Blitzkid

Blitzkid
Band photo of the farewell tour 2012
General information
origin	Bluefield , United States
Genre (s)	Horror punk
founding	1997
resolution	2012
Website	www.blitzkid.com
Founding members
Electric guitar , vocals	TB monstrosity
Electric bass, vocals	Argyle Goolsby
Last occupation
Electric guitar, vocals	TB monstrosity
Electric bass, vocals	Argyle Goolsby
Electric guitar	JV bastard
Drums	Stripes
former members
Electric guitar, vocals	J-Sin trioxin
Drums	Billy Bones
Drums	Stuart Evilstein
Drums, vocals	Andrew "Jesco Devilanse" winter
Drums, vocals	Rhea M.
Drums	Dr. Chud
Electric guitar, vocals	TB Monstrosity (1997-2011)
Drums	Ricko Mortis (2010-2011)
Electric guitar	Nathan Bane (2010-2011)
Drums	Paul Lifeless

Blitzkid was an American horror punk band from Bluefield , West Virginia that was formed in 1997 and split in 2012. In the roughly 15 years of its existence, the group blossomed into one of the leading and most influential bands in the genre.

history

The band was founded in late 1997 by Tracy Byrd, aka TB Monstrosity , then 20 years old, and drummer Wolfgang Christopher. Ten tracks were quickly recorded for the first demo, Songs for the Aesthetically Challenged . At first it was just a fun project. That changed when long-time 19-year-old friend Steve Matthews, aka Argyle Goolsby, joined the group as bass player in the fall of 1998 . From now on, Monstrosity and Goolsby worked more seriously on songs and lyrics.

The band name Blitzkid refers to the character Carrie from the Stephen King novel of the same name . In an interview with a music magazine, Argyle Goolsby said: “We know that the name sounds very German! When we first came to Germany, people all said to us that the name sounds like «Lightning Kid». (...) But it actually has more to do with «Carrie»! The first real horror punk song that we, or TB, wrote was “Slaughter at the Sock Hop”, in which the main character is bullied and poked at school every day and then just decides to give everyone in school with an ax kill! So the figure is like a «Blitzkid» - just someone who can no longer take it any longer and goes nuts! "

Argyle Goolsby at Summer Breeze 2007

In 1999, after a few concerts, the EP Revisited was released with seven songs. Musically similarities with the Misfits of the Danzig era cannot yet be denied. In the winter of the same year the band recorded the debut album Terrifying Tales at Lively Sound Studios in Lewisburg, West Virginia , which already more than the EP marks the future style of the band. After further concerts in the hometown and the surrounding area, twelve pieces for the album Let Flowers Die were recorded in the Real 2 Reel Studios in Blacksburg in summer 2001 .

In 2003 the German horror punk label Fiend Force took an interest in the group, placed a song by Blitzkid on the compilation This is Horrorpunk , signed the band and released the album Trace of a Stranger . After further tours, including in Europe in October 2004, the band recorded their fourth album, Five Cellars Below , in May 2005 at SS Studios . On this album Blitzkid sounds even more mature, the production of higher quality. For these reasons as well as an experimental way of playing the album received a lot of praise from critics.

Further tours in Europe and the United States followed. After Jesco left the drums, ex-Blitzkid drummer Rhea M. and ex- Misfits drummer Dr. Chud the job as Blitzkid drummer until Ricko Mortis (bourgeois Rick Fleischer) was found as the new permanent member of the band on the instrument.

In 2008 the album Anatomy of Reanimation Vol. 1 was released . On the one hand, this represents a best-of of older albums, but on the other hand, it is primarily used to re-record classics and present them in the latest sound. Therefore, there are no songs by Five Cellars Below on the album .

In spring 2009, the band released the albums Studio Dead , Revisited and Rarities . Although these offer no new songs, they do offer acoustic and live versions, new recordings and rare pieces. However, all three are only downloadable. In May 2010, the band's first demo album, Songs for the Aesthetically Challenged , was finally re-released; so far, however, it has only been available as a download.

TB Monstrosity (2007)

Due to their great popularity, Blitzkid was until recently the main representative of horror punk in the USA. One focus of the band, however, was in Europe, and especially in Germany.

At the end of July 2009, the members of Blitzkid announced that they had left the Fiend Force label and signed a new recording contract with the US label Torque Records . In summer 2010 there was another label change, this time to Century Media Records (USA) and the German label People Like You (Europe). The new studio album called Apparitional (in German: ghostly or shadowy ) was also released under People Like You on March 25, 2011 . At the same time, the 7 "vinyl single Head Over Hills , limited to 300 copies , was released. This single deals with the story of Sleepy Hollow and tells it from the perspective of the headless rider .

