Wolfmen Of Mars : Might Be Evil

Wolfmen Of Mars fill a very specific musical void in my life; the vibes of my favorite childhood late night creature feature show called Nightmare Theater, which aired every Friday night on Channel 55, early White Zombie, a haunted western, and heavy metal electronic music. All of those elements intertwine and feed off one another in the music of Wolfmen Of Mars.

Each album feels very cinematic, maybe especially so since there’s no vocals. But this isn’t imagined score stuff. This is spooky rock and roll, man. Big drums, big guitars, and big vibes you can sink your teeth into.

Wolfmen Of Mars’ latest, Might Be Evil, pulls us into a world of late night riffs and Gothic undertones that indeed might be evil, but also might be the band’s best album yet.

For me it’s all about a mood. I don’t care what the mood is, but an album needs to set a mood. Melancholy, angry, uplifting,…doesn’t matter, just paint some vibes in my ears. Wolfmen Of Mars does that right out of the gate with the menacing “Overture of the Rat King”. Imagine a gangly musical beast that’s part Goblin and part Danny Elfman and you’ll have an idea of the spectacle you’re about to experience. “Until A Ghost” is like a haunted metal version of the B-52s. Full on metal riffage with just a hint of whimsey for good measure.

“Channel Surfing Through The Hotel Window” puts me in mind of some of Charlie Clouser’s score work, with a bit of Rob thrown in for good measure. But no matter how heavily Wolfmen Of Mars douses that tasty analog synth over top there’s still this element of dusty westerns and exploring abandonded steel mills looking for blue collar ghosts on their lunch break. There’s just enough jangle in their songs to remind you these cats(or wolves) are a bonafide rock band.

There’s greatness everywhere here; from the Moon Duo-esqe “Creeping In” to the 70s prog vibes of “Smokestack Aerostar” to the melancholy and mournful album closer “The Winding Unknown”. Though even in the quietest moments these East Coast ghoulies can add enough robo-clanking and industrial rust to make even the mournful menacing.

Might Be Evil does not disappoint, finding bits of the dark, the morose, and the maudlin and breathing some serious rarified air in it to make this long player just woozy enough. This is rock and roll and horror coming together in the best way possible. Music for the sophisticated reprobate.

7.9 out of 10

‘Might Be Evil’ is out now. Buy it here.