The Batfinks – Wazzed N’ Blasted
Link Records – LINK LP 082 [1989]
Brain Damage – Gonna Kill My Baby – She’s a Vampire – Sleep Kills – Midnight – Soul Trader – Kali’s Blood – Wazzed ‘N’ Blasted – Sexy Glove – Dracula’s Castle – Raisin’ Hell – Witch Hunt – Drunken Sailor – Wreck Mutes
The Batfinks formed in the second half of the 1980s, with Geoff Dorward on vocals, Simon Reay on double bass, Mick on guitar, and Fritz on drums. In January 1989, the Batfinks recorded their first album produced by Chuck Harvey in his Chuck Flintstone Presents series (Link Records).
While their lyrics remain fairly traditional (featuring the usual horror references), the Batfinks belong to a new generation that emerged in the late 1980s, adding a solid dose of punk and hardcore to their psychobilly and, in doing so, forgetting the genre’s rockabilly roots. At times, they can be compared to certain Demented Are Go recordings (even if their singer clearly lacks Sparky’s charisma), Skitzo during their Terminal Damage era, or even the Quakes‘ first album (Dracula’s Castle being very similar to Pack Our Bags And Go).
The band plays fast, too often confusing speed with haste, and the result is somewhat messy but undeniably effective. In fact, what this album really lacks, besides more varied compositions, is a proper production worthy of their ambitions—not this thin sound—that would showcase the band’s strengths.
The Radioactive Kid
