Halo Of Flies

They wouldn't piss on your body if your heart was on fire.

Because they're nice guys! Who'd want somebody pissing on them, for Christ's sake?

*special introductory paragraph!
*Music For Insect Minds
*F.T.W. CD-single
*Split Tour Single (with Melvins)
*When I'm Loaded CD-single (with Lydia Lunch)
*A New Kind Of Hate CD-single
*Gay Witch Abortion Sessions EP
*Resurrect A Bad Idea

Halo Of Flies was a 1986-1991 Minneapolis trio comprised for most of its career by guitarist/vocalist/AmRep Records founder Tom 'Haze' Hazelmyer, bassist/vocalist/AmRep Records producer Tim 'Mac' McLaughlin, and drummer John 'Presumably Ang, Though I've Never Heard Him Referred To As Such' Anglim. Their finest work mixed hoarse shouted vocals, trebly yet innovative guitar abuse, and insanely busy, roll-happy and creative drumming (like Keith Moon on Speed Drugs!). Unfortunately, it took them a couple years to reach their peak, and then they got bored and broke up like eight times in a row. However, a decade and a half later, Haze XXL 'Tom' Tomelmyer and John 'Ang Lee' Anglim found themselves playing some music with Dillinger Four's Paddy Costello and sh-bing! The newly reformatted H*O*F came into being, as angry as always but now strangely artsy too.


Music For Insect Minds - Amphetamine Reptile 1991
Rating = 7

A POINT-COUNTERPOINT DISCUSSION

BRADLEY TORREANO, ALL-MUSIC GUIDE: "Mostly collected from singles and compilations, Music for Insect Minds documents a raging, powerful band at the peak of its career."

MARK PRINDLE, LEADING HEARTTHROB: "If by 'peak of its career' you mean 'its ENTIRE career,' then yes, correct. This CD includes nearly every studio track that Halo Of Flies ever released. So don't bother hunting down the Rubber Room, Snapping Black Roscoe Bottles, Circling The Pile, Richie's Dog, No Time and Death Of A Fly singles, the Garbage Rock, Four From The Bottom or Headburn EPs, the Garbage Burn and Singles Going Nowhere LPs, or the Big Hits Mid America, Beautiful Happiness or Endangered Species various artist compilations -- because they're ALL RIGHT HERE!!!

And I know you're asking, 'That's a ton of records. How were they able to fit them all onto a single CD?' The trick is that almost every Halo Of Flies record contains the exact same songs."

JOHN DOUGAN, ALL-MUSIC GUIDE: "Destructo, psycho-grunge from Minneapolis with big fuzzed-up guitars."

MARK "PURPLE" PRINDLE: "That's your entire biography of Halo Of Flies!? Sounds like you didn't "DO"(ugan) much research! Ha ha ha! Maybe you were too busy sitting on the "JOHN" (Dougan)! Ha hafhj

Having said that, 'destructo' and 'psycho' are accurate descriptions of the Halo Of Flies sound, but their songs are far too tinny and energetic to be categorized as 'grunge,' and the guitars aren't anywhere near as 'big' as they would have been with decent recording equipment. As it is, the guitars are just one facet of the band's overall headachey treble-on-11 sound.

You're totally-ass ass-right about the 'from Minneapolis' thing though."

TOM "HAZE" HAZELMYER: "The influences were all over the place. At that point in time I already had a bellyful of 77 Punk, post punk, early American Hardcore, 60 Garage, primo 60's acid rock and on some level was trying to blend it all together and regurgitate it. Stuff like No Trend and the Aussie X, as well as contemporaries like Cosmic Psychos and countless others all snuck into the mix."

MARK "GET IT?" PRINDLE: "The aggressive spitfire stinging material of your peak period definitely brings to mind the make-no-friends sonic attitude of snarled-lip '70s garage/punk bands like Crime and The Pagans, but then that poppy old Kinks/Creation Mod British rock will pop in all of a sudden (esp. 'Tired & Cold' and... well, the actual Creation cover you recorded, I suppose). The hardest material to grasp (and, in my opinion, enjoy) is your earliest work, whose frequent use of 'funky' beats and wah-wah guitar made you sound like an even loer-fi Big Boys. Still, even some of the early stuff rocks excellently ('Can't Touch Her' reminds me of ZZ Top!), so good work on that. Hey! While we're here, does the music of Halo Of Flies still excite you, all these many years later?"

