Once upon a time, many moons ago, there was a little dive bar in Chicago by the name of Red Line Tap. True to its name, it lay adjacent to Chicago’s red line train route, hence the name. Of course, yours truly never stepped foot in there. Not because I didn’t want to, but rather because I was very underage at the time (don’t think I didn’t try though). Anyways, the Red Line Tap hosted names both national and local, the latter becoming glorified “house acts”. Among these local legends who graced the stage were Superchrist, High Spirits, and The Lurking Corpses, just to name a few.
Now admittedly, The Lurking Corpses aren’t exactly “local”. They hail from Fort Wayne, Indiana, roughly 4 hours east of Chicago, but considering their frequent presence in the Windy City throughout the ’00s and early ’10s, for all purposes, the Corpses are honorary Chicagoans. And then, for whatever reason or another, they just disappeared. OK, that’s not entirely true. They did release of string of splits throughout the ’10s, but their live shows went from bi-monthly affairs to once in a blue moon happenings. I selfishly hope this changes with the arrival of their long awaited third album, Lurking After Midnight.
For those unfamiliar with the Corpses’ brand of metalpunk, allow this online metal journalist to attempt and explain. Somewhere between gory death metal, raging crossover thrash, and unabashed Misfits worship (“woahs” and all) lie The Lurking Corpses. It’s an amalgamation that, on paper, sounds like it shouldn’t work at all, and yet it does. Deadlier cuts like “Boglin Lips”, “Funeral Home”, and “A Gruesome Find” channel the maniacal frenzy of niche bands like Ghoul and Abscess. Throw in the occasional traditional flavored tune (“Satan is Real”, “My Sweet Lenore”) and there’s no denying this band’s metal credibility.
On the contrary, there’s equally as much to offer here for you tried and true punk who wouldn’t dare pick up an Iron Maiden album. Whether it be the pop punk hooks of “When You’re Dead”, necrophilic lamentations of “Black Dahlia”, or Walk Among Us era bliss of “Heartbreak”, The Lurking Corpses do the Misfits better than the Misfits have since Famous Monsters (1999). Although I never cared for the Michale Graves era of the band, I do acknowledge its significance, especially for those who came of age in the late ’90s, and can’t help but notice the similarities on here. In an effort to keep up with the times, Misfits added a bit of a metallic oomph to their production and riffs. The Lurking Corpses really take that formula and run with it.
Did Lurking After Midnight really need to be nearly 50 minutes long? That’s up for debate, but clearly these cretins had a thing or two to say after a decade long silence. While I could do without “Baby Hold On”, “The Night With You”, and a couple others that lean a little too hard on Descendents/Screeching Weasel-esque pop punk, that’s really a matter of personal taste more than anything. These observations aside, Lurking After Midnight is a spook-tastic affair, guaranteed to give metalheads and punks enough haunts to last at least another decade.
6 out of 10
Label: Hells Headbangers Records
Genre: Heavy Metal/Punk
For fans of: Misfits, Danzig, Ghoul