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Thickets
Snippets ALL
THE OOZE THAT'S FIT TO PRINT ã
ITEM:
The long awaited (by some) CD tribute, For Lucio Fulci: A Symphony of
Fear, has finally been released. This is the double CD set for which
we wrote our song "House of Clocks" lo those many years ago.
Lucio Fulci is an Italian horror film director, and "House of
Clocks" is of course an homage to the only Fulci film I had seen at
that time, which bears the same title. After the loss of contact with the
organizer and the passing of quite some time, we came to the conclusion
that the CD would never be released, and decided to plop "House of
Clocks" on our reissue of Cthulhu Strikes Back so that fans
could hear it. Aye, there's the Shub. Symphony of Fear also
contains tracks by Another Dead Junkie, former member of Ministry Mike
Scaccia, Penis Flytrap, and our arch nemesis, GWAR. Graveside
Entertainment 950-23 Blanding Blvd. Suite 311 Orange park, Fl 32065
Credit Card Orders please phone: 904-772-9042
Fax 904-276-1757 www.graveside.com ã
ITEM:
The People of Innsmouth Webbed Page! I feel it is my duty to bring to your
attention the fact that we now have a web page to go with this newsletter!
Warren "Comfortable" Banks just completed a full course load of
Esperanto, but managed to pick up some HTML skills on the side, and you
can get up-to-date concert listings, band news, and relevant links right HERE! Enjoy! ã
ITEM:
Dead Space God Central, in an effort to raise funds for Project: Space
Ship Zero, recently held an auction featuring many things from the
ridiculous to the sublime. We sold off lots of Star Wars merchandise,
Cthulhoid jewelry, mummified frogs, and all that jazz, but we still have a
lot of back issues of Crypt of Cthulhu and some RPG supplements. To
inquire on price and availability, contact us!
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Psychosexual Anxiety and other Repressed Themes in the
Music of The Darkest of the Hillside Thickets
A Psychoanalytic and Textual Approach. by C.
Quinbury, M.D., D. Litt. (UCLA Clinical Psychiatry, Professor
Emeritus)
The Great Old Ones
“Tarred and Feathered”: Many of these songs require no deep knowledge
of Freudian or textual analysis in order to understand them. This
disgusting paean to sadism is quite overt.
However, there is a subtle subtext that is very revealing. Most of the torture in the song is directed at ‘them’;
this is merely the usual undirected misanthropy of the socially
maladjusted personality. However,
the last four lines are specifically directed against ‘her’.
This misogyny is coupled with the sexual/anal sadism of ‘feeding
barbed wire up her colon’. This
is most likely the work of someone who has become frustrated at an
unending string of heterosexual rejections; a latent homosexual drive is
indicated by the anal fixation. This
may seem farfetched at first, but once one notices that the band’s name
can be anagrammed into, “He likes the total fresh shitted dick”, this
assertion can be taken as proven. “My Tank”:
Again, this song requires little study for even the novice
analyst to comprehend. The
final lines of the song indicate that the author identifies with a tank, a
vehicle with great defensive capabilities which can “save me from
hate”, indicating a strong fear of rejection.
The emphasis placed upon the tank’s “great big gun / that fires
bullets that weigh a ton” clearly stems from the author’s deep-rooted
sexual inadequacy. “One Gilled Girl”:
Although some actual love and intimacy appear to be
present in the song, a deeper look uncovers some more ominous details.
One stumbling block of the relationship appears to be that
“she’s only got one gill”. A
gill, of course, is a slit, and a slit is a vulgar term for the female
genitalia. Complaining that
“she’s only got one gill” means that no woman would ever be
satisfactory. This is most
likely a defense mechanism against rejection, or it could just as well
bolster the theory of a burgeoning homosexual tendency.
“Jimmy the Squid”:
Misogyny rears its ugly head once again.
The song describes women as unfaithful creatures.
The murderous violence directed toward the wife’s lover suggests
a sadistic homosexuality, as does the song’s preoccupation with phallic
squid. “Diggin’ Up the World”:
A simple song in which the narrator
discovers that no matter how hard he tries, he will never find a girl.
The recurring themes of sexual inadequacy and latent homosexuality
are again strongly apparent. “A Thousand Fists”:
The latent homosexuality of the previous songs now
progresses to an overt stage. The
narrator’s plans are upset by a woman, when she finds, burns and buries
his ‘nameless tome’. This
little black book undoubtedly contained the names of his homosexual
lovers. Maddened by this, the
narrator uses his fists to exact some punishment on the woman -- a
punishment so dreadful he cannot tell us what it is.
