kevin Mayfield (who fills in on guitar in Obscura’s absence) is reminiscent of American Psycho, there is no direct reference to this movie on the album (though the title track does tell at tale of a proud Patrick Bateman-like misanthrope). Instead, we get metal songs like “Springwood Slasher,” clearly inspired by A Nightmare on Elm Street, and the more melodic punk of “Just Like Tucker and Dale,” based on the comedy horror film Tucker & Dale vs. Evil. Other songs, such as “Blood Junkies,” “Raise the Dead” and “The Man Who Cheated Death,” could very well be about some obscure vampire, zombie and slasher films. They’re more likely, however, the result of the band’s general obsession with scary movies and punk rock.
Stylistically, the band remains firmly entrenched in the horror rock coffin while incorporating a deadly mix of pop punk, heavy metal and a touch of rockabilly. The opening staccato of “Devils Trap” is reminiscent of Green Day’s “Brain Stew” while Cadaver channels Megadeth’s Dave Mustaine on “Death Comes For You”. Then there’s the ’50s doo-wop of “Gore on the Dancefloor 2,” the crooning sequel to the more aggressive song from the band’s 2011 debut Tales from the Unknown, which, despite being a departure, fits right in with the rest of Deranged.
Like many horror rock acts before them, there’s always a comedic element to The Casket Creatures that keeps their morbid topics fun. “Planet Wolftron” and “Zombie Werewolves From Outer Space” were the sillier standouts from She Screams and have become fan favorites. The Deranged bonus track “VIG” is poised to become the band’s next crowd pleaser, with it’s satirical look at very important ghosts looking to live it up on the opposite side of the velvet rope in the afterlife.
Deranged offers a little bit of everything fans have come to love about The Casket Creatures, with a few new surprises, all in a cohesive collection of new singalongs. As has been the case with each previous release, the band continues to grow with each new album. That’s not to say the band has matured, though. These guys need to maintain their immaturity in order to keep cranking out music like this.