Gatlin
Horror Town Single
2026, releasing as 7 inch vinyl on Halloween
Horror punk is a universal language. Whatever corner of the world a band is from, and whether I understand their lyrics or not, the vibe of it all is unmistakable. A love for the macabre, spooky sounds and just having a bit of fun in this crazy world. Gatlin are a Polish horror punk powerhouse - they've been around for more than a decade now, with several releases under their belt (including a split 7 inch with Necrotones and the excellent, perfect sounding 'The Thing' single) - and their latest EP/Single is now with us, and with the promise of a physical release near Halloween. Only fitting to take a listen!
The title track opens up with a spooky, neo-Western sort of sound before bludgeoning into a slow, pounding beat with exciting use of the theremin that featured so heavily on The Thing single. Quite simply the perfect instrument to create a spooky atmosphere, it plays here behind some heavy hitting punk rock which delivers menace, horror and a pretty unique sound. 'Prince' follows this up, a short and sharp punk song which is a bit of a change of pace. A censored version of the title track is up next before Kołysanka (Lullaby in Polish) ends things with a nightmare instrumental soundscape that is a must to play as a part of any self-respecting Halloween playlist.
A short release then, with only really two songs, but the title song carves out a unique sound that sets it apart from it's peers and is definitely worth a listen as we descend into Autumn.
Gatlin hail from Brzozow, and are Arkadiusz Sikora, Tomasz Kotulak, Łukasz Tercha, Kamil Tercha and Mike Koneful on theremin. You can follow them on Instagram, give them a listen on Spotify and buy their stuff through their social media channels - the split with Necrotones and a rather fetching pair of t-shirts (of which I've just grabbed myself one)!
