Big Ol' Face Full of Monster (magazine) - Review of MUSIC TO BE BURIED TO
Despite a name, look and lyric sheet that all fairly scream metal, if not death-metal, Batlord's self-produced eponymous debut album actually moves easily from danceable rock to neo-garage to lounge-soul.
What holds it all together is his mastery of the heavy rock sound of the late sixties - more proto-metal than metal. First, classic sounds of the Hammond and Vox organs, like those used by Ray Manzarek (The Doors) and Alan Price (The Animals), often play as much or more of a role in arrangements than guitars. One is also reminded of Iron Butterfly, especially when on "Eulogy For A Mind", Batlord riffs on the organ intro to "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vidda", (itself a riff off Bach).
The vocals, unlike today's near-soprano shriekers, alternate between the more hoarse baritones of a John Kay (Steppenwolf) or the breathy, menacing style of Eric Bloom of Blue Oyster Cult.
The guitar work shows an admirable range from the delicious psychedelic fuzz guitar on “Undertaker” to the smoking funk of “Torture Queen”. And “I Know What You’re Doing” shows Batlord to be a far more adept at catching the feel of sixties rock than critical darlings The Hives or The Strokes.
Special mention has to go to “Just Because I Wish That You Were Dead (Doesn’t Mean I Don’t Love You) as the aforementioned lounge-soul; it’s like Burt Bacharach and Hal David were asked to write a movie theme song for a Herscell Gordon Lewis film.
Batlord’s lyrics exhibit an obsession with dark themes and plenty of black humor. Many of the songs psychologically skewer those around him. The tone is self-aggrandizing without being masturbatory, egomaniacal – but not in a bad way.
I am amazed by the breadth of the album’s sound and even more so by the way it nonetheless coalesces into an integrated whole. “Time to face the music, baby!”
REVIEWS
FROM THE PUBLIC
Reviewer:
CLARK
HAGINS
THIS THING IS LIKE THE F***ING ANIMALS MEETS THE DOORS MEETS "WE
WILL FALL" BY THE STOOGES MEETS THE FRICKIN MUNSTERS OR THE ADAMS
FAMILY...INCREDIBLE ! TOTALLY UNIQUE ...THEY SOUND LIKE NO OTHER BAND...NO
FAT CAT PRODUCER OR LAME RECORD LABEL COULD HURT A BAND SO PURE...THESE
GUYS WILL BE BIG NO MATTER WHAT !..THIS IS A GENUINE SCARY CD..BUT
FUN AND I AM F***ING BUYING IT RIGHT NOW...MARILYN MANSON AND OZZY
NEED TO TAKE NOTE...THIS HERE CD IS THE REAL DEAL !...THE KEYBOARDS
ARE AWESOME ALL OVER IT ..SO IS THE GUITAR
Reviewer:
Lissi
That´s what I waited for!!
When I put this album into my cd-player for the first time, I couldn´t
believe what I heard. I wasn´t able to move any muscle until
I finished listening to the whole album. When it was over I sat there
with an open mouth for-I don´t know how long, but it felt like
hours. Then I directly listened to it for a second time and I didn´t
know if to dance or scream or cry or sing. Every single song is just
perfect! That´s what I waited for!!!I love that album and I
can´t spend a day without having listened to it for at least
one time. I think I´m getting addicted to that band. I´m
from Europe,so I really hope these guys will come soon and play here-otherwise
I´ll have to buy a ticket to LA! Thank you guys for making such
fantastic music!
Reviewer:
Fast Mike, San Franciscan living in Den Haag, Netherlands
Batlord cd has got a kick like that first bottle of Green Absynthe
straight, and like all good drugs, You get your FREAK ON ,then step
outside and take a look at your mind and tell me what you've seen.
When you're feelin' the Insomniac goin on day 13, take two and wash
em down with the rest of that green.
Spain:
Bueno, paquete recibido!!!!
Ya he oido el disco y me parecen geniales los arreglos nuevos que
has
hecho.
TE HE OIDO CANTAR EN CASTELLANO!!!! QUE BIEN!!!!!!!!!
France:
I've just got your album and it's a GREAAAAAAAAAAATTTT Album ! I love
it very much. My faves songs are You're my next nightmare, Seductor,
Undertaker, I know, Torture queen (good funky guitar).... Pics are
good too ! Be sure I'll play a lot of your songs in my radio show.
it will be a real pleasure. I think you're the first musician who
mixed dark/goth sound and garage music. Good idea and result.
