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DE-COMPOSER FRANK PETRUCCELLI PRESENTS MUSIC TO DIE FOR :
MUSIC FROM AND INSPIRED BY KEVIN MCCURDY'S HAUNTED MANSION
And now for something completely different, a man with a tape recorder up his nose! OK, not really, but I do have something a little out of the ordinary for you today, it's not Metal, it's not Punk, it's not even Goth... well, there could be a good argument made for Goth, but that's not the point. The point is that this is not your standard music disc, however, it's creepy as hell, and has a coolness factor that's right off the charts, so that's why it has been included here for your reading pleasure. As you probably already assumed from the title of the disc, it is a kind of companion piece, something that goes along with making your way through a creepy, horror-filled haunted house. Not just any old hastily put together haunted house mind you, but rather Kevin McCurdy's famous Haunted Mansion in Wappingers Falls, NY! Here we have 15 tracks of eerie sounds, and voices that guide you on your dark journey. Now, don't go thinking that this is just another one of those bargain-basement CDs you find at the local corner store every Halloween. Not at all, those are just lame collections of random sounds; you know a creaking door, some thunder, a scream or two... they're all actually quite pathetic. This CD plays out more like an old radio program. You can lay back, shut your eyes, and let the sounds ignite your imagination as you visit one horrific location after another. Also included on this disc are 16 (yes that's right, sixteen) instrumental bonus tracks! These ones are more in the film score background music vein, and are just brimming with old-school gothic atmosphere. By old-school, I mean atmosphere like you find in those early fog-filled Universal Dracula movies, and the older Roger Corman flicks like "The Premature Burial" and "Pit And The Pendulum". You know that thick combined sense of darkness, dread and anticipation. Even when nothing scary is happening on the screen, you still had that feeling that something was about to happen. That's the feeling this disc instills in the listener, and once it gets you, it won't let up. This is a no-brainer must-buy for Halloween nuts, hardcore Goths, and those that dig horror movie sound tracks. This release is actually the first from Frank Petruccelli, and is now a few years old. Over the next little while I'll be introducing you to his two other horror-themed releases, but until then, you'll just have to wait. For more info about this creepy platter, and to find out how to get your bony hands on it, check out musictodiefor.com.
RATING = 8 Horrorscape (Released 1999)
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DE-COMPOSER FRANK PETRUCCELLI PRESENTS MUSIC TO DIE FOR :
MUSIC TO DIE FOR
Based on the success of his last CD made for Kevin McCurdy's Haunted Mansion, Frank Petruccelli decided to create a new horrific soundscape for our listening pleasure. This time out, we have 16 film score styled instrumental pieces that are dark, foreboding, and ominous. The effect this disc will have on you depends on how much attention you're willing to give it. If you try spinning it while going about your daily routine, you really won't get anything out of it, and quite frankly, you might wonder why you bothered. However, if you can sit back in your favorite chair, and relax while these sonic demons slither from your stereo, then you'll be able to be transported to another place and time. If you close your eyes, you can almost imagine that you are in the middle of a movie. You could be looking into those devastating eyes of Barbara Steele in Mario Bava's "Black Sunday", or trying to keep one step ahead of an undead Boris Karloff in Karl Freund's "Mummy", or fighting your way through an eerie fog in any early gothic Hammer film. Hell, if you have a couple drinks in you before hand, I swear you can almost reach out and touch the cold granite of the tombstones. This disc has the ability to both relax you, and to plant unwarranted fears into your subconscious mind at the same time. Frank has proven that he is now a force to be taken seriously in this little known sub genre. Those that collect the soundtracks to all their favorite fright flicks should definitely be giving this a look, especially if the bulk of your horror collection falls between 1930 and 1960. Halloween at your house can now be 365 days a year.
RATING = 8 Horrorscape (Released 2001)
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DE-COMPOSER FRANK PETRUCCELLI PRESENTS MUSIC TO DIE FOR :
KEVIN MCCURDY'S HAUNTED MANSION: 25 YEARS OF FEARS
Well, after three long years, Frank is back mixing it up with Kevin McCurdy. He has put together a new collection of thirteen dark, very atmospheric, film-score style audio tracks that "reflect some of the best years and rooms of Kevin McCurdy's Haunted Mansion over the past quarter of a century". Why 13 you ask? Well, I guess because 666 songs wouldn't fit. This recording is very professional, and very polished, more so than Frank's past efforts, and at times feels sort of reminiscent of Glenn Danzig's "Black Aria" CD from '93. Each track here has the ability to instill fear in the listener, but each one has its own distinct flavor. Depending on your personal phobias, and what in particular makes your skin crawl, you'll find some cuts more effective than others. However it's almost guaranteed, that if you give this disc your undivided attention for its duration, you will feel a shiver crawl down your spine on more than one occasion. If you're a fan of Mr. Petruccelli's earlier work, you'll love this new one. For new comers, it's hard to say where you should start your dark journey, but this is as good a disc as any of the others. I double-dog dare you to walk these "Haunted Halls."
RATING = 8.5 Horrorscape (Released 2002)
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DE-COMPOSER FRANK PETRUCCELLI PRESENTS MUSIC TO DIE FOR :
MORBID MELODIES
Well, it's been a couple of years, but Mr. Petruccelli, or should I say, the "De-Composer" known as Mr. Petruccelli, is back with yet another collection of eerie sonic entities to score you waking nightmares with. This collection differs a bit from his purely haunted house inspired works, and more closely resembles his "Music To Die For" disc from a couple years back. The haunted house discs were more focused on a specific sort of fear, namely that of a dark, claustrophobic old mansion, while Morbid Melodies seems to have a wider breadth of inspiration. Although, there are still some tracks here that are based on Kevin McCurdy's Haunted Mansion attraction, (Garden Of Evil, Grimmer Fairy Tale, etc.) so you can't escape the old house completely. There is a lot of majestic, sweeping, and very ominous sounding stuff here. One often gets the feeling that this could be the background music as you journey through Dante's nine circles of Hell. So, to put it mildly, we have a varied mix of creepy, soundtrack inspired chills. Or as the De-composer himself describes it, Morbid Melodies ranges from "suspense to gothic horror to just plain demented and everything in between, a dark rollercoaster of horror"! That pretty much hits the nail right on the head. You get a mix of ambient, industrial, orchestral, and some creepy spoken word. If you've dug any of the man's previous work, this should impress as well. My only minor complaint is that there might be too much of a mix of elements going on. It may have been better to separate some of this material, write a bit more, and come out with two "themed" CDs instead of one that's a bit of a hodge-podge of ideas. But, I'm really just nit-picking at this point. So now, just like Al Jourgensen and Ministry told us all those years ago, every day is Halloween.
RATING = 7.5 Horrorscape (Released 2004)
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