Horror punk may have crawled back into the macabre gutter as of late; bringing it back with a carnivalesque industrial swing is Venustra, with their latest single, Hopping the Train. It may have been a while since I last donned anything by Kreepsville, but evidently, my horror punk phase isn’t remotely behind me, given how adrenalised I was by the histrionic mayhem.
The Wednesday 13/Murderdolls influence runs unbridled through the release, but that isn’t the only iconic alternative outfit Venustra pulled inspiration from with their snarls that are just as raucously gnarled as the guitars.
With The Dresden Dolls, Dir En Grey and Mr Bungle also cited in their wide-range list of inspirational artists, there is an infectiously antagonistic dynamism to the Austin-based artist, who has previously shared stages with Combichrist and Wednesday 13 after the project was created in 2014.
Check out Venustra’s latest track via YouTube.
Review by Amelia Vandergast