Austin rockers From Beyond are the doom rock equivalent of a carefully curated cult movie marathon. From the first eerie synth surge of “Invocation,” they blast retro sounds and yesteryear’s psychedelic imagery into the present. Whether it’s the solemn harmonies of “The Fall to Earth” or the space-truckin’ riffs of “Blooming Sun,” From Beyond mine beard rock and weirdo drive-in flicks for fresh inspiration. Throughout The Band from Beyond, vocalist/guitarist Rob McCarthy pairs Red Fang’s fuzz-pop with tales of interdimensional shenanigans and creatures that go bump in the night. If you stream the album below before its May 11th release date from Candlelight Records, you can exclusively hear the haunting crawl of “Lost Way” and the rapid-fire gang vocals of “Machine Gun.” Make sure to listen to “Black Mirror” before the final credits roll, and vibe to the entire amplified space expedition.
Below, vocalist/guitarist/synth mastermind Rob McCarthy talks cult movies, Lovecraft film adaptations, and who’d direct and star in From Beyond’s otherwordly biopic. But first, press play and plug into the sound of the collapsing cosmos on From Beyond’s The Band From Beyond.
On your One Year EP, the synth flourishes were used sparingly. What inspired you to make them much more prominent on The Band From Beyond?
Rob McCarthy: Keyboards have always been a part of the band, but I didn’t own any until 2012—I just borrowed them. Then I went nuts and started buying tons of them. At one point I think I had eight of them laying around. I really felt like synthesizers are kind of “the final frontier” for me in terms of creating. I’ve already explored guitar pedals and they are fun, but nothing is more fun to me than sitting in front of an old synthesizer and cooking up a patch that makes you say holy shit! We wanted to bring them into the band to open up more possibilities, because we don’t like to be limited in any way.
Lyrically, I think I caught a Coffin Joe reference in “Midnight” What other movies would someone need to curate if they created a movie marathon based on The Band From Beyond?
RM: The Terminator, The Thing, Invasion of the Body Snatchers, Suspiria, Psychomania, Hausu, Hellraiser, Blade Runner, and Escape from New York.
As a fan of weirdo psychedelic horror and H.P. Lovecraft, what do you consider the best Lovecraft cinema adaptations? I’m gonna guess Stuart Gordon’s From Beyond is up there.
RM: In the Mouth of Madness is pretty sick. Dagon was okay. Han Vau’s Die Farbe had a great idea for Color Out of Space. AM1200 was great for the cinematography.
If a fictional cult film was made about From Beyond, which director would you choose to helm it, and who would play each member? The people selected can be alive or re-animated.
RM: A re-animated Stanley Kubrick would be essential at the helm. Dave [Grooman, guitars and effects] would be portrayed by a re-animated Vlad the Impaler. Rob [Mccarthy] would be played by 90s Val Kilmer. Brooks [Villhoite, bass/synth/vocals] would be Steve Buscemi, and Anthony [Vallejo, drums and vocals] would be Antonio Banderas.
What’s next for From Beyond in 2018?
RM: We are hoping to take the record out on the road a little this summer, and we have already finished writing most of the second album. The new songs are absolutely incredible, so we are excited about the prospect of recording them as soon as possible.
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