Way Out West With The Hellflowers!

Photo by Scott Evanskey

Shock Treatment: Let’s begin with some introductions! Who’s all in The Hellflowers and what does everyone do in the band?

The Hellflowers: Christina Hellflower- lead vocals/rhythm guitar, Matt Eskew -Bass, Alex Mack - Lead Guitarist, Stevyn Grey - Drums


Shock Treatment: What’s the origin story of the band, how did you all meet and decide to play music together?

The Hellflowers: Christina and Matt started this band in LA in 2015. After a couple line up changes we were lucky that Matt was friends with Stevyn. When the spot became available we couldn’t wait to ask him and were super lucky he accepted! Haven’t looked back since. After our second guitarist could no longer play with us we were doing acoustic shows. One of those shows was with Billy Bones of “The Skulls”. He said he knew just the guy (after telling him we needed a new lead guitarist) and boy was he correct! He put us in touch with Alex and again we haven’t looked back.



Shock Treatment: You guys released an EP of fantastic cover songs called Teenage Radio last year on Rum Bar Records. What all goes into the decision making process of picking a cover song to record and release?

The Hellflowers: Being such big music junkies it is tricky picking cover songs. I mean, you could record 100 of them, I’m sure. Each one has its own story and we could go on forever with that. But basically, the songs that we chose our songs that we have loved most of our life. I just have to make sure I can sing them well 😉(Christina).


Shock Treatment: How did you guys meet up with Malibu Lou and Rum Bar Records?

The Hellflowers: Stevyn was dealing with some health problems for a little while so he had to kind of step out for a bit. Richie Boom Boom of FOXY/The Glimmer Stars stepped up. I think Lou discovered us through Richie. We are grateful for Richie’s time in The Hellflowers and appreciate the connect to Lou. We think Lou is absolutely fabulous!

Photo by Brian Paine

Shock Treatment: Just going off the cover songs you guys release, people can kind of tell what to expect from The Hellflower's music. But what influences do you guys bring into the band that might not be so obvious to your fans?

The Hellflowers: Christina’s previous band was a honky Tonk outfit called Kit & The Branded men so influences like Loretta Lynn and Buck Owen’s may be less obvious.


Shock Treatment: I feel like a lot of Hellflowers songs are very sincere and heartfelt. Do you find playing music in this way therapeutic at all?

The Hellflowers: 100% All of these songs are straight from the heart! For me personally (Christina), after taking a year off, I realized that I couldn’t live without creating and performing. The anxiety and depression were overwhelming.



Shock Treatment: So The Hellflowers are currently based in Los Angeles. What’s it like being in an active band in L.A. right now and how has it changed since you guys first started out in 2019?

The Hellflowers: I would say it’s changed dramatically. Covid made a lot more people become home bodies. Also, financial and other reasons people don’t want to get out as much as they used to. We now realize the most important thing is to play all ages shows because we noticed a big jump in young people going to shows. So we really try to focus on that.


Shock Treatment: You guys recently played the Sofa Street Fair in San Jose. How was that experience?

The Hellflowers: Absolutely fabulous! Matt is from San Jose so we always get a great homecoming there. People were super enthusiastic and we got a lot of positive feedback from that show and new fans!

Photo by Tony Smith

Shock Treatment: What lies in store for the rest of 2026 for The Hellflowers?

The Hellflowers: Next up for us is Dr Strange Summer Bash in Pomona Memorial Day weekend with a crazy stacked lineup. We play Saturday the 23rd so make sure to get your tickets if you haven’t yet. Plus, many more shows, including sailor Jerry fest and Oahu Hawaii. Heading back into the studio soon to finish our 3rd full length album. Singles should be coming in the next few months, so make sure to follow us in all of our socials. Link tree is in our Instagram bio so you don’t miss anything!


Shock Treatment: Where can people go to listen to your music and buy your records or merch?

The Hellflowers: We’re on Spotify, Apple Music. Bandcamp. Tons of music. iOS on YouTube including one we released a few days ago!

