Shock Theatre

Today’s music would have made for a cool Halloween post, but it involves free stuff and I don’t want anyone to miss out.

If you’ll think back a few months, you’ll recall that I posted up some music by a band called Mary Shelley Overdrive. The music I posted, along with the rest of the EP, was all available for free.

Well, MSO are back with yet more free music. Shock Theatre and Bride of Shock Theatre have both been posted as free downloads. Shock Theatre is a re-mastered version of the band’s first EP, originally posted for download a year ago. It has since been discontinued but, after the release of Hideous Sexy, MSO were hit with requests to make their earlier album available again to the public

“Shock Theatre was recorded when we were still trying to find our sound,” said guitarist Simon McCorkindale. “We had some problems with it and wanted to tinker a little with the sound before making it available again.”


Most of those changes were minor adjustments to the mix. During the re-mixing process, though, the band decided to record new vocals for the cover of Rob Zombie’s “House of a Thousand Corpses,” turning it into a duet between singer Mark Wood and bassist Miss Wyckedevil Jones.


When the band finished its self-titled LP, they returned to the studio and recorded seven new songs in a week. Titled Bride of Shock Theatre, it’s a collection of original compositions alongside covers of tunes by Blue Oyster Cult, New Math, and Bauhaus. “It’s got a rushed, impromptu sound that I like,” said singer Mark Wood. “It sounds very ‘live.’ We didn’t do many takes or spend much time obsessing over details.”

Check out these tidbits of Mary Shelley Overdrive, then jump over to the band’s Web site to download the free music while it lasts.

House of a Thousand Corpses (Rob Zombie cover).mp3
Zombie Toolshed.mp3