Blitzkid- Five Cellars Below

ARTIST: Blitzkid

ALBUM: Five Cellars Below

LABEL: Fiendforce Records

REVIEWER: Matthew J.

DATE: 5-20-07

The new studio album from Blitzkid comes as a welcome respite from the horror punk scene's over-saturated crew of enthusiastic but derivative Misfits clones. Sure, the standard themes are in evidence; "Genus Unknown" is about a monster, "Demon Machine" deals with a Satanic automobile, and the subject matter of "Terror In The Haunted House" should be evident from the title. There's so much more to Blitzkid than B-movie punk songs, though. "Mary And The Storm" and "Lady In The Lake" are gorgeously dark pop-punk love songs, comparable to Bella Morte's recent material, and "Starlite Decay" and "The Torn Prince" have the power chords and doo-wop background harmonies of a spookier version of The Ramones. "Bloodletting" gives Concrete Blonde's vampire anthem an appealingly gritty emphasis on the bass line, while "Vanishing Riders" is a laid-back zombie cowboy ballad that launches into thrashing hardcore. Blitzkid haven't abandoned their roots, and "The Trunk" and "A Blind Bargain" offer plenty of shout-along, fist-pumping punk action for the purists, but this album's accessible enough even for fans of mainstream dark punk groups like AFI.

Venture below the cellar at www.blitzkid.com.