In August 2010, Nathan Bane was also announced as the second guitarist. This was previously active in the US horror punk band The Epidemic . In January 2011 TB Monstrosity announced his departure from the band after 13 years for personal reasons. Although songs from it are still from his pen, Apparitional was already completely sung by Argyle Goolsby alone. Commenting on the founding member's departure, Goolsby said: “Of course, TB was one of the key characters at Blitzkid from the start, but that doesn't mean the band would be history without him. He informed us of his thoughts in good time and didn't just disappear when we were down with our pants and couldn't run after them. TB informed us that he wanted to spend more time with his wife and daughter and not be on the road as much. "

The new album was received very favorably by critics. Christian Heldmann, from the magazine VIRUS , describes the sound as "angry", the voice as "pop-melodic" and the speed as "unpredictable". The structure of the songs is “sometimes differentiated without being exhausting” and the moods “variable from aggressive to melancholic”.

Live in Munich (2012)

In April 2011, both drummer Ricko Mortis and guitarist Nathan Bane surprisingly announced their exit from the band during the ongoing German tour. The current tour was then played by former members TB Monstrosity and Jesco Devilanse and The Jackal from the group The Crimson Ghosts . On February 8, 2012, Argyle Goolsby announced the breakup of the band on the homepage. This finally took place in autumn, after an extensive farewell tour through North America and Europe, with The Other and the Bloodsucking Zombies from Outer Space , among others .

TB Monstrosity is now active in its group A Gathering of None . After Blitzkid ended, Argyle Goolsby released two solo EPs before joining the band Silent Horror in 2013 . The debut album he sang in the summer of 2014 shows strong similarities to Blitzkid. In January 2015, however, he and the band separated again, due to differences of a personal nature and about the future of the band. His current project is called Argyle Goolsby and The Roving Midnight .

Blitzkid has announced the “Escape the Grave” tour for spring 2020. This “one-time” tour includes 30 concert dates in the US only.

style

Blitzkid was less influenced by the more serious horror punk / death rock bands like 45 Grave or Christian Death than by music groups like The Damned or the Ramones . The vocals are pop-like , the riffs are typically simple. Overall, Blitzkid is considered a horror punk band that is less scary than funny.

Blitzkid tape photo (2012)

Although the band members, in addition to The Damned , sometimes name very different performers as role models and influences, Bad Religion is another. This is particularly evident in the sound of the guitars, as well as the mostly harmonic vocals that Argyle Goolsby and TB Monstrosity divide (s) among themselves.

In contrast to many other horror punk bands, the group refers less to topics such as vampires, horror B-films or monsters in their lyrics, but mostly to urban legends , as well as sagas, myths and haunted stories, also from their homeland, the Appalachians . Argyle Goolsby said: “There are so many haunted stories and legends here that they inevitably end up in our songs. We like to use metaphors and write in a dark, macabre style that incorporates the usual horror elements. Even in the darkness of being human you can find beauty. ”Argyle Goolsby and TB Monstrosity also try to tell short stories in their songs and to process personal experiences:“ In all of our songs there is an emotional, personal content - regardless of whether it is obvious is or not. If you look at our makeup, you will only see zombies. But if you pay attention to our texts, you will always find parallels to life and general things in this world. You just have to listen! "

Discography

Albums

• 1999: Terrifying Tales (re-released in 2007 with live DVD by Cinema Sky Productions )
• 2001: Let Flowers Die (re-released in 2003 on Antidote and 2007 on Horror High )
• 2003: Trace of a Stranger ( Antidote , Fiendforce , CD / LP)
• 2006: Five Cellars Below ( Fiendforce , with bonus material on A Corpse with No Name Music , 2012 as LP, 2019 LP remake)
• 2008: Anatomy of Reanimation Vol. 1 ( Fiendforce )
• 2011: Apparitional ( People Like You , Century Media , CD / LP)

Argyle Goolsby (live, 2009)

Demos

• 1997: Songs for the Aesthetically Challenged (re-released 2010, downloadable only)

