Under A Nightmare Valley Of The Scarecrow CD Review

At the time of writing this, 'Valley of the Scarecrow' is about to celebrate its 20th anniversary. This album (along with the follow up 'Monsters 89'), brings forth a sense of nostalgia for a number of reasons. The first being they were some of the first horror punk albums Black Angel Promotions reviewed in our first incarnation thousands of moons ago. Another, and maybe the most important, is the sound and atmosphere found here that you don't find in many modern horror punk releases. 

This is raw, not overproduced, horror punk that'll have you in the pit with your buddy one minute and the next walking through the fog-infested cemetery with your girl. When you hear the opening "whoas" and frenetic drumming in "Bats In a Bonfire", you know that you're in for a good time. While many of the songs go for the jugular ("Riverman", "Lake Bottom Evening"), there are slower, more melodic efforts such as the super fun "Go Go Zombie" and "Coffin Love" and if there's anything that a memorable horror punk album has to have, it's a ballad which the latter undoubtedly satisfies. "Never Lead A Lie" is an interesting track as it's a tribute to the Ramones and the lyrics are spat out at machine gun speed before they incorporate "I Wanna Be Sedated" into the song and leave you wanting to put on 'Road to Ruin'.

~TJ