London Ontario's The Matadors helped create the genre of "horrorbilly"; a hybrid of classic 50's rockabilly yet with a "ghoulish" feel with macabre costumes, and stage props. With roots firmly planted in the 50's and the origins of rock and roll, much of the band's new album Sweet Revenge (like the 5 before it) sounds like a long lost album from that era. Complete with surf style guitars and the classic rockabilly sound, The Matadors songs deal mostly with drinking, partying, womanizing and overall general mayhem.

The Matadors mastermind "Hooch" Perkins is the sole remaining member of the band that got started back in 1995. He and the rest of the band apparently are followers of the Lucferian Brotherhood of Baphomet, an allegedly satanic cult. Claims that this is the driving force behind their music I'm afraid is just another "gimmick" with an otherwise very "gimmicky" band. From the fast tempo of That's How She Died to the shake rattle and roll of Up All Night, the only thing that separates this from what some of our parents would've enjoyed in the 50's is the lyrical content. There isn't a single riff, melody or hook that hasn't been heard or done before. The Matadors "package" up their brand of rockabilly into a very enjoyable one yet lacks any sense or originality. The "horror" theme of some of their music is just about the only thing original about it. Faith In Booze has a more energetic and "punkish" feel and Hooch dims the lights for the crooner That Kind Of Love. The Devil Taught Me How is vintage Stray Cats with If You're Gonna Bitch (I'm Gonna Drink) taking on a more classic bluesy hard rock style.

Picture a more "R" rated Stray Cats with some punkish overtones and more darker subject matter - that pretty much sums up The Matadors. Their live shows are apparently legendary and if you're into this sort of thing, seeing them in a live setting would likely be much more enjoyable than most of this album. A couple of tracks are catchy yet most, with a few exceptions quickly follow a very similar formula and sound. Claiming to have "invented" this genre of "horrorbilly" may be in fact true but it's nothing more than classic rockabilly in disguise.