By: Anders

Posted: Aug 26, 2005

Killers By Trade is a pretty new band, hailing from Waco, Texas. It's a one man band made of Clint Love, who used to haunt us in the once so infamous doomy black metal band Finsternis, which sadly is on hold right now. This new band has its base in horror rock with a metallic edge. Dark and atmospheric music, with its own identity. Below are reviews of the 3, 2 track demos the band so far has made.  

2 tracks of horror rock is what Killers By Trade deliver on this first self titled demo of theirs. Catchy guitar riffs take us on a trip down memory lane and place us in an old black and white horror movie. The atmosphere invoked is awesome and makes one feel the eeriness of horror. The riffs are pretty simple and the melodies good and catchy. The vocals are raw but very fitting, and the variation of it, gives a boost to the atmosphere. There is some Danzig over the almost "talking" way of singing.

Due to the catchiness and the great atmosphere invoked, this should be a band that catches on to a fairly big crowd fast. The music is really good, even though pretty raw to ordinary rock fans taste. But when having in mind that this is the band's first demo, a promising future should be ahead of Killers By Trade. These 2 tracks 'Steel' and 'Loup Garou' have for sure ignited my curiosity and rocked my world for a while.

The demo "Werewolves Of London" gives is a raw and direct version of the track 'Loup Garou', drenched in horror and eerie fog of sinister atmosphere. Together with a cover version of Warren Zevon's 'Werewolves Of London' is what we find on this 2 track demo. And once again does Clint Love show how good he is at making music sound dark and atmospheric. Catchy horror rock with a killer and straight forward attitude and a good raw vocal performance.

The guitar tone is once again amazingly raw, without it getting too hard too listen too. The catchy and hooking riffs make up for the rawness as well, and create a haven in the middle of the 2 extremes. The only thing which seems a bit out of place once in a while, is the harsh sound of the programmed drums, though the sound seems to slide in the background, due to one being caught in the universe of Killers By Trade.

"Two Behind The Ear" offers Heavy rock n' roll riffs, with a sharp punk edge to them. A thick dark atmosphere, bringing mysticism and eeriness over the music. Effective and catchy riffs, straight forward, together with the rhythm. The music is pushing forward, at the same time it kind of holds back, a nice effect, that together with the bass right behind the guitar, gives strength and power. The vocals are raw, but very charming and catches quickly on. The catchiness of the music and the hooking vocal are the alpha and omega for the music. Even though this is a re-recording of the track 'Steel' from Killers By Trade's first demo, it is somewhat new and exciting.

To top this demo off we have 'Nightprowler' by good old AC/DC, a killer tune, delivered close to the classic, but still in the Killers By Trade vein. And again do the vocals stand out and adds some roughness to the song.   

I am very impressed by the 3 demos and are looking forward to hearing more material by Killers By Trade. I was somewhat sceptical when I first received these demos, but I was proven that horror rock can be made great and exciting today. If you are into horror rock with a somewhat punkish feel, but still a metallic edge and riffing, this is a band you should keep an eye out for.

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