Although it may not be Halloween right now, it's never too early to sit back and rejoice in the company of the undead!  Ecto-1's first full length release "This Cold and Starving Dark: Anthems for the Morose and Misanthropic" feeds the hunger that so many of us have been longing for...

"Strange Aeons" is a groggy awakening to the devil himself sitting on the edge of your bed and telling you that your deepest fears shouldn't be fears at all because whatever your greatest fear is, it can be much worse than you can even fathom. Strap in; for the ride is only beginning.  Two familiar songs "Witchfire" and "Never mind The Darkness" follow which set the table beautifully for the rest of this album.  One of the newer songs "The Tolling of Bells" is also one of the best.  It's a prime example of all the talents bestowed upon these great musicians. 

You finally have time to catch your breath with "Autumn Entangled" which is a beautiful-soft spoken song with an excerpt from "The Halloween Tree" by Ray Bradbury and great use of electronics.  A song that is guaranteed to give you goose bumps.  Especially on a windy autumn night. Another song that allows you just a minute to catch your breath is "In Embers Lie" in which a change from a hard rock/metal sound is changed into an unplugged setting.  Definitely a song that gives you an eerie-calm sensation. 

From unplugged to hard hitting rock Ecto-1 brings us back us back to familiar territory with "I Dream of Jack-o-Lanterns" and shortly thereafter with an awesome rendition of Eerie Ln.'s "Tenthirtyone"(In which Boo Gruesome was also their lead singer).  In this cover, Boo sounds like one of his biggest idols, Glenn Danzig. 

The albums ends as great as it started: with heavy ectoplasmic rock!  "Upon Forgotten Graves”, “Embrace the Night" and a remix of "Witchfire" finish of this amazing record.  With 16 awesome tracks, it's difficult to choose songs that stick out, but for me, songs that I particularly enjoy are: "The Tolling of Bells", "Eulogy for the Damned", "Autumn Entangled", Lillitu", "I Dream of Jack-o-Lanterns", and "Upon Forgotten Graves".  Just the fact of knowing that Boo, Dallas, Filup and Ryan are such great guys, makes listening to this album that much more of a pleasure.  Thanks guys!