Album: Thelema EP
Artist: The Murder City Devils
Genre: Garage Rock/Punk
Year: 2001
Label: Sup Pop
The Murder City Devils were Seattle’s loudest, rowdiest gothic pirate punk pummel band and they can and will kick your ass to the curb. Then, they will curb stomp your face again and again while a deathly organ plays and crowds of ravenous demons bay for blood and down gallons of fine wine. That’s a lot to take in, especially the horns on the demon’s heads. But the music of The Devils is actually fairly simple and easy to swallow. Fast. Loud. Screaming. Rock. It doesn’t take a neuro scientist to figure it out.
Thelema was the Devils’ final EP before breaking up, and it proves that some bands go out at the top of their game. They weren’t gone for long however. The Devils reunited in 2006 and have been sporadically performing since. I discovered them through their drummer, Coady Willis, who is also a member of Heavy Metal duo, Big Business and Sludge Metal lords, the Melvins. Following the trail of breadcrumbs back to the Devils was a thoroughly rewarding find and they’ve become one of my favorite finds in recent memory. Really, what’s not to like? Rock N’ Roll was meant to be this way, with aggressive guitars and slurred, rabid vocals begging for forgiveness, like on “Bride of the Elephant Man.” This is actually one of the Devils slower numbers, but Spencer Moody (the voice of the Devils) is not going to croon on this one. His ragged, howling voice pleads with John Merrick (The Elephant Man of fame) to not “be angry when he meets his maker” and tells him that “his prayers were heard first”. The lyrics coming out of Moody’s mouth don’t always make sense, but manage to cover a lot of topics, ranging from pirate tales to occult ceremonies. The pirate story, “Bear Away” is probably my favorite track from the EP, if not my favorite Devils track period. Another slower number, the track features some of Leslie Hardy’s finest organ playing as well as some of Moody’s most furious cries into the night. You picture him, whisky bottle in one hand, microphone in the other and have a hard time not following his advice when he screams “you better run for cover!” before roaring “we need a martyr, we need a victim, we need a sacrifice!!!”
At twenty minutes in length, the Thelema EP is a short but sweet trip into Murder City. The band is at their best, with punk guitar rippers and soaring gothic organs. The drums pound with a primitive rage and the bass rumbles like a great boiler. Over all of this, Moody’s raspy bellow explodes, grabbing your attention like an undead cowboy’s lasso. “That’s What You Get” and “One Vision Of May” are the cannon blasters, breaking everything in the room and leaving you begging for more. “Bear Away”, “Midnight Service at the Mutter Museum” and “Bride of the Elephant Man” are the slower, heavier tracks, giving the EP it’s weight. But how does the EP end? It ends with the unholy bizarre “364 Days” which Moody describes at the beginning of the track as “an open letter to St. Nicolas.” It’s a waltzing song that paints a sad picture of an alcoholic Santa Claus all alone at the North Pole. It’s a sad ending to an excellent EP and the punctuation mark at the end of the Devils short but exceptional studio output. With any luck, you will enjoy this EP as much as I did and will go on a deeper sojourn into the Murder City. It’s a dangerous trip, but a fun one.
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