EPs

• 1999: Revisited
• 2004: Exhuming Graves and Making Dates ( Split -10 "-LP with Mister Monster )
• 2004: Everyday Is Halloween (Split 7 "LP with The Spook )
• 2007: Blitzkid / The Cryptkeeper Five (Split-7 "-LP with The Cryptkeeper Five )
• 2010: Fistfull of Balls Volume 1 (split double 7 "LP with Nim Vind )
• 2011: Head over Hills (7 "LP)
• 2012: Split Personalities (Split 10 "LP with The Cryptkeeper Five )

Other publications

• 2004: Hollow Bodies (acoustic live album)
• 2009: Studio Dead (live album, downloadable only)
• 2009: Revisited (new edition, downloadable only)
• 2009: Rarities (rarities album, downloadable only)

Sampler contributions

• 2003: This Is Horrorpunk (song: "Lupen Tooth")
  

  Blitzkid live in Moscow (2012)
• 2006: Horror High presents: Prom Queen Massacre (song: "Pretty in a Casket")
• 2006: Fiendforce Cuts Vol. 1 (songs: "Terror (in the haunted House)" and "Dementia")
• 2006: Ox-Compilation # 67 (song: "Terror (in the haunted House)")
• 2006: Sonic Seducer - Cold Hands Seduction Vol. 62 (Song: "Mary and the Storm")
• 2006: Zillo Scope New Signs & Sounds 2006/09 (song: "Carve out a Heart")
• 2006: Cannibal Flesh Riot (song: "Cannibal Flesh Riot")
• 2007: It Came from Trafalgar Soundtrack Volume # 1 (Song: "Demon Machine")
• 2007: Paid in Black: A Tribute to Johnny Cash (song: "I Walk the Line")
• 2008: Get Acquainted Vol. 1 (songs: "I'm a Zombie", "Hate you better" and "Ad Nauseum Memorie (live)")
• 2010: The Sound of Horror - Volume 1 (Song: "Love Like Blood")
• 2011: Ox-Compilation # 95 (song: "She won't stop bleeding")
• 2011: XtraX Clubtrax Vol. 3 (song: "Jane Doe # 9")

Side projects

Blitzkid was the focus of attention for Argyle Goolsby and TB Monstrosity for 15 years. In addition, they were both involved in various other musical side projects. Argyle Goolsby sang and played bass in the music group Gorgeous Frankenstein founded by ex-Misfit Doyle Wolfgang von Frankenstein and was also active in the band 1476 . TB Monstrosity also played and sang in the bands Dragnun and The Automatons ; he currently plays guitar in the band Vagora . Argyle Goolsby released his first solo EP A Dream not quite remembered in 2012 .

Web links

Commons : Blitzkid  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

• Official website
• Blitzkid on Facebook
• Blitzkid at laut.de
• Blitzkid at Discogs (English)
• Blitzkid at Allmusic (English)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ journalismcentre.co.uk ( Memento of the original from February 28, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
2. ↑ technicolorterror.com ( Memento of the original from March 4, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
3. ↑ deadhousehorror.com
4. ↑ bdtonline.com
5. ↑ discover.de ( Memento of the original from March 4, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
6. ↑ bdtonline.com
7. ↑ soundclick.com
8. ↑ oivision.de
9. ↑ discover.de ( Memento of the original from March 4, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
10. ↑ ox-fanzine.de Ox-Fanzine, issue # 82 (February / March 2009), Blitzkid - horror punk or caretaker?
11. ↑ Blitzkid at laut.de.
12. ↑ mtv.de ( Memento of the original from June 7, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
13. ↑ oivision.de
14. ↑ groups.google.com
15. ↑ peoplelikeyourecords.com ( Memento of the original from January 1, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
16. ^ Zillo , issue 4/2011, page 128, Blitzkid - The saxophone of Edgar Allan Poe
17. ↑ blitzkid.com ( Memento of the original from March 11, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
18. ↑ VIRUS, issue 40, page 50, Blitzkid - monstrous as ever!
19. ^ Zillo , issue 4/2011, page 128, Blitzkid - The saxophone of Edgar Allan Poe
20. ^ VIRUS, issue 40, page 54, Music Morgue
21. ↑ blitzkid.com  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
22. ↑ silenthorrorpunk.com ( Memento of the original from April 16, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Statement by Argyle Goolsby, accessed April 29, 2015 
23. ↑ Stewart Mason: Review of Five Cellars Below in the Allmusic Guide
24. ↑ mtv.de ( Memento of the original from June 7, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
25. ↑ Blitzkid - small town horror out of passion . Ox-Fanzine, Issue # 55 (June / July / August 2004)
26. ↑ oivision.de