TOM "MAC" HAZELMYER: "Not overall. There's some moments here and there I feel we were accurately represented on tape, but not many."

MARK "THE BIRD" FIDRYCH: "That ball has a hit in it, so I want to get back in the ball bag and goof around with the other balls in there. Maybe it'll learn some sense and come out as a pop-up next time."

MARK PRINDLE: "I think you're both just too close to your work - Tom and his music, Mark and his balls - to hear it the way listeners hear it. Yes, some of the early material seems to slop around sluggishly, and certainly you never had the production you deserved, but songs like 'Death Of A Fly,' 'Ain't No Hell,' 'Father Paranoia' and 'Ballad Of Extreme Hate' honestly do take aggressive rock into previously unchartererered territories. Your use of guitar noises (ex. simply rubbing the strings, plucking them above the nut, flicking at them in a rhythmic rather than musical way) as integral parts of your riffs is exciting enough in itself, but then you've got that hyperkinetic drummer splatterdashing away and Mac bending his bass notes woozily and (whoever - you?) shouting semi-tonally like a young Shannon Selberg (pre-Shannon Selberg!), and the result is some great G_____D_ Pissed-Off Hate-Rock! In fact, I'd argue that a good 15 of these 26 songs are beyond reproachingly awesome songs: raw, angry, loose-wires-a-buzzin punk/garage/hard rock with far more interesting rhythmic approaches than one would expect. Not only that, but when you sit between the speakers and listen closely, there are a TON of fascinating and clever bits and asides thrown in there that aren't clear to the naked ear.

Also, there are some '70s hard rock/blooze/funk riffs in there. I forgot to mention that earlier, when I talked about what you sounded like."

SIMON PETER GROEBNER, CITY PAGES: "...one of the two or three most ferocious (if largely forgotten) bands in Minneapolis history."

MARK PRINDLE: "I assume the other two are The Cows and Zen Arcade-era Husker Du? He doesn't name them though, so for all I know he's kickin' ass to Grave Dancers Union and Rave Un2 The Joy Fantastic."

JOE, AMAZON.COM CUSTOMER REVIEWER: "halo of flies was one of kurt cobain's favorite bands and you can tell. nirvana and halo of flies sound a lot alike."

MARK PRINDLE: "Indeed, they did both have a bass player. Good ear, Joe!"

CHAD DRISCOLL, RHAPSODY: "...the gall in Hazelmyer's lyrics was never less severe than the abrasiveness of his band's sound."

MARK PRINDLE: "I can't understand a damn thing he's saying! I've read that 'Clowns' is a put-down of upper-middle class kids who pretend to be 'white trash,' but what about the others? Is 'Wasted Time' about Morris Day's backing combo enjoying a beer party? Is 'No Time' about Morris Day losing his backing combo to a drunk driving accident? Also, why the emphasis on Morris Day?"

DAVID SPRAGUE, TROUSER PRESS: "...an essential kink in the gears of alternative rock's gravy train."

MARK PRINDLE: "Now I have this great image in my head of Ray Davies eating a bowl of dog food. With these big ol' fuckin ears and a tail waggin' all over the place! HA HA HA! Yeaaaaaah I'm an amateur record reviewer.

CONCLUSION: HALO OF FLIES WERE TREBLY

ADDENDUM: Upon posting this review, I alerted Tom Hazelmyer to its existence, and he sent me a quick email back the next day. He didn't intend his comments for posting, but I thought he made a pretty important point about the CD so I asked if I could post it here. He agreed, and here it is!

