[Cover artwork by Christopher Diaz]
A gust of wind hurls a pocket of dirt into the boiling western air, and a tumbleweed scurries inches behind two boots planted firmly in the ground. The silhouette of a man sits cast upon the front of an old saloon. He reaches for the loaded six string on his back—wields it—fires—and rearranges the brain fragments of his counterpart. Slowly, he turns, removes the cigar from his mouth, and chuckles.
Our pals from the Great White North are no strangers to concept records and nerdy themes. In the beginning, VHS was a vessel for a group of Canadian dudes to bleed their love for bands like Exhumed and Autopsy and the horror genre, with records like Screaming Mad Gore and The New Batch. However, they’ve branched off into nerdier concepts as of late, most notably with their 2023 release, Quest for the Mighty Riff. As you might have gathered from my dorky intro, they’ve unloaded their six-shooter of creativity into classic spaghetti western cinema. If you’re unfamiliar with the appropriately named spaghetti westerns, known for their antiheroes and music, it’s a subgenre deriving from Italy. Yes, Italian westerns! The album’s title is a play on one of its most popular flicks, For a Few Dollars More, starring none other than Clint Eastwood.
VHS has turned the distortion and gain back a few dials, leaving most of what you’ve become accustomed to back home on the range, instead letting the deer and antelope play to the sounds that made those westerns so special—twangy guitar riffs, harmonicas, and other classic instrumentation. But what brings it all together are the only remnants of the band’s classic sound, death metal vocals—seriously. Even the band admits it probably shouldn’t work. But funny enough—and hear me out—it does.
Of course, everything VHS does is done light-heartedly, and while that’s still the case this time, they have created perhaps their darkest atmosphere yet. The record starts with “Django,” which almost sounds like something that would’ve been released by Sun Records in the late ‘50s, backed by old-school rockabilly-country riffage. In western fashion, there’s practically a big-band-era vibe as the song continues to open throughout its duration. But overall, it’s horrendously catchy. You’ll hear similar atmospheres on songs like “Dead People Don’t Need a Leader” and “Death (Metal) Rides a Horse.” One of the most outstanding achievements of this experiment is how well the band captures the sensations of an actual western soundtrack—trumpets and all—if the demonic spirit of a guttural-vocal-vomit-spewing Johnny Cash possessed that soundtrack.
And while this is far from an actual death metal record, VHS does let some of their primitive qualities seep through the cracks on “Cutthroats” and “The Bastard Returns.” A few moments of saddle-blazing blast beats and sample breaks on “Cutthroats,” specifically. I’m reminded of the peculiarity and avant-garde nature of the black metal/dungeon synth project Old Nick. However, rather than being secluded in Transylvania, you’re choking on windswept dust in the Wild West. What I think might be the most reminiscent about something as eccentric as Old Nick, on songs like “A Grave for Every Bullet” and “Life Today is Horse Droppings” (great name), are how the vocal cadences dance alongside the other instruments. Again, it almost doesn’t work; in theory, it shouldn’t. But they keep it together to fit the mold of one of the more outrageous endeavors you’ll hear this year. Darkness to Hochins’ vocals matches the aura of the old, murderous west.
Accompanying your ride off into the sunset is the toast of the album, “An Axe to Grind,” which kicks off with a James Bond-ish guitar riff before launching into the most cinematic moments on the record. The climactic horns and grooving rhythm section add layers, making it the most complete blood offering within the near-half-hour runtime. It’s also Hochins’ most complete and dynamic vocal performance, fluctuating between screeching highs and lows.
VHS is the embodiment of campy, outrageous death metal fun. If you’re a movie buff, into having a great time, or don’t take yourself too seriously, you’ll be more than stoked that you indulged in For a Few Riffs More. Whatever these guys have up their sleeve for their next record, I’ll be listening (I vote for a Blood Diner-themed record, by the way). So, crack open a cold one, saddle up, and fire this one onto your Bandcamp wishlist. Yee haw.
