Chapter VIII : Operation: Get The Hell Out Of Here
Chapter IX: Ride The Flying Polyp
Epilogue: Some Things Man Was Not Meant To Know
Footnote: Sleestak And Yeti
Footnote: Downtown (In The Cenozoic)
Appendix: Nyarlathotep
When is an H.P. Lovecraft story not a book? When is an album by The Darkest of the Hillside Thickets, of course! Following their seven year tour of outer space in support of Spaceship Zero: Original Motion Picture Soundtra... more »ck, The Thickets return to Earth and the waters off New Zealand in a very special operatic adaptation of Lovecraft s The Shadow Out of Time. In HPL s original tale set in 1913, Professor Peaslee of Massachusetts has his mental faculties swapped by an alien mind and learns terrible truths about life on Earth and beyond. The Vancouver, BC nerdcore band s The Shadow Out of Tim their third full-length album and fifth CD release features modern marine biologist Dr. Timothy Vess descent into madness brought on by similar circumstances. The Darkest of the Hillside Thickets, a cult mainstay since 1992, take you on a rock n roll tour through space and time, painting sonic pictures of the ocean deep, mysterious ruin-covered islands, and Paleocene jungles. Five out of five Cthulhu scholars agree The Darkest of the Hillside Thickets The Shadow Out of Tim is the perfect soundtrack to occult investigation!« less
When is an H.P. Lovecraft story not a book? When is an album by The Darkest of the Hillside Thickets, of course! Following their seven year tour of outer space in support of Spaceship Zero: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack, The Thickets return to Earth and the waters off New Zealand in a very special operatic adaptation of Lovecraft s The Shadow Out of Time. In HPL s original tale set in 1913, Professor Peaslee of Massachusetts has his mental faculties swapped by an alien mind and learns terrible truths about life on Earth and beyond. The Vancouver, BC nerdcore band s The Shadow Out of Tim their third full-length album and fifth CD release features modern marine biologist Dr. Timothy Vess descent into madness brought on by similar circumstances. The Darkest of the Hillside Thickets, a cult mainstay since 1992, take you on a rock n roll tour through space and time, painting sonic pictures of the ocean deep, mysterious ruin-covered islands, and Paleocene jungles. Five out of five Cthulhu scholars agree The Darkest of the Hillside Thickets The Shadow Out of Tim is the perfect soundtrack to occult investigation!
CD Reviews
Seamless
C. Stewart | Vancouver, BC | 06/23/2007
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Unlike Spaceship Zero (also a fantastic album and also for sale through Amazon), which plays outtakes of a cult sci-fi film throughout, The Shadow Out of Tim leaves no breathing room. Modeled after The Shadow Out of Time by HP Lovecraft, the album is similar in its storytelling concept to SSZ, but just rocks from "chapter" to "chapter", no pauses. Try reading along with the liner notes - the lyrics make you want to go find the original novel that inspired this CD.
Marine Biologist is the standout single, at least it is in my opinion, but not by much. Every track worms itself into the brain and multiplies - my advice is to put it in your car stereo and turn it up."
Horror/Geek Rock
William D. Bolden | Huntsville, AL United States | 07/12/2007
(5 out of 5 stars)
"With lyrics ranging from Middle Egyptian (as in, sung in the language or something like it) to "He's got a bathyscaphe" to "Execute Operation: Get the Hell Out of Here!", Darkest of the Hillside thickets continue their punk/rock infused sf/horror styles. Even more of a concept album than their previous Spaceship Zero, this one explores many themes close to Lovecraft's heart: insanity, ships in the South-East seas, flying polyps, and insanity. Oh, and some guy goes crazy, so insanity.
The lyrics/themes aren't the only thing this album has going for it. The band's sound is more polished, and Toren Atkinson's vocals have an even better range. If you have been a fan before, I see no reason why you wouldn't even be a bigger fan, now. The "quirk" seems to be toned down a little, but it made the album stronger to me.
My favorite is almost definitely "Blackout", with "Operation: Get the Hell Out of Here" stuck in my head the most often."
What They're Rockin' to in Arkham These Days!
Michael R Gates | Nampa, ID United States | 07/15/2007
(5 out of 5 stars)
"For several years now, I've been avidly listening to the music of the Canadian band The Darkest of the Hillside Thickets, a group that creates fantastic metal-ish, punk-ish tongue-in-cheek musical homages to the works of author H.P. Lovecraft. After a break--or some would say "drought"--of nearly 7 years, the band has released another CD, this one inspired by Lovecraft's story "The Shadow Out of Time." The new musical work, entitled THE SHADOW OUT OF TIM--it's a play on words, as the "protagonist" of the musical narrative is named Timothy--brings the story into the 21st century as it follows the experiences of a modern-day marine biologist who has an unnerving encounter with one of the Old Ones.
THE SHADOW OUT OF TIM has quickly become one of my favorites by this unique band. The musical opus adds a few twists to Lovecraft's narrative, including the linking of the legendary Yeti and the Sleestaks of 1970s Saturday-morning fame--fellow geeks know what I'm talking about--into the story, and my current favorite song on the CD, "Nyarlathotep," even connects ancient Egypt to the Lovecraft mythos (with lyrics that are in an old Egyptian dialect!).
The music of The Darkest of the Hillside Thickets has been called Horror Rock, Horror Punk, and Geek Rock. Whatever the musical genre, it's music tailor made for fans of horror, SF, H.P. Lovecraft, and rock-and-roll. If you fall into one of these categorizations, or even if you just enjoy music that's not run-of-the-mill, you're sure to enjoy THE SHADOW OUT OF TIM."
Another triumph
Joshua Kravik | Casper, WY United States | 06/22/2007
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Seven years after Spaceship Zero, The Darkest of the Hillside Thickets deliver another Lovecraftian powerhouse. From the full throttle rock of Blackout, to the mellow groove of Return to Melanesia, to the sinister Egyptian underpinnings of Nyarlathotep, this is hands down the most musically diverse Thickets album to date, and yet it maintains a strong theme throughout. Definitely one of the landmark albums of 2007."
I'm So Glad
Jonathan R. Hatch | Greensboro, NC, USA | 08/23/2007
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I was afraid that, with other projects, the Thickets wouldn't be putting out another album.
Yay! I was wrong!
Excellent music, great theme, great idea (follow one lovecraft story instead of jumping all over, though there's nothing wrong with that either)."
Track Listings (14) - Disc #1