Last month we hosted a track premiere for the song “Last Days of Disco” from the Mexican Werewolf debut album. We warned you then that this Chicago trio “play a particularly combustive form of sludgy, heavy metal-influenced rock’n’roll,” and even though you listened to us, and checked out that song, you’ll still find yourself ill-prepared for what’s coming down the pike.
Rick Linus, the band’s guitarist and vocalist tells us that “‘Murder House,’ the [opening] song [from MW’s debut], is basically the introduction to our hero and protagonist of the record, ‘Villalobos,’ AKA The Mexican Werewolf.”
Linus goes on: “I grew up on comics and movies so I just treat the lyrics like they’re for a graphic novel, or a script for a 70s exploitation movie, rather than a song or record. The Mexican Werewolf is basically this violent, unstoppable character with a crazy past that’s crossed over into a lot of weird mythology. She used to be a mercenary for hire, but a lot of her former allies betrayed her, and now she’s become a vigilante. Like Punisher, Kill Bill’s Bride and John Wick all wrapped up or something. The record is like [Jeph Loeb’s Batman: The Long Halloween.] Each song is a chapter featuring a different antagonist hunting down our girl, The Mexican Werewolf. Some of the characters include chapters of the American Mafia, a coven of witches, the Russian Mob and Jason Voorhees. I try to write like Tarantino writes his scripts, lots of homages to other pieces of work with a lot of prose between the lines.
“It felt easier to write our songs this way, and it ended up being good for our first few EPs, so we went full steam ahead and made a full record that was all connected,” says Linus. “I know it sounds crazy, but it worked for The Misfits, so here we are.”
Altogether Murder House counts ten eclectic bangers all bound by the same vicious energy and devil-may-care talent. Comprised of self-explanatory dark horse hitters like “The HM2 Kids of 1991,” or the SWANS-unto-Alice In Chains-inspired number, “Occvltbooks,” there’s a surprise waiting around every corner on Murder House.
Murder House
Get Murder House today on 12” vinyl.
