The Operating Table
EP, out May 15th from We Are Horror Records
Barely a week goes by at the moment without another storming entry into the current wave of UK horror punk - we're living through a golden age of the New Wave of UKHP, bands emerging and gaining wider recognition, releasing essential records and starting to take on the established scenes from around the world. At the forefront of this are the bands signed to We Are Horror Records - now with a renewed UK focus - a home grown label spreading fear, horror and spine chilling jams across these cursed islands and across the seas. Numerous UK acts have appeared on past compilations from the label (as punk rock always has done, compilations have proved essential gateways to discovering new bands) and one which has stood out, alongside the release of three standalone singles, are Liverpool's Toria and The Terror (currently based over in Tokyo), a ferocious force blending the theatrical gothic side of horror punk with the always outspoken empowerment of the marginalised and forgotten in the very best traditions of the feminist-led punk legacy of this country. The unholy trinity of past single releases have been essential - the caustic anger of 'I Want Blood', the skin crawling terror and insanity of 'Worms for Brains' and the haunting 'Funeral' have mixed metal, goth and riot grrrl influences, wrapped them up in a horror punk cape and battered listeners who may have come expecting some good ol' fashioned horror punk melodies with something altogether more dynamic.
News of the band's first EP release was therefore pretty exciting. When bands aren't rigid in their stylistic output you never know what quite to expect, so on firing up 'The Operating Table' I wasn't sure whether to expect gothic rock influenced tales of woe, anger-fueled riotous punk rock or something else entirely. Amazingly, all of the above - and more - weave their way into what is quite simply an excellent EP. It starts with a bang - 'Frankenstein Girl' is a fuzzy, metal meets garage punk tale of self-loathing and the perils of celebrity worship. It seethes with anger, barely containing the rage as it courses along, always threatening to explode and take the world with it as Toria screams 'with every little stitch I become a new bitch'. Few bands can properly blend the horror aesthetics with pointed social commentary (possibly the best example of a UK band doing so would be The Ruined, which is never a bad comparison) but the band do it superbly here.
The second song ('The Morgue') takes a different tact, an atypical horror punk song blending influences from horror surf, psychobilly, 60s horror shock rock akin to Lord Sutch and a spooky vibe, all coupled with the teetering-on-the-edge of madness style that is somewhat a signature of the band. It's a marked departure from the bands previous output, but is enormous fun showing how varied their influences are, and is the sort of instantly likeable song that brings to mind their fellow Liverpudlian icons Zombina and the Skeletones.
The final track of the release has appeared before - on WAHR's 'The Kids are all Fright' comp last year. I absolutely raved about it then, an intense cover of the classic Bauhaus song 'Stigmata Martyr' that sounds like Bikini Kill covering the goth rock pioneers and time has not diminished it's impact. It's a spine-chillingly powerful slice of blasphemous gothic riot grrrl noise.
With the two opening tracks set to appear on the bands upcoming debut album 'Wicked Hymns', and with the pedigree of their earlier releases and the bands range of influences and sounds, Toria and The Terror are set to take the horror punk world by the scruff of it's metaphorical neck before tearing it off, all whilst wearing a blood-soaked smile. An absolute class release from a band who brings something different to the table and who could very well be the UK's biggest horror punk export in the years to come.
You can pre-order the digital release on the WAHR website and it will be on all the usual streaming and download services come the 15th may. Whilst over on WAHR pick up some band merch and the previous single releases. You can follow the band over on Facebook, Instagram, Spotify, and over on WAHR's Bandcamp page (and give the label a follow over on Instagram and Facebook too!)
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