FRIGHTMARE - MIDNIGHT MURDER MANIA (2003)

PORTLAND SPLATTERTHRASH, Part 1

That's right, fuckers. It's a new 5-part series, courtesy of Yours Truly, Dr. Shelby J.R.R. Tolkien Cobras, Esq.
It has come to my attention as of late that Portland, Oregon in the early-to-mid 00's had one of the most amazing goddamn fucking metal scenes anywhere, EVER, and I'd like to take some space here to shed light on a couple of the most important bands in said metal scene.

There were several common elements that unified these bands, some of which as follows: 1) Rampant interbreeding amongst bands. 2) Obsession with (and heavy sampling of) B-horror films from the 70's and 80's. 3) Tendency toward a "splatterthrash-esque" sound, with wet, disgusting vocals, punked-up beats, crunchy riffs, and sort of a drive-in-theater-meets-goregrind aesthetic. Good examples from outside the Portland area would be Impaled or Haemorrhage. 4) Strong affiliation with Razorback Records out of New York. Razorback is notoriously unfond of free downloading, so any records offered here might disappear soon--direct links to said records in the Razorback catalog will be supplied where applicable. CDs are only $10, buy them if you like them.

That being said, I'd like to now discuss the first band in our 'PDX Splatterthrash' series, a sick group of horror-worshipping psychos known as Frightmare. Frightmare formed around 2002, and display the aforementioned "interbred" characteristic so common to Portland-area bands in the first half of the last decade. I can think of no better place to start a series on this subject, as the Frightmare dudes had the whole 70's-horror-vibe-meets-sick-splatterthrash thing down to a T. Midnight Murder Mania was their first release, followed by the equally-shredding Bringing Back The Bloodshed in 2006. If the obscure movie samples, front cover, and fact that the band itself is named after a 1974 splatter flick weren't giveaway enough, song titles like "Friday The 13th", "Black Christmas", and "Frank Zito, The Maniac" should let you know exactly where this thing is headed. I could've done without the Misfits cover, though (sorry, not a fan).

Download HERE
Buy it from Razorback, you fucking cheapskate!

Metallum/Last.FM

PS: Frightmare is download post number 666 for us here at IllCon (check the 'tags'). Coincidence?