"Yeah, yeah, I know the review isn't some serious analysis, but my only critique of the critique, is the overlooked fact that none of this was ever intended as a proper "LP/Album". There's zero flow, as it was all written and recorded in small batches isolated unto themselves in different locations and mindsets. Taken as a whole it's a tough proposition. Back in the day we just gathered up the tapes and slapped 'em together, dumped it out, and moved on. But back then it was going out to an audience that had largely digested the singles one at a time as intended. I didn't have the foresight to realize it would be compared to proper albums, in which there was one consistent vision during its recording and setting track order. As a proper album 'Music For Insect Minds' can't hold a candle to say Hammerhead's 'Into The Vortex' or The Cows' 'Cunning Stunts,' (both great examples of a band fleshing out an album in its entirety). Back then we were thinking of each new single as an entity unto itself, and how those few songs worked together, and intertwined with the sleeve art etc. with no thought as to how they'd work if all thrown together. In my head an intentional LP is a completely different beast from a greatest hits or archival compilation. Comp's are the ones I usually only dump selected tracks from onto my iTunes (ha-ha), and this is no different."

Reader Comments

hunt125@msn.com
I saw this album used at Raleigh's Nice Price Books and Music Shop for seven bucks, and although I hesitated buying it at first (I'd only heard the name mentioned in passing on your site, and being a starving (rich, upperclass suburban) college student, knew I needed to save my money for bigger, more important things...

...such as say, the last Pansy Division album. Not the greatest hits one, though. I mean the last studio album they made. "Total Entertainment!", I'm talking about. Wait, no, I bought that a couple weeks ago. Gah, this fucks up my whole story!

Wait, what were we talking about?

Oh, yes, yes.

Okay, so because I'd heard the name in passing on your website, and because it was on AmRep Records (which means it couldn't be too terribly common nowadays, what with seemingly almost everything on the label being out of print), and because it had a bagillion tracks on it, I bought it.

It took a bit of warming up to on the first listens (the catchy yet somewhat bland opener "Tired and Cold" was no way to open for the better parts of this collection, unless perhaps it was done cronologically), but once "Ain't No Hell" came on, I was instantly won over. And of course the album got better and better through the middle, although perhaps it does drag on at the end. All in all, there's plenty of great rackety noise-rock on this album, although it can leave one feeling a bit worn out by the end of it all. I'd say it's definetly deserving of a solid 8; and definetly prime example of Am-Reps loathesome, rackety glee.

javier.blanco@asemas.es
Yeah, that's right; a well deserved 8, if only for its inventive guitar action. Most noise rock outfits (the one I have listened, though) are difficult to sit through (I'm thinking 'bout the Butthole Surfers, whose "Psychic..."- the only tape I had from them- was so stupid and headache inducing that I don't understand their greatness), but I dig the Halo of Flies, they're really rockin' in this Detroit vein. I dig them. (Scratch Acid too!)

anya.ciccone@gmail.com
Hey Mark!

I was excited to see that you had reviewed Halo of Flies! While I agree that 'Music for Insect Minds' includes both the good and the bad, I also agree with Mr. Hazelmyer that it doesn't sound like any of the music was MADE to be on a format like that. I solved this problem by loading the CD on to my computer, then carefully researching HoF's discography and separating the tracks into their respective releases - what a difference this made! You can CLEARLY tell the good from the bad, and some of their strongest EP releases might even warrant a 10 in your book.

I realize that I am kind of crazy in my dedication to sorting out discography dates, but it is a worthwhile effort, particularly with this band.

Anyways, keep writing great reviews!

amoy3r@gmail.com
WHATS THIS SHIT CALLED LOVE

I only like that song because the Pagans are from Cleveland.

I am too young to know them.

Oh yea, Halo of Flies is alright, I never listen to them. Ever.

Amrep was good. Melvins, Cows, Jesus Lizard, Helmet, God Bullies etc.

Add your thoughts?

F.T.W. CD-single - Amphetamine Reptile 2007
Rating = 8

(Sixteen years pass)

Hi! Today, guitarist/bassist Tom Hazelmyer and drummer John Anglin teamed up with Dillinger Four vocalist Paddy Costello to revive Halo Of Flies' initials and bring their spirited noise rock to today's Pitchfork-sissified indie generation. And the debut message of this newly-minted H*O*F? "I wanna fuck the world until it feels me smile."

