The Ghoulstars are coming to Earth.
Formed in Finland by Markus “Daddy Ghoul” Laakso (guitar, Chaosweaver, formerly of Kuolemanlaakso), Toni “Ghoulio” Ronkainen (drums, ex-Kuolemanlaakso), Arthur “LL Ghoul A” Thure (vocals, Thermate), and Markus “Hella Ghoul” Makkonen (bass, Sadistik Forest, ex-Hooded Menace), the band immediately signed with Season of Mist for the release of their debut album, The Dark Overlords of the Universe.
The band was assisted by Mathias “Vreth” Lillmåns (…and Oceans, Finntroll…) on the growling backing vocals.
We kick things off with the upbeat Too Ghoul for School, a lively opening track that sets the tone with a pun worthy of the best Z-grade movies, where you realize just how catchy the song is, despite my personal reluctance toward punk and its derivatives. The riffs are simple but effective, the vocals almost make you want to sing along, and the few samples help set the rhythm of the track before moving on to The Dead in Purgatory, which captures the lighthearted yet slightly horrifying atmosphere of 70s and 80s horror films, while still allowing the band some creative freedom. You can even detect some Flam influences (beyond the costumes), while the shorter Zombie Apocalypse is much more direct, using a lively and equally catchy rhythm to incorporate a few more aggressive passages. The Dark Overlords of the Universe shifts to a softer tone with a few lead vocals, featuring Tommi “Tuple” Salmela (Tarot, Raskasta Joulua, Lazy Bones) on backing vocals, allowing the band to return to accessible sounds while still clinging to those half-sinister, half-playful elements, before giving way to The Brain That Wouldn’t Die, where groove and heaviness collide, with a somewhat familiar approach at times. We move fairly quickly to Graverobbers from Outer Space, which reconnects with a fairly obvious joie de vivre and will undoubtedly wreak havoc on stage, notably with that much more aggressive double kick passage that eventually leads into The Wolfman, a composition with direct yet always heady riffs that will allow the band to rouse a crowd captivated by the musicians’ universe. Contrary to its name, The Ballad of the Cursed Bandits is anything but restful, as the shortest track is among the fastest on the album, unlike Vampire” which allows for stranger sections as well as furious accelerations. Once again, the track flies by, leading straight into the final track, They Dance Upon Our Graves, which draws on heavy and mysterious doom influences, taking the opportunity to darken certain passages and offer us the most contrasting track to close out the album.
I’ve always hated Punk in general, but I was pleasantly surprised by The Ghoulstars! There’s nothing groundbreaking about The Dark Overlords of the Universe, but the tracks are catchy, and they’ll undoubtedly be even more effective live!
75/100