Excess Blood - Porcelain Doll 7" Review

As the light fades from your eyes, the world as you once knew it begins to seem like a distant memory. All the love you won, unfulfilled promises, and unmet achievements mean absolutely nothing anymore. Memory comes to you in quick sudden flashes, random and violent. It is at this moment that you start to realize you are passing from one realm to the next. The walls close in and a manic desperation fires through all four of your limbs like lightning strikes. It's about now that you start to realize you aren't passing into the storied empire of ivory and gold that was fed to you as a child. This place you start to behold feels cold and paralyzing. Similar are the unnerving emotions Excessive Blood extracts from within your psyche with this record. These four songs on the band's new 7" Porcelain Doll emit intense and twisted reverberations of panic, loss, and regret. 

Excess Blood are a band from Portland, Oregon and this is their debut 7", put into the world by Unlawful Assembly records. The songs arrive fully gelled and molded into a stabbing type weapon to pierce your soul. This record has no doubt in the direction in which it wants go in. Try to imagine abrasive dark bands like Bauhaus or Birthday Party mixed with early TSOL. This is what best describes the taste in my mouth that I'm left with after listening to this record and that I'm in no hurry to wash out. This isn't some pouty goth band, sulking in the corner, crying out for attention. Excess Blood gets bold, angry and in your face. They come from the darkness, and wish you welcome you into their fold. A darkness that many of us want to deny its existence, but that we're all too familiar with. Excess Blood are as much a punk band as they are a darkwave or goth band. These songs were born in the unlit woodlands of the pacific northwest. Those ancient woods no doubt harbor many sinister secrets, and this band was one of their most guarded, until now.

instagram.com/excess.blood

unlawfulassembly.bigcartel.com

Automatic Lovers LP Review

Automatic Lovers are a four piece punk rock n' roll band out of Madrid, emphasis and underline the "punk" in that. These guys reach back into the musical ethos and grab their influences from only the meanest bands and the most venomous songs. This is Automatic Lover's debut LP after releasing an explosive 7" last year on Wap Shoo Wap Records, same label that's putting out this equally as searing LP. It's records like this one and the Sick Shooter's LP that came out earlier this year, that prove Wap Shoo Wap are a label to watch closely. 

Now close your eyes, plant both feet on the ground and ball your fists up as tight as you can. Because this record emits a blast capable of leaving an impact crater of extinction level size right under your feet. If you want to get a taste, think Dead Boys, Slaughter and The Dogs, with a little Hanoi Rocks prowl and you've got an alternate recipe for pure dynamite. But if you think Automatic Loves just wear a costume and put on a fun little puppet show of the past, you're dead wrong. Sure this band takes more from the past than the present (thank god for that), but they put their heart and soul into these songs. You can hear it, it's undeniable. This is the stuff you can't fake. You're in it or you aren't, there's no riding the middle lane on this one. 

Automatic Lovers play the kind of music that got me excited for rock n roll, or even punk in the first place. The music is loud, rude, and in your face. I wouldn't expect anything less from the band themselves as well. Do these songs contain the meaning of life, are they going to usher in a brighter future? Hell no they aren't and they shouldn't. Figure that shit out for yourself!  Automatic Lovers are here as a wall to lean on after a hard day, a shitty drive, and a life that sometimes doesn't work out as it should. Are you going to cry about it, or are you going to put a fist through a wall and fight the good fight again tomorrow? Because we need to take pleasure in the small things in life. The kinds of things we can grab and hold on to. And a great rock n' roll record is one of them. The Automatic Lovers just gave us a solid handle to grab hold of as the rollercoaster of life continues to throw us around. If more records like there were made these days, I might start to think we'll be ok.    

instagram.com/automatic.lovers

wapshoowaprecords.bandcamp.com

An interview with Astrologer!

Interview conducted with singer/songwriter Andrew Cline

Shock Treatment: Let's start off by telling me who all are in Astrologer at this very moment as we speak?

Andrew: Starting with the tough questions! This one is always hard to answer… people pretty much view Astrologer as my project because I’m the songwriter, or Candy and I, since we are sort of a duo! That said, at any given time, we have several other people I would consider members of the group in some fashion. Wyatt Blair, Don Bolles, Joel Tyler Wall, Blake Garmon, and Nick Florence have all been involved with us both live and in our recorded output intermittently since we began.



Shock Treatment: What is the Astrologer conception story? How did you guys meet and decide to play music together?

