Eerie Von

Bad Dream  No 13 (Ghastly)
by Lex Marburger

So, creeparino Eerie Von is back to try and be spooky. Better luck next time. The 13 tracks on Bad Dream No. 13 are, in the final analysis, pretty dull. And dull is in no way spooky. Coming off as a bastardly mix of ambient and stoner rock, the songs are stagnant, with no breath of creativity, or (failing that) camp. His riffs are predictable, and the progressions play it so safe, you’d be hard-pressed to convince a neophyte that this guy used to play with Danzig. He doesn’t seem to realize that not all drones are the same, and that without a bit of cleverness, they can be extremely dull (as in “The Bone Drone”).

Even when he tries to go upbeat, like on “2 Tears in a Bucket,” he just falls flat. You’d think after all this time, he’d actually gain some guitar skills, but this has all the technical merit of your high school’s Battle of the Bands. Simply put, his lack of ability is depressing, and pitiful. Hire a studio musician. While the final track, “Benediction +2,” is a fairly interesting organ piece (“interesting” in a greasy-Goth-cutter sort of way), it’s too little, too late. His pathetic show of talent on Bad Dream No. 13 has already washed away any trace of appreciation for Eerie Von. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to go wash off this eyeliner. It’s giving me a rash.
(www.ghastlyrecords.com)