O’Death

Head Home

By Travis Burdick

O’Death is a bit like some sort of spastic, eclectic, hillbilly, gospel mutation that somehow snuck by God so the Devil could shuffle dance on the hard packed dirt floor of a cemetery shanty. It is not possible to truly describe the snake bite, southern gothic power O’Death is able to emanate but this gets close. Their music is something that you truly have to hear in order to believe.

Dedicated pop-culture fans may find this music hard to swallow and painful to digest but this is what drives the rest of us toward their unique sound. Any fan of Tom Waits, The Legendary Shack Shakers, Two-Gallants, or any other garbage can banging, banjo plucking, weary truck stop loving, hillrockaswampbilly music would appreciate, respect, and out right love this album. Believe it or not O’Death is an unlabeled band from New York City.

It’s a strong batch of grandpa’s moonshine I really stumbled onto when I was looking at the Myspace page for Two Gallants, whom I reviewed in the last issue of the Gargoyle. Check out www.myspace.com/odeath and take a listen to a band that described themselves as sounding like dried blood and rickety fence teeth influenced by whiskey.

If you like the music, just click on the link from their Myspace page directing you to cdbaby.com. Once there you can purchase their 15-song album Head Home and truly show your support for this unsigned mountain gem. Then add them as a friend to your Myspace account and start sending them messages on how they need to come perform in St. Augustine, Fla., some time soon.