Horror in the same vain (or vein) as, say, The Munsters.
Zombina and the Skeletones, a horror-themed pop punk band from Liverpool, England, began in 1998 when Zombina and songwriter Doc Horror partnered up as teenagers to create a band called The Deformed. Legend has it that they changed their name at one of their first shows, coming up with their current moniker backstage as a reference to Josie and the Pussycats and allowing the audience to vote on the proposed change. They have since released five albums and numerous EPs and singles, with Zombina and Doc Horror being the only consistent members.
Their music typically takes inspiration from various B Movies, often from horror and science fiction. Their specific sound often blends pop elements from the 1950s and 1980s, giving them a following amongst fans of horror punk, gothic and psychobilly, among others.
Their Discography:
- Taste the Blood of Zombina and the Skeletones (2002)
- Death Valley High (2006) Their one and only concept album.
- Monsters on 45 (2006) A compilation of songs from earlier EPs and singles.
- Out of the Crypt and Into Your Heart (2008)
- Charnel House Rock (2014)
Tropes:
- Acapella: "Prom Night" is entirely sung with vocal harmonies providing the bass and rhythm with the band members clapping as percussion.
- Anti-Love Song: "Counting on Your Suicide".
- Ascended Fanboy: "Vincent Price", (naturally enough) about the titular actor's biggest fan that models his/her look after him, impersonates him for movies, and even wants to be buried next to his grave.
- Badass Boast: "King of the Ring" is sung from the point of view of a boxer.
- Concept Album: Death Valley High was originally meant to be a movie, but the band was unable to scrape together the funds to make it happen. It tells the story of high school outcast Janie Spencer, who is love-lorn for the popular kid (who is also a mad scientist) and is rejected, so she shoots up the school with a dissolvo ray.
- Cover Version: They've done a medley consisting of some Misfits tracks, Pretty Little Angel Eyes by Curtis Lee, Sea of Heartbreak, as well as the obligatory remake of Monster Mash.
- Creepy Doll: "That Doll Tried to Kill Me".
- Death by Mocking: Most of the students at Janie's high school in Death Valley High get their comeuppance:Said that she was getting tired,Of people laughing all the time.And the local boys all pulled her hair,And they sent her letter bombs.
- Hidden Track: "Something Weird", added to the tail end of the album Out of the Crypt, and Into Your Heart.
- How We Got Here: Death Valley High starts with an investigation team already finding the school in ruins with the charred remnants of students' corpses melted into the walls. The rest of the album shows how it came to be.
- Humanoid Abomination: "Spring-Heeled Jack".
- Human Popsicle: "Staci Stasis" is a love song from the narrator to the title character, who is frozen in suspended animation somewhere in space.
- In the Style of: "The Future" sounds like something The B-52s could have come up with.
- Lighter and Softer: Than most horrorpunk bands. However, they do have their darker songs like "Your Girlfriend's head" from Death Valley which veers into hardcore punk territory.
- Lyrical Dissonance: Prom Night is an infectiously catchy acapella pop tune about Janie arriving late to the dance, only to find her Mad Scientist date with another girl. This quickly leads to things getting messy.
- Murder Ballad: "The End of the World", the climactic track of Death Valley High, the chorus blatantly has Zombina shouting "Everybody's gonna die! Everybody's gonna die!" Presumably it's for the benefit of those that didn't get the hint already.
- Nothing Is Scarier: Whatever killed the band one-by-one in "The New Orleans Incident".
- Obligatory Bondage Song: "Misery", the narrator can't have any fun with her boyfriend unless he's in pain.
- Painting the Medium: As the various band members start dying off in "The New Orleans incident", their accompanying instruments drop from the main beat, starting with the piano, then guitar, bass, and finally drums as the vocals are left to deliver the chorus and the instruments come back in to finish.
- Perky Goth: The rockabilly-infused pop punk combined with Zombina's sugary singing almost makes you forget the horror-themed lyrics and gothic tendencies.
- robosexual: "Love Droid", which inverts the usual gender as the narrator's after a robot boy.
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Schedule Slip: Charnel House Rock was listed as an upcoming album as far back as 2011. It was then pushed back to 2012, before once again getting pushed to mid 2013. That year nearly came and went, nothing. The album was finally announced during their 2013 Halloween gig, whereupon the album was released at last in early 2014.. - The Song Before the Storm: "The Waiting" from Death Valley High, coming just before Janie shoots up her school with the dissolvo ray.
- Stage Names: Zombina Venus Hatchett and Doc Horror are the constant members of the band. Other band members include X-Ray Speck, Ben Durr Digo, and Kal Kthulu.
- Teenage Death Songs: Or a teenage undeath song: "Nobody Likes You When You're Dead".
- Theremin: One of these is used in a few of their songs, notably "Staci Stasis".
- "The Villain Sucks" Song: From Death Valley High, the song "Villain" is a warning to the heroine to stay away from the school's resident mad scientist.
- Vocal Evolution: As the band started when they were in their mid teens, Zombina's earliest songs were sung in a very soft pitch. As their songs became more varied, so too did her range. From mid-ranged shouts, to reasonably intricate harmonies, even rougher screams more at home in traditional punk. She's still firmly capable of sweeter tunes, but she's gotten noticeably deeper as she's aged.
- Vocal Tag Team: Zombina's unquestionably the main vocalist, but Doc Horror frequently will pop in to provide chorus melodies, accentuate the main vocals with a rhyme, and frequently gets sections to himself.
- Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds: Janie from Death Valley High. She has no friends, her TV is her only source of comfort because it doesn't belittle her, and she just wants someone to love her. And when the only boy who ever had anything nice to say to her leaves her for another girl at the prom just because he can, it's no wonder why she snapped.
