The Death and Life of… by The Deadlines (Review)
When I read the bio of The Deadlines on the Cornerstone web site, they seemed like just another in the endless line of punk bands ready to stake their claim at the festival. Garage punk was the best description given by the bio, which really didn’t trip my trigger. Luckily, I overheard a conversation about the band where I heard three words that rung in my ears like church bells: “Blood Spitting Vampires.” I drooled at the thought and nearly cursed the bio for almost causing me to skip such an event.
Sure enough, I watched as zombie-like men dressed in white shirts and skinny black ties spat blood onto the audience during the crowd favorite “Vampires In Love.” The violent movements of their bodies as they flew across stage and occasionally jumped onto the audience caught my attention and drew me closer to the “punk” band I had never intended to give the time of day. By the end of the set, as they fell to the floor, I knew they were my answer to the untimely break up of Blaster the Rocketman. The question was, as they crawled their blood-drenched bodies off the stage, could they capture this on an album?
Open the case of the CD and you see what a younger Cure would have looked like if they had been dead for three days. If you’re a Joy Electric fan, you’ll also notice the obvious resemblance of Shaun Coffin (if that is his real name) to Ronnie Martin. Of course, he would have to be the evil twin that was separated at birth, but the resemblance is uncanny at any rate. The photo shoot for the sleeve was also all done on a gloomy, gray day in, yes, a cemetery. Were you expecting anything else?
Oh yeah, there’s also a CD in there, too.
What’s better than the fact they spit blood at live shows? Well, they don’t abuse phony British accents or sport blue hair (and they call themselves a punk band!). However, if you strip away the gore, you find yourself with an early Ramones album, which is much more interesting and creative than the Huntingtons. There are similar riffs and guitar sounds as each track averages a mere three minutes, but there is also an added bonus to the dark garage punk. The unearthly organ played by “The Creature” creates a restless cemetery feel that helps support the band’s image. The opening lines to the first track chill you with goose flesh as the album seems to creep from the depths of the grave and blast you away with forceful distortion and vengenace. I’ve never heard an organ abused in such an aggressive manner.
A quick glance at the song list and you know you’re in for a hauntingly delicious time. Each title (“Go-Go To The Graveyard,” “Murder Creek Road,” “Dead Indeed”) resembles a ’50s horror/sci-fi movie that might show at a drive-in. The frightful lyrics do justice as do the brutal sounds of half-dead men flailing away on their instruments. The vocals of “Coffin” are much more diverse and almost seductive in contrast to 6′3″ Joey Ramone’s. The Deadlines have taken punk and forced it to be as creative as possible, compared to much of the punk found on Tooth and Nail Records.
Written by Nolan Shigley.