Oh man, this record is so fun, though decidedly gimmicky from what is probably a novelty band (you can never tell with metal though). I am ok with that. Doomy, sludgy, tongue-in-cheek, stoner witchy halloween-themed metal. Lots of creepy 70’s horror movie-inspired synth accents to go along with the growling vocals and thick riffs. Standout tracks for me are Witchfynder Finder, about hunting the Witchfinder General Matthew Hopkins to get revenge; Trick or Treat, about a murdering creep in a white van kidnapping kids on halloween (“I’ve been rumored to creep when all others sleep - you've seen me in my white van / thick-rimmed glasses and a well-groomed mustache hide the face of a hideous man”) and Stoned to the Grave. That one is about being a stoner metalhead into horror and witchcraft stuff and how like the whole town hates him because he’s different. The protagonist compares their plight of being a metalhead outcast loser to a witch who was stoned by the village back in the witch hunting days….they’re both totally persecuted man! The stoned double entendre is just too much but I love its cheesiness. Something tells me that song is autobiographical (hopefully Trick or Treat isn’t). Other standout lyrics include “Seen these movies so many times / Turn off the volume cause I know all the lines / So fucking high, just let the stereo play / but only if its Lizzy Borden or Fastway”
While there’s nothing too special about this stuff, I think it’s fun and catchy. Later, they covered Cherry Orchards on a Celtic Frost tribute record. If that’s not tongue in cheek, I don’t know what is anymore
Vinyl comes with a fold-out poster and an old school die-cut Halloween decoration of a witch smoking a bong.