Horror and metal are kissing cousins. It’s no surprise that the two genres work well together. They’re both aggressive, cathartic, outlaw art-forms which get little respect from the mainstream public, but whose admirers are of the most ardent, die-hard sort.
Nick Necro, lead singer for self-described “Grave Rock” act The Curse of Sorrow, knows all about that. Since the group’s debut in 2006, the band has built up a devoted NEPA fan base, something Necro partially attributes to his chosen genres’ ability to help listeners vent their own real-world frustrations through jet-black fantasy.
“Our style is horror, because that’s what we’re into. But at the same time, with the music itself, we don’t focus on trying to be terrifying. We focus on reality a lot,” Necro said.
“I think one of the best things about our lyrics is that I could play a song for ten people and have every one of them take it in a completely different way. They can personalize it, put themselves into the songs.”
Preparing to unleash another slab of snarling, raucous horror-metal on the helpless masses, the Wilkes-Barre-based five-piece – which also consists of lead guitarist Jay Bones, rhythm guitarist Mark Massacre, bassist Steve Slaughter and drummer Evil Eric – will celebrate the release of its second album, “The Uninvited,” with a special concert on Saturday, March 24, at Brews Brothers West in Luzerne. Supporting acts include Sinister Realm, Prosody and Mobday.
Promising an unforgettable stage show, Necro remarked that the band’s reputation for delivering flashy, frenzied live performances is no accident.
“We do everything in our power to put on one hell of a show for anyone who comes out. We go above and beyond with our energy. We’re not all about the shock, but we get carried away in our music,” Necro said. “We just dropped a lot of money on a lighting system, because we want people to come out and experience not only music but a visual as well. We do everything we can to make sure we stand out.”
Ultimately, however, Necro feels the music itself is the star attraction. He credits the band members’ eclectic range of influences for contributing to their unique “Grave Rock” sound, rattling off a list of inspirations including everything from Motley Crue, The Misfits and Iron Maiden to more surprising additions like The Grateful Dead and Johnny Cash.
“That’s the one thing I pride myself the most on with The Curse of Sorrow. When we sit down to write a song, it’s not like a group meeting where we start playing a guitar part over and over until we have something great. We just get together and jam out,” Necro explained.
“It’s not that any one of us really focuses on our influences. It’s just that we’ve evolved from our influences and listened to our influences for so long, it just comes naturally. I’ve been playing music my entire life, but music just does not come together like it comes together with The Curse of Sorrow. We’re blessed to have what we have.”
Tickets for the Saturday, March 24 show at Brews Brothers West are $7. Doors open at 8 p.m. and footage of the concert will be shot for an upcoming music video. For more information, visit thecurseofsorrow.com or brewsbrothersbar.com/brewsbrotherswest.