Andrew: I started Astrologer after my last band broke up. I played one show under that name in 2020 with two of my friends in Phoenix, Andrew Jemsek and Eddie Horn. Then, the pandemic happened, and it changed the trajectory of the entire project. I moved to the woods and kept writing by myself. Wyatt Blair would check in with me now and again (we are friends,) and invited me to go to LA and record an album for his label, lolipop records. Nick came onboard shortly after; Candy and Don after that, Blake and Joel after that!

As far as how we met and came to play music together, it was all rather serendipitous. Wyatt, Nick, and I had known each other for several years and had worked together on a band before Astrologer in the 2010’s. Nick and I knew Blake from his own band, DOMS, who we had played with many times. I met Don around 2017 and we became friends when he came to DJ a show I did in Phoenix. He stayed at my house for a week and broke up with his girlfriend (who was with him) during that week. I guess that made our meeting a bit more memorable… Candy and I met at the haunted Hotel Monte Vista in Flagstaff and hit it off immediately, we’ve been together ever since!

Shock Treatment: Tell me about the Astrologer sound. You guys have unique songs that are hard to directly pinpoint influences to. Some say power pop, some say pop/shoegaze, and some are a bit on the psychedelic side. Is this by design?

Andrew: Yes, it is by design, in fact! A fellow named Jon Mills who has a magazine called Shindig! recently included our song “Ball & Chain” on a playlist, accompanied by an article about “The New Pop Explosion.” He said that the new bands he’s been hearing the last few years are less beholden to genre rules, so he sees it as a sort-of throughline of us and our contemporaries. The other bands, some of them are pals of ours like Uni Boys, Billy Tibbals, Josephine Network. Its nice to be included, and I really like the name “The New Pop Explosion.” It reminds me of The Paisley Underground, or something.

Anyway, I think ourselves and our contemporaries share an eclectic taste, and in my case, it would be difficult to separate myself from styles I love to write, just because they don’t have a sameness that other bands and albums might. I listen to a lot of pop and rock music, especially old music. I discern the things I really love and want to emulate to an extent, and do it. I don’t think too much about it when I write, the ideas come into their own as they are written. I just don’t make a point to resist if a song seems like it should be a style that doesn’t fall neatly into a predetermined category.

Shock Treatment: The band is currently based in Phoenix, my home town! How do the crowds treat you guys when you play live? Do the Phoenicians seem pretty receptive to the sweet sweet sounds of Astrologer?

Andrew: Yes, I’m a fourth generation Phoenician! Very proud of where I come from.

Now, about the crowds… I have never been the type to pack houses for shows. We have done all right, but generally, I come from the bedroom. I am sort of a perennial outsider, and I don’t love to perform. Performing requires going out on a regular basis and being in loud, crowded places. It drives me to drink… I like recording best, to be honest.

Not to say people never like us when they see us. We have gone through many incarnations live; for the Astrologer Fleetwood Sprawl shows we mostly played as a 3 piece with backing tracks, since the nature of that album was lo-fi and recorded in our friend’s living room. Once a lady came up to us after one of those shows and cried and said I have a beautiful voice. I think about that a lot!

Shock Treatment: Astrologer has a new LP coming out June 1st titled Maiden America on Lollipop Records. This will be the follow up to 2024’s Fleetwood Sprawl. What can people expect from this new record and how do you feel it differs from the last LP?

Andrew: Well, the last one was a kind of love letter to My Phoenix, so to speak. The cover has all Phoenix artifacts and figures on it… Candy and Blake and I recorded that album mostly in his living room at our apartment complex, the Fleetwood. At one point, pretty much everyone in the band lived there. The album was really a double album, it was an hour long. A sprawling mess! But it was a beautiful time and some of my best songs are on that album. I think lolipop is going to release a truncated LP version of it this year, we’ll see!

Maiden America is sort of a middle point, I suppose. Our first EPs (Legerdemain L & R) and our first album, Eternal Friday, were almost schizophrenic with the genre jumping, mostly because we recorded them during the pandemic and the mindset was: who knows if we will ever make another album, what if everyone dies, etc? Astrologer Fleetwood Sprawl was a direct response to Eternal Friday and its more polished, studio approach. Eternal was a pop record, Sprawl was a bedroom record, and Maiden America is a balance of the two.

