The Gothsicles - SEGA LUGOSI's DEAD

In the entertainment industry people claim to be many things -porn starlets pass themselves off as models and actresses, washed up movie actors are always on the edge of doing something super secret and new, and band after band claims to be the newest/hardest/most innovative entity on the planet. This is an industry built on deception, on feeding illusions to people so they will buy things that -let’s face it --they don’t need. However, every now and again something will wash up on these sterile shores that is unique. THE GOTHSICLES are a prime example; an entity thrust from weightless depths to alien light and air. Being forced to adapt to the parameters of this ephemeral world has given them a perspective that doesn’t adhere to the fallacies of entertainment. It was plainly evident on their first album, ‘NESferatu’ that they write about topics essential to their existence as an organism -classic video games, the idiocy of Wisconsin’s automobile drivers, and the perils of font collecting. These are aspects of existence that we all face on a daily basis. By writing about them, they’ve further reinforced their place as a ‘real’ band composed of ‘real’ people and added a veneer of legitimacy to their work. Now, with the addition of their second album, SEGA LUGOSI'S DEAD (released 3/31/09), these Chicago natives are well on their way to their own T.V. show, soft-drink licensing deal, and perhaps even a movie such as Kiss’s legendary 1978 film KISS MEETS THE PHANTOM OF THE PARK.

GOTHSICLES front man, dark_NES (Brian Graupner) is a prophet extolling on the miraculous nature of all things great and geeky. His squeaky voiced litanies on ‘NESferatu’ covered a diverse range of topics -from the divine revelation of the Konami Code, the advantages of getting Triple Shot, or the uniformity of Hot Topic clothing -like sonic tablets containing

the Ten Commandments as handed down by the Nerd God. Providing additional support are the A/V Club rejects -reborn into EBM musicians --DJ :EYG: (Kat Lunde), Sega Lugosi (Matt Fanale, aka. Caustic), and the mysterious Turbo Gothix 16 (Dan Clark of Stromkern). Contrary to the album title, Sega Lugosi is not dead, he’s touring, as are the rest of the ‘Sicles, and the odds are that you can probably catch them now so check out the links below.

Let it suffice to say that dark_NES is still channeling away; the songs on ’Sega Lugosi’s Dead’ are even odder, better written, and more divinely dorky. Featuring excellent remixes from two of my favorite bands, CYANOTIC and PR0METHEUS BURNING -as well as a number of other interesting acts --there was a lot here to stimulate my ear. At times it feels more serious than ‘NESferatu’ was, but that didn’t slow it’s momentum in the least. There are some deeply insightful tracks on here such as ’Anal Meat Ft.’ AMF is a montage of drunken dirty shit sampled and spewed from the mouth of Sega Lugosi himself. This one had me laughing hard enough to spit coffee all over my monitor. To quote Matt ‘Baconator‘ Fanale, “I wanna pork a midget! I wanna pork a midget!” Need I say more? ‘Amphibious Trigonometry’ offers an insightful look into how hard it was for THE CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON to fit into the crowd in High School. The question I asked in response to hearing about the track was ‘Do you think they teased him about not smoking pot but going nuts for bong water?’ Brian, suffice to say, referred me to his publicist, who doesn’t return my calls.

That’s OK though, I got you fuckers back by giving you Four Skulls on FANGORIA MUSICK. Take THAT!