One look at the Johnny Ace Studios’ Illustrated cover of Super Kool by Electric Frankenstein should give you an idea of what this record sounds like. Released through VMS Distro, Electric Frankenstein brings punk rock to the table. This is full throttle rock & roll a la Crypt & Estrus records. It’s not exactly that innovative, but definitely fine tuned and purely powerful. They also have a successful book chronicling the band’s history and numerous gig posters. Electric Frankenstein is available through Dark Horse books.
Electric Frankenstein have been around for over ten years. They formed in 1994, and have gone through several singers and drummers. The core members are guitarist Sal Canzonieri and bassist Bill Gill. The current singer/lead guitarist is Steve Miller, and drummer John Steele also plays a third guitar on some tracks.
There are a couple of really strong tracks here. Tear It Down features some superb musicianship. It has bad ass guitar solo and interesting dual vocalizing, as well as some tricky bass notation. The drummer is no Neil Peart, but he fills in the rhythm. I also like the track Who’s Watching You. It starts off with a wailing chaotic guitar sound, and then develops into a bombastic chorus laden number with some cool off note guitar feedback ambiance.
Also featured at the end of the EP is a set of cover songs. There’s Satellite by the Sex Pistols, and Black Sabbath’s Never Say Die.
This is an EP, but I’m sure you’d get the concept of the band from hearing this release. Hell, you know what the band sounds like from reading this review. Overall, this is a tight release, with some fun covers thrown in for good measure. Nothing new, but overwhelmingly fun, and sometimes interesting and a little different.
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