Metalsploitation
Happy birthday
Horror Metal Sounds!
Yes folks it’s been quite the ride over the last few years and for those initiated into this cult, we are proud to salute our heritage and birth on this fine day of Halloween. As some of you may know, horror and metal go hand in hand – so this site was erected in honor of celebrating the cultures of horror and metal.
In just a little over two years we have grown into a full-fledged family of horror lovers and metalheads bringing to you the best coverage possible. It’s hard to believe how quickly time flies, but it does and so does HMS; transitioning into a webzine with a strong presence on social media.
There will indeed be more growth going into year three and I promise to spill my guts (well not literally) in the coming months about some of the exciting things we have lined up at HMS. In the meantime though, we thought it would be good to unveil a promotional video to celebrate HMS. Now I won’t lie, this video isn’t new (done originally for some other unnamed website) – but we felt it appropriate to roll this out one more time in honor of the Ghoultide.
In fact, the video features our Mascot Dead Meat. Now some of you have seen Dead Meat pop up from time to time in the last few years, but this short promotional video reveals a portion of his origins and since it is Halloween – we thought it would be a great idea to post this once more.
The Origins of Dead Meat
Leon Smite; obsessed comic book fan, horror buff and metal head formed a band called Dark Corner with some buds. Their music was traditional thrash with touches of NWOBHM thrown in for good measure and they hit hard the local scene for a few years. Leon was the primary song writer in the band and his lyrics often chronicled stories around mad and power hungry sorcerers, occult fanatics and very dark subjects.
His favorite Marvel Characters were Dr. Druid and Damien Hellstorn, so you can definitely see what drove him creatively as a musician. Leon also carried around a copy of the Necronomicon and he was a long time collector of Fangoria Magazine. During one of their live shows, Leon had a chance encounter with a strange looking man who reeked with the smell of burnt garlic and from wearing urine stained clothing. This man claimed to enjoy Leon’s music and was here to offer him something more than just being a musician onstage.
The man had a special Wine Decanter which had once belonged to a circle of writers: including August Derleth, Clark Ashton Smith and H.P. Lovecraft. This intrigued Leon, so he sat down next to the man in a remotely quiet area of the bar his band was performing at and listened intently. At this, the man was genuinely pleased and went on to detail more origins about this mysterious whine decanter.
"In just a little over two years we have grown into a full-fledged family of horror lovers and metalheads."
It was said that a mage named Abramelin found a doorway to a world of immense power and negotiated with a demon that guarded the entrance way. This demon was tricked by Abramelin using a bottle of wine in a decanter that the demon took immediately and drank until empty. Obviously this demon was of some glutinous origin, so it forced Abramelin to produce more wine and when Abramelin couldn’t the demon got angry and attacked him. Ultimately, a struggle ensued and two somehow found themselves trapped forever inside the decanter; locked together in eternal struggle.
This decanter was now considered a relic of occult power, so many individuals paid great sums of money over the years to possess it and attempt at draining some of the power it held for personal use. Leon was very interested in the decanter, so he offered the man a large sum of money for it. The man graciously accepted the offer and handed over the decanter to Leon and then mysteriously vanished. Leon actually blacked out for a bit, but when he awoke at the table the decanter was still placed next to him.
He quickly snatched it up and disappeared for weeks. Not even his bandmates knew where he went or why he had disappeared for so long. Leon was so obsessed with the decanter that he attempted several occult rituals to raise the demon and Abramelin from eternal slumber. He was very curious as to what truly was going on and ultimately paid for his transgressions at the cemetery whereby he attempted a ritual that went tits-up.
Obviously what resulted was a hideous transformation, turning Leon into Dead Meat and thus creating the first ever zombie/musician/sage of the highest order.
Kenneth Gallant, HMS
Read the previous installment.