We recorded Maiden with Don Bolles and Joel Tyler Wall at their respective spaces, and the idea was to make it just sound like how we are, which, I suppose, at heart, is a garage band. I cut the songs that were too wildly different than the rest and made a simple, straightforward, 30 minute album. It has the cohesion of a band just playing in the garage together; it is the most true-to-life sounding of our albums, so far.

Shock Treatment: And speaking of Lollipop Records, I interviewed Wyatt Blair long long ago for another site I used to do and I found him to be an incredibly nice guy. How did Astrologer’s relationship begin with him and his label?

Andrew: Wyatt IS an incredibly nice guy, and ultimately, the reason Astrologer has been fortunate enough to make several albums!

I was told about Wyatt, of all people, by Paul Collins of The Nerves and The Beat. I was in Brooklyn in 2016 recording an EP and was introduced to Paul when he came to the studio to appear on a cover my last band did of “Walking Out on Love.” We got to chatting and eventually, he just asked point blank, “Do you know Wyatt Blair?” I told him I didn’t, and he said, when you get back home, you should look him up. You would probably get along. So I did, and we do!

Shock Treatment: And speaking of newness, you also have a comp coming out called Cavalcade of Stars Volume One on your new label Candyland Record Company. Tell me a bit about this mysterious new compilation and the decision to start your own label?

Andrew: I started Candyland Record Company this year because I saw a void to be filled, notably in Phoenix, but generally everywhere. Like I said before, I came from the bedroom. I grew up recording on a four track tape machine, and a lot of my favorite music is decidedly not radio music, to put it simply. I love the character and imperfection of bedroom music, it is a big part of who I am as an artist and as a listener.

Phoenix has always had a weirdness to it, though I feel like my brand of weirdness that I love and grew up on is noticeably underrepresented. I view myself as a bit of a torch-bearer for the eccentric Phoenix I grew up with. From Wallace & Ladmo, Mike Condello, Hub Kapp, Alice Cooper, Don Bolles, the Meat Puppets, JFA, Jr Chemists, Sun City Girls, on down the line through the stuff I actually grew up around like all the Modified & Trunk Space bands like Colorstore, Ryan Avery, Father’s Day, Treasure Mammal, any number of Andrew Jemsek bands, etc. In recent years I see a lot more bullshit, sad to say. I want the Candyland label and what we stand for to continue the tradition of Phoenix weirdos. And for the readers out there, feel free to take my opinions with a boulder of salt; I am a 40 year old white nerd, after all.

As for the compilation, our first release, it’s called the Cavalcade of Stars Volume One, and it has a ton of great demos, bedroom music, and generally lo-fi recording, half of which is made by Phoenician artists, and the other half by other excellent artists from elsewhere! Famous Phoenician Don Bolles included a song from his first Phoenix punk band, Kray-Zee Homicide, from 1977. That song, “Bionic Girl,” has never seen release! We have some excellent other Phoenix artists like Harrison Hufman, Jaime & the Gnomes, Serene Dominic, and even my own bedroom project, Comfort Corps. The non-Phoenician artists include the wonderful Jad Fair, Prefab Messiahs, Alley Girl, Billy Tibbals… I could go on, but then I’d reach 16 artists and then, well, I couldn’t go on. I implore you to look up anything you can find from these artists; they’re all great, and so are their inclusions on the compilation!

I am hoping to release the LP this summer, so keep an eye out!

Shock Treatment: So I want to get back to the subject of the city of Phoenix itself again. I’ve been noticing a lot of touring bands will now skip over AZ and go north from TX and right into CO then straight west to UT and then over to NV or north to ID and then the west coast. Have you seen this happening? Why do you think Phoenix, the 5th largest city in the FUCKING country is getting the shaft again? Why does Phoenix continue to lack a strong music culture similar to cities its size like Chicago, L.A., New York and Philadelphia?

Andrew: Here’s my hot take/unpopular opinion. And I say this with a great deal of respect and love for my hometown: it is a difficult town for bands who are from here, let alone the bands coming from somewhere else who don’t have a leg up with the right promoters. I have brought/helped several great bands from other cities get shows in Phoenix and Tucson; no surprise, the Phoenix shows were sparsely attended, Tucson always had a bunch of people. I don’t mean to say that Phoenix doesn’t have music fans, it just depends what kind of music, and I’d be willing to guess that the music you and I love and want to see probably doesn’t pack the Crescent, so they have to play small bar shows which don’t always pay enough. That is the state of affairs for all bands nowadays. Even the ones doing well aren’t really doing so hot unless they are above a certain level, financially speaking. It doesn’t always make sense to hit a city where people don’t show up for you. That said, I do wish more stuff I want to see would come through!



