This record ruined lyric sheets for me. Up until now, my ritual upon cracking open a new record was to first inspect the lyric sheet, scanning it for secrets and wonders. Then I would put the record on and listen to it as I clutched the lyric sheet, following along with every word. This record doesn’t have a lyric sheet. It has trading cards. One trading card for every song, with an image on the front and lyrics on the back. Oh, and the images on the front? Monsters. Because every song is about monsters. Michael Myers. Freddy Krueger. Zombies. How the hell can I possibly enjoy lyric sheets after this, after holding the Leatherface card in my hand while Horror Section blasts their way through “Survive?” I held that card in my sweaty hand, reading the lyrics and realizing that the song has a brilliant dual meaning. On the surface, it can be read as a song about a girl struggling with a possessive boyfriend. Except the image on the trading card reveals that it’s not a boyfriend she’s worried about, it’s Leatherface, and, yes, he wants to “tear me and my friends apart,” except not in the metaphorical sense, but in the with-a-chainsaw sense. The logical part of my brain wants to say that it takes more than trading cards and monster movie references to make a good record, but does it really? In this case, the question doesn’t even matter, because both Horror Section and Eaten Back To Life bring a unique spin on pop punk and horror worship. There’s no way you’re getting out of this listening experience without having a lot of fun.
–mp (Eccentric Pop)