Local Wire

Blessedbethyname

If all that happens to us skin dolls after we die is an underground picnic for insects, well, my guess is that Blessedbethyname's Eddie Kelly would have a lot of empty space on his hard drive. In the time that it took him to put his personal demons behind him, he constructed this masterwork that takes its inspiration from the Apocrypha, those lusty, hidden-away chapters of the Bible and Dante's Divine Comedy where souls are sorted out to see who gets in the VIP room, the main area, and who stands in line for the bathroom, like, forever! After ushering us through a lengthy sound bite intro in which everyone from Martin Luther to the Moviefone guy gets covered in flies, "The Festival of the Flesh" begins in earnest with Kelly crowing "Dig a grave 'cause you're already rotting." Along the way, he manages several radio-friendly moments, including a pair of ballads ("The Stillborn Whisper" and "Harlot's Memoirs") and the galloping "Enslaved," which begs for an accompanying video game. There might not be too much new to gnash your teeth about in the goth/industrial/thrash world, but Kelly is working on a broad canvas and relishing his chance to turn the roast pig so much that you'll actually feel as if you're descending into hell for the first time. Enjoy your afterlife crisis!
KEEP PHOENIX NEW TIMES FREE... Since we started Phoenix New Times, it has been defined as the free, independent voice of Phoenix, and we'd like to keep it that way. With local media under siege, it's more important than ever for us to rally support behind funding our local journalism. You can help by participating in our "I Support" program, allowing us to keep offering readers access to our incisive coverage of local news, food and culture with no paywalls.
Serene Dominic
Contact: Serene Dominic

Latest Stories