Shock Treatment: What does the band have in store for the rest of 2026?

Andrew: We are releasing Maiden America on my 40th birthday, June 1, the first Candyland comp sometime after that, and I’ve been told that a video show we worked on in 2025 should be seeing release around the same time. But that’s another story.

We don’t have any plans to play shows right now. Candy and I just had a son so that is our main priority for now. My little bedroom project, Comfort Corps, is something I am excited about doing; Candy is doing a HI-NRG type thing called Hi-Value… Blake has his band DOMS and his home project Drakkar Noir (also on the comp.) Everyone is feeling happy to do their own thing for the moment, and we still get to hang out and work on things together around the Candyland label!


Shock Treatment: Where can people go to listen to your music, buy your records and follow the band?

Andrew: We are on all the streaming services! You can buy our new record through myself or lolipop, it will be available June 1 and is up for preorder now! Our back catalog you can typically find through me or our Hello Merch store, as wel

Follow us on IG at:
_astrologer_
candylandrecs
comfortcorps

www.lolipoprecords.com

Collaps - Getting Used To The Dirt LP Review

Collaps are a German melodic street punk/oi! band formed in 2022. This here is their second album that came out in late April. Their first record, Executor came out in 2023 on Mendeku Diskak. Musically it falls close to fellow German punk band Oxymoron. Both bands play melodic, hard hitting punk anthems with some mean, rousing hooks. But Collaps throw in a pinch of Motorhead and a dash of Cocksparrer in the mix to make sure the roof of your house gets thoroughly blown off!  

Getting Used To The Dirt houses 11 stellar street anthems about living in a world that is quickly being shrouded in darkness. The first song "Cokehead Politics" paints the picture of a society in chaos and our hypocritical leaders seem to either do nothing or turn their backs completely on their people, further driving the nails into the coffin of society. Some of the other songs like "You Don't Get Shit", "Grinding", and "I Think We're Fucked" paint a picture of class separation becoming such a great divide that it is now so massive, it may be irreparable. The working class is being told to hold the world up while the rich find new and creative ways to spit their wealth in our sweat soaked faces. Collaps are a band that sound like they feel this first hand. 

The second half of the record we get some real stunners like "Away From You", "Grey Man" and "Hostile Ground" which talk about those that have turned their backs on their own people and shout hate and rhetoric nobody wants to be around, the kind that slowly kills the human spirit. Those that have sold their souls for money, power, greed or whatever other evil. Probably my favorite song on the last half of the record is a tune called "A Future" which throws down the gauntlet and declares war. We need, and deserve a better future than the one that's headed our way. We'll be taking control by any means necessary and righting the ship into strady waters. 

Listen to the record here: collapspunk.bandcamp.com

Follow Collaps: instagram.com/collapspunk

Buy the record from the labels below: 

primatorcrew.com

primatorcrew.bandcamp.com

www.oitheboat.com

Beware Puny Humans! IMPLODERS Are Here!

Shock Treatment: Lets start things off by telling me who’s all currently in the Imploders demolition unit:

Mike: Lineup has always been the same since we formed in 2020. We got Joey on
guitar, Todd on vocals, Curt on drums, and myself (Mike) on bass.


Shock Treatment: What is the IMPLODERS origin story? How do you guys all know each other and how did you decide to come together and start the band?

Mike: Joey and I had played in two bands together prior. Pink Wine and Teen Archer. He was one of the first homies I made when I started training into the city from Ajax to play in bands in Toronto. So we were well acquainted many years prior to starting IMPLODERS. Todd I had met through his previous band - Average Times. A garage punk band based out of Ottawa. I used to co-run a record label called Hosehead Records with my best friend Patrick (drummer of Chain Whip, another band I’m currently playing bass with) and we released Average Times first LP. So I slowly developed a friendship with Todd that way. Again - this is years prior to the formation of the band. Around COVID Todd had mentioned he wanted to leave Ottawa so I convinced him to set up Toronto as his home base and that we’d start a band when he got here. After that all came to fruition we added Curt on drums. He was playing with Plasticheads, who were my favourite local band at the time, and didn’t really want to commit to the band long term but agreed to play with us to keep up his chops.Eventually COVID unfortunately dissolved Plasticheads and 6 years later and he’s still with us - har har.



