Wendigo: an “evil spirit that devours mankind” or as a German explorer translated to mean “cannibal”. The Wendigo roams the upper regions of Minnesota with an insatiable hunger for human flesh. This supernatural creature stands 15 feet tall, severely thin and gaunt, with glowing eyes, long yellow fangs, an overly long tongue, and matted hair. The Wendigo’s sallow yellow and ash gray skin emits a sour odor of decay.
Both hailing from Minneapolis Minnesota, horror punk bands Ripsnorter and Die Ghost are no strangers to the cold dark winters and what lurks in them. Ripsnorter formed in 1994, and Die ghost, formed in 2014, have joined together to bring you a four-song split that showcases the best horror punk that Minnesota and the upper midwest has to offer.
Firing up the split, Ripsnorter brings you “Devils Night”. Horror Punk doesn’t start and stop on Halloween. Devil’s night is a name associated with October 30, the night before Halloween. It is related to the “Mischief Night” practiced in parts of the U.S. associated with vandalism and arson. It’s a night to raise Hell before the real monsters come out play on the following night. RIP it up on Devil’s night!! Fire it up! Fire it up!
Followed by “Harbinger”. Listen to the crazy fucker. He knows what’s up. How many times have you and your friends been out trying to have a good weekend, only to be chopped up by a psycho in a mask, or ripped asunder by a Wendigo? Remember that guy at the gas station that warned you “Don’t go in to the woods, this place has got a curse.” The one who you dismissed as a whack job? Well, turns out, if you would have just listened to the “Harbinger” it could have saved your life. Evil naturally has a thirst. Heeding the warnings and keeping out of potentially harmful situations will keep death off your heels.
Not to stand idly by, the Die Ghost half of the split opens up with an all too familiar and haunting camera shutter that goes right into “The Change”. For some of us, life started all wrong. So what do you do about it? Do you deal with it and let people push you down or do you fight back with a gruesome vengeance? The Change is a straight to the point, no bullshit story of a punk being pushed over the edge. Are you that punk? There’s a monster inside all, It seems.
Closing it out is “Velvet Vampire”. Is it real? Or is it a dream? The lines are blurred in this aggressive, no-holds-barred song about a mysterious “velvet vampire” that torments you in the night. Driving guitars and intense vocals push this song to the bridge where any hopes of rest is short-lived when you learn that death is your only escape.