Dungeons and Dragons Rating: Strength: 14, Intelligence: 13, Wisdom: 17, Dexterity: 14, Constitution: 15, Charisma: 17, Alignment: chaotic evil, Class: cleric.

Two words: small town (in in some areas suburbs). The Darkest of The Hillside Thickets combine some of the best parts of isolation: time to consume a lot of B-horror movies, novels, comic books and role-playing games, along with dope, and time to play and listen to a lot of punk rock. Although some of their references (like combining Star Wars samples with Black Sabbath inspired vocals) lacked subtly, yah gotta dig ‘em. Metal and the supernatural go together like blood and George Ramero. When The Darkest… drift away from pop-punk towards trippier, effects-soaked jams they Bring-It-On. While it’s obvious from their cover art (including an amazing painting of the Millennium Falcon’s cockpit with the band painted as Chewy, Ben, Luke, and Han) that they don’t take themselves too seriously, if they take the Necronomicon as seriously as H. P. Lovecraft…they suck. However, appreciated like a good evening of Evil Dead…they’re awwwwlrite!
– Matt McMillan

Darkest of the Hillside Thickets
Cthulhu Strikes Back
[self released]

The Thickets bill themselves as the world’s only Cthulhu punk band, a claim I have no doubt is accurate. Writing songs about the Cthulhu Mythos is a gimmick that could get very stale very quickly. (On the other hand, look at the mileage the Cramps got out of grade “Z” horror flicks.) The Thickets just barely escape sliding inexorably into Dr. Demento Land, saved by the fact that they play a reasonably pleasing flavor of pop-thrash-metal. Over the course of the album there comes to be a sameness about it all — a song like “Yig Snake Daddy” rips off Generic Thrash Guitar Line #572, frinstance — but one or two things on here stand out. (“Goin’ Down to Dunwich” is especially catchy.)

Check ‘em out at the Thickets Page.

from Michael Wassen, http://www.io.com/~wasson/records.html,
1,000,000,000 Robots: Music Reviews, March ’96, wasson@io.com

CTHULHU STRIKES BACK
THE DARKEST OF THE HILLSIDE THICKETS
INDIE/CARGO

Cthulhu is cool, and so are The darkest of the Hillside Thickets. In fact, this 4 piece horror-rock combo is my all-time favourite band from Chilliwack, and yes, that includes the early ’80s corporate rock atrocity that bore that British Columbia towns’ name.

For some reason I’ve been having a hard time describing DHST’s sound. I liked them as soon as I heard one of their indie cassettes a couple of years ago; there’s something just sort of satisfying about it. Basically this is ROCK, and yes, that’s all caps. There are elements of ’70s metal, elements of hardcore, but there are elements of opera and heroic ballads too. Not exactly an intuitive mix, but it works and works well.

What’s up with the title? Well, DHST have this fascination with H. P. Lovecraft, the Sci-Fi/Horror writer. Seems old H. P. came up with a pretty well developed alter-universe o’ horror, peopled (monstered?) with the likes of Yog-Sothoth, The Deep Ones, and of course Cthulhu, a rubbery dimension-hopping cephalopodic lump of chaos. Remote, inbred villages in New England, strange disappearances, demonic possesions and black magic; the whole deal. Many, but not all of DHST’s songs refer to various aspects of this ‘Cthulhu Mythos’.

Well, I was sceptical. I mean, monsters? Can anybody say Star Trek Convention? Might as well write songs about your Dungeons and Dragons characters. But this just didn’t sound like Sci-Fi nerdlet cult music, so I investigated further. I started off by asking band member Toren Atkinson some very pointed questions about his own, and his fellow Thickets’ potential nerdiness. He was very forthright in is answers, seemed to be in control of his more important faculties and even claimed that women sometimes came to their shows. I felt heartened. I got extreme and actually read an H. P. Lovecraft book, and by golly, it wasn’t bad. Some of the bands’ lyrics even started making more sense. I was reassured.

But the main point is that the music stands on its own. You can enjoy it without belonging to the Loyal Legions, or whatever. I guess that the CD’s dedication – to “H. P. Lovecraft, without whom we’d be singing lame love songs”- sums it up. These certainly aren’t love songs and they’re a long way from lame. So pack up your Shogoths and go get yourself a copy today.

Tom Hayden (Big Joe Mufferaw), Beaver Country Radio show, LA

The Darkest of the Hillside Thickets
Cthulhu Strikes Back
(Great Old One/Independant)
rating – 6/10

The list of acts who have payed tribute in song to the reclusive American horror-fantasy writer of the early part of this century, H.P. Lovecraft includes Metallica, Morbid Angel, and Mekong Delta. Now from Chilliwack B.C. come the Darkest of the Hillside Thickets, (who you may remember played Calgary in November) to give us an album full of songs invoking Lovecraftian demons. Yig, Cthulhu and Yog Sothoth are just some of the names mentioned.

The music itself hearkens back to my nearly forgotten high school days of listening to Gwar, with a bit of early Anthrax on the side. This is not to suggest a competely unpleasureable experience, though, as the band manages to throw just enough of that ol’ punk/pop sound into the fray to keep my interest up. Some of the punkier songs, such as “Burrow Your Way Into My Heart,” “Yig Snake Daddy,” and “Worship Me Like a God” are downright enjoyable. Where the album loses points is in the production department, which is lacking in power, and tends to suffocate the band’s energy, which is the strongest element of their live show. Cthulhu Strikes Back won’t rise to the top of my playlist anytime soon, but won’t end up in any pawn shops, either.
-Chris Zimmel