Discography Review - Boogeyman

 

Rising from the dusty desert crypts of Phoenix, Arizona, Boogeyman are one of the finest horror punk bands currently around; macabre storytellers who deliver infectious punk rock and weave tales of horror through a thoroughly mesmerising connected series of songs in the bands 'Devils Song' saga. As another band that has come to my attention largely through their being on the We Are Horror Records label, and with a brand new EP released, which itself serves as a prequel to the tales told on their first two albums, I thought it was about time to dip into the second of the 'discography' reviews on this blog - a look back at their past releases whilst featuring the new EP in it's own review which you can read here. 

In the post-pandemic years the band have really emerged as a band to watch closely. Appearances on compilations, some excellent videos and two great full length releases - as well as some glorious artwork and iconic logo and merch - have started giving the band the recognition they deserve. The three piece band is made of Jason Payne on vocals and keyboard/piano/organ, Eric Zellmer on drums and Ryan Zellmer on guitar and bass for their releases. 

Boogeyman (2021) - self titled debut album

I've spent an inordinate amount of time thinking about how to start this review. Mention the awesome melodic horror punk sound peppered with delicious hooks? Extoll the virtues of some of the finest written, original story based lyrics the genre has seen in recent years? Wax lyrical about how each song's ability to play the part of a chapter of the over-arching tale makes the album both like an audio-book in it's ability to captivate, but leaves each track with it's own identity that can be enjoyed away from that narrative as well? Or just say that this is one of my favourite albums of the last few years? Still haven't decided... 

As far as debuts go, they don't get much stronger than this. Whilst each individual track is well worth a listen this is a release that demands you take some time to sit down with it, preferably at dusk with only the flickering light of a candle illuminating the room, read the lyrics and let the story envelop you. The 11 songs on offer* tell the first part of the 'Devils Song' saga, a band-created story that is brought to unnerving life through the medium of the genre we all love so much. Sound wise it takes a lot of influence from the contemporary horror punk but touches on other styles; there's hook-driven 80s American hardcore influence on some songs and the deathrock and gothic influence is omnipresent in both some aspect of the sound as well as the well crafted atmosphere.

After a short organ 'Eulogy' the album kicks off with 'Mourning Light' and kicks into the story. The protagonist of the story is blind from birth and this is the night of his grandfathers funeral. I'm not going to ruin the story and go through every plot point song by song as I firmly believe this is something you need to experience yourself - but I will copy from the band's Bandcamp page:

Darkness. Blind at birth, it's all you know. Your greatest fear and only friend. Grandfather's cellar, night of his funeral, the only way out is the curse of sight. You've felt it all your life. A presence. The Phantom. Inside and out, you search. No stairs. Eyes bleeding, you scratch the walls unconscious, wake beneath the moon and see. The world's on fire. Death is everywhere. Everything. What has past ashes over what is and never will be.

Boogeyman is an adventure into another world. One where the demon is real and ghosts cry out for help. Come find out what lurks at the bottom of the cellar…

As a song it's a cracking opener. Melodic punk rock crafted with plenty of hooks, driven along at a pace and somehow mastering the sort of atmosphere the track's plotline aims for - it's fun in the best traditions of the genre, but there's a sombre, heartfelt undercurrent. 'Afraid Of The Dark' does much the same - it's a bit more bittersweet in it's feel, a slower paced horror punk song where the music is like a beating heart in the anxiety and it's tale of isolophobia and the nightmares in the dark. It's still a remarkably fun and enjoyable song regardless of the darkness in it's progression of the story.

'Phantom' progresses the story with a pulsating, menacing but memorable song, much like 'The Dead Are Here'. Both are strong tracks but work better when taken as part of the whole album. 'Endless Stare' and 'You and Me' are classic mid-tempo melodic punk - like all tracks, their main function is to further the plot but these are catchy regardless of how you experience them. 

The album kicks into overdrive at this point. 'Consumed' is the shortest on the release but packs a punch - this is American melodic hardcore horror punk at it's best, instantly catchy with woah-oh-oh's and further re-enforcing the band's ability to writing compelling narrative. 'The Candle of Six Days' is enveloped in a gothic shroud but continues the harder sound and singalong horror punk style. It helps that it feels as though the album is continually building to this point, so by the time that 'He looked so real, but this cannot be' blasts out of your speakers it hits hard.

'Talisman' is further dripping with a gothic, atmospheric sound as we near the conclusion of the story, coming in the form of 'Haunted' which is also another standout individual track as well as being a great ending to the story thus far told - there's a bit of a 90s style Epitaph melodic punk rock feel amidst the suitably haunting and gothic vibe that the song - and the album as a whole - brings to the table.

It can't be easy to make an album based around a single narrative, especially in these days of streaming and low attention spans. Individually not all of the tracks here would be my first call if I wanted to experience a euphoric few minutes of horror punk bliss (although a few do fit that brief) - but taken as a whole, a continuing experience which paints a vivid, dark story in your imagination, there's few albums in the genre which can beat this. 

*there is a 12th hidden song on the CD, a cover of the Misfits classic (is there any other type of Misfits song?) 'Horror Business'.