Well, except he screams it.

H*O*F is an intriguing idea. For those who haven't been following Tom Hazelmyer's career, he's become something of a visual artist over the last two decades. And whether he intended it or not, this artistic/experimental outlook is all over F.T.W., painting H*O*F as a much more bizarre noise-rock beast than its fully-titled predecessor. Since there are only three tracks, I'll give a brief description of each.

1. "F.T.W." - Left to its own devices, this could've been a normal everyday ass-kicking piece of AmRep hate rock. But left to Haze's devices, it's now swamped in confusing tempo changes, eerie reverbed backing vocals, and a chorus that is simultaneously super-melodic and completely out of time with itself. Hate rock? More like "HART rock," if you ask me! Except then it sounds like I'm saying "Heart Rock," and it's certainly not that.

2. "Eat My Gun (Chamber The Round)" - At the beginning of the Cows' career, one could definitely hear a Halo Of Flies influence in their sound, so this song's Cows-esque approach likely just signals a return to the Halo Of Flies roots that influenced the Cows in the first place. Seriously, this hooky and repetitive collection of Rutmanisy bass, rhythmic guitar crashes and sickly bending feedback has "Cows by way of Halo Of Flies" scratched all over it.

3. "Maggot Is..." - This radical departure begins as a slow, gentle and almost dub-like guitar exploration, but then halfway through turns into pounding squooshy noises and screaming.

In short, track 2 is more song than art, track 3 is more art than song, and track one is a perfect mixture of the two (or "twain," if you prefer pretension). Speaking of pretension, asshole critic people need to stop using the word "distaff" and NOW. The correct word is "female." Or "feminine" or "woman" or something along those lines. Not only does "distaff" sound like a euphemism for "dickless," but the actual word is derived from a machine once used in traditional 'women's work.' In other words, it's kinda like calling a woman a "sewing machine," as if that's the sum of her worth.

And sure it'd be hilarious for you or me to call a woman a "sewing machine," but the people who use the word "distaff" don't even know what it means; they just read it in some shitty album review and assume it's an intellectual word for "female." Well, it's not, you pricks!

On that note, yay H*O*F for sort of being a Halo Of Flies reunion! But where are you, Tim "Laugh" McLaughlin?

Add your thoughts?

Split Tour Single (with Melvins) - Amphetamine Reptile 2007
Rating = 8

This one features one track by the Melvins (an alternate version of "The Savage Hippy" entitled "Real Fucking Nasty"), one by H*O*F (the pummelling bass-driven singalong menace "Stalin's Child") and one by M*O*F, a merging of the two (skrankly directionless screamer "Drunken Paddy"). Say! Now would be a great time for me to actually describe H*O*F's music for you!

Regardless of sharing 2/3rds of its membership, H*O*F do not sound a bit like the trebly Halo Of Flies, nor do they follow the "traditional" noise rock approach of AmRep heavyweights like Helmet, Tar, Janitor Joe, Guzzard and Hammerhead. I usually throw up in your mouth a little when a critic refers to a work as "personal," but there's really no better word to describe the band's approach. Not to take anything away from Anglim or Paddy because they are both excellent in their roles, but H*O*F is Tom Hazelmyer's personal vision of what rock music should be. It just doesn't sound like anybody else. And for that reason, it can take some getting used to!

Here is as clear a description as I can give of the elements present in a standard H*O*F song:
- Bass-driven melodies
- Awkward drumbeats that switch rhythm and time signature at unexpected times
- Guitarwork that seems more about creating an all-encompassing wall of textural noise than actually playing a melody
- Throat-shredding lead screaming that combines Tom Hazelmyer at his most enraged with GG Allin at his most violently insane
- Melodic backup vocals that are so out of place that they come across as deranged rather than pretty
- Different unrecognizable noises that could be anything from reverbed guitar smashing to distorted bass thumping to treated screaming
- No regard for conventional song structure -- these songs don't care whether a riff is repeated a million times or not even once!

