by Peter Nielsen
Do you remember last Halloween when we were in the midst of October Spooky Flix Fest 2013, I did a review for an album by Sam Haynes called Welcome to the Horror Show? Well, ladies and gentlemen, it’s now time for another one! While it’s not yet Halloween, the new album is called Ghost Stories and any time is a good time for a great ghost story, wouldn’t you agree?
Sam Haynes is a “horror musician” from London and has composed music that has been used in haunts and theme parks in the UK as well as in the U.S. He has worked as a night club DJ and is also a music producer. His music could be called electro horror soundtrack music and he’s very much influenced and inspired by 70’s and 80’s horror music scores. One of his main influences is John Carpenter and many of the tracks sure feel very “carpenteresk”, but I think I can also hear bits and pieces inspired by Italian produced horror flicks too. I’m a huge fan of those, so in my book that’s not a bad thing.
The new album is chock-full of hauntingly eerie music and with tracks like Haunts, Ghost Stories, The Other Side and The Chills, you know you’re in for one hell of a ride, should you choose to get on. We also get to visit the creepy world of the funfairs with tracks like Fear of Clowns and Carnival and I can promise you that it’s not a pleasant visit at all. The track that mostly resembles a John Carpenter tune, in my opinion any way, is the one simply called 13 and, yes you guessed it, it’s a great track.
The album is a good mix of slow chilling tunes and some equally chilling up-tempo ones and I use the word chilling about those too, because there’s nothing bright and happy about them… Oh, no… not at all! It’s all dark and atmospheric as hell. Ghost Stories is an album that would actually go extremely well with some of the abandoned places I’ve visited over the years. Both the huge menacing factories and the small creepy houses! I’m not sure that I would have dared play it while there though, but still…
And if you say that you’re not easily scared or affected, why not play this CD in your earphones while you take a walk around your neighborhood in the semi-darkness or while taking a stroll through the woods… and THEN we’ll talk about not being affected, ok? To be perfectly honest, it doesn’t even have to be in the dark… you can listen to this in the bright glare of the sun and STILL be creeped out!
Sam Haynes has once again made an album that will scare the bejeezus out of you, but in a good way, mind you, because you’ll want to go back once you’ve finished it. A good ghost story is worth going back to, again and again, right? I did! Many times!
If you want to check out, or get your clammy hands on some Ghost Stories yourselves, THIS is where you go!
So, until next time, my friends… Be sure to check under your bed before turning out the light!