If you’re going to Southsea Fest this weekend (Saturday, September 15) and fancy reviving the long-dormant spirit straddling the line between hardcore punk and thrash metal, you are keenly directed towards Ed Wood.

The Violent Years is every bit as gloriously trashy as the films of their namesake, the mastermind behind such defiantly cult classics as Glen Or Glenda and Plan 9 From Outer Space- but it would be lazy to simply lump them in with the horror-punk crowd. Their sound is more reminiscent of a heady clash of Tales Of Terror (see their 1984 self-titled album, their only full record together, which has a claim to fame for being one of many obscure classics featured in the late Kurt Cobain’s journals, with Chambers Of Horror a particular favourite) and Possessed ( 1985′s Seven Churches often cited as a pivotal moment in metal, The Exorcist often seen as a high point, with its backward sampling of Mike Oldfield’s Tubular Bells ramping up the scares from the first seconds).

Ed Wood - The Violent Years

But aside from the scary shtick, there’s also a healthy dose of Oi!-era punk attitude- Discharge in particular springing to mind- Hear Nothing Say Nothing See Nothing’s bovver-booted attitude in evidence in spades, the ideal release of anger should Pompey contrive to lose at home to Walsall earlier in the day, 6.57 Crew member or not…………………

And should you wish to kick off early, you can strap on your Doc Martens and stomp along to

http://edwarddwoodjr.bandcamp.com/