At its best, H*O*F is challenging, hooky, mean and weird as hell. At its worst, it's so abstract that there's little but noise and screaming to cling to. Either way, it's a sound all its own and well deserving of your ear!

Add your thoughts?

When I'm Loaded CD-single (with Lydia Lunch) - Amphetamine Reptile 2008
Rating = 8

I've loathed everything I've ever heard by Ms. Lunch, so my biscuits were baked in butter when I found myself so mesmerized by the bassy cacophony of H*O*F's dark and increasingly random electric noise that I hardly even noticed her raspy cursing vocals. Musical structure disintegrates considerably and fascinatingly over the course of the three songs -- from the sad, forboding and almost normal title track, through the sick noise-boogie "Crawl'N Cry" (whose 'hook' is provided by a bass that refuses to repeat any parts), to the difficult-to-describe "God's Other Son" (difficult because it's so hard to figure out what's making all that noise! Is that a high-pitched bass line, or manipulated feedback? Is that rhythmic KER-ANK! noise a distorted bass, or something else? Who knows? Sounds great, whatever it is!).

As for Lydia, she yells such poetic delights as "Fuck you!", "Shut that bitch up!" and "Stop the fucking noise!" More interesting are the absolutely bonkers back-up screams of Paddy and Haze. Speaking of which, isn't it strange that Tom Hazelmyer goes by the nickname "Haze"? You'd think he'd prefer the manlier "Hazel."

Add your thoughts?

A New Kind Of Hate CD-single - Amphetamine Reptile 2008
Rating = 8

Hi, I'm Bob Steele from Hat Emporium! And if you've been looking for a new kind of hat, now's the p

Say, I was just reading some record reviews on other, more credible sites when it occurred to me what makes them so credible (as opposed to my "incredible" reviews): their constant use of metaphor rather than actually saying what the music sounds like. I instantly became jealous and vowed to right the wrongs of my insufficiently metaphorical web site as soon as post-haste could require. Unfortunately, then I got tired and went to lie on the couch.

I was unable to fall asleep though, so here I am ready to dissect this H*O*F single with all the metaphors a brain can manage. So let's get started!

THE TITLE TRACK, IN METAPHOR FORM: A '60s folk duo is scraped by a passing rake truck just as a grounded tugboat begins bouncing up and down on the sidewalk. Suddenly, the mummified corpse of GG Allin bursts out of the ground to scream its new hit single, "You're On Your Own!" The folk duo pulls its bleeding-faced self off the road to add some melancholy color, but GG angrily calls down a rain of maggots from the sky, screaming "HATE!" as they pour onto the sorrowful singers. The scene repeats itself as a rusty old truck drives back and forth, further scraping the duo with bits and flakes of jagged metal on each door. This isn't just rock -- it's RCOK.

"PRECIOUS," IN METAPHOR FORM: The drunken driver of an 18-wheeler, passed out on the steering wheel, accidentally turns the key and begins rolling forward. Before he knows what has happened, he has rolled onto the Autobahn and is shocked awake by a passing driver screaming "COME ON!" From there, it's a race for his life as cars, motorbikes and vans all pile around him, shouting and pushing him forward to speeds and intensities he's never experienced. Little birdies fly around his head and exhaust clouds pump through his vent as he searches desperately for an exit. Suddenly a tiny Devil appears on his shoulder and begins insisting, "You love it! You love it!" At this, the driver grins and begins jerking the steering wheel from left to right, smashing violently into every car he can. This isn't just rock -- it's ROKC.

"BOOTBOY'S LAMENT (LIVE)," IN METAPHOR FORM: King Snake Roost plays a live show.

Okay, I didn't work very hard on that one. I'm starting to get sleepy again.