Nevertheless, the narrator takes comfort that his homosexual
liaisons will continue unabated: “I hear his call, I can’t escape that
thrall.” “Big Robot Dinosaur”:
Little analysis required. A social misfit wreaks a terrible vengeance on the society
that rejects him. The fantasy
of anal intercourse with the narrator’s father is somewhat notable:
After going down to the basement, “Dad said ‘Why don’t you climb on
in?’ and unscrewed the hatch in the back.” The narrator then squirms
(sperms) into the innards. The
father struggles unsuccessfully to “conceal his pride”, and shows his
son how to operate the controls. “Mustard Gas”:
It doesn’t take very much thought to determine what
“Mustard Gas” stands for. Syphilis.
She keeps it in the bedroom, a cloud (of spirochetes) hangs in the
bathroom. It brings a
sickness characterized by skin lesions, blood from the nose and ruined
sight, all diagnostic of late stage tertiary syphilis.
Although the narrator states how happy he is to have gotten his
“Mustard Gas” from her, one may be sure that a vengeful misogyny
seethes just beneath the surface.
“Please God No”:
“Can you see my body / Can you see it grow / Do you
see it throbbing / Won’t you watch it glow?” The preoccupation of the
narrator with his erect genitalia is plain.
However, it is not the usual narcissistic fantasy.
The next line makes clear how he feels about his penis: ‘I
don’t want it’. He
desires someone to stop the unsightly trend by taking away his red-veined
oddly-angled stone - a clear reference to his rock-hard, strangely-shaped,
fully-engorged penis. This
fantasy of castration and emasculation is common among those who suffer
from gender identity disorder. “Sixgun Gorgon Dynamo”:
I fear I despair at analyzing this
composition. However, I will merely point out that the middle stanza is
graced by a number of peculiar neologisms - nonsense words that have
meaning only in the disordered brain of someone suffering from a severe
delusional psychosis. Drug therapy intervention is indicated.
Cthulhu Strikes Back
“Shoggoths Away”:
The common fantasy of being endowed with enormous
genitalia dominates the song. The
author wishes us to believe that he has a tool so large that he can use it
to pack things in the bay of a B-17, a symbolic activity emblematic of
exaggerated anal intercourse with a masculine warplane.
The ejaculates of this monstrous organ (they come from ‘the
pole’) are mindless iridescent protoplasms with marvellous powers.
Nevertheless, nobody wants them.
Despite the (totally imaginary) magnitude of the author’s
genitalia, he still experiences a complete lack of sexual gratification.
Even when lying about his sexual prowess, he is doomed to frustration. “Hookworm”:
In the liner notes, the author disingenuously claims to
have no knowledge of what the song is about.
But how can one mistake the meaning of having tiny creatures living
inside your body, making “holes all through my privates”?
Once again we see the ravages of syphilis.
Further confirming this diagnosis are the references to going
insane, which is a frequent concomitant of untreated syphilitic infection.
The reference to “Yuggoth on the outer rim” is probably a
neologistic euphemism for a syphilitic chancre located on the external
periphery of the anus. “Protein”:
The theme of female rejection leading to violence and
homosexual experimentation is hardly worth recounting one more time.
After mutilating a woman, that author dreams fantasies of revenge
after “he filled me up with protein.” “Burrow Your Way to My Heart”:
A last-ditch attempt by the author to
gain the affections of a woman. He
finally displays some honesty in admitting his sexual inadequacy: “Do
you have any love for me? I am small.” However, this attempt is doomed
to failure, as the plea for help devolves into a horrible fetishistic
fantasy involving parasites -- a fantasy bound to frighten away any woman,
especially one scarred by sexual penetrations at the hands of her father. “Worship Me Like a God”:
The author’s loins are on fire, his seed is
spreading all over the world, and he wishes to be worshipped like a god.
I have never before encountered such a megalomaniacal case of
overcompensation for sexual inadequacy.
In summation, the socially maladjusted degenerates responsible for this
music have met with near complete ostracism from society, total rejection
from heterosexual intimacy (leading to obscure as well as overt
contemplation of homosexuality), and have turned their energies toward
misogynistic fantasies of revenge and generalized bloodlust, while
entertaining delusional fantasies of omnipotence and exaggerated virility. I have alerted the appropriate authorities within the mental health and
law enforcement agencies of Canada, and urge others to do likewise if you
uncover any devotees suffering under the influence of this hideous moral
blight upon the world.
