Maximum Metal Rating Legend

Bronx Casket Company - "Hellectric" - Candlelight Records - 2005

Track Listing1. Little Dead Girl 2. Everything I Got 3. Dream Of Angels 4. Sherimoon 5. Bleed With Me 6. Motocrypt 7. Let My People Go 8. Free Bird 9. In My Skin 10. Can't Stop The Rain 11. Mortician's Lullaby 12. Live For Death

When you think of a band that combines the talents of Overkill’s D.D. Verni and Tim Mallare as well as the guitar work of Jack Frost you envision some stellar Power Thrash Metal band to be result of the teamwork. However when you add the keyboards of Charlie Calv and vocalist Spy (Myke Hideous of Misfits/Empire Hideous) you get something entirely different. Instead of raging thrash or things along those lines you find this release to be more in tune with Gothic Metal.

I liked this change for it added the level of interest to these players’ collaborations and did not give me “Seven Witches 2” or “Overkill 2”. However one of the main points that stand out very early in this release is the dead-on sound of Type-O-Negative. This caught me off guard as it was not only in some of the vocal tones that Spy offered but also the feel of the overall groove especially in the area of keyboards and guitars.

Type-O-Negative was known for certain feels during their songs and their music is something that many have missed while the band works on new material. This void made the CD a welcome listen but it was also because this was something that was totally unexpected from Verni and Frost. The BCC does maintain a level of heaviness throughout the album but they do not take the levels of heaviness up to the notch that TON does insofar as high speed riffing. This heavy groove comes through most prominently on the songs “Little Dead Girl”, “Everything I Got” and “Dream Of Angels” among the others and I have to say that these became my favorites right off the bat.

With the song “Sherimoon” the band delivers a sense of Rob Zombie under the Gothic grind that is laid down and there is a quirky little instrumental which employs some of “The Munsters” theme. They perform a cover of the Lynryd Skynryd classic “Free Bird” and while it’s given a Gothic twist that works I am not sure how this will be received by the larger public. There are some songs that should not be changed and I think most will agree that this is one of them. The band does a nice job of it and I am sure it was more an homage than anything else.

I have to say that I enjoyed this record as a whole and I really think fans of Type-O-Negative and music that falls into this specific genre will go for it as well. Perhaps it was those similarities that I spoke of that made this win me over so quickly but perhaps it was also the fact that I enjoy the musical output of Verni and Frost in their other bands. I like to give quality side-projects a thumbs-up when it is deserved. In a time when so much crap is issued it is nice to see something that is worthwhile and fun come from several standouts in the industry. Give it a listen I think you will be caught as well.


Official Web site: www.BronxCasketCo.com

--Ken Pierce for PiercingMetal.com