Photo by Derick Smith
BLACK CROSS HOTEL, the punk/industrial/horror metal unit featuring members of Stabbing Westward, The Atlas Moth, Minsk, and more today unveils their latest single, “Windows.” Now playing courtesy of Decibel Magazine, the track comes by way of the band’s debut full-length, Hex, set for release November 11th.
“Windows,” is the name of Thomas G. Waites’ radio operator in John Carpenter’s The Thing. “‘Windows’ takes its musical inspiration from John Carpenter’s The Thing,” vocalist Dee DeEmme, who identifies as non-binary, explains. “At the time I was interested in how queer people are often fans of horror and the concepts of otherness contained within. Thinking about the way The Thing hides and creates distortions of humans reminded me of the way people on the outskirts of society attempt to fit in to meet societal expectations. The lyrics are from the monster’s perspective, then, and what comes off as a gross horror to others is really a story about an alien in an unknown place, trying to fit in to survive—and ultimately not doing so great at it.”
Stream BLACK CROSS HOTEL’s “Windows” at THIS LOCATION.
Hex will be released digitally. Find preorders at the BLACK CROSS HOTEL Bandcamp page HERE where opening track “Shape” can be streamed.
“What if Mick Mars and John Carpenter joined Killing Joke?”
That was the question that synth player Andrew Ragin (The Atlas Moth) and guitarist Marcus Eliopulos (Stabbing Westward) posed to each other during the darkest depths of the plague. The answer turned out to be BLACK CROSS HOTEL. “Marcus and I are brothers-in-law,” Ragin explains. “I’m married to his sister, and we’ve been friends forever. He’s filled in for me with The Atlas Moth from time to time. We’ve been talking about jamming together for damn near twenty years, but the pandemic provided the opportunity.”
With a lineup completed by producer/bassist Sanford Parker (Corrections House, Minsk), vocalist Dee DeEmme (Whipped), and drummer Mike Miczek (Broken Hope, The Atlas Moth), BLACK CROSS HOTEL is a punk/industrial metal band forged in the crucible of the finest ‘80s culture. “Killing Joke is definitely our spirit animal band, but John Carpenter’s movies and music, and other classic horror movies, are where we found our inspiration,” Ragin explains. “A lot of the stuff on this first record is inspired by specific ’80s horror movies.”
Recorded primarily at Parker’s own Hypercube Studio in Chicago, BLACK CROSS HOTEL’s Hex is steeped in ‘80s fright flicks and their synth-driven soundtracks. Opener “The Shape” references Halloween homicide machine Michael Myers. The title track was inspired by the classic 1985 Bava/Argento production Demons and “Siren” conjures the teenage mental ward from Nightmare On Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors.
Rather than merely pay homage or recite storylines like so many horror-inspired bands of yore, DeEmme examines these films — and the notion of otherness contained within — from their own non-binary perspective. “It’s part of what makes the band’s deep connection to horror unique,” Ragin offers. Elsewhere, BLACK CROSS HOTEL takes inspiration from the famous slow-motion chase scene in Halloween II (“Fugitive”) and Jamie Lee Curtis’ character in The Fog (“Hitchhiker”) while nodding to original horror-punk geniuses the Misfits with a deadly cover of “We Are 138” featuring Randy Blythe from Lamb Of God.
Coinciding with the release will be a special record release show, with more dates to be announced in the weeks to come.
BLACK CROSS HOTEL Live:
11/14/2022 Empty Bottle – Chicago, IL * Record release show w/ Salvation, Pink Frost, Canadian Rifle
http://blackcrosshotel.bandcamp.com
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