Doyle – Abominator

Abominator, the new album from former Misfits guitarist Doyle Wolfgang Von Frankenstein may tread a well worn path, but the  legendary axe man still manages to spring a few surprises along the way. Back on the scene with a new band featuring Alex Story (Cancerslug) on vocals, Dr.Chud (Misfits, Sardonica) on drums and Left Hand Graham(Let it Burn, Graves) Doyle has fired a warning shot across the bow of Jerry Only (and his current version of the Misfits) that they aren’t the only horror show in town.

As you’d expect, Doyle’s trademark brutal guitar sound takes centre stage, but unlike his previous projects ( particularly Gorgeous Frankenstein) he finally has the supporting cast that makes the most of his skills. Title track Abominator’s opening is reminiscent of The Abominable Dr Phibes (From the 1997 Misfits album American Psycho) before skipping into another trademark driving riff and Alex Storyscreams“The streets are running red with blood yeah we came into hell”.

And so we’re off then!

Learn to Bleed and Dreamingdeadgirl  follow the expected lyrical themes of blood, gore and horror all splattered with Doyle’s spiking riffs and ably supported by Dr. Chud and Left Hand Graham’s heavy bottom end.

Upon hearing such tracks as Headhunter and Valley of the Shadows it is impossible to miss the massive influence Doyle has had on generations of guitar players as these riffs wouldn’t sound out of place on any Slipknot album. In what could be seen as another swipe at his former bandmates, Land of the Dead, also the name of a recent Only-fronted Misfits release, blows that version away with the sheer ferocity of the vocals which work so cohesively with Doyles guitar work.

Cemetarysexx starts off like Concrete Blonde’s Bloodletting on speed before Love Like Murder slows the pace down slightly with Doyles guitar sounding like the sonic equivalent of a rabid dog being held back by a leash. Finally after 2 minutes it’s let off and the song springs to life, making it one of the album highlights. Hope Hell is Warm wraps the album up in the most awesome way imaginable. Doylesstuttered riffing is at its best here, before everything is accelerated into an instantly memorable chorus.

I think die hard Misfits fans and punk aficionados alike will find something for them on this album, and there’s further good news as Doyle has said in interviews that they have 2 more albums of material waiting to be laid down so it shouldn’t be long before we see something else from this horrorpunk legend.