Nekromantix
“Life Is A Grave & I Dig It”
Hellcat

Shits about to get interesting. Kim Nekroman has returned from the grave, backed by a new crop of Nekroheads—Troy Destroy (guitar) and Andrew Martinez (drums)—and he dragged a new record with him that sounds like it was dredged from the lakes of hell. “Life Is A Grave” is the tightest Nekromantix record to date, sporting bass-soaked gems that are way more danceable than your run-of-the-mill punkabilly CD.

First off, Nekroman has come into his own as a lyricist. The writing on this record is catchy and none of the songs sound like they were written by a fifth grader (a curse that has plagued the band on the last few record). Rather than use horror themes as a crutch or just name call old B-movies, Nekroman spins his own yarns about demonic cats, evil high schools, bats and ghouls.

I know what you’re thinking. What does the music sound like? Old school fans have been calling “sellout” since the band signed to Epitaph a few years back, and those fans are still going to be grumpy. “Life Is A Grave” is smooth, cool, and poppy—It’s also really fucking good. The band slow tunes down for impact, and ramp the beat up when it’s time to rock. Some tracks lean more to rockabilly, even treading into country for a spell. Is that a bad thing? I don’t think so. While all the modern psychobilly bands bite off a sound Nekromantix spawned 10 years ago, Kim and company are rocking to their own beat, and biting the heads off of everyone that thinks they’ve gone soft.

Doesn’t Rock l Kinda Rocks l Rocks l Really Rocks