Canada:
The children of the North would like to see the one who is Batlord.
Tour in
Canada to put their wanting souls to rest. Your music is like getting
dunked
in a pool of sweet grooviness and evil. It has got to be the best
music I
have ever made my ears bleed to. Seriously it is that good. Bless
us with an
appearance your evilness.
Italy:
...just to say you that I found your cd very cool!!!!
I like it a lot! ; )
There is so much to listen in every song...and all over the entire
album...so it takes time to enjoy it as it deserves.
My favourite song is THE MOPER!!!! How many times I felt this way!!!!!
Knowing that also someone else feel this way...makes the feeling a
little less bitter! ; )
"just because I wish you wer dead..." is very funny! ; )
VERY CREEPY!!!
I hope to see you soon on tour in Italy...bye for now...and a lot
of bloody black kisses...
Canada:
The Batlord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
He maketh me to lie down in green pastures
This
band is amazing. Most definitely the best thing I have heard in the
past two decades. Your in-my-face groove and catchiness that not even
the
most powerful of exorcists could extract from my head pull a listener
in and
bury them deep into the ground.
You guys must tour Canada soon, or at least make one stop up here,
I am
addicted to your music and i will not be happy until i see Batlord
in
person.
Batlord is everything.
Love,
Your Disciple,
The Graverobber
from
Chatham, Canada
San Francisco. Reviewer: Sidney Presley
5 out of 5 stars A hauntingly great album...
Truly one of the most unique recordings I've heard in a very long
time!
A creative blend of fuzzed-out garage madness with traces of Sweet,
Hendrix, and even The Captain & Tennille. He's a modern-day Screaming
Lord Sutch, complete with creepy-but-lovable ghoulish image. But most
important, Batlord is a multi-talented musician that rocks! Moods
swing
up and down as you move through each track on the cd. It's really
tough
to turn it off once you've started listening. Batlord lures you in
and
plays with your senses. It's happy. It's tormenting. It's creepy as
hell. Hearing songs about death has never been this much fun! I highly
recommend this release...
GutterDoll
(England)
In a dark world-seek pleasure- and lots of it!
I said it before, I'll say it again...
BATLORD!!! Songs to be buried to is:
Sexy-but-Dark, Creative, Innovative... Amazing music. When I heard
this CD for the first time, I was nothing short of enthralled. If
you're stumbling on to this page (curiosity), just buy the CD! You
won't regret it.
The only way I can describe it is to say: It is super-go-go zombie
girls-meet-seedy monster bar -with red lighting and disco ball...
Ohhh yeaaa!
My
Respects,
+Gutter Doll+
From CDbaby...
Unique and Undefinable in Nature.
About one year ago i was listening to the Mark and Brian Radio show on KLOS and they played a song after one of the commercial breaks (I believe the song was 'Undertaker'). I was instantly hooked, and i looked everywhere for the cd, and even some audio samples online, without any luck. Fast forward one year, and i just recently bought the album at Amoeba records. I was nothing short of amazed, i listen to this disc night and day, when i go to bed, on the way to work, waking up, this thing is always in my stereo. this whole disc is almost impossible to categorize because it jumps genres in leaps and bounds. we've got a mix of strictly 60's instrumentation and equipment, but a modern crystal clear production quality and lyrics that are nothing short of macabre. the riffs themselves are very heavy and Scorpio proves himself to be a very adept player in his field. that's just the tip of the iceberg, i could go on and on about this album, but for now let's just say that it's one of the best albums i've purchased in the last couple of years.
My wife of 15 years dumped me three month ago. "Just Because I Wish That You Were Dead" is the song I want to play at our final court date. Every kid in the neighborhood should have "Music to Be Burried To". Kiss scared parents in the 70's. Just wait till Gramma and Grandpa hear Batlord! Come back to Ventura!
-
This is the hottest new group to hit the music scene.
I first heard Batlord on the Mark and Brian radio show (KLOS in Los Angeles, CA) All day long I was singing Undertaker. For some unknown reason the bos had left me alone. Batlord is the hottest new group to hit the music scene..
