Gas up the Butchermobile, pick up Dr. Bitch, and make that call to Acid Dropping Satan because it's time again for Blood Freak to get behind the wheel and burn up the highway in search of fresh kill! Now that I've owned "Multiplex Massacre" for 3 months and I've had time for it to sink in, I'm going to get this out of the way right now and just say that you will not find a better album in 2007. This wins, and even though the year still has some months left, it won't make any difference whatsoever. Blood Freak has come a long way. In just a few short years the band has gone from clever practical joke to the flagship band of Razorback Records and with this latest offering, Neil Smith, the man behind the Turkey Monster has mowed down all competition undergound and above.
Last year when I reviewed "Live Fast, Die Young... A Leave a Flesh-Eating Corpse!" I praised its variety and wealth of musical influences. Upon hearing "Multiplex..." for the first time, I have to admit I was a bit dumbfounded. This is pure, stripped down, in your fucking face, and relentless. If "Live Fast..." was a joyride all over the map, then Blood Freak's latest offering is a mother fucking bullet-train to Hell. I initially lamented my beloved doom-laden passages taking even more of a back seat in favor of a more straight forward approach, however it didn't take long for this album to finally grab me by the throat. I'm convinced THIS is Blood Freak's best release to date.
Though it starts off with a synth driven '80s style slasher soundtrack piece, it's not long before "Cleavage Clever" sets things in motion and from there it's a killer half hour of Drive-In/Exploitation/'80s Horror worshipping death-trash replete with B-string rape, meat hook-laden melodic riffing, multi-layered razor sharp soloing and a vocal gang-war assault from all sides with assistance from Gurge of none other than Lord Gore! Yet again, Blood Freak epitomizes what is so great about underground metal. It's about horror and being heavy as fuck, but also being mindful to create songs worth remembering. Most underground bands today in their never-ending quest to out "brutal" the next forget that they need to write good songs, but what the fuck do I know? Blood Freak knows and they deliver every goddamn time.
Lyrically, "Multiplex Massacre" is once again jam-packed with talent from the likes of Billy Nocera, Sly the Goregnome, Jose Angeles, and Repulsive Patrick; a vertiable who's who of the Razorback Hive all contributing to the band's ever-growing canon of terror, sleaze, and horror-worship! It's great to see classic films such as "Rocktober Blood", "Killer Workout", and "Savage Streets" get their due as well as taking the time to further the adventures of the Blood Freak regulars like Acid Dropping Satan who once again gets his very own tune ("Don't Metal With Satan"), and just about everyone else in an orgy of nu-horror slaughtering madness featured in the track "Go For The Gross-Out".
In this age of easily obtainable MP3 files and the decline of the CD format, it makes me all fucking warm and fuzzy inside that the sick bastards at Razorback Records put forth a massive amount of care and effort into the packaging for their releases. "Multiplex Massacre" is no exception and my opinion, it's the best yet! Putrid's splatter-fuelled eye candy adorns almost every page of the booklet and the cover remains one of the best pieces of horror-art I've ever seen. Don't get me wrong, I love Ed Repka every bit as much as the next guy, but the cover art on "Multiplex..." simply crushes the cover from the previous album in my opinion. Putrid's style is simply the best and I can't wait to see what else he shits out in the years to come!
This latest offering from Blood Freak proves yet again that Neil Smith is not only the best musician dwelling in the underground, but one of the most sincere. His prolific output is staggering and "Mutliplex Massacre" proves without a doubt that the man has sold his soul to horror. With a little help from his friends, he's cranked out the best goddamn album of 2007 and I can't wait to see where the Butchermobile takes us next.
Highest. Fucking. Recommendation.
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