Review - Rise From Your Grave - 'Stay Awake' single

Rise From Your Grave

Stay Awake

Single, releases on May 15th

Pittsburgh's Rise From Your Grave have established themselves as one of the most dependable and respected of the current crop of horror punk bands, mixing horror punk harmonies with crunchy heavy metal and delivering catchy, hook-laden horror odes over the course of several singles, EPs and - when you include their incoming new album 'Choose Your Score' releasing in the autumn - half a dozen excellent albums. With a killer back-library behind them already, news of an imminent single release is always cause for celebration, so when 'Stay Awake' landed in my inbox I was already excited - and after spending some time with it I've still got the sort of buzz that only great horror punk can give me.

With inspiration from the exploits of every one's favourite clawed, nightmare infesting killer of teens Freddy Krueger, Stay Awake delivers a melodic assault replete with horror punk woah-oh's and soaring vocals; a catchy-as-hell song with those touches of horror love that we all find so irresistible. The subject matter may have been used many times before, but this ticks all the boxes for any self-respecting horror punk fan and goes right up there with The Casket Creatures 'Springwood Slasher' and Shadow Windhawk's '1428' as the best examples, and comfortably sits alongside both as the sort of instantly memorable and anthemic song which makes this the best music genre in the world.

It's a pretty damn great teaser for the upcoming album from a band that wins the award for 'Best Band Name' from me due to my self-proclaimed and longstanding Sega fanboyism, instantly drawing me to the band the first time I heard them. Probably the best thing to ever spring forth - sorta - from Altered Beast as well! Now we just need a horror punk album based around semi-forgotten Sega horror classics like IllBleed and D2 and I don't think I would be able to contain myself. But...I digress...

Stay Awake is out on the 15th May on streaming and over on Bandcamp, where you can currently also hear a preview of the song. Whilst you're over there pick up some merch and take a dip into the band's catalogue, you won't regret it.

Review - Esmeralda's Ghost - 'Invasion of the Zombee Girls' EP

Esmeralda's Ghost

Invasion of the Zombee Girls

EP, self released on April 15th

I don't want to worry anyone but with the sheer amount of horror punk bands crawling from the depths of this island right now I'm pretty sure we're about to be consumed by some sort of undead uprising. This may or may not be an improvement on our current situation. To disgracefully paraphrase Emma Goldman, though, 'If I can't dance, I don't want to be part of your damn apocalypse' and this new wave of British horror punk (NWOBHP if you will) is ushering in the end times with fun. Enter Esmeralda's Ghost from Leeds who drift into the melee with a debut EP to add to the Zombie Girl Summer of punk we're about to embark on. Emerging, phoenix-like, from the remains of previous solo project Ashes On The Cemetary Ground this is a full-on horror punk assault (rather than delving into the goth rock elements of AOTCG) which delivers some toe-tapping good tunes.

Starting off with a minute of zombie moans in the appropriately titled 'Zombie Shuffle' it soon shifts into the excellent, dark and bouncy 'You Make My Screams Come True' and a track resurrected from AOTCG 'Zombie Girl', a gloriously fun horror punk anthem which remains just as fun as it was a couple of years ago when I heard it's previous incarnation. Amongst the rather somber offerings of the previous band this stood out; a hideously catchy, and fun, story of loving the (un)dead which can sit happily alongside the numerous similar tales of necro-love in the annals of the genre - and on it's own merit, too. Infectious B-movie inspired punk is very much the theme of this EP - the short but sweet 'Invasion Of The Bee Girls' buzzes in, leaves an impression and then flies off.

'(I'd Love You More) If You Were Dead' hits with menacing 'woah-oh's' before another stand-out track rumbles in with 'Screamplay'; name dropping horror icons as it rolls along on a solid horror punk foundation that would not sound out of place among the best of the current crop of US bands. 'Night of the C.H.U.D' is another punchy track referencing classic b-movie fare (and may or may not have another meaning), before the EP is rounded off by a spoken word afterlude which finishes things off nicely.

There's an awful lot to like on this strong EP - impressive as a solo effort, it's clearly born from a love for the style and sound of horror punk, drips with an admiration for the spooky and b-movie chic, and is full of fun, catchy tracks that leave an impression. 

You can purchase the EP digitally from the 15th April, with a physical CD release also imminent, as well as being available on all the normal streaming services. Go give the band a follow on Instagram and Bandcamp (where a quartet of the songs are already available).

And a special thanks to Esmeralda's Ghost for designing the new logo of this blog - fitting that this EP is the first review in the newly named era of the site!

Review - Tricie and the Phantom Punks - Ghost Town single

Tricie and the Phantom Punks

Ghost Town

Single, released 3rd April 2026

Houston, Texas's formidable horror punk force of Tricie and the Phantom Punks have unleashed their latest single on the world - a near-3 minute rock n roll undead assault dripping with punk rock heritage and spookiness. After last years exceptional 'Date Night at The Morgue', one of my highlights of 2025, and the ode to Tobe Hoopers chainsaw-wielding horror masterpiece that was this years 'Saw Serenade', 'Ghost Town' arrives with some potential to fulfill - and does just that. 

There's a supernatural strut to the song which mixes the hard hitting punk rock with an underlying gothabilly / gothic country vibe - befitting the Weird Wild West cover art (and a style I am particularly fond of). It never veers too far away from a solid horror punk basis, the horror-Americana elements just ripple through the song, but it's highly effective and is another great track from a band on the top of their game. There's an undeniable love for Texas and H-Town (the song written by Houston punk legend Mike Porterfield of Poor Dumb Bastards) which runs through the band's releases which give them an identifiable vibe mixing American cultural tropes (zombie cheerleaders, Disneyland) with a Texan swagger. The state is not short of great horror punk but at this rate we will be talking about Tricie and the Phantom Punks alongside Ghoultown as masters of the craft (as well as many other current Texan bands ripping it up).

The band play Black Magic Social Club in Houston on Saturday April 4th and, excitingly for me, cross the pond to appear at the Horror Punk Fest in Birmingham, England on October 3rd where they are sure to be a hit.

'Ghost Town's is available to stream and download (from the 3rd April) from your regular streaming and digital music download services! The band can be found on Bandcamp and Instagram (and various other places - check out there Linktr.ee)