Dear Mr. Atkinson We regret to inform you that nothing has changed. Our men our still ill.
We fear the worst is yet to come. As the nights grow longer so does our
longing for home. Yesterday Hillbert was out scouting on the ridge when
the sickness seized him. We did not know until it was too late there was
nothing we could do…. We have no more time and I don’t think we will
make the delivery. Please, you know what to do… Pray for us pray for our mothers. Unsigned. Hey I just wanted to say that I think you guys are awesome. I downloaded the
mp3s you had on your site and the first time I listened to them, they just
sounded like some normal garage music, but after having listened to them a
few times I came to the conclusion that you were one of the absolutely
best rock band I've ever heard, with a very special sound. It doesn't hurt
that you're a band devoted to maybe the best horror author ever either :) Jesper
Svedberg, internet Greetings and salutations, Again, i have returned to your
webpage, and again you have entertained me
to no end! I loved the screensaver... laughed my ass off when the cultist
came out and resurrected you guys... that was cool! I noticed that you are
sold out of the Great Old Ones CD. That's too bad 'cause that happens to
be the CD i wanted to buy!!! Oh well, just thought I would say hey again
and ask if you could let me know when you have a spare copy of GOO. I just recently finished The Best of HPL: Blood-Curdling Tales of
Horror and the Macabre... excellent book! One of my
favourite stories was "The Shadow Over Innsmouth." Also loved
"The Thing on the Doorstep" and "The Dunwich Horror"
was a killer (no pun intended)! I never really got into reading HPL before
this book...I just couldn't get into the way he wrote...kinda like S.
King, talks forever then finally gets to the meat of the story. Now, don't
get me wrong, I have always liked HPL's ideas... I have played the RPG for
years, and love the concept! But now I am an even greater fan, and will
continue reading Lovecraft 'til i die... or Father Dagon comes to take me
over the edge of Devil Reef, which ever comes first.... Again, you guys rule, and i would very much like a copy of
GOO when it becomes available. Take care and good luck in everything! Your Fan from Ohio, Don Tackett ps: you guys wouldn't
happen to be headed this way any time soon would
you? i'ld love to see you guys live... that would rock!
If we had a dime for every time someone asked us to go on tour, we would have enough money to go on tour. Toren, Mike
(Mignola) lives in Portland ,my home town (well I live in Gresham, a
suburb). I see him a lot for some reason. I'm the worlds biggest Hellboy
fan (Step up to the plate Mr. Thickets). He's a really nice guy. I had him
sign my Hellboy collections at a con last year. When I saw him on the
street he remembered me (I'm kind of a big guy) and we talked for awhile
about the Hellboy film (thank you, Old Ones), and I brought up your band.
He had said that he has heard you guys, I told him I couldn't find
anything by your band, and he said that stinks. What's the deal with your
albums? I would give my left arm for something! All I've
heard was a mixed tape a friend made and I saw your show when you were in
town. You know, since I talked to "The God Of Modern Comics"
about you ,you should send me a free promo CD or something (hint,hint).
the Hellyboy film is going to rule! It sounds so neat. On
the topic of comics, are you reading the comic The Invisibles? It has alot
of Lovecraft undertones, and for my money is the best thing being put out
on a monthly basis. I could send you some sample comics if intrested. I'm
a nice guy. Anyway ,write me back and I'll give all I know about the
Hellboy film. Jason Campbell, Gresham,OR Please send your left arm c/o The Darkest of the Hillside Thickets,
302-1015 W. 13th Ave, Vancouver BC V6H 1N1. Thank you for your interest in Lovecraft Draft Cider.
At the present time, our cider is only available on tap at a local
tavern here in Providence, RI, USA. However, due to the overwhelming
response we have had we should change this. If and when this changes, we
will update our website with the approriate information for those
requesting labels, caps, etc., or those who are interested in the Cider.
Once again, thanks for your interest in our Cider. Maury A. Ryan mryan@loa.com Toren, Thanks for the copy of your newsletter and the free Mythos cards.
