Teen Cthulhu

w/Gehenna, Wormwood, Lords of Light
Sun Sept 8, Graceland, $6.

One look at Teen Cthulhu's debut LP, Ride the Blade (Rage of Achilles), says it all: This band is drawn to the horror show. The cover image is of the band's keyboardist, Calvin "Hank" Guthrie, lying facedown, his blood pooling and a razor blade clutched limply in his fingers.

If the photo doesn't clearly express the band's modus operandi, inside images of bloody body parts illustrate blunt titles like "I'm Going to Fucking Kill Myself," "Ready the Guillotine," and "Fucking with Death." The music itself is no less ruthless, as Teen Cthulhu's gothic mix of sci-fi metal and hardcore skillfully grinds, gnashes, and gores 13 songs in 27 minutes. Blade is the soundtrack to a vicious world of teenage fantasy creatures ("devil horses," "hydroencepheloids," and "wolf hunters") outlined by growling vocals, triumphant guitar strikes, and death-march keyboards.

Grabbing drinks at the Comet after work, drummer Travis Nakamura and guitarist Thomas Jefferson (T. J.) Cowgill explain their fascination with darkness. "[Growing up], we were all in separate parts of town, in our parents' basements playing role-playing games. But we know how funny and dorky that shit is," says Cowgill. "I've always been interested in horror stuff, without carving pentagrams. The album has a lot of suicide-themed songs, but we're all such positive people, we'd never do that--which is why we feel [we have] license with this kind of stuff."

Although Teen Cthulhu spawn dark battles in their music, the band members understand the balance between appreciating the dungeons of black metal and living in a werewolf-free reality. For every song about slitting throats, Cthulhu will throw in the smartass curveball on others, like on "Fantastic Wound" ("Awesome/Totally/It's so totally awesome/Yeah totally/Awesome"). Overall, though, the Cthulhu theme is still bleaker than a Wes Craven nightmare--sending chills down the spines of those who like their hardcore/metal a darker shade of midnight.

jennifer@thestranger.com

by Jennifer Maerz