Music To Be Buried To is a well-written, nonstop rockfest. Music is the one art form that is able to transport the art-appreciator to another place and/or time, and this CD brings me back to my early teens when rock was ROCK! BATLORD has hit a note with this release that will make me proud to be a rocker for years to come. It is lyrically well written, and melodically awesome. This CD makes me want to be 19 forever.
-
Awesome, it's the first CD I've enjoyed from the first song to the last in a lon
This is the most original CD I've heard in a long time. Even my daughter likes it. It's a very popular sound around my house.
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Formaldehyde on the rocks!
The first time I heard them play was on KLOS. I turned my radio up because their sound is so unique and cool. If you like wah pedal guitar, eerie organs, great vocals, and something different from the cookie cutter that is rock these days - with a little grin thrown in - these guys are for you! Thanks Batlord for making my day and my week!!Come to Oregon!!
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60's garage meets horror rock!!
The Fuzztones meets Alice Cooper!! well what are you waiting for?? listen to the ample sounds above and buy the album!! part goth / part horror rock / part garage but all awesome!! superb quality of songwriting and performance throughout. if you want something in the horror vein but different go for this..... if not there's ALOT of copy cat Misfits bands for you...
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The most EVIL thing that I have heard in a long time. I love it.
This is one of the most original styles of music I have heard in a long time. This CD gets 6 out of 5 stars, it is that amazing. I look forward to live performances, and the next CD from BATLORD. Keep this kind of music coming.
-
it's good and it's different but in a very familiar way
I suppose if The Guess Who ate babies they would sound like this but honestly that doesn't do Batlord justice. Just know that the sound they have would be at home on both a classic and college rock station, and your friends would believe you if you said they were a 60's, 70's or 00's band. It's worth taking the chance on.
-
EVIL
-
THIS THING IS LIKE THE F***ING ANIMALS MEETS THE DOORS MEETS "WE WILL FALL" BY THE STOOGES MEETS THE FRICKIN MUNSTERS OR THE ADAMS FAMILY...INCREDIBLE ! TOTALLY UNIQUE ...THEY SOUND LIKE NO OTHER BAND...NO FAT CAT PRODUCER OR LAME RECORD LABEL COULD HURT A BAND SO PURE...THESE GUYS WILL BE BIG NO MATTER WHAT !..THIS IS A GENUINE SCARY CD..BUT FUN AND I AM F***ING BUYING IT RIGHT NOW...MARILYN MANSON AND OZZY NEED TO TAKE NOTE...THIS HERE CD IS THE REAL DEAL !...THE KEYBOARDS ARE AWESOME ALL OVER IT ..SO IS THE GUITAR
What could I say about an album that makes me speechless...I love it! I´m not so good in describing musical styles, but I want everybody to know that this music is just incredible! It touches your mind, it touches your body. And,yes, it really touches your libido. "Music To Be Buried To" is also music to be born to. Yeah! That would have been a great start into this world. Because this music contains everything: The joy, the torture, the love and the death. And to make you crazy, if you still aren´t, everything is spiced with this unbelievable sexy voice of the singer.
-
A hauntingly great album...
Truly one of the most unique recordings I've heard in a very long time! A creative blend of fuzzed-out garage madness with traces of Sweet, Hendrix, and even The Captain & Tennille. He's a modern-day Screaming Lord Sutch, complete with creepy-but-lovable ghoulish image. But most important, Batlord is a multi-talented musician that rocks! Moods swing up and down as you move through each track on the cd. It's really tough to turn it off once you've started listening. Batlord lures you in and plays with your senses. It's happy. It's tormenting. It's creepy as hell. Hearing songs about death has never been this much fun! I highly recommend this release...
-
That´s what I waited for!!
When I put this album into my cd-player for the first time, I couldn´t believe what I heard. I wasn´t able to move any muscle until I finished listening to the whole album. When it was over I sat there with an open mouth for-I don´t know how long, but it felt like hours. Then I directly listened to it for a second time and I didn´t know if to dance or scream or cry or sing. Every single song is just perfect! That´s what I waited for!!!I love that album and I can´t spend a day without having listened to it for at least one time. I think I´m getting addicted to that band. I´m from Europe,so I really hope these guys will come soon and play here-otherwise I´ll have to buy a ticket to LA! Thank you guys for making such fantastic music!
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