Menu
Thanks for the review, Brian, it certainly got me interested in hearing The
Hellbenders.
Bonus Question:
I think Arch Stanton was the name of the civil war casualty that supposedly
had a treasure in his grave (but it truned out to be in the garve next to
his) in "The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly". I might be wrong on that, so if
I am, it might be a name mentioned in "For a Few Dollars More". Havn't
watched these in a long time, so my memory is failing me.
Ran
----- Original Message -----
From: "Brian Neal" <>
To: <>
Sent: Tuesday, July 13, 2004 5:05 PM
Subject: [SurfGuitar101] The Hellbenders!!
> Just a very quick note (or as quick as *I* can be). I just got the
> new Hellbenders CD "Today We Kill, Tomorrow We Die" (how cool is
> that?) and I have listened to it a few times now. I will post a more
> detailed review later, but I must say this thing is FANTASTIC. In
> case you didn't know, The Hellbenders are actually 3/4 of the
> Volcanos surf band plus a different bass player. This band plays
> music along the lines of spaghetti-western/cowboy country/early
> Johnny Cash. Both instrumental and vocals. The dual guitars are
> twangy and often reverby, the bass is thumpy and the drums pound out
> the familiar martial sounding western beat. Surf fans will be able
> to appreciate this. Arch Stanton's (err... Rick Mills) vocals are
> perfect for this genre, he's got great cowboy inflections, and the
> lyrics are something right out of a dime store western novel. Over
> the top! As in the Volcanos, the guitars inter-twine and trade off,
> similiar to the Bambi Molesters (but perhaps not as exotic). Anyway,
> the thing is a TON OF FUN and very well played and performed. I
> personally like the Morricone influenced cover songs the most, but
> their cowboy tunes (that harken back to when country and rock-n-roll
> were still very closely tied together - think Johnny Cash) are also
> very fresh and inventive sounding.
>
> When I was kid my Dad watched a lot of the old Bonanza TV shows, the
> Clint Eastwood/Sergio Leone westerns, etc, etc. These songs invoke
> the spirit of those old western themes and literally paint them
> before your very eyes. This is a very visual CD.
>
> Great artwork by the band too. The songs are often intercut with
> little 30-60 second song snippets/themes, something that you may
> hear on a Western movie soundtrack just before a gun fight. Just
> very well done.
>
> Highly recommended!
>
> BN
>
> PS Bonus question: does anyone else know the significance of the
> name "Arch Stanton"? :)
>
>
>
