''The Haunting'' is the first full-length album by the American

deathrock Deathrock (or death rock) is a rock music subgenre that merges punk rock and post-punk with Gothic fiction, gothic and glam rock visuals and elements of horror film scores. Often overlapping with, and sometimes considered a subgenre of, gothic ...

gothic rock Gothic rock (also called goth rock or simply goth) is a style of rock music that emerged from post-punk in the United Kingdom in the late 1970s. The first post-punk bands which shifted toward dark music with gothic overtones include Siouxsie an ...

band

Theatre of Ice Theatre of Ice was an American early deathrock band that formed in the Nevada desert in December 1978. Initially formed to record a soundtrack for a horror movie, the members instead evolved into what some claim was the first deathrock band. Ow ...

, recorded in 1981 and released in 1982. The recording sessions took place in a supposedly haunted house somewhere in the deserts of

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a landlocked state in the Western United States. It borders Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the seventh-most extensive, th ...

. While many at the time thought it nothing more than a gimmick, the band claimed that it inspired them to create what is now considered one of the more deranged albums ever recorded. Rather than opting for one musical style, the album alternates between hard, razor-sharp, creepy-crawly

punk rock Punk rock (also known as simply punk) is a rock music genre that emerged in the mid-1970s. Rooted in 1950s rock and roll and 1960s garage rock, punk bands rejected the corporate nature of mainstream 1970s rock music. They typically produced sh ...

with echo-like wolf howls to textural

synthesizer A synthesizer (also synthesiser or synth) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis a ...

soundtracks filled with strange noises. But while the musical style varied, the themes remained rooted in modern horror.

Critical reception

* Maximum Rock N' Roll,

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– "Unlike anything I've heard before. Whether that is a good thing or a bad thing is yet to be determined. Very weird." *'' OPtion Magazine'', Los Angeles – "Hard, razor sharp, creepy crawly rock'n'roll with echo-like wolf howls. Rumored to have been recorded in an actual haunted house in the Nevada desert, with khemical/magikal rituals to 'inspire' the musicians and derange their music. 'A Wagonload of Corpses' sounds like time warp travel back to Middle Ages Black Plague Epidemic Rot. These maniacs were born to score horror flicks." – Nik Wax. *''Unsound Magazine'', San Francisco, California – "This is the first release from the band which describes their sound as a fusion of

Suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Risk factors for suicide include mental disorders, physical disorders, and substance abuse. Some suicides are impulsive acts driven by stress (such as from financial or ac ...

's minimalism, Chrome's psychedelia,

Snakefinger Philip Charles Lithman (17 June 1949 – 1 July 1987), who performed under the stage name Snakefinger, was an English musician, singer and songwriter. A multi-instrumentalist, he was best known for his guitar and violin work and his collab ...

's pop and

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's violent confusion. This album is well produced and moves smoothly within its conceptual nature. Their focus is the morbid, bloody horror of B-monster movies with the campy mystery of blood and guts. Textural synthesizer lines and strange noises create a soundtrack style piece, a great substitute for ghost stories around the campfire.""Reviews". (October 1983, Vol. 1 No. 3). ''Unsound'', p.43 *

Flipside (fanzine) ''Flipside'', known as ''Los Angeles Flipside Fanzine,'' was a punk zine published in Whittier, California, Whittier and Pasadena, California, Pasadena, California, from 1977 to 2002. The magazine was associated with its own record label, Fli ...

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

– "Moody

post punk Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad genre of music that emerged in late 1977 in the wake of punk rock. Post-punk musicians departed from punk's fundamental elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a broader, more experiment ...

to experimental droney music. Perhaps the 'scariest' album ever." *''OP'', Seattle – "''The Haunting'' by Theatre of Ice features end-of-world vocals over throbbing industrial beats. Abrupt cuts of TV audio, weird hypnotic trumpets (?), synths. Excellent. Unlike anything before it." *''Cause and Effect'',

Indianapolis, Indiana Indianapolis ( ), colloquially known as Indy, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Indiana, most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana, Marion ...

– "Theatre of Ice are masters of the B-monster movie sound. This is raw primitive punk music whose subject matter deals with the morbid and macabre. Features a savage, echoey guitar sound and vocals straight-from-the-crypt. Recorded in a haunted house in the middle of the Nevada desert, ''The Haunting'' is made up of 21 tracks with titles like ''The Burning Man'', ''Monsters From Beyond'', ''A Wagonload of Corpses'', ''Brain Damage'' and, ''From the Ruins of my Mind''." *''SPAMM'',

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– "Extra moody experimental music. Throbbing synth, spastic but melodic guitars and haunting vocals makes this the music to blast out the window this October 31 to scare the trick or treaters away, the Halloween soundtrack of the 80's. Every composition is well above exceptional standards." *

Phoenix New Times ''Phoenix New Times'' is a free digital and print media company based in Phoenix, Arizona. ''Phoenix'' ''New Times'' publishes daily online coverage of local news, restaurants, music, arts, cannabis, as well as longform narrative journalism. A ...

Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Arizona#List of cities and towns, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona. With over 1.6 million residents at the 2020 census, it is the ...

– "''The Haunting'' is a success in bringing a modern approach to gothic-horror themes. The band seems to have tackled the idea of a futuristic, underground spook show, but even as an alternative offering there are grave (sorry) deficiencies. At its best, The Haunting shows Theatre of Ice as an outfit with a future in soundtracks and/or audio performance art. The album's droning ambiance and scattered electronic background cries at times almost pulls the listeners inside the gloomy atmosphere. At its worst, the album is a Mr. Hyde of monotonous noise that leaves the listener gasping for a quick, clean pop song. It will now be interesting to hear how the group decides to progress–either as underground practitioners of the macabre, or more accessible musicians who can wrap it all up in a song."

Track listing

#"A Militant Hymn" #"Down Arizona Way" #"Theatre of Ice" #"You Are The Children" #"Puppet Love" #"The Burning Man" #"A Single Bullet" #"The Ghost Did A Scarey Walk" #"Driven" #"Monsters From Beyond" #"A Wagonload of Corpses" #"Fade To Red" #"The Sound" #"Creature on the Hill" #"On and On" #"Comfort" #"Brain Damage" #"Message From Home" #"From the Ruins of My Mind" #"Procession" #"Golden Girl"

Musicians

*Brent Johnson – vocals, guitars *John Johnson – vocals, guitar, keyboards *Mark Johnson – drums *Eric Johnson – bass guitar *Lyle Johnson – keyboards

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Haunting, The 1982 albums Demented Mind Mill Records albums Theatre of Ice albums