Unfortunately I haven't heard anything by your band but the newsletter was
still pretty interesting. The only "Cthulhu" music I've ever
heard is a track by a dodgy American heavy metal band, Beowulf, called
"The Hounds of Tindalos" and an equally dodgy Sebadoh b-side
called "Calling Yog-Soggoth." I haven't played either track in
years and since my turntable is currently KO'd I can't play them at the
moment. However I don't think I'm missing anything. As for your query
regarding the Cthulhu scene in Scotland as far as I'm aware there isn't
one. Since Dagon went bust I don't think anyone in the UK is producing any
Cthulhu/Lovecraftian magazines. Graeme Phillips, Renfrew, Scotland. Except of course for
Strange Aeons, published by
High Land Press. 1 Brookside, Clachamish, Portree, Isle of Skye IV51 9NY,
Scotland. cimaciver@aol.com Toren: The first time I heard your music, I was in a little backwater town in
Northern Ontario, called Leeburn. I was at a friend's house. The friend, I
should explain, is from London, which is where in fact he got the CD.
However, the closest Metropolitan area nearby, Sault Ste. Marie, did not
have a record store that had even heard of you guys. So I figured, hey why
not check the local comic shops? There I did have some luck, I ran into a
customer who did have your CDs, but he was from out of town (I don't know
where) and he was no help.
AND THE SAGA CONTINUES... Along come "Nick's Dreams of Acting", so I audition and am
accepted at the University of Windsor (in none other than Windsor
Ontario...) And, since I am new to the city I don't know of ANY privately
owned record stores, so I tried - Music World, CD-Plus warehouse, and
various other fairly large far reaching vendors, but to no avail.... Until
I thought about the net, and BINGO!!!! I found you guys and here I am. Now
I know that that whole thing was rather long and ridiculous, but I am so
happy that I found you guys because I love your music! I tell people about
you, and most people are like "ummmm, no, never heard of em!"
Getting to the point, thank you so much for replying and above all making
really cool music. Cheers, Nick Morrison Hail
Toren!, Mum, I have left my last place of domicile and have discovered a new
dimension. The Great Olds Ones through your name are spreading. And as I
made the promise they shall continue to spread even in my new home. To
make a clearing for the great coming that will destroy all of humanity! So
Hail Cthulhu! Hail Yug-Sothoth.... Shane Bauer, Dekalb IL
It's been too long since I've had a good rant about Mike Mignola's Hellboy
comics.
In Hellboy: Box Full of Evil, the myth Mignola monkeys with is an
old, old story about Saint Dunstan of England, who, around the year 1000
A.D., was believed to have captured the devil by the nose with a pair of
blacksmith tongs. In the original myth, the devil escapes with little
injury, other than, perhaps, to his pride. But in this story, it is
revealed that Dunstan thought better than to let the demon go, and after
much beating and punishing, shoved him into a box, sealed the box with
holy powers, and hid it from the world.
What strange fate awaits our paranormal P.I.s? Pick up Hellboy: Box
Full of Evil, and find out. The first issue of this two-issue
miniseries hits comics shops August 11.
Hellboy: Box Full of Evil #1 (of 2)
By Mike Mignola; with Matt Smith and Ryan Sook; cover by Mike Mignola
As some of you may know, there is a Hellboy movie in the works, with a
tentative release date of Summer, 2000. Lloyd Levin (Mystery Men, Event
Horizon, Boogie Nights, The Rocketeer) is directing, with Guillermo
Del Toro (Mimic) polishing off the third draft of the script, as
well as directing. The tone of the screenplay is apparently very faithful
to that of the comics, and the story is based on the Seed of
Destruction comic series, which is the best to date of the Hellboy
books. Del Toro says "the movie would obviously have the ‘silent
German film look’ that both Mike and I love.”
The pre-production artwork reproduced here has been created by famous
SF/Fantasy artist Wayne Barlow.
