Horror Blogs > TheCabinet.com Blog > Track of the Day - 5/8/2007

TheCabinet.com Blog - By TheCabinet

Track of the Day - 5/8/2007
Your Rating: Sign in to add your rating
Average Rating: 0 (0 ratings)
The Darkest of the Hillside Thickets - Goin' Down to Dunwich Listen to Goin' Down to Dunwich on Rhapsody We have explored a whole week of horror tunes that were inspired by author Edgar Allan Poe.  No doubt all of the old horror authors have probably inspired one tune here or there over the years, but few have inspired a whole band like H.P. Lovecraft did with The Darkest of the Hillside Thickets.  For the most part, the works of Lovecraft are the basis for the band's music with a special emphasis on The Cthulhu Mythos. I will tell only of the lone tomb in the darkest of the hillside thickets. The above line comes straight from H.P. Lovecraft's story, The Tomb.  A really cool line if I say so myself, so it is easy to see why the band would grab it for the name of their band.  You have to admit that it would be rather challenging to form a band and base it completely around the works of a particular author.  By its very nature, the idea is limiting and doesn't allow for a whole lot of creative freedom.  When I first heard of The Darkest of the Hillside Thickets, I thought it was a great idea, but expected them to either branch out at some point or fade away as a novelty act.  Fortunately, neither could be farther from the truth. The Darkest of the Hillside Thickets got their start up in Fraser Valley College in Abbotsford, British Columbia in 1992.  They struggled to catch on, but slowly got their name out there and started to build a cult following.  Naturally, they toured with the likes of GWAR and similarly built a reputation for donning Lovecraft-inspired costumes in concert. On the side, the bandmembers are actively involved in other creative outlets for their Lovecraft interest.  Lead vocalist Toren Atkinson has illustrated the RPG (role playing game) Call of Cthulhu and the card game Mythos.  Along with Warren Banks and others, he also co-wrote the Green Roning Publishing RPG Spaceship Zero, which was created alongside the excellent album of the same name. Goin' Down to Dunwich was inspired by the Lovecraft story, The Dunwich Horror.  It is a touching story of family, rapid aging, dark magic and of course, The Old Ones.  Okay so maybe one of those doesn't belong.  At any rate, The Dunwich Horror has long been believed to be one of the major stories of Lovecraft's Cthulhu Mythos. I'm going down to Dunwich Please don't bother waiting up With every new album, The Darkest of the Hillside Thickets impresses me.  Not only do they continue to pay tribute to the world of H.P. Lovecraft, but also make damn good music in the process.  While you might think a concept-based band might limit creativity and stunt the growth of the band, they have proven just the opposite.  While The Darkest of the Hillside Thickets might be a Lovecraft-band, they are hardly a novelty act.  Maybe that in of itself is a tribute to the epic nature and well-constructed foundation of Lovecraft's writings.  But give these guys some credit too.  After fifteen years of being together, their new album is due out this year.  I expect I will be blown away yet again.
Filed under: Music, Track of the Day	May 8, 2007, 2:02 pm | Permalink | 0 Comments
Previous: Track of the Day - 5/7/2007	Next: Track of the Day - 5/9/2007
There are 0 comments in the database.
User Comments	Order by: Most Recent | Originally Submitted
There are currently no comments for this entry.
There are 0 comments in the database.
Add Comment | Return to Index

Horror Blogs Search

Find: All Words Any Words Exact Match   Search: TheCabinet.com Blog Horror Blogs All of General