The dearly loved Psychobilly act, Demented Are Go are back again! They’re nearing their 30th anniversary now but don’t count on that to stop them because up next is their eighth album, mixing that combination of punk, rockabilly and a clear country influence throughout.
Opening with various ghoulish noises and evil cackles, listeners are thrown straight in to the madness, the vocals are incredibly brutal and raw throughout, helping to create the true horror punk vibe, heard in second track ‘Bodies in the Basement’, one of the tightest on the album.
Every step of the way you feel surrounded by by an ‘evil’ vibe that they’re aiming to create, however the album still retains a diverse direction and at times the pace feels as if it just keeps getting faster, there are blues and country influences in there mixing up the rock and punk that seems to be taken straight from the grave, it’s an unusual mix that seems to come naturally.
A pure punk feel comes back in tracks like “Lucky Charm”, backed up by the incredibly distinctive, growling vocals. There are some real anthems to be found here as well as some far more laid back, rocking tracks where their driven punk drumming style takes a backseat for a while, which is noticed as the band obviously take a more relaxed approach towards the end of the album in songs such as ‘The Life I Life’ and ‘Dark Angel’.
Overall, despite the mash of influences, things here just seem to work, Demented Are Go have proved their staying power now and “Welcome Back to Insanity Hall” screams of a band who are just having fun with what they do and sometimes albums like this are just a plain joy to listen to.
Rosie Morshead