Ghoultown

Boots of Hell

by David Elliott

If one were to take the horror-movie devotion of Rob Zombie, the comic book punk rock of the Misfits, throw in cheesy country/western, finally add some tits & ass, you'd end up with Dallas' Ghoultown. Led by guitarist/lead-vocalist Count Lyle (Lyle Steadham), the band charges through this 2001 remastered version of their debut 1999 ep. While there's no shortage of high energy or campy horror/western movie fun, the goofball gallows humor wears thin quickly. The band makes an obvious attempt at mimicking Johnny Cash's "Folsom Prison Blues" on "Killer in Texas" ("i'm a hell raisin' outlaw/ out here stealin' lives/ I killed a man for starin/ yeah I cut out his eyes"), adds a touch of mariachi trumpets on "Southern Witch," and gallops full blast, courtesy of a solid rhythym section comprising of bassist Queeno (now departed from the band) and drummer X-Ray (Charlie McDuffy), through the entire record. The guitar work of Count and Jake Middlefinger (Jake Taylor) bounces along with cow-poke
punk fervor throughout the entire disk as well. But, despite the seeming sincerity of the band, it's schtick wears out quickly, like one too many of John Wayne's westerns.

Look, man, I have no problem with corny-ass cheese like this. Really! I just think it's boring as shit after, say, two songs. The whole country-punk thing is "cute" for a few minutes, but it's just repetitive when it's used in the same fashion in every goddamn song! If you really want to hear serious cross-polinations of country/western and punk, go back and listen to the Mekons, or the Godfathers... or, fuck, just listen to the final works of Johnny Cash himself. I'm sure the band has legions of Halloween-loving followers, just as Gwar, the worn-out Misfits (who, like Alice Cooper, were once cool!), Kiss (which were cool if you were in jr. high in the 70's) and complete fuck-ups Insane Clown Posse do; it's just that after the same joke over & over you'd think their fans would start to feel like Charlie Brown, holding a sack full of rocks.