Merrill’s Musical Musings : Bourbon House

Ro’s Review

Bourbon House is one of the most exciting bands to come across my Horror Addicts Music Desk and their new album Into the Red is not to be missed. They are described on their website as “Forever passionately in love with the classic ’60s and 70’s hard rock sound of pioneering artists like Led Zeppelin, Janis Joplin, Deep Purple, and Black Sabbath, bourbon house are on a mission to create music that is timeless and infectious.” 

Oh, yes! Give me all the female-fronted grungy bluesy hard rock please and thank you. Fans of The Dead Weather, Dorothy, and The Kills will dig tracks like “Devil On My Heels” and “Dead In The Water.” These tracks would have fit right in on the True Blood soundtrack and are perfect for road trips, whiskey drinking, and good times with your friends. I look forward to more!

This week’s Shoutout is for Neonpocalypse and their new EP -Ish. This is the first-ever solo project by Then Comes Silence frontman Alex Svenson. It’s an apocalyptic EP for the ambivalent set. “Lips” is a gloomy jam that stands out from the rest of the tracks. 

Ro’s Recs 

Dream Widow is the metal band you’ll die for, but have never heard of…

Foo Fighter’s frontman Dave Grohl never does anything halfway, so when the band recorded their 10th album, Medicine at Midnight, they rented a house that allegedly had some extra ghost hosts living in it, and apparently, the band had some interesting experiences—which led Dave to decide, “we’re going to make a horror movie!” Studio 666 was born, and Horror Addicts, believe me when I say you will not be disappointed. I’ll work up a review for the film, but it was this strange appearance of a new artist on my YouTube Music recommendations that had me wondering…who is Dream Widow? The answer is, you guessed it, Dave Grohl and the Foo Fighters. They recorded a full-length super heavy metal album to go along with the film and I am so in love. They drew on all of their influences dating back to Black Sabbath, Ozzy, and Motorhead but the sound is refreshingly new. Yes, you can tell the Foos are behind it, and sometimes you can recognize Dave’s voice, but just like they did with their Bee Gees tribute album The Dee Gees Hail Satin, they went all in to make a fantastic record. I highly suggest you check out the movie and the Dream Widow album. What better way to honor the memory of recently deceased drummer Taylor Hawkins? It was tough to watch as my heart is still hurting for the band, but I laughed and cried along, and I’m sending a big hug to the band and all of the fans missing Taylor.

That’s it for this time. Check out this week’s tunes on the Playlist and Stay Tuned for more…

Merrill’s Musical Musings : The Royal Ritual

Track: Gnossienne No. 1

Ro’s Review

The Royal Ritual is the artist name for David Lawrie, a UK-based, multi-talented musician. Gnossienne No. 1 is an ethereal piano performance with modern touches. According to Wikipedia, The Gnossiennes are several piano compositions by the French composer Erik Satie in the late 19th century. The works are for the most part in free time and highly experimental with form, rhythm and chordal structure. The form as well as the term was invented by Satie.

Lawrie’s take on Erik Satie’s Gnossienne No. 1 is the perfect accompaniment for reading your favorite tales of vampires or visiting haunted houses. The artist’s compositions can be found in TV and film as well.

This week’s Shoutout goes to Plastic Assault Network. “Soul Seeker” is the third and final single released by Plastic Assault Network on December 17th, 2021, and completes their EP.

Ro’s Recs this week features the Papa himself. Ghost’s latest release Impera features the catchy tune “Twenties” as well as the gorgeous track “Call Me Little Sunshine.” Ghost is considered a metal band, but fans of Blue Oyster Cult and Nightwish will love them as will true metalheads. Their music is strangely addicting and though it contains guitars, Papa Emeritus (Sweden’s Tobias Forge) has such a beautifully soothing voice, you find yourself singing along to lyrics about darkness, the devil, and dystopia-like a pop music earworm. I never quite understood why all of my musician heroes were obsessed with Ghost…until I saw them live. Then I, too, became a believer. Impera is a full-bodied, Satiric/Satanic feast of audial delight. Check it out.

All of the songs shared this season are available on the Horror Addicts 2022 Playlist. Stay Tuned for more…