Trevor Tuminski

The third volume of our Hymns From the House of Horror comp gets an injection of bubbling estrogen this month courtesy of goth-punk femme fatale Dinah Cancer and her LA deathrock band 45 Grave! You may remember the original version of “Night of the Demons” from the soundtrack to 2009′s Night of the Demons, starring Shannon Elizabeth and Edward Furlong, but this version is actually a redo from the band’s recently released first album in 27 years (!), Pick Your Poison (Frontier Records). If, like me, you’re feelin’ like Halloween can’t come soon enough, crankin’ this cut up to 11 oughta do the trick. Click here, and make sure you get the rest of 2012′s tracks too ’cause once they’re gone, well…you know.

No doubt you’ve read John W. Bowen’s monthly column on cast-aside cinema, Bowen’s Basement, and wondered aloud if there was only some way that you could delve deeper into the dense, mildew-soaked grey matter of one of RM‘s most learned writers.

Well, recently, a fine gent by the name of Chris, who blogs at a site called Bleeding Me Black, did just that…and not only did he surface from John’s titular (and I don’t even mean to use this word as a way to make reference to the title of his column so much as that delete-bin dungeon literally has boobs of all shapes and sizes plastered all over the place) den of self-iniquity, he got the notorious trash cinema scavenger to make known the parts previously unknown from whence he came, to open up about his tender musical side, and to divulge the worst movies he’s ever seen that you should see for yourself.

Brush up on Bowen here!

The White Stripes? The Black Keys? Death From Above 1979?

Earthworms compared to Black Cobra.

Yep, for our rotten, blood-drenched dollar bill$, there is simply no two-piece more gloriously murky, grave and fatally venomous than San Francisco, California’s unholy alliance between guitarist/vocalist Jason Landrian and drummer Rafael Martinez, which plummeted to all-new depths on its recently released fourth full-length, Invernal (out now from Southern Lord Records).

This shadowy clip for Invernal‘s “The Crimson Blade” saw the band team up with director Greg Downing and shoot for three days with absolutely no money to tell the sordid tale of a man who “resorts to cannibalism in a post-apocalyptic world.” So frenzied were the proceedings, actor Landon Bates (who plays the unraveling protagonist) accidentally cut himself multiple times, meaning that black blood you see spilling from his wounds is deadly real. For his art, he has suffered….and we’re proud to premiere the withering fruit of that suffering in this Rue Morgue exclusive of Black Cobra’s “The Crimson Blade.”

Let it drip…

If you’re already smartly plotting your panel itinerary for this week’s Rue Morgue Festival of Fear (Thursday, August 23 to Sunday, August 26), we’ve got word of one more discussion that does not appear in the official program: THE BLACK MUSEUM PRESENTS CANADIAN HORROR REVISITED – Saturday at 2 p.m. in Room 717.

Your hosts, Paul Corupe (who RM readers will recognize as the curator of The Late-Night Archive) and author Andrea Subissati (When There’s No More Room In Hell: The Sociology of the Living Dead) are bringing their recently launched lecture series (which they discuss in depth on this week’s RM Podcast) to FoF 2012, where they will offer a glimpse at the past, present and future of Canada’s love affair with homegrown horror cinema, including the past 50 years of Canadian horror and a 30-minute panel discussion on how the past continues to inspire the next generation of Canadian horror filmmakers. With RM scribe James Burrell, RM Editor-In-Chief Dave Alexander and the Miskatonic Institute’s Kier-La Janisse.

Mark it down, tell a friend and don’t miss it!

Rue Morgue’s CineMacabre Movie Nights are relocating and will be back on Thursday, September 20 @ 9:00 p.m. with a special screening of Gyo – based on the famed Junji Ito manga and featuring a mechanical zombie fish apocalypse! – exclusively at the TIFF Bell Lightbox (350 King St. W – Toronto)! To tide you over, we’re presenting a special Festival of Fear screening of Candyman, featuring a Q&A with star Tony Todd – Saturday, August 25 @ 9 p.m. at the Lightbox. Tickets available here or at Silver Snail (367 Queen St. W), Suspect Video (605 Markham St.) and the RM House of Horror (2926 Dundas St. West; weekdays 10am–6pm). Sponsored by The Rue Morgue Podcast, Toronto After Dark, Silver Snail, Suspect Video and Jägermeister.

In an update to one of our Entrails in RM#125, Lamb of God’s Randy Blythe has finally been released from a prison in Prague, Czech Republic, after posting $400,000 US bail, and is returning to the United States. The singer – who was arrested in connection with the 2010 concert death of an audience member who hit his head on the floor and later died from his injuries after being thrown from the stage by Blythe and one of the venue’s security members – has been detained for several weeks after Lamb of God returned to Prague for a show on June 27, reportedly unaware of the charges pending against Blythe.

Though the band previously cancelled its summer co-headlining tour with Dethklok due to Blythe’s incarceration, a press release issued today announced that they will perform at Slipknot’s inaugural Knotfest event August 17 in Council Bluffs, Iowa, and August 18 in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

While that headline up there ↑ pretty much says it all, it sure doesn’t fill you in on just how special I believe our two offsite Festival of Fear events are this year. Sure, I’m biased as all hell but if these two horror happenings don’t get your cynical heart pounding like the thundering hooves of 60,000+ festivalgoers, well, you may be better off dead!

Ever wonder what would happen if a horde of things-that-should-not-be tromped through an art gallery and trashed its high-falutin’ innards? Find out this Saturday, July 28th, when noted Toronto eccentric/artist/gallery curator Christian Aldo hosts the opening reception for “The Million Dollar Monster Show,” a 35-artist exhibition of modern art inspired by monsters. Plus, it’s free! Meaning, of course, that the venue will pack fast… so don’t drag your six-toed, hair-covered feet.

Imagine an alternative universe of Canadian horror movies that didn’t, couldn’t and maybe even shouldn’t get made… but we’d still love to see. RM’s Dave Alexander has brought together some of Canada’s most celebrated genre filmmakers, illustrators and designers to create If They Came From Within – a gallery of poster art for Maple Syrup genre films that don’t exist.

Join him for the gala premiere this Friday, July 20 from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. at La Cinémathèque Québécoise, as part of Montreal’s Fantasia Film Festival (July 20 – 29), to see what happens when the imaginations behind such films as Hobo With a Shotgun, My Bloody Valentine, Father’s Day, Pontypool, Splice and Smash Cut intersect with acclaimed genre artists such as James White, Jason Edmiston, Ghoulish Gary Pullin, Justin Erickson, Vince Marcone, and more!

Earlier this summer, the literary landscape was forever altered by the unexpected passing of Ray Bradbury, who, for more than seventy years, took readers on fantastically frightening journeys filled with aliens, creatures and monsters. With the help of filmmaker Tim Sullivan (2001 Maniacs, Chillerama) – who interviewed the legendary author at his home last year – we pay tribute to a giant of the genre. ON STANDS AUGUST 1! Also available for iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch, Android, PC and Mac for only $4.99 an issue.