Audio By Carbonatix
Although its members proclaim themselves purveyors of “voodoobilly,” San Diego’s Deadbolt doesn’t tread quite the same musical waters as psychobilly outfits like Mad Sin, with its overt co-opting of snotty punk-rock poses dressed in retro guise. Instead, the act’s music is closer to its obvious influences: Duane Eddy and Dick Dale. Long calling itself “the scariest band in the world,” Deadbolt evokes the campier aspects of the old EC Comics, where lurid, heavy-handed tales of horror and madness prevail. While much of the material is intended to garner a chuckle, there are moments that are genuinely weird and creepy. Lead singer Harley Davidson is a gifted storyteller whose lyrics splash Technicolor images right out of a Roger Corman movie starring James Dean. Although Deadbolt sports a collective grin that conjures the psychotic visage of the Joker, its visceral stage show and spooky guitar lines are lively in a way that belies its name.
