ALBUM REVIEW: Bloody Angel - Sematary

Bloody Angel - Sematary 

Bloody Angel’s content is partly fresh, partly recycled, but fully fun. 

I have an interesting history with 23 year old, Northern California native, Sematary. My first exposure to his deep fried, found footage horror inspired sounds and visuals was in my high school chorus classroom. The stoners in my music theory class would airplay the “Skin Mask 2” music video to the projector everytime our teacher turned away from the screen. It was amusing, but I wasn’t ready to tap into the grating metal, southern hip-hop, witch house fueled hellscape just yet. 

A few months later, I discovered Ethel Cain. She quickly became my favorite artist of all time. This may seem surprising, but in the early days of her popularity, somewhere around Inbred’s release, her artistry was often found in conversation with Sematary’s. Though probably more authentic in Cain’s work, the draws on Southern Gothic aesthetics and hidden-gem horror films are certainly not dissimilar. Part of me appreciates this comparison over some of Cain’s more recently adopted peers like Phoebe Bridgers.

Though a couple of Sematary classics (“Bunny Suit," “Red Mist”) entered my rotation, I remained an outsider. In February of 2023, it finally clicked. I saw that Sematary and the rest of his collective, the Haunted Mound, were playing a show at The Belasco in Los Angeles. It was the week of and ticket prices had dropped to $7. I bought one. I went. I haven’t been the same since. 

It wasn’t the live performance that turned me rather the mixtape he was touring, 2023’s Butcher House. The project contains banger after banger. Opener “Haunted Mound Reapers” is the best song in his career. “Hallowed Be My Wrist," a collaboration with one of The Mound’s biggest musical inspirations and underground legend, Sickboyrari, is addictive. “Angelmakers” is a hidden gem featuring fellow Mound member, Turnabout. The tape is easily one of my favorite releases of last year. 

Bloody Angel, the newest Sematary mixtape is nothing exciting. A new tagline greets listeners to each track: “HAUNTAHOLICS YOU BASTARD”. Besides this, and some catchy experimentation with club-like drum patterns on “Dead Trees," the album doesn’t innovate. I don’t mind this though. It isn’t looking to do so. 

Sematary’s sound is painfully unique. Whether enjoyable to you or not, it’s fresh and masterfully produced. So I don’t mind that most of his projects sound the same, that each one doesn’t find itself searching for something new. The overarching sound and concept is more creative than a lot of what’s getting released, and to me that’s good enough.

Other highlights include the title track, “Parking Lot Scarecrow," and “Barrow Wights.” “Barrow Wights” features Wicca Phase Springs Eternal, founder of Gothboiclique, the Lil Peep-starred, emo-rap collective. Hearing the iconic Gothboiclique tag on a Haunted Mound song was just awesome. It’s endearing watching these kinds of teacher-student collaborations, and Sematary is collecting features from his influences like infinity stones. Last year saw his most impressive teamwork to date with Chief Keef on one-off single “F*ck the World.” 

Like all Haunted Mound tapes, there’s standout tracks to add to the rotation. There’s also songs I'll probably never hear again. That’s fine. Bloody Angel is a fun volume of Haunted Mound’s evergrowing encyclopedia. Sematary’s artistry is like a cult-classic horror movie who’s single-digit Rotten Tomatoes score pales compared to the praise and devotion of its fans, and that’s why I can’t help but to come back for each release. 
 

-DJ Kirby AKA Andie Kirby
 

RIYL: Lil Peep, Xavier Wulf, Bladee

Recommended Tracks: 1, 6, 12, 15

FCC: All explicit