Reviews

Melody Maker (April 1996)

Dewdrops (Spring 1996)

The Charnel House
(demo)
With sparse production that favors mainly the drummer, The Charnel House have a gloomy sounding demo tape with some good moments. The Cure-like opener, "Girl Interrupted," with its frantic heat and minor keyed synth snakings is their best offering. "Irritate" follows along the same lines: quick, dark and intriguing. "Life Shaking" is primarily a tribal drum beat with incidental backing from guitar and vocals. Some better production and mixing could turn this into an amazing track. Finally "Slattern" doesn't stray much from the others, its background keyboard carrying the melody. 7-lillies --bn

Eye Deal

Dewdrops (Spring 1996)

A demo tape from a new band from Texas. Good early 80's sounding dark pop. Like early Cure meets New Order.
Intelligent lyrics on every song. New Romantics will love it!

The Charnel House could either become the next Bauhaus or the next Nine Inch Nails. Now, those might sound extremes, but the implication here is that they seem to be fostering two different sounds: dark, churning, lyric-ended Murphyism and powerful "I'm yelling at you!" synth/guitar bombastery. I hear their hyper-speed rock, full of early 80's keyboards played with such intensity that they push it right over the top. It reminds me of Kommunity FK for some reason, or a darker, gloomier Modern English. I hear their X-Files spook-synth and their brilliant chord changes. I hear them pushing the envelope in so many directions that I found it hard to really pin them down long enough to know what I'm enjoying -- but it's good. 7 lillies -- pm

Catch (Spring 1996)


	The Charnel House have a definate Cure influence in their style of writing. The guirar and bass work really well together to make layers of sound that make the songs simplistic in style but teally well put together, which reminds me a lot of the type of material from Disintegration. The keyboards add a lot to the songs as well, though a larger assortment of sounds could really make a difference. The vocals are quite nice too, very U.K. sounding, and nothing of what I'd expected from a Texas band. Overall some really promising demos from The Charnel House. I'd love to hear new material in the near future.

Stepping Out (August 1995)

The burgeoning Denton music scene is filled with artists fighting for notoriety with sparkling harmonies, intense lyrics, catchy melodies and any other musical aspect that makes them stand apart from their musical peers.
One of the newest additions to the Denton scene, The Charnel House, Is seeking yet another way to find a niche in an ever-intensifying music scene.
"We're deep, kind of heavy keyboards and guitar," said keyboardist Clint Alphin. "We get a lot of comparison to The Cure."
Musicians rode their keyboards on the New Wave until it crashed into the shores of an alternative nation. Lush synthetic string melodies are gone, and vocal harmonies fill the gaps between guitar licks and drum riffs. The Charnel House embraces its Roland and uses it to add a different note to not only its own music, but to the Denton scene as well.
Without much flash, bands have trouble breaking into the scene, and The Charnel House is a band that relies on its music much more than its flash.
"We're tight in shows that we can control the atmosphere," Michael Pinson, bassist, said.
"Kharma is where we're most comfortable," added guitarist/vocalist Jason Hensel. "That's where we've played the most and It's what we're used to."
The band is influenced by musicians from Pink Floyd to Thelonius Monk, and the deep sounds of their heroes echo from their instruments. It's not music to dance to, but more to be taken in and pondered. Even their name, The Charnel House, is a reference to literary -- specifically "Macbeth."
Hensel takes on most of the lyrical writing duties and the band works together on the music. Drummer Kurt Pierce rounds out the quartet...

Undertow Web 'Zine (December 1999)

THE CHARNEL HOUSE
The Charnel House
This Texan outfit has nothing to do with heavy metal. The band is based in Dallas and the nine songs on this CD are mainly influenced by early eighties dark pop and new wave. All songs are pretty simple but well put together. The keyboards are the main driving force behind the arrangements. If you are into The Cure then you have to check this band out. Although they hail from Texas the singer sounds British. The lyrics are by the way also well thought of. You can contact them via this E-mail address. (7) Reviewed by Bruno Van de Velde.