Legacy (2022) - single

Boogeyman haven't released many standalone singles alongside their longer releases, so far content to keeping their storytelling as part of a larger whole. 'Legacy' first appeared on the We Are Horror Records 'Horrorpunk's Not Dead volume 1' compilation before seeing a release on Bandcamp as a single. It feels a little bit like a taster, a story summary of the plot of their self-titled debut; it has a vaguely melancholic, storybook feel to it and is highly enjoyable in itself.

I must mention the artwork to this too - it's incredible. There is an EC comics/50s horror comic vibe to it, but everything from the composition to the colours just works superbly. Later releases from the band have some stunning artwork but this one - despite probably being overlooked by many - just ticks every box for me.

Rotten Leaves (2024) - Album

After the triumph of their debut, story-driven, self-titled album it took a few years before Boogeyman followed up with their sophomore release, which itself also serves as a continuation and conclusion to their 'Devil's Song' saga (the overarching narrative first delivered on their debut). Troubles with follow up releases are well documented in the annals of music history, but Rotten Leaves is able to deliver another slice of highly atmospheric melodic horror punk and brings the story to a satisfying conclusion.

As with the review of their debut I won't be going into great detail into the story here, Rotten Leaves is another fine example of a record that demands you set aside some time, get comfortable and let the story and music paint vivid images in your mind. What I will say is that this is, overall, a more mature, more fully realised release, touching on some of the various sub-genres within the horror punk sound. There are standout tracks and some individual tracks here that can be enjoyed fully away from the central story, but it remains best listened as a whole - perhaps even more so than their debut.

'My Eyes' has a gothic under-cloak whilst touching on elements of the 80s American hardcore sound again - like a more mature TSOL (a cover of said band's 'Dance With Me', an all time classic, is on the CD), whilst 'Old Ghost' goes for that slowed down, 50s influenced, melancholic horror punk sound we're all familiar with. That sort of style feeds through to 'Save Me' which was the first single released from the album; a sombre atmosphere painted with the brush of echoey, gothic punk and a splash of nostalgia. The three openers to the album all exhibit the same excellent lyrical writing as their previous release, but really showcase an overall darker feel to things.

'The Leaves Are Falling' was the third single from the album and is the first standout track. A menacing feel permeates the continuation of the gothic-horror-punk sound; there is a grandeur to the song, an underlying, dark epicness, whilst it never moves too far away from memorable melodic horror punk. 'Deceived' may sound a tad more upbeat, but it continues the gothic-vibe, much like the next track 'Spectre's Gaze'. Throughout this release you can't escape a permeating feel of dread, of unseen terror - much like label-mates Rise From Your Grave, but without the more overtly Lovecraftian-influence - and it builds up through these songs.

'Wings of a Dream' is like a horror punk funeral dirge, clouded in darkness, doom and despair but serves as an essential part of the story. It's a really sombre, very un-traditional song which doesn't really represent the band's overall sound but works astonishingly well as part of this narrative. 'Hex' continues that haunting, bewitching sound, dripping in an almost dark-cabaret style. The album's definitely taken a darker turn by this point and 'Where This All Began' continues this, although returns to a bit more of an 'upbeat' horror punk sound (relatively so). 

'Death is Life' mixes the band's melodic horror punk with a distinct deathrock sound, another atmospheric monster of a song. 'Superstition' is another standout track - the second single from the album, this is more 'straight forward', but still sombre, horror punk with a definite nod to synth-era TSOL again and generally a bit more of a feel of that hardcore influence. This is a song that can be enjoyed away from the context of the album - although is best when experienced as part of it. 

Mentioning those Californian pioneers of gothic punk, TSOL, there's a pretty hefty influence on the next track 'Ashes Upon the Ground' too; another menacing, growling track which dips into the gothic atmosphere of the album and combines horror punk with old school deathrock sound well. 'Communion in the Wind' does much the same as it builds up to the albums inevitable conclusion, 'No One In Between', a melodic, decidedly more upbeat finish to the album musically, and totally appropriate to the conclusion of the story. 

Much like their debut album, Rotten Leaves is an outlier in the genre; there's no recourse to famous horror films, no easy filler songs about Jason, Freddy or Ghostface. This is a fully conceptualised and realised, self-contained story brought to life by a band who show a remarkable level of maturity and complexity in their song writing. As a whole it is enticing, enveloping you in it's gothic atmosphere - but this does mean it is hard to just listen to a song individually and fully enjoy it in the same way. There is still that nostalgic nod to hardcore of the 80s that was present on the debut, but this steers in a more deathrock, gothic and 'epic' sound that demands - even more so than it's predecessor - some serious attention from it's listener. It took a bit longer for this album to win me around compared to the debut, but after prolonged listening I can safely say this is another excellent release well worth the time it requires to spend with it. 

The trio of single releases - showcased here simply for the exceptional artwork

Drowning Boy (2026) - single

The last release from the band before their 2026 EP, was this single release 'Drowning Boy'. I have to admit now that I have had a review of this in my draft folder on the blog for months and months - I thought I'd already reviewed this! Belatedly then, I'm here to tell you this is a great song. It's a bit more upbeat than the band's last album, touches a bit more on that classic horror punk sound and feel (although retaining a definite darker and sombre edge to the atmosphere). 

Next up would of course be the 2026 Nightmare Begins EP - and you can see my review of that here.

The band is on a variety of social media platforms including Facebook and Instagram, all of their releases are on Spotify, Amazon and Bandcamp and you can also grab some merch from We Are Horror Records. The band's videos are also up on their Youtube channel.