Boogeyman
Nightmare Begins
EP, released 26th September 2026
The third 'proper' release from Arizona's Boogeyman (after a few singles), Nightmare Begins is self-described as the band's 'Earth A.D.' - a move away from the more melodic, early 80s hardcore punk influenced horror punk of the band's two albums into shorter, sharper and altogether more thrashier territory. It also serves as a prequel to those releases, setting the scene on how the evil came to haunt the town of Whisper Creek in their 'Devils Song' story. It's a bold move - many diehard fans of the genre aren't exactly enamoured by the Misfits move into the faster thrash sound that American hardcore morphed into; however I for one am a fan of that style, so the concept of this EP is an intriguing one for me.
Immediately you can hear the shift in styles. The TSOL influenced gothic horror punk of Rotten Leaves is blown away by the rage and velocity of first track 'Foresee'. It's still melodic horror punk, just played at a faster pace; a raging and menacing sound that still paints the vivid images in your mind the band are so good at. This is fast, balls out hardcore rather than metal too - and the comparisons to Earth A.D. are immediately evident. '1713' appeared on the 'The Kids are All Fright!!!' compilation last year and follows the same formula - this is spooky, gothic-tinged, fast hardcore horror punk which despite the speed never loses the sense of melody and storytelling. It's a belter this.
'Shadows' has a more gothic sound wrapping it's thrash assault; whilst the band have shown their mastery of epic, narrative driven melodic horror punk before, this EP is showcasing another side, and it's pretty excellent. There's no let up in the speed here but the atmosphere remains chillingly macabre. 'One by One' is another excellent song - sub-2 minute thrashy horror punk which is instantly memorable.
'The Widow' has a hint of late 90s AFI to it but is just another all out sonic attack of a track, atmospheric but unrelenting; whilst EP closer 'Frostbite' reminds me a bit of The Nerve Agents. I'm probably stretching a little bit in comparisons to either of those bands, but like both of those legends, Boogeyman are going down that hardcore route of horror punk on this release and have realised it beautifully.
It may only be 12 minutes long but Nightmare Begins has a big impact. A departure from their earlier gothic-driven epic horror punk storytelling (although this does still form part of their self-created horror universe), there are those who may not be fans of the move towards the hardcore thrash - but for me, someone who can happily listen to Bedtime for Democracy and Fresh Fruit... and get much from both, this move adds another aspect to a band that already has delivered some fantastic horror punk.
You can follow the band over on Instagram and Facebook, and the EP should be available on the band's Bandcamp page from release day.
As part of their build up to release the band released two videos, for '1713' and 'Shadows'. I've embedded both below, and they're well worth a watch!
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