THE BRONX CASKET CO.
The Complete Collection
2020 Deko Entertainment
THE BRONX CASKET COMPANY is the gothic metal band formed by OVERKILL bassist DD Verni. The band released its eponymous debut album in 1999, and three subsequent releases afterwards. Comprising the rest of the band is guitarist Jack Frost (SEVEN WITCHES, SAVATAGE), keyboardist Charlie Calv (ANGEL, SHOTGUN SYMPHONY) and drummer Tim Mallare (OVERKILL, M.O.D.). Rob Pallota played drums on the most recent album, Antihero. Lead vocals on the first three albums were by Myke Hideous (THE MISFITS, EMPIRE HIDEOUS), with DD Verni taking over lead vocals on Antihero. BCC is much more than a mere side project. This band had some very cool songs and imagery going during their tenure.
Now, Deko Entertainment has released The Complete Collection, this new box set which encapsulates the band’s entire catalog, plus some bonus material. (There are five discs total, the perfect amount of BCC music to fill your CD changer). The first thing you’ll notice is the sleeve, which is designed to look like a wooden casket. This is a real eye-catching graphic, with the BCC logo burned into the wood. Inside is a unique foldout sleeve that holds all the discs. Kudos to designer Shayne O’Neill, who put together this fantastic package I’m holding in my hands. Secondly, all the songs have been remastered by Alan Douches (THE MISFITS, MASTODON). Great job by him as well, as these songs all sound great.
Disc One is The Bronx Casket Co. (originally released in 1999), which begins with Henry Gibson’s quote (from Kentucky Fried Movie) slowed down for dramatic effect in the opening of “Who Lives Forever”. The use of movie quotes throughout this album is pretty amusing; you’ll notice a few more. Other tracks on this album that I think successfully helped create the BCC sound include the marching doom of “No Miracles”, the nightmare sludge of “Vampire War”, “I Am God Here” and the band’s bleak interpretation of METALLICA’s “Jump In The Fire”.
Disc Two is Sweet Home Transylvania (originally released in 2001), and starts off with the dark and atmospheric “Jesus Doesn’t Live Here Anymore”. Other noteworthy tracks on this album include the groovy “The Other Me” and “Sewing The Dead”, as well as “Killing Maryjane” and “Creeperia”.
Disc Three is Hellectric (originally released in 2005) and begins with the upbeat rocker “Little Dead Girl”, and keeps on moving and grooving with “Everything I Got”, “Dream of Angels” and the infectious WHITE ZOMBIE-ish “Sherimoon”. You can almost see the vampires dancing to these songs in a goth club. Other standout tracks include “In My Skin” and “Live For Death”. But the ultimate track on Hellectric is BCC’s interpretation of LYNYRD SKYNYRD’s “Free Bird”, taking the song to a level I never imagined.
Disc Four is Antihero (originally released in 2011) and begins with the hard-driving title track. I really like DD’s vocals right out of the gate. The power bass of this album is perfect for the band’s themes, and is evident on thrash groover “Bonesaw”. “You Look Like Hell” references the movie Tombstone. Other solid tracks include “I Never Loved You Anyway” and “Selling My Soul”, but the standout track is once again a cover, this one being QUEEN’s “Death On Two Legs”.
Disc Five is the bonus material, so if you already have all the above albums, this is what you’ll need to complete your collection. Newly recorded song “Sabatage-d” is a mash-up of BLACK SABBATH’s “The Writ” and “Megalomania” that’s pretty damn cool. There’s an alternate mix of “Free Bird” and a remix of “Sherimoon”; both are well done. There’s a cover of THE MISFITS classic “Ghouls Night Out”, then the final three songs are demo tracks from the debut album, which are pretty interesting to hear.
This box set is a must-own for fans of the band and gothic and doom-flavored metal. I missed a few of these when they were initially released, so it’s great to have everything all together. There are 53 songs total in this box set, which is limited to 500 copies, 100 of which were set aside for a bundle. So if you’re interested, act fast and go to the link below.
https://www.merchbucket.com/collections/the-bronx-casket-co
5.0 Out Of 5.0