Shock Treatment: Tell me about your newest LP Targeted For Termination. How do you think this record compares to 2023’s Self Titled LP?

Mike: For me, this record is where we kinda found our footing. I think Targeted for
Termination is a killer record straight thru with no filler. The first one, although it has a special place in my heart, has a lot of tracks that we wrote pretty early on that we
stopped playing before the first LP even came out if i’m being honest. I don't think they’re necessarily bad songs, but in hindsight I probably would have ditched a couple tracks from that first LP to bring the runtime down and make it a bit more cohesive.


Shock Treatment: And speaking of Targeted For Termination, it landed on a lot of music blogs and music site’s best of 2025 lists, including yours truly here! That must make you guys feel pretty good and tingly, yeah?

Mike: I mean, yeah. It’s always a good feeling when something you work hard on has some kind of pay off. We have been very blessed to be associated with two killer labels -those being Neon Taste Records and Static Shock Records which I think we owe a lot of the “success” of the band to. Those guys are tastemakers - people listen to new bands because they’re on those labels. We’re obviously flattered that the kind of music we’re making is up to snuff to be released on those labels, but those guys do the real heavy lifting of getting the band name out there - at least initially. It takes special kind of people to run a record label, having got fed up with one myself eventually. So shout out to Josh and Tom for being real ones.

Shock Treatment: IMPLODERS are currently based in Toronto. How does the home town crowd treat you guys?

Mike: The pessimist in me would love to sit here and shit talk Toronto but the reality of the situation is people have really embraced our band in the punk scene here. I’ve played in a lot of bands that couldn’t draw a crowd over the years, that never stopped me from doing what I love to do, but with IMPLODERS we’ve been super fortunate to develop a pretty wicked “fan-base” here in Toronto. It still feels weird to me even saying the word “fanbase” to talk about IMPLODERs but our gigs are always consistently well attended by homies and people we don’t know alike. But I think that speaks more to the sick hardcore/punk scene happening in Toronto thanks to collectives like Not Dead Yet and DIY spaces throwing gigs like Lowbar, than it does our band as a single entity.


Shock Treatment: And speaking of shows, you guys toured Europe last year! How was that experience, give me some stories and highlights!

Mike: Europe was great. This was our second time over there. It’s a bit less exciting going the second time around because you know what to expect. But there’s a reason bands love to tour Europe. Because they treat you like gold comparatively. This time around was also a little bit riskier as our former tour booker (shoutout Flo - what’s up pal) had retired from booking so we put all our faith in our tour driver Tomi (also shoutout Tomi!) who had never booked a tour before. Thankfully Tomi drove us on the first European tour and we knew he’d been driving for 10 or 15 years so we had faith he’d be able to put something together for us. And Tomi knocked it out of the park. We played some of the sickest gigs we’ve ever played over there. Highlights were probably playing some farm in the middle of the Italian countryside, thinking no one would show up, and then having tons of wild kids show up out of nowhere and mosh hard - followed by a bonfire and roasted chestnuts. Milan was sick - maybe the craziest gig we’ve ever played. People were moshing so hard that people were getting physically knocked out of the room. All the French shows were amazing. A couple people broke some bones at a few shows I heard, and whilst I don’t want anyone getting hurt at our gigs, it just shows you how hard those crowds went off. Europe fuckin’ rules and we can’t wait to get back there one day hopefully.

Shock Treatment: You guys also just played some shows with Spiritual Cramp on the AP Presents tour! How did all that run of shows come about?

Mike: We played with Spiritual Cramp in Toronto a few years ago when they cold called uson Instagram asking if we’d open the Toronto gig for them when they rolled thru on tour. We played the gig and hit it off with those guys really well. The gig was kind of underpromoted and at a weird venue so it kind of sucked attendance wise but they rocked and we had fun none the less. About a year later they hit us up again asking if we’d do 4 shows with them - Montreal, Toronto, Cleveland, and Chicago - and of course we obliged. And man, what a year of work those guys put in, because thisatch of shows were complete night and day from the previous time they rolled thru town. Massive crowds. The Toronto gig was so packed you literally couldn’t move anywhere in the venue. They’ve worked really hard and it’s cool to see it paying off for them. All the gigs we did them with were totally killer and we couldn’t be more stoked for the success they’re having. Couldn’t have happened to a more deserving batch of guys. Really hope we hook with them down the line again.