"MY OWN WAY HOME," IN METAPHOR FORM: I love this song. Love is a metaphor, isn't it? A valentine is. This song is a valentine of woozy swoozy love, fun and silliness - coated in bassy cough syrup. Everyone's marching and giggling, holding their noses and singing together. Who knew such an angry band could be so full of good tidings? The '60s were a fag compared to this. This isn't just pop -- it's PPO.

A New Kind Of Hate? Yeah, more like A New RAINBOW Of MARSHMALLOWS, if you ask a metaphor!

I know, that didn't make any sense. I fell asleep in the middle.

Add your thoughts?

Gay Witch Abortion Sessions EP - Amphetamine Reptile 2009
Rating = 8

Say, I was just reading some record reviews on other, more successful sites when it occurred to me what makes them so successful: the way they manage to force whatever CD they're reviewing into a more "meaningful" social context, even if there is no correlation at all. I immediately became envious and decided to correct the errors of my not-meaningful-enough web site the very second that time would allow. Unfortunately, then I had to go to the bathroom.

By the time I came back, I'd lost all interest in the idea. Sorry if you were looking forward to it.

Gay Witch Abortion is an instrumental Minneapolis duo (guitarist Jesse Bottomley and drummer Shawn Walker) that performs headbangy noise rock. Mr. Hazelmyer is a big fan of GWA(r), and thus decided to put together a jam session with them. Then... he fell into a coma. But Hey! These things happen! Why, I can't remember the last time I ate a SANDWICH without falling into a coma!

No, but seriously. When he came out of his coma, he completed the release and here it is. Enjoy!

Considering that neither John Anglim nor Paddy Longstocking appear on the EP, I'm not exactly sure why it's credited to H*O*F rather than just "Haze XXL & Gay Witch Abortion." I can't imagine fans of H*O*F will complain though. These noise-rock songs are a bit more traditional and easy-to-grasp than the bizarre H*O*F material, and obviously Haze's voice isn't nearly as batshit deranged as Paddy's, but the 7-song, 17-minute work still kicks some sweet sweet ass.

I will make one complaint, however. On the other H*O*F records, the melodic backup vocals seem designed to confuse and bewilder (and they do!), but on a few of these songs (especially "Tunnel Rat" and "Unicorn Killer"), they're just goofy, which makes the songs sound more like novelty numbers than they should. But otherwise, this is a prize AmRep release and a fine collection of distorted bass lines, angry drumming, and rockin' cockin' string bending. If you enjoy noise rock at all, you will float on waterballs of bliss when you hear the catchy as hell bendy-bassed "Choking On Vomit," Halo Of Flies hate rock revival "Sociopathic Drum," Jesus Lizard homage "Drinking With Yow" and warped UFO theremin blazer "Dear Leader." Instant classics are all, they!

Oh I forgot to mention that Haze plays both guitar and bass on all the H*O*F records except this one. Goodnight!

Reader Comments

thepublicimage79@hotmail.com
two things:

1) Grant Hart actually sang backup vocals on the song "A New Kind of Hate."
2) The stuff I've managed to hear from this version of Halo of Flies is what is commonly known as crushing. Damn, this is great shit.

Hope Haze is doing OK now after his bout with meningitis. (It was meningitis, right?)

Add your thoughts?

Resurrect A Bad Idea - Amphetamine Reptile 2010
Rating = 5

If you know me, you know there's not much I like more than a good Vincent Price movie. Why, just look at all these fine Vincent Price films I've enjoyed in my day!

Tower of London
The Invisible Man Returns
Laura
Leave Her to Heaven
Shock
Dragonwyck
The Baron of Arizona
House of Wax
The Mad Magician
The Fly
House on Haunted Hill
The Tingler
Return of the Fly
The Fall of the House of Usher
Master of the World
Pit and the Pendulum
Tales of Terror
Tower of London (remake)
Diary of a Madman
The Haunted Palace
Twice Told Tales
The Comedy of Terrors
The Last Man On Earth
The Masque of the Red Death
Tomb of Ligeia
Conqueror Worm
The Oblong Box
Cry of the Banshee
Scream and Scream Again
The Abominable Dr. Phibes
Dr. Phibes Rises Again
Theatre of Blood
Madhouse
The Monster Club
The Offspring
House of the Long Shadows
Dead Heat
Edward Scissorhands

