Horror on Headstone Hill: A Love Story

Horror on Headstone Hill: A Love Story

Horror on Headstone Hill: A Love Story
self-released; 2013

3.7 out of 5

By Jerrica Tisdale

For the love of Zombies, Charlie Hodgson, Mike Shaw and Scott Robinson embarked on an adventure. They worked together for several months to produce, record and develop their demo. Later they approached Sonic Sweets Recording in Beltsville, Maryland to complete it. Their final efforts led to the brilliant rock opera album Horror on Headstone Hill: A Love Story. 

A couple trying to survive against zombies is the premise behind Horror on Headstone Hill: A Love Story. American Idiot, Tommy and Evil Dead: The Musical are all similar rock operas to this album. Additionally, some Horror on Headstone Hill tracks fall into the Panic! At The Disco and My Chemical Romance rock category.  The album switches between genres but mainly stays in the lane of rock and pop punk. 

The strongest element of Horror on Headstone Hill is the creative lyrics. It takes skills to write a lyric mentioning grey matter. “Part II: Swing Smash Splatter” and “Part V: Happily Ever Afterlife” are the most marketable songs on the album. They’d fit on any local radio stations without explanation.  “Part II: Swing Smash Splatter” has a catchy chorus. It’s the easiest sing-along song. The guitar riffs in “Part II: Swing Smash Splatter” add a cool factor to this song. “Part V: Happily Ever Afterlife” starts off like most of the songs on Horror on Headstone with really fast beats. However, it eventually transitions to softer tones. This offers a nice taste of variation on the album.  

One thing that might have made Horror on Headstone Hill: A Love Story stronger is if there was more shifts in moods. A couple of songs needed some female vocals. Also, a ballad or two really could have created depth. Because Horror on Headstone Hill essentially is about a couple, adding the woman’s side to the songs could have created more of a playful nature.

Horror on Headstone Hill: A Love Story is a great album for those people who love rock-operas, or zombies. It’s a fun, unique, creative and weirdly cool album. 

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