Shock Treatment: IMPLODERS songs remind me of a Tales From The Crypt episode! Not just lyrically, but the whole package. They're short, violent, disturbing and straight to the point! So tell me what’s your favorite Tales From The Crypt moment or if I’m wrong and you’re not a fan, another horror or sci-fi movie that has heavily influenced your songs.

Mike: Haha - you’re not completely off base. Myself and Curt are the huge horror movie fans in the band. I love Tales from the Crypt but I also smoke a shitload of weed so recalling favourite episodes is not really my strong suit. I’ll give you a couple IMPLODERS movie tie-ins in lieu. The original “Melty Man” (we refer to it as in the band) image from our first EP on Neon Taste is taken from a fanmade movie poster for a single showing of the movie “The Incredible Melting Man” from an independent New Zealand theater sometime in the early 80s. That’s why the image looks a bit tweaked from all the traditional Incredible Melting Man posters you can readily find on the internet. This one was handmade by some mystery artist and thus looked kind of wonky, but more appropriate in our eyes. We’ve tried to shoehorn that Melty Man design into every release since. On the first LP the guy ripping his head open on the front cover is wearing a Melty Man t shirt. On Targeted for Termination the mutant on the front is also wearing a Melty Man t shirt, and on the back of that record you can see the torn Melty Man t shirt flying as a flag. It’s become our sort of defacto logo. Probably our best selling t shirt design. I wish I knew who made that original poster, I would love to get my hands on an original copy, but I was only ever aware of the one poster existing on some image database and as far as I can tell, it’s gone now.

We also used some soundbites from the movie Aliens (Bill Paxton's character) on the intro to “Brute Force” and a clip from Faces of Death on “Possessed to Hate.”

“Bloodstains on the Big Screen” is a love letter to horror movies partially inspired by
the Hells “Bloodstains in the Boardroom” at least in title. In that song we make
reference to Evil Dead, Heavy Metal, Basketcase, Blood Rage, I Drink Your Blood, the Bees, Toxic Avenger among others.

There’s probably all sorts of other movie tie-ins because a lot of how i’ll write songs
lyrically involve me hearing a word that sounds cool in a movie or whatever, and then I'll work the lyrics around that word/concept/idea. Hopefully that’ll suffice instead of picking my favourite Tales from the Crypt episodes.

P.S. I was more into the cartoon version of Crypt, being a 90s kid, but both rock.

Shock Treatment: What’s coming up in 2026 for IMPLODERS?
Mike: Looksmaxxing and bonesmashing on de beach mon. Honestly though, not really too sure at this point. We’re working on some new songs but nothing definitive set for release at the moment. We’ve got another live session for Equalizing Distort coming out. This time it’s all video recorded but I think we’re gonna do a second EXD cassette with those recordings. Some upcoming gigs - most notable May 16th with Home Front, Bootlicker, and Corrosives at the East End United Church on the Danforth in East Toronto. That show is gonna rule so if you’re around for that roll up.


Shock Treatment: Where are the best places for people to go and listen to your music and buy your records, merch etc.?

Mike: Best place to listen to our music is thru Static Shock or Neon Tastes bandcamp page. You can also buy the records directly thru them. Support your local record label! You can also check us out on your typical bloodsucking streaming services but I won’t be showing them any love here. Locals in Toronto can always find our records at Emissions Records. Shout out Dave.

Thanks for the questions. Hardcore punk rules. - Mike from IMPLODERS.

www.neontasterecords

neontasterecords.bandcamp.com

staticshockrecords.limitedrun.com

staticshockrecords.bandcamp.com

Nocturnal Prose - Our Mi$ery Is Their Currency LP Review

This band is from Texas but it sounds like they should be from somewhere colder and foggier. A place where at a certain time of night, the shadows come alive and dance in the realm of the living. Perhaps centuries of fallen souls grow restless and are beginning to channel their despair into the vessels that inhabit the area. In hopes of reaching the outside world and communicating their woe and agony to anyone who will listen and take pity. This I feel could be what Nocturnal Prose are projecting through their music. Through this other dimensional pain, come lessons and warnings to us, the living here and now. 