STRANGE
AEOLNS Edited
by Calum Iain MacIver. REVIEWED
BY MACBIN The
Goods: An ongoing zine. The
Details: Each issue contains a Lovecraft tale
adapted in comic format, "Creeping Celluloid" column on
Lovecraftian film, "From Beyond" review section, and many other
fascinating articles & occasional other fringe material. Just out is
issue #8 with a look back at Stanley Kubrick, The
Bottom Line: Great
stuff! The comics are well done, and so is the writing. Each issue is £2
payable to Calum MacIver at 1 Brookside, Clachamish, Portree, Isle of Skye,
IV51 9NY Scotland. Email:
Cimaciver@aol.com DARK
HORSE PRESENTS #142: CODEX ARCANA Dark
Horse Comics REVIEWED
BY MACBIN The
Goods: A comic with three stories in tribute to
Lovecraft. The
Details: The first story, "The Bookroom
Horror" is a tale written by Mike Mignola and illustrated in his
style by Ryan Sook. It is a tale of eldritch tomes and tentacles. A star
vampirish monster, a ghost, and De Vermis Mysteriis feature in Scott Allie
and Galen Showman's "Worm Song." Lovecraft's "From
Beyond" is pastiched in "The Keyhole." Round it up with an
enjoyable essay by Hellboy editor Scott Allie, and we'll forgive his
mispelling of Cthulhu. The
Bottom Line:
Essential for the Lovecraft collector. Available at your local comic shop,
or contact Dark Horse comics 10956 SE Main St, Milwaukie OR 97222.
www.darkhorse.com THE
ITHAQUA CYCLE NOT
REVIEWED The
Goods: A Lovecraft anthology. The
Details: 13 tales related to Ithaqua, the
Wind-Walker, collected together for the first time. Includes stories by
August Derleth, Brian Lumley, Algernon Blackwood, Joseph Payne Brennan,
& others. The
Bottom Line:
$12.95, Chaosium Inc (512) 336-8269 SPAWN
OF THE OLD ONES VOLUME
II Compiled
by Todd Fischer. REVIEWED
BY MACBIN The
Goods: A directory of Lovecraft Punks. The
Details: More artists, editors, publishers,
moviemakers, etc active in the Lovecraft field…84 pages, 5.5 X
8.5", $7 Canadian postage paid ($5.25 US, $9 overseas) Includes:
Warren Banks, Dave Carson, Don D'Ammassa, Keith Allen Daniels, Robert
Fugger, Perry M. Grayson, Keith Herber, S. R. Jones, S.T. Joshi, Rebecca
Kemp, Allen Koszowski, Forrest Lancaster, J.B. Lee, Peter Levi, DF Lewis,
Richard Longcoat, CJeff Miller, A.S. Moore, Rainer Schmidt, Gary Sumpter,
John Tynes, Corey Whitwoth & more. Illustrated. The
Bottom Line: If you want to systematically
eliminate everyone in the Lovecraft circle, you will need this 'who's
who" guide! Cheques should be made payable to Todd or Melanie Fischer
406-1540 Victoria Park Avenue, Scarborough, ON, M1L 4S1 Canada
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THE
INDEX www.holycow.com/thickets/
is our official website. Mp3 files can be downloaded. www.primalbeat.com/rock/darkest/darkest.html
Burrow
Your Way to my Heart wave file. www.look-ear.com/canada/bazaar.html
has Walking on the Moon RealMedia video. The look-ear.com site is bassist
Bob Fugger's playground, and there you can find his current film project
"From Beyond." www.ranttv.com
has life concert footage in Quicktime 4, including new song "The
Innsmouth Look" www.mp3.com/artists/22/the_darkest_of_the_hillside_thickets.html
has two of our songs online, Hookworm Live and Six Gun Gorgon Dynamo alt.music.darkest-of-the-hillside-thickets
– The newsgroup based on the band. http://members.xoom.com/Zackschwartz/thickets.htm
"Zack's Thickets Shrine" http://www.nextlevel.com/vanlive/nowplay.htm
for audio of an entire live show in Vancouver, plus a text interview with
the band. http://members.sockets.net/~blackgoat/ has stills and long wav file of "Worship Me Like A God" in the 'Mythos Soundbytes' section
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If you will pardon an informality on my part, I wish to discuss the
etiology of the current paper before delving into the mysteries of this
case. Early in 1998, I was browsing through a local record store that I
had not previously explored, located not many blocks from my Hollywood
home.
Mignola’s new miniseries is called Box Full of Evil, and it stars
both Hellboy and his amphibious sidekick Abe Sapien. This time, the worlds
greatest paranormal investigators head to Europe, where an English manor
has been burglarized by a strange man who cast a spell on the inhabitants
of the house and walked away with an old metal box and a pair of metal
tongs. 
But apparently the box wasn’t hidden well enough. Now an old nemesis of
Hellboy—Igor Bromhead—has the box, and there’s no way he’s just
going to hand it over when Hellboy and Abe come knocking—especially once
it’s been opened. 