Look, I'm a big fan of H*O*F and Amphetamine Reptile, so I'm not going to sit here and badmouth the United States of America. I'll just leave it at this: Resurrect A Bad Idea is their attempt to create two 18-minute songs without putting 18 minutes worth of time into the songwriting. Paddy's back on vocals, everything's reverbed to hell and fro, and Haze once again plays every instrument except drums, but track 1 ("Evil Pill") sounds like little more than a psychotic jam session, and track 2 ("Start-Stutter-Stop") seems to be a bunch of different riffs randomly thrown together.

Let's take a closer look at each:

"Evil Pill" - This song rides along on a great three-note bass line and driving beat, topped with distorted screaming vocals and a number of interesting guitar and keyboard snippets performed though different effects. When Haze XXL bothers to create an actual 'riff' (be it just repeated noises or actual guitar notes), the song sounds awesome -- a lockstep headbang frashed-out dancey noise-rock nightmare fantasy. But when he just fiddles around making random noise, it quickly becomes a tiresome drag sucking the life out of the tires of a dream -- mainly because the bass line never changes. The song slows down for its final two minutes, but up until then the rhythm section plays the exact same part for sixteen minutes straight.

"Start-Stutter-Stop (Repeat)" - Following an interesting but overlong industrial intro by Minneapolis semi-legend Har Mar Superstar, this track just goes and goes and goes, constantly changing subgenre but not mood or instrumentation as Haze pummels his way through Amrep stomp, midtempo punk, sleazy swing, dub bass, industrial noise and even bits of actual melody. Unfortunately, around the 10-minute mark, the ideas stop coming but the song does not.

In short, H*O*F have created two great nine-minute noise-rock songs and sabotaged them by needlessly dragging them out to twice their recommended length. Hence the album title, I guess.

Speaking of which, if you know me, you know there's not much I like more than a good Stephen King movie. Why, just look at all these fine Stephen King films I've enjoyed in my day!

Carrie
Salem's Lot
The Shining (both versions)
Creepshow
Christine
Cujo
The Dead Zone
Children of the Corn
Firestarter
Cat's Eye
Silver Bullet
Maximum Overdrive
Stand By Me
Night Shift Collection
Creepshow 2
The Running Man
Pet Sematary (both versions)
Graveyard Shift
It (both versions)
It: Chapter Two
Misery
Sometimes They Come Back
Golden Years
The Dark Half
Sleepwalkers
Needful Things
The Tommyknockers
The Shawshank Redemption
Dolores Claiborne
The Langoliers
The Stand
Thinner
Quicksilver Highway
Trucks
Apt Pupil
The Night Flier
Storm of the Century
The Green Mile
Hearts In Atlantis
Rose Red
Dreamcatcher
Riding The Bullet
Secret Window
Nightmares and Dreamscapes (series)
Desperation
1408
The Mist
Dolan's Cadillac
Big Driver
Gerald's Game
1922
Doctor Sleep

Speaking of which, if you know me, you know there's not much I like more than a good non-existent porn movie. Why, just look at all these fine non-existent porn films I've enjoyed in my day!

The Rodfather
The Empire Strikes Backside
The Good, The Bad and The Cervix
Schindler's List (of Whores)
One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Breast
The Lord of the Cock Rings
Casablancum
Nudefellas
Raiders of the Lost Virginity
Rear Window (And Nearby Door)
The Usual Suspeckers
Psychoad
The Silence of the Mamms
Se7en (Inches Wide)
Conqueror Worm
The Tommyknockers

Add your thoughts?


Click here to buy your own copy of Music For Insect Minds (and visit www.amphetaminereptile.com to buy the newer ones)

Click Here for More of Mark Prindle's Record Reviews, Including The Accused and Alice Cooper, Both of Whom Have Songs Called "Halo Of Flies." So It'll Be Almost Like You're Just Reading This Page Again.