I wouldn't say Nocturnal Prose is a full on goth or death rock band, but they certainly cut in heavy slices of it into their sound salad. The rest of it is sprinkled with what remind me of darker new wave like Red Lorry Yellow Lorry or The Chameleons. The singer has a voice that sounds like it's echoing back to you from inside a great stone tomb and the guitars and bass take a walk down a similar path as Echo and The Bunnymen or early Cure. This LP contains five studio recorded, mixed and mastered tracks along with the bands demos on the B-Side.  

Ghosts of the past certainly haunt this band and this album, that much is evident. Nocturnal Prose sing verses that serve as reindeers of how tortured our souls become the more time we spend in this realm. Tortures that need not bind us or weigh us down unless we give them power to do so. Stars, show your fires, let light see your dark desires.

nocturnalprose.bandcamp.com

Caspa - I Hate Caspa EP Review

Caspa, for those that are unaware, is basically Spanish for dandruff. It is also a San Antonio based neurotic, synth punk band that could care less about me, you or any little white flakes that may fall on your crusty black band shirts! Caspa is comprised of members from other local groups such as Amygdala, Ill Informed, Nocturnal Prose, Faulty Cognitions W.I.M.P, Yolquetza and Pallbexar. This is their debut 12" EP and it's out now on Total Agency Records, in fact this is Total Agency #001! I guess good things can still grow and flourish in these days of bitter air and salinated earth. 



Caspa the band are hardly little white flakes blowing in the summer breeze, being brushed off with ease. In fact, if we're going to compare this band with any kind of epidural condition, I'd say they're more like a sun burn. Looking to sear and sever the nerve endings of modern society and our bloated, privileged lives as we know it. They're here to damage, destroy and reshape the robotic ways we have come to serve, honor and obey our almighty corporate masters. Some might call Caspa a simple synth-punk band, but I don't see them that way at all. Yes they do have synthesizers in their music, but first and foremost Caspa are a punk rock band similar to The Ills, Black Fork or Naked Aggression. The synthesizers swirl around the songs, trying not to get run over, jabbing, slicing and drawing blood when they can. Lyrically, Caspa take on the woes of living in a contemporary society that has nearly snuffed out the flame of humanity. In a land where such things as monotony, gluttony, and complacency are not given a second thought, Caspa are hear to burn it down. They'll do it with a smug smirk on their face and you along with it if you get in the way. 

12" EP available now from Total Agency Records: totalagency.bandcamp.com

The Plane Crash - Too Little Too Late 7" Review

Mark Death, known for his stint with no frills, punked up, rocket fueled rock n' roll bands like The Hot Lz's and The Halfways has assembled a new crew to help take down the sterile institution known as modern rock n' roll and restore it to its former sweaty, leather clad glory! The Plane Crash also features guitarist Rich Peterson from Somerset Meadows, Chuck Roast formerly of Minty Rosa on bass and drummer John Chilson of The Hoods. This 7" actually came out last year on Mark's own label, Hate Street Records but it just recently popped up on my radar and I thought it was just too good to be buried by something as trivial as time. This 7" is the follow up to this Portland band's previous LP Nostalgia For The Gutter, also out on Hate Street Records. 

The Plane Crash play a mean brand of boozed up, stripped down rock n' roll like The Dead Boys The Joneses, or Radio Birdman once did in a different age. Like the bands I just mentioned, The Plane Crash also do it with a glam rock strut and stride similar to Johnny Thunders or Michael Monroe. The three songs here are all packed with disdain, cynicism and distrust. No hearts and flowers found here folks, and that's just fine considering the avenue The Plane Crash has chosen to go down. Rock n' roll of this ilk need not be sunny and hopeful. Sometimes the we get eaten up and spit out and The Plane Crash provide the perfect soundtrack for those very times. Do The Plane Crash just reinvent the wheel? No, but listening to this band is similar to seeing a great whitewall tire, you've seen it before but are always excited to see it again because it's feel is timeless and unfailing. I hope bands like The Plane Crash never stop doing what they're doing because records like this feel like a course correction. Something rock n' roll needs every now and again.