The Obnoxious UK – Horror Movie Matinee

The Obnoxious UK are an English horror punk band, we might as well get the obvious comparison out of the way first. It will come as no surprise that the shadow of The Misfits is cast over this quartet, whilst they aren’t carbon copies by any means, there are snatches in the songs where their influence bleeds through.

Impressively The Obnoxious UK have managed to avoid falling into any of the pits that horror punk bands frequently fall into. Firstly, they are no one trick pony, aside from the obvious dark punk tones, there are places where a rockabilly influence comes to the fore and there’s even a light hearted touch of dark ska for the final track, The Cottage Strangler. There are hardcore influenced tracks, but for me these don’t work as well for this band as they mask the impact of their songs. Secondly, they aren’t po-faced about their subject matter, there is dark humour present, as there is in all the best horror movies, on a number of tracks, especially on Elvis Is Dead. They even briefly stray away from the on screen horror, political points are made and expose things far more horrific than will be shown in any movie theatre.

Horror Movie Matinee certainly ticks all the boxes for fans of horror punk and is a great listen, but the main problem that hinders this album is the production, this muffles the attack and makes the album sound like an upmarket demo recording. This is a shame, with a few minor touches this could have been a horror classic rather than a b-movie, having said that who doesn’t love a b-movie from time to time? I’m looking forward to a bigger budget sequel as The Obnoxious UK are not far off making an album that would stand out in what is an overcrowded genre.

Horror Movie